Where there's a Will there's a way: Saturday, January 1st, 2011

We woke up at 6:45 am. It was extremely hard to wake up and get going, but my wife helped out a lot. We got dressed and had a Potato Egg Bake for breakfast. After breakfast we were out the door, headed to Mike and Courtney's house to head downtown. On the way to their house it was raining the whole time. I was trying to find a way out of this BS. I was not looking forward to this run. I asked myself "why must it rain on this day?". As we got off the interstate it stopped raining. Awesome I thought, but that quickly faded, because once we got to Mike's house it started raining harder. Great, now we really have to run in the rain. According to the race website, the race will go on unless it is lighting. Since, it was not lighting we still have to run. At this moment I am nervous and not feeling this race. As we get closer to the race site, I get more and more nervous. Wondering "if I am going to puke due to the nerves, am i going to be the heaviest one there (well, yes), and how am I going to do this?" As you can see my mind would not just shut off and just be silent.

Mike and I Pre-Race

Shannon, Me, Mike and Courtney Pre-Race

We get to the race site, sign in, stretch , and warm up. Then it's time to line up at the starting line. There was a ton of people at the race. All different ages and sizes. As the gun goes off Mike and I head out, we hit 1st Avenue and we have a good pace going. Then, I saw the hill up to Memorial bridge. I pushed myself towards the hill, as I started to slow down Mike started to encourage me to keep moving as long as I keep moving I am doing well. We get to the hill and I have to walk. I walk up the hill and over the Bridge. We get off the bridge and Mike tells me we have to run. So, we start running and it is so hard. I have not even hit a mile yet, but we are running/jogging. My legs are pretty shot. We hit a mile at about 17 minutes. Not my best mile but we are still moving. As we turn the corner onto Industrial way Mike tells me he has to pee. Well, since we were walking by this time and we are passing a porter potty. Mike says he has a challenge for me. He says if he runs to the porter potty I have to make it to the corner before he is done. He goes to pee and I start to run. I run as far as I could, but I did not make it to the corner. As Mike caught up to me he was excited to see that I did try to run to the corner. For some reason that bastard thought I would not run, that I would slack off and just walk that stretch. Yeah, I have walked a lot of this race, but I am trying to push myself pretty hard. But back to the race, we round the corner on to Shelby street Mike and I almost get hit by a freaking taxi that drove between the cones. I was to tired to freak out, but the cop at that junction had out back. We start running from the gas station to the street comer again. We keep jogging , but at this point every thing in my body is telling me I should have stopped at the gas station for a big gulp or a slushy. I think I have cursed at Mike more then I've said anything else to him. As I start walking a lady and her child passes us and Mike says "Come on, keep running, look even that little girl is passing you". The little girls mother bursts into laughter.(not at me, but Mike's comment) She said something, but I was to tired and my ears were not working. In our jog/walk around LP field we met a lot of nice people. There was a old lady who was 63 (My carrot/motivation), who I tried to keep in my sights and chase down. Her power walk was awesome. Once we hit the Pedestrian Bridge, she was gone. Then, there was two other ladies, one of which had lost 73 lbs since last march(My Inspiration). That is such a great accomplishment, It made me want to stick to this weight loss journey. Once we hit the Pedestrian Bridge, my body wanted to revolt, that bridge is no joke. I had to tell Mike to shut up, because could he kept asking me questions and I could not breath enough to talk and keep moving. Once, we got off the Bridge and hit the street we started to jog out the rest of the way. Once I saw the finish line, I started to pick up speed and crossed the finish line. To the Cheers of a few of the people we meet on the run, my wife, Courtney, and Mike. Wow, what a feeling, I actually completed a 5K. I thought this would happen for a long long time. I am proud of myself, but I feel I can do better. We walk around and then we get to the car and talk some more with Courtney and Mike. Once, in the car I start some of the negative talk I usually start, but my wife looks at me and says "No, you will not start this, you will not talk negative about this race. You just completed a 5K, you should be happy about what you have accomplished. No negative thoughts". So, I stopped thinking about the stuff I could not change and we started looking towards the future. Our schedule for next week and out next race.