You Dance a Dance Class

A few years ago (April 2009) I walked the Country Music HALF Marathon (CMHM) here in Nashville.  I found it a difficult thing to do, but not because of the distance or the effort required to complete it.  No, the CMHM was difficult for me because I walked  it surrounded by 35,000 other people (I hate crowds) while wearing a racing bib (I loathe nametags and anything nametag related) and I because there were always 34,999 people ahead of me in line for the porta potty. Also, the walkers are coralled at the back of the pack which means that I started walking over an hour after the Marathon officially began.  Once I finally started walking, it took me well over three hours to cross the finish line. It was a long day.   That very same day at that very same race, Joel ran his very first half marathon.  He started running over an hour before I started walking and he finished his half marathon in under two hours (1:58).  His day was much shorter than mine.  After my CMHM experience I decided to hang up my competative walking shoes for good.   

In the time since that race, Joel has become a competative runner. He runs so much and so often that the kids and I no longer feel obligated to attend his half-marathons.  Run a FULL marathon and we'll make the effort to cheer from the sidelines and greet him at the finish line, but run a HALF?  Call us when you're done.  My walking shoes, competative or otherwise, have not seen much use. Every now and then I go the the Y or walk around the neighborhood,  but my routine has been far from regular. You would think that living with a runner would increase my own get-fit motivation, but it hasn't.  Joel looks and feels great.  I do not. 

A few weeks ago I had my annual health screening at work and the test results were less than ideal.  Nothing serious, just some things I need to address sooner rather than later.  I spent an afternoon being miffed about the whole thing but then decided that I just need to get over myself and be grateful for fixable health issues.  I've put my walking shoes back on and I'm training to walk a half marathon here in Nashville in September. I decided to register for another half-marathon because quite frankly, I need a goal to walk towards. I would like to finish this race much closer to the three hour mark but I'm making no predictions. I wish I could say it feels good to be out walking again, but it doesn't - not yet anyway.  I'm hoping that will change but even if it doesn't I know that I've got to keep walking.  I can't let Joel have all the fun.

I tried to embed a clip from "Friends" (the best sitcom EVER) to help make my point but I can't get it to upload here.  The link to youtube works though, if you want to watch it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipsgYiyTpNc