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| Walking a Turkey Trot 5K - and huffing and puffing! |
Sadly, this is not the first time I've allowed this kind of attitude to creep in and steer my life. As an 18-year old meth addict, I really didn't expect to see my 20th birthday. And I didn't really care - back then my attitude, as I prepped my next dose, was, "What a way to go!"
I'm sure I could make a therapist wealthy delving into the whys of this behavior and attitude. But I found a much less expensive and far more effective therapy: LIVE!
I am 50-years old now and in better shape this year than I have been my entire life. In the six months it has taken me to improve my physical health (and I'm not there yet), I have unlocked a lust for life. And not just survival - I'm talking pursuit: of moment to moment enjoyment in simple things, chasing down those long-ignored dreams - big and small, and pushing myself to see what I can accomplish next with this incredible self-healing machine my body is.
In short, waiting to die has become an unacceptable way to live.
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| After my first race - 7K! |
Not bad for an old fat guy who despised running for 48.5 years! But I knew I could do better.
By race day I had run several times under 50 minutes. As I tried to stay warm that chilly morning in a crowd of 6,000 "serious runners" I began wondering if I had lost my mind. Was I really going to do this? What if I couldn't make it a mile before puffing out of steam? What if I finished so late the crowds had gone home and left me to die of embarrassment? Oh boy!
I ran the first 3K (1.89 miles) absolutely non-stop. In fact I couldn't stop - my adrenaline was pumping! I ran past so many runners in that first mile I was wondering who the serious runners really were. And I finished the 7K race in 47 minutes and 37 seconds. And over 1000 runners finished after me!
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| Happy man! Feeling healthy!! |
The sense of accomplishment I felt that day - which included a post-race 12-hour shift at work - opened my eyes to all the things I had denied my ability to do. The runner's high enveloped me for the majority of the day, giving me a new perspective. And I knew my life could and would be different. I have since run several 10K races, many more 5K's and my first half-marathon was in October 2011, my second in 2012. My wife and I plan to run the Twin Cities FULL Marathon in 2014!
I have discovered a few things about myself along the way:
*I can run 5 miles in 47 minutes flat (beating my 7K time by 37 seconds while adding .65 of a mile to the distance!)
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| Walking a 5K again - this was a family event, not a race! |
*I can bike 18 miles non-stop, even over hills!
*I can fit in the restraining bars of all the roller coasters at Valley Fair Amusement Park and have a blast with my son while doing it!
*I can swim and enjoy it! And even go down the tube slides and off the diving board (with my son's encouragement!)
*I can sleep without a CPAP machine for the first time in 3 years.
*I'm free of my 6-year dependence on Prilosec heartburn medication.
*I can run over 11 miles non-stop (2012 Half Marathon).
*I can run over 11 miles non-stop (2012 Half Marathon).
I am LIVING! And, God willing, I am expecting to live. Maybe long enough to run that full marathon!
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| 2010 |
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| 2012 |
