Runners in Song

Hey all! It’s been a little over two weeks since the 5k, and I’ve been meaning to write a post about the race…here it goes

Running this 5k was so much better knowing I had friends running with me. Shawn, Steve Dewitte and John Foerster also ran the 5k.

Well, we didn’t necessarily run together. The four of us are at different running levels, and I don’t think there was ever an actual time when any of us ran together. But knowing my guys are out there running made it a little easier to prepare for, to stay motivated and to cross that finish line as quickly as possible.

The really cool part was having someone who was, more or less, there for me waiting at the finish line. John finished first, and I heard a little “Yeah Jeremy!” as I was crossing the finish line. Darcy, who was obviously there for Shawn, was also waiting at the finish line, so it was great to see her waiting there too.

When I ran “The Challenge” 5k back in April, I was under the impression I was doing the whole thing by myself. Turns out after the race was over I knew a good handful of people, so it was nice seeing people after running the 3.1 miles.

And, it was really cool to stand there at the finish line waiting for Shawn and Steve to finish. Here’s what I’ve learned from running the two 5ks that I have: 3.1 miles is not just a short run! It’s hard work! To be able to stand at the finish line and watch people cross the line and accomplishment a pretty cool physical feat, especially my friends, it’s pretty cool!

As I mentioned, I had two goals: 1.) To improve on my Challenge 5k time and run under 25:00, and 2.) Don’t stop running.

At the Challenge, I ran that 5k in 28:08, and I stopped on two separate occasions to walk for a little bit. At that point I had been working out for just a couple of months, and with it being my first 5k, I just wanted to do it to gauge where I was at. Running it in under 30 minutes, especially with the large uphill climb that is McCormick Road, I was pretty satisfied.

With this 5k being three months or so later, and I had been hard at work in the gym and on the treadmill, there was no reason I couldn’t improve my performance.

I am glad to report that I accomplished both goals. My time was 23:34, and I didn’t stop to walk.

I will say this though, I wasn’t even 30 seconds into the 5k that I wanted to stop. As soon as I started running, I literally said to myself, “I don’t want to do this.” I don’t know what the deal was, but most of the race I was in my head, and I kind of didn’t want to be there. But, I pushed through it and was able to run it pretty well.

I’ve actually already signed up to another 5k in September. The Chicago Blackhawks, the Mad Dash to Madison are hosting this training camp fan fun day thing, and it includes a 5k run and 10k skate. As appealing as a 10k skate sounded, I decided to just stick with the running. Participants get to stay for training camp event, plus a Patrick Sharp bobble head. Sharpie’s my boy, so I was pretty stoked.

I figured it would be an excuse to head home and see my mom and the family with a trip into the city to top the cake. Now I’m just working on getting my brothers and others to run with me, and hopefully get Mom to walk! I think Brian and Nicole are going to run too, so I’m really excited about this one. My fitness has kind of been something I take care of down here, and I don’t think a lot of people up home are all that aware of what I’ve been doing, so I’m hoping that people will want to run this one with me and see the transformation that I’ve made.

If you would’ve told me that running and working out would kind of be my thing a couple years ago, I probably would have laughed in your face. But, I have to admit, it feels pretty cool to be getting fit. I don’t think I’ve ever really been in this good of shape, even in high school.

I’m not there yet though. I still have areas I want to improve, and I’m trying really hard not to become obsessive about the way I look and the number on the scale.

I also need to take my own advice sometimes.

I weigh myself twice a week, Mondays and Fridays, although it has been thrown off while I was in the hotel and now trying to adjust while being back in my almost-finished place. This week I weighed myself on Thursday and was pretty pleased with where I was at. Then on Saturday, I had a really good workout, and I got a bit greedy. I was thinking I was finally going to crack 200 pounds, especially with the great workout. So despite my normal weigh-in schedule, I weighed myself, and wasn’t happy with the number. I got upset. But why?

When I talk to people about losing weight, I tell them it’s not necessarily about the number, it’s about the way you feel. So after this workout, I felt great. Why should I be upset that the number isn’t exactly what I wanted it to be?

I shouldn’t, and it hit me on my drive to work. I’m really happy with the progress that I’ve made in the 5+ months I’ve really been working out, and I’m looking forward to continuing to improve my fitness.

That’s all I really have for right now! This one should be a little shorter than the others. Feel free to leave comments…they’re not just reserved for my mom. 🙂

Take care!