Eight weeks ago, I embarked on a "epic journey of epicosity" with my friend Tori and a group called No Boundaries (NoBo).
The NoBo group consists of about 18 people all taking their first steps towards becoming active and healthier. We train for 5K's. There is a second, much larger group called the Marathoners In Training, or MIT. They are training for 10K's, half and full marathons. This group is probably close to 200 or so people, alot of which started in NoBo. They know what we are doing, going through and striving for.
NoBo was already a month in when we joined, so we, moreso me than Tori, had some catching up to do. They were running for 2:20 and walking for :40. I on the other hand was starting at :45 and 1:45.
To start, I was trying everyday to get out and run, waking up a little earlier to walk the dogs, trying to run a little farther, wearing myself out a little faster.
July 17th. It's around this time that I decided what my goal will be for the 5K. I was up to :55/1:35. At the pace I am increasing, I think I could do this race in under 40 minutes.
Then the heat and humidity struck. I can't run in this, so I missed a couple days. Then I tried going at night, and that felt much better the first couple nights. But now I'm up a little later, with all that other stuff.
I came across an article on SparkPeople on The Habits Of Fit People: Listen To Your Body. Turns out everyday is not the best way, which I knew to be true for strength training, but running didn't seem like something that would require the same rest phase. So I tried it out, and my runs got better. Found myself saying why not five more seconds, I'm recovering quicker and lasting longer. Things are looking good if I may say so.
August 6th. Final NoBo training run. No Tori this week. I get there and it's not the normal huge crowd but I can still hear them somewhere. I walk up to someone and ask what's going on, just as Jeff Henderson, the NoBo and MIT organizer, came across the loud speakers in the Thomas Worthington HS football stadium.
MIT was in the stands. NoBo was on the track. I start running down to join them for whatever mysterious fate lies ahead.
"12 weeks ago, these people took the first step towards changing their lives, and we are here today to recognize that accomplishment" The MIT-ers cheer. We were given shirts and jackets.
It has been an amazing thing to be apart of. The sporadic bits of encouragement thrown out by the MIT-er's going in the opposite direction, rewarding feeling be greeted by people you don't know upon return for just being out here, the chocolate milk from Snowville Creamery, everything.
But now its the final week. I just increased my time 1:05/1:25. I'm pulling around a 15min/mi. I decide to adjust my goals, under 40 is gonna be a huge letdown. At this point I am begging to break the 15min/mi point.
The night of August 10th, one of the two apps active on my phone while I run, RunKeeper and Doubletwist, are not playing nice with each other and resetting my phone when it goes dark, so since then I have been without my interval trainer. Who knew that would be a good thing? The run that night turned out to be one of my fastest runs to date, posting 2.43 miles in 38 minutes, partially due to a surprise all out sprint near the end of it. I don't know what happened but it felt really good to open up like that.
August 12th, Tori and I embarked from TWHS, and made it to Antrim much faster than our(my) usual, but not without a struggle. Legs were stiff, knees were achy, feet were flat, hamstring in my right leg was telling me I may be in for a rude awakening. Saturday was not looking good.
August 13th. 2011 Pancreatic Cancer Purple Stride 5K. Kinda chilly and a little bit of rain, just how I like it. You know me, if it ain't rainin... Just let me finish under 45, that's all I want.
Tori and I take off. Long first run for me, but somehow we ended up in the middle of the full run group, and I'm a little afraid if I stop, I'll be that one that starts the epic crash and 20-30 people will be piled on top of each other before anyone knows what happened. Eventually I drift to the side and let the masses pass us. Then two girls from the MIT group pass us, with words of encouragement, then two from NoBo. Ok I'm ready, we pass them, need a break, they pass us. I tell Tori not to worry about me, go if she wants to, and she does. She ends up sandwiched right between the two pairs. I eventually catch up as the NoBo pair decide to pass. Tori says to me "I'm drafting! These two are perfect to run behind" and they laughed about it... but they were. So we drafted, but I don't yet have that endurance and neither did two girls from NoBo, so when Tori and the MIT pair passed them up I dropped back. I drafted these two and it worked quite well from mile 1 to 2. After mile 2 though, oh buddy, the sun and humidity just exploded, I started drifting back from the girls. I'm getting a bit tired. I need something to get back in.
Bjork!
I was gone! I passed them. I passed a few others, I'm thinking at this pace I should get in close to my 45 min goal if not a little over.
I run under a train and come to a break in the trees and get a beautiful view of the Downtown Columbus skyline, right as 7'100" Jeff comes strolling by on his bike, checking in on people. We both stop for the quick photo opportunity, I tried drafting him on his bike, didn't work so well.
The final curve, then up the hill to the finish line. Why uphill? A crowd of people sit along the finish line cheering and clapping for thsose coming in. That clock can't be right. There's no way that clock is WHERE IS THE WATER??? Why is there no water at the finish line? It's all across the field? WHY???
I got my water, stretched, and went to talk to Jeff.
"When can we find out our times?"
"Right now... 38:25. Good job man! How do you feel?"
I looked at my hands, they were shaking. I looked at him and said "I was aiming for 45min."
"Holy crap, you beat your goal by over six minutes! That is awesome!!!"
It is. I wanted to cry about it, talk bout it, wonder about it. I just... Don't know what to say, how to feel. The overwhelming sense of accomplishment was more than I expected.
I posted a quote the other day- "Don't forget to smile, and put your arms up in the air to celebrate when you've crossed the finish line - You've earned it"
38:25.
I did it!
The NoBo group consists of about 18 people all taking their first steps towards becoming active and healthier. We train for 5K's. There is a second, much larger group called the Marathoners In Training, or MIT. They are training for 10K's, half and full marathons. This group is probably close to 200 or so people, alot of which started in NoBo. They know what we are doing, going through and striving for.
NoBo was already a month in when we joined, so we, moreso me than Tori, had some catching up to do. They were running for 2:20 and walking for :40. I on the other hand was starting at :45 and 1:45.
To start, I was trying everyday to get out and run, waking up a little earlier to walk the dogs, trying to run a little farther, wearing myself out a little faster.
July 17th. It's around this time that I decided what my goal will be for the 5K. I was up to :55/1:35. At the pace I am increasing, I think I could do this race in under 40 minutes.
Then the heat and humidity struck. I can't run in this, so I missed a couple days. Then I tried going at night, and that felt much better the first couple nights. But now I'm up a little later, with all that other stuff.
I came across an article on SparkPeople on The Habits Of Fit People: Listen To Your Body. Turns out everyday is not the best way, which I knew to be true for strength training, but running didn't seem like something that would require the same rest phase. So I tried it out, and my runs got better. Found myself saying why not five more seconds, I'm recovering quicker and lasting longer. Things are looking good if I may say so.
August 6th. Final NoBo training run. No Tori this week. I get there and it's not the normal huge crowd but I can still hear them somewhere. I walk up to someone and ask what's going on, just as Jeff Henderson, the NoBo and MIT organizer, came across the loud speakers in the Thomas Worthington HS football stadium.
MIT was in the stands. NoBo was on the track. I start running down to join them for whatever mysterious fate lies ahead.
"12 weeks ago, these people took the first step towards changing their lives, and we are here today to recognize that accomplishment" The MIT-ers cheer. We were given shirts and jackets.
It has been an amazing thing to be apart of. The sporadic bits of encouragement thrown out by the MIT-er's going in the opposite direction, rewarding feeling be greeted by people you don't know upon return for just being out here, the chocolate milk from Snowville Creamery, everything.
But now its the final week. I just increased my time 1:05/1:25. I'm pulling around a 15min/mi. I decide to adjust my goals, under 40 is gonna be a huge letdown. At this point I am begging to break the 15min/mi point.
The night of August 10th, one of the two apps active on my phone while I run, RunKeeper and Doubletwist, are not playing nice with each other and resetting my phone when it goes dark, so since then I have been without my interval trainer. Who knew that would be a good thing? The run that night turned out to be one of my fastest runs to date, posting 2.43 miles in 38 minutes, partially due to a surprise all out sprint near the end of it. I don't know what happened but it felt really good to open up like that.
August 12th, Tori and I embarked from TWHS, and made it to Antrim much faster than our(my) usual, but not without a struggle. Legs were stiff, knees were achy, feet were flat, hamstring in my right leg was telling me I may be in for a rude awakening. Saturday was not looking good.
August 13th. 2011 Pancreatic Cancer Purple Stride 5K. Kinda chilly and a little bit of rain, just how I like it. You know me, if it ain't rainin... Just let me finish under 45, that's all I want.
Tori and I take off. Long first run for me, but somehow we ended up in the middle of the full run group, and I'm a little afraid if I stop, I'll be that one that starts the epic crash and 20-30 people will be piled on top of each other before anyone knows what happened. Eventually I drift to the side and let the masses pass us. Then two girls from the MIT group pass us, with words of encouragement, then two from NoBo. Ok I'm ready, we pass them, need a break, they pass us. I tell Tori not to worry about me, go if she wants to, and she does. She ends up sandwiched right between the two pairs. I eventually catch up as the NoBo pair decide to pass. Tori says to me "I'm drafting! These two are perfect to run behind" and they laughed about it... but they were. So we drafted, but I don't yet have that endurance and neither did two girls from NoBo, so when Tori and the MIT pair passed them up I dropped back. I drafted these two and it worked quite well from mile 1 to 2. After mile 2 though, oh buddy, the sun and humidity just exploded, I started drifting back from the girls. I'm getting a bit tired. I need something to get back in.
Bjork!
I was gone! I passed them. I passed a few others, I'm thinking at this pace I should get in close to my 45 min goal if not a little over.
I run under a train and come to a break in the trees and get a beautiful view of the Downtown Columbus skyline, right as 7'100" Jeff comes strolling by on his bike, checking in on people. We both stop for the quick photo opportunity, I tried drafting him on his bike, didn't work so well.
The final curve, then up the hill to the finish line. Why uphill? A crowd of people sit along the finish line cheering and clapping for thsose coming in. That clock can't be right. There's no way that clock is WHERE IS THE WATER??? Why is there no water at the finish line? It's all across the field? WHY???
I got my water, stretched, and went to talk to Jeff.
"When can we find out our times?"
"Right now... 38:25. Good job man! How do you feel?"
I looked at my hands, they were shaking. I looked at him and said "I was aiming for 45min."
"Holy crap, you beat your goal by over six minutes! That is awesome!!!"
It is. I wanted to cry about it, talk bout it, wonder about it. I just... Don't know what to say, how to feel. The overwhelming sense of accomplishment was more than I expected.
I posted a quote the other day- "Don't forget to smile, and put your arms up in the air to celebrate when you've crossed the finish line - You've earned it"
38:25.
I did it!
