Asheville Citizen-Times 5k

I decided to run the ACT 5k last Saturday even though I was not ready for it (had not had much time to train), and was pressed for time since I had football games to call at 10:00am (the race was at 7:30).

I am glad that I did take the time to run. I managed to record my best time for a 5k this year finishing it in 37:50 (official bib time was 36:46). Although it was not a PR (personal record) it was under 40 minutes, and I never felt better when I got done!

For those of you that do not know, the course is fairly hilly (as is the rest of Asheville), but I think that the downhills more than make up for all the uphill portions of this course. Which, in my opinion, makes this course a fairly easy one. I would say that the toughest portion is the final hill on Walnut Street. It is a fairly steep incline for about – and I’m guesstimating here – .10-.15 of a mile, right at the end of the race.

Of course, I still did not match my time from 2010 when I ran this course. I finished that race in 33:54 (official bib time was 33:19), and that was my PR until I ran a flat race in February of 2011. I did not run this race last year as I elected to run the 1/2 marathon instead.

Now, after how good I felt, I think that I have re-lit that fire I once had for running. However, I think that I am going to go about it differently. This time, instead of running for a virtual team, I am going to do it for myself. After all, who else do I have to prove anything to? And, who else is going to be there to support me 100% of the time no matter what I do, or what I say (verbally or on Facebook)? The answer is – nobody but myself!

Looking forward – the next race I have in my sights is the WNC Run/Walk for Autism 5k. This will be my second time running this race, but the first time on this course. Last year this race moved from the flat course at Carrier Park to the steep terrain at UNC-Asheville. It will be a challenge, but it is one that I am looking forward to taking on.

And, ultimately, I am looking to start training for my first full marathon next year, it will also be the inaugural Asheville Citizen-Times Full Marathon. I will be looking for a 1/2 to do between now and then, maybe the Knoxville 1/2 in April, but I am glad that I will not have to travel far for my first full like I thought that I was going to have to do.

263.2

Well now, I guess it has been quite a while since I have taken the time to blog anything. About 18 months is long enough, I guess, so here goes.

I could about imagine, if anyone is actually going to read this, what might be going through your head as far as the title to this posting is about. Well, to me, it is about depression and determination. It is my current weight, as of the time I stepped on the scale last night before I got into the shower.

I have known for a while now, about the past 12- 14 years at least, that I have been a bit on the heavy side. But, as we all know, we see ourselves differently than those around us. And, we tend to use our own vision as our reality, that is until someone else actually slaps us with reality.

This happened to me the other day when I was completing evaluations of my fellow officials. Once I completed the evaluations I looked to see what responses I had. There were six (6) other officials that took the time to evaluate me. One category, in-particular, caught my eye and the comment cut me like a knife. The category?…”Physically fit to perform duties.” The comment?…”overweight.”

When we do our evaluations we do not have to comment, all we have to do is enter a score between 1 and 5. And, for this category, I have and average score of 4.5 (not the lowest average of all the categories). Which means, and I am going to assume here, that the person that made that comment probably gave me a 2.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not mad at this person, whoever he may be. What I am mad about is the fact that he took his own perception of me, and his opinion, and went away from what the category was about. Yes, I am overweight. But, that does not mean that I am not physically fit to perform my duties! My slowness has very little to do with how much I weigh, it has more to do with the fact that I am more worried about rolling my ankle again than anything. On a level surface, where I know that I will not roll my ankle, I can sprint with the best of them! Okay, maybe not the best of them, but it sure would surprise the hell out of you how quick I can actually be.

This, if you have not already figured it out, is where the depression comes in. I have not told anyone about this until now. But, I have decided that I will not let this send me into a total depression. Instead I am going to use it to give me the determination to change it!

I have decided that it is time for me to take another long hard look at my eating habits, and make the necessary changes that will help me to lose weight. Between that, and dedicating time to running and working out at the gym again, I know that I can shed a few pounds by the end of the year.

You see, and anyone that knows me knows this, about the time I last posted anything on here I had my running spirits broke by some asshole that decided to take some bitches words as gold and decided to kick me off his “team”. Although it did not make me decide to quit running altogether, it did make it so that I was not as dedicated to running. But now, I have this new asshat that is going to help me to relight that fire I once had, and will get me determined to earn the results I want.

My goal is to drop at least 20 pounds by the end of the year…but I would like to hit 30 pounds.