Saturday, June 7, 2008

Still sweating or is that glowing. . .


Run for the Animals, is a 5K & 10K held the first Saturday of June as part of the Cream of Wheaton celebration. This year the Cosley Foundation was raising money for River Otters, Bobcats and aviary habitats. As noble as that is, I must admit that it did not factor into my decision to participate. I also only noticed today that it is not called a Run/Walk.

So as I review the situation, I am thinking that probably this was my last year as a participant. Some people exercise because it is healthy and for all of the right reasons but I must admit that I am more motivated by the social aspect. Today, I shuffled alone as my walking/jogging partner, Lois, was out of town. I did not see one other person participating that I knew, although as I read through the results list, there were a few—it is just that they were so far ahead of me and half my age! There were no family members or friends to cheer or call my name because frankly they really do have much better things to do and it wasn’t as if this was my first time or that I was a true competitor and possibly they had already gone home by the time I passed by. It was unseasonably hot and humid. I stopped at all three water stations for a quick drink whereas some years I have never stopped. And I walked one stretch. What a wimp! So this one didn't quite meet my social requirement. It was way more serious than that! I finished 11 out of 14 in my age group—not even close to the middle which is always my goal at a disappointing 38:49.9. That is one mile in 12 minutes, 29.9 seconds. I always thought a 10 minute mile would be good goal.

But then again, I finished.
And I lost a couple of pounds during my sporadic training.
And it felt good to participate.
And my dear hubby told me at least ten times that he was proud of me.
And same hubby went a got a large Jamba juice for me while I participated and had it to me within two minutes of when I finished.
And I have a new long sleeved t-shirt.
And when I slept in the car as we drove home from Ohio today, Bob thought it was because of the 5K.

Perhaps next year, I could pay for the registration fee for a few of my friends and ask them to let me dash across the finish line right before them so that I do not come in completely last. But then there is a limit to what even good friends will do. Anyhow, I can still happily participate in the aptly named Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and those proceeds go to feed the hungry.

It is a good time to join the cheerleading squad. Grandson Kent ran the 10K this year! I am still proud that I signed him up for his very first 5K several years ago. Today, Kent finished at 49:59.9 which was 136 overall and 2nd out of 6 in his age group. He told me that he also had to walk some and that he threw up and still finished with a great time! Now that is worth cheering about!





1 comment:

Andy Rowell said...

Good job, Mom. I like the header as well.

andy