You know, there are a lot of people out there who have done a "Couch to 5k" program - and it's awesome. I'm not sure I could have done that. Well, I didn't do that, as a matter of fact. I did a "Couch to biking" program, and now I've started down a "Bike to 5k" program...and everything, including the aches and pains...has been worth it.
Saturday morning, 6 AM. If I'm going to eat, I know that I have to do it now. Otherwise, there's no eating until after the race. I know this because there have been countless training runs where I was cramping from eating too close to the run. So I eat just a little, and start drinking.
7:30 - leave the house to get to the race start. Registration starts at 8 and there's only a mile and half to go, but you never know how these things go, so it's "get there early and get it done." I think we were the first in line to get to the registration tables. And met the newly re-elected mayor. Oh, ok.
9:00 - Race start. I get off to a good start and am feeling pretty decent for the first mile....and that's when it starts: pain in the shins. Pain? More like, "my shins felt like 80 lbs of lead." In the interest of wanting to conserve energy, I think I failed to warm up quiiiiiiiite enough, and the result was fast-building lactic acid in my shins. Maybe that's "shin splints" and maybe it's not - the truth be told, I don't really care. All I know is that it forced me to.....walk. I know that a lot of runners have to walk for a bit in their races, and that's fine. A lot of those people I talk to are walking while doing a malf marathon, or a 10k, or other even longer race. I was walking after about the first .75 (yeah, that's 3/4) of a mile. REALLY???? Talk about disappointing.
Now, it's amazing. Several times in my life, it's felt like time slows when I'm in the middle of a moment. This felt like that. My love and partner in this running event caught up to me (not that she was ever far behind) and pushed me through the pain. Wow. What an amazing woman. Not only is she running the race, but she's motivating the Fat Kid to keep it going. It's at this point where I sit back and look at it all and say, "What did I ever do to deserve the love of a woman like this?" Those minutes seemed like hours to the pain in my legs, but her support made me realize something: I had to fight to get here, and this race was not going to let me finish it without that same fight.
So we kept going. I walked when I had to, and I ran as much as I could. Finally, at the end, I had enough in the tank (and for the record, the energy, my lungs, etc ALL felt great - except the lower half of my legs) And then I saw the finish line...and the best thing ever: that clock that tells you just how much time has passed. And then I saw the worst thing ever: the 70+ yr old man in front of me. OK, I can't make this phrase sound good, but "AAWWWWW HELL TO THE "NO." Yeah. Pain or no pain, I can't let a senior citizen beat me. That bit about conserving energy came in handy as I crossed the line at 32:46, one second ahead of Mr. Anderson, who crossed at 32:47. My support, my love, my inspiration, my cheerleader, my best friend...crossed just afterwards at 32:52. She was only behind me because I didn't tell her I was going to sprint. She deserved better from me.
11AM - packed, ready to go, a camping weekend awaiting us, we head off for a weekend of cold nights, warm campfires, hiking, beach volleyball and a little well-deserved camp cooking (steak, sausage and peppers, eggs, chicken salad, yams, etc.) and there may or may not have been a little whiskey, too!
There have been a lot of "great/awesome weekends" for me in the last bunch of months. In fact, I've been blessed with many weekends liek that over the course of my life. This one....this one put them all to shame. I am the luckiest man alive.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
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