Date: 2012-12-03
To: Goals
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

If you set a goal for yourself and are able to achieve it, you have won your race. ~ Dave ScottMy husband has been a runner from before I met him; I think he began running during basic training in the Army. He was and still is a good runner (even after being hit by a truck). He placed 3rd in his age bracket in a local 5K race this past October. I started running after our first son was born (1976) but really only to remove some fat that hung on after my pregnancy. The extra fat and running became history. I began running again after our second son was born two years later and achieved my goal and stopped running. I never achieved the runner¢s high that I had read about. Maybe that would have kept me running ...As I approached THE BIG 50, I started thinking about running again. Of course, I wasn¢t trying to lose baby weight but I had some extra. I started training in January and we registered in March for the July 4th Peachtree Road Race 10K (6.2 miles) in Atlanta . I had never participated in a race and this one was huge ¢ up to 60,000 people now. Back then I think it was around 40,000 or so. Because we didn¢t complete a qualifying race, we started in the last group of walkers/runners. I thought everyone in that group would walk and I was really surprised when we finally made it to the start line and everyone started running. I had planned to do a run/walk interval but in order not to be knocked down I had to keep on running until I could make it to the right hand side of the street where I could walk without fear of being run over or blocking the runners. I was really happy to finish and get my 1st Peachtree Road Race t-shirt. I spent most of the rest of that day on the couch wishing I could have a massage. Finishing and getting a t-shirt was my goal; I was happy. As the years passed and I approached the BIG 60, I started thinking about the Peachtree Road Race again and so we participated. Deciding that we probably should not trust our luck and see if we were still around at age 70, we have participated each year since then and my t-shirt collection has grown.We live only about an hour away from Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, and each November they have a Twilight 10K. All the Christmas lights/decorations are up and Christmas music plays throughout the course. So for the last two years, we¢ve enjoyed that run. Last year I finished 3rd in my age group. We didn¢t stick around for the Award Ceremony because I¢ve never won anything and never ever expected to place. I didn¢t know until we looked online and saw the result and even then it didn¢t dawn on me. My husband had to tell me I¢d placed 3rd. They were kind enough to mail me the medallion. Age does have some benefits; there were only 4 women in the 60-64 age group. I finished a minute or so ahead of her. What a hoot !!!Thinking about the possibility of a half-marathon, we trained and completed a 15K (9.3 miles); that distance was really difficult for me. At about the 7.5 mile mark when I would have liked to call it a day, someone had put a sign on a telephone pole that read "RUN, FORREST, RUN !" -- akin to "trail magic"-- maybe? I laughed and kept putting one foot in front of the other and to my amazement I didn't finish last. According to the race results, 11 women finished after me. Even if I would have been last, I would have been happy because my goal was to complete the distance. I learned the hard way about electrolyte replacement from that adventure. Immediately after that run, I cramped up all over my body. That was frightening and it hurt. I had consumed enough water and I wasn¢t dehydrated but my muscles needed more than water. On the AT it will be important to replenish electrolytes. It's good to set goals and achieve them. I don't consider myself a runner but I've been blessed to have finished the events I entered and finishing is my goal. The half-marathon post will be for another day.In the meantime, I'll continue to put time and miles on my feet by walking and hopefully my back muscles will become stronger as I hoist and carry my backpack in preparation for the AT. Presently, my lower back is NOT happy and the doctor says I'm experiencing some muscle spasms along with mild arthritic changes of my spine. I'll give my back a respite from the pack for a couple of weeks. In all fairness to my aging back, I expected too much from it too soon and I hope it forgives me.