Friday, January 15, 2010

First Blog


Hello all. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jody Harvey, known to my kids as "Big Daddy". Why "Big Daddy", maybe because I am bigger than them? Maybe because I had some weight issues a few years back (not that I don't think I could lose a few more pounds).
Some background on myself. Married for 16 years. We have 2 kids (age 13 and 14). I grew up in southern Indiana. I live in the DC area now. So, due to my accent, some would call me a hick or redneck. It is funny, because this "hick" speaks two other languages and has been to more countries outside of the US than most of these Washingtonians. But I am not judging...as they are. Spent 5 years in the Army. Deployed once to Bosnia. After that, I stayed in German for another 8 years. Moved back to the US in 2005, or was it 2006? Anyway, it was quite a move for the entire family. My wife adapted to to DC area faster than I could. She is European, so I guess that is why...maybe? It is not that I hate this area, I just think there is a fair amount of narrow minded people here. And folks don't know how to drive here.
So, there is some background on me. Now, why am I here. Well, I am just starting to blog. And I wonder if anyone would be interested in what I may have to say. I don't want to rant and rave. Complain about politics.. I live in the DC area.. I get enough of that. This is more of a community runner's blog. Sharing my thoughts and opinions of running. Sharing my accomplishments. Seeking advice from other runners.
I started running in the Army. Well, we were kinda forced to. I played a little football in high school. Was never a strong runner. Started smoking at 16. While in the Army I continued to smoke while keeping up with Army standards. I ran a 10K once while in the Army. All I could think of was..."This is stupid!". After I got out of the Army, I stopped exercising. This is where "Big Daddy" started to develop. Beer + lots of food = Big Stomach. Few years ago, the kids hid my smokes. I was furious. And when I saw how mad I was, I looked at myself. I didn't like what I saw. Kids said they were doing this to me because they didn't want me to die. I quit smoking that next weekend. It was long and hard. My wife got me a bike for my birthday to try and help me. I started biking trying to substitute for the addiction. I started riding 20 miles at a time. It wasn't enough. I needed more. I saw a local 10K, The Cascades 10K Fire Chase in Sterling, VA. I just signed up for it without thinking and started running. At first, I went back to my first opinion on long distant running, this is stupid. But then I started to notice the weight coming off. Then one day, I caught that first runner's high. I traded one addiction for another.
That is how I got my start in running. So, I keep running for a few reasons. Weight issue, health issue, mental and physical fitness and to keep from going back to smoking. But the main reason, I cant let my kids down.

1 comment:

  1. Congrats on the new blog! May you inspire fathers all over the world to get off their asses and start moving.

    ReplyDelete