I Mostly Ran 100 Miles in 31 Days & You Can Too!

I've been involved in the "online fitness" community for about 10 years now. Over those years, several different fitness challenges have been thrown my way. Some I've jumped right into, others I've hemmed and hawed about, and for some, my very quick answer back was, you must be CRAZY!

So in June, when my teammates at BULLIT and Eastern Shore Performance Center asked if I would join them in their one hundred miles in July challenge, the "BULLITPROOF100", I wasn't too surprised. I also wasn't shocked when they asked me if I wanted to add a bit more to the challenge by wearing my BULLIT HYBRID Training Vest for all the miles - adding 20 extra pounds! Why not, right?

Running isn't exactly foreign to me. About 15 years ago, running was not just my preferred way of fitness; it was my therapy. And like many of us in emergency services, I also began seeking professional assistance.

During that time, and with my therapist's help, I realized that how I was attempting to "treat" myself was not working and definitely not healthy. So I started to run and run and run some more.

I'm sure you've all seen the movie Forrest Gump. I didn't quite run clear across the country and back again. But my 5ks led to 10ks, which led to half marathons, and eventually, I concurred the full 26.2.

But after that and "just" running over all those years, I got bored. So I found new ways to work out that were just as cathartic to me. So running became the occasional jog.

So back to this challenge. I didn't just whip my little mohawked head up with a huge smile and say, "of course, I'm in, let's go!" Instead, I took a few days to think about the overall time commitment.

I wondered whether my body could handle all these miles, especially with the vest. I thought about if I could "fit" it in with everything else I had going on in July. And I thought about myself. Was this even something I wanted to attempt?

See, despite the popular belief on social media, fitness still isn't easy for me. Followers think because I post a ton of videos and pictures of me "fitnessing," it all must come with ease. That's probably the furthest thing from the truth.

Over this next month, I'm going to use this blog to recap my 100 miles. I've been taking notes along the way because, well, let's face it, I've had plenty of time out there while logging these miles. And I'd love to share this journey with you.

The scenery didn't change much (I pretty much ran the same route the whole month). But, I didn't only gain some extra cardiovascular fitness out there. Each day, I learned something new about myself.

I'm hoping to share what I learned with all of you. Of course, the overall hope is you take on some kind of personal challenge on your own after reading it. It doesn't have to be as crazy as running 100 miles in a month with a weight vest on. But, I can tell you this, if I can do THAT, you can do it THAT, or just about anything really, too. Stay tuned……

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Robert "Pip" Piparo is a Captain with the City of New Brunswick Fire Department in central New Jersey. Pip is also the Director of the non-profit 555 Fitness and a Sales Manager for BULLIT USA. Pip has been involved in emergency services for over 25 years serving on both volunteer and career departments. He is currently a NJ state certified EMT, but has worked as a paramedic, as well. Pip's passion for fitness and changing the emergency services field is evident from his work with 555.