The Accidental Half-Mary, Part One
Some of you might know of this but I have been in a bit of a
tear as pertaining to physical activity lately.
From a not-so-picturesque 217 lbs last January 2005 I was
able to change with the grace of God and the support of my wife and friends old
habits that enabled me to live a healthier, more fit lifestyle today.
One part that eluded me though was even if I had the reached
the highest fitness level of the last say, two decades, I had no sport or
recreational activity that I was good at.
Ball sports was out, so baseball, basketball, volleyball
were off the table. Funny how I am a recovering gamer-holic and here I am with
poor hand eye coordination.
I love rifle shooting, but have no access or friends who can
join me in this fun activity.
Waffle making is not a sport, eh?
But then I stumbled on running. Well really, I stumbled on
Bayonne Park, NJ this summer, and started to run on the running track.
Such fun! I am not breaking any speed records mind you, but
a physically intense activity that I have the skill set for, with increased
caloric demands to boot! Roughly translated, that meant I get to eat more and
still stay lean. Hee.
So with some trepidation I signed up for a 5-kilometer race
in Jersey City, NJ to benefit the JC Medical Center Children Hospital.
Easy, I thought. I am in a half-marathon training program,
so by week 5, a 3.1 mile run or this 5k should be relatively simple.
Then a funny thing happened on the 8th of October in 2006.
