5K - A Photo Essay

I spent the month of November training for a 5K race that took place on Thanksgiving Day. This picture of me flexing has nothing to do with that training, I just think it's a cool photo. Plus it's sure to be intimidating to all my foes (you know who you are).


These are the shoes and the new pedometer I bought prior to training. The shoes help me grip the pavement, and the pedometer shows me just how much time it takes me to run such a short distance. I'm pretty sure it makes fun of me when I'm not around.


This is my one-time training partner D-Lo. He was kind enough to join me one Friday for a run. I'm not sure why he wears that beanie -- he's already got a full head of hair to keep his dome warm. Maybe I should get one.


The 5K race took place in Fountain Hills, AZ at 7:30 on Thanksgiving morning. The whole night before, it poured down rain and only let up an hour before the race. It was a beautiful day for a trot.


Heidi and her sister Heather did the 2K fitness walk on the same day. This is us posing with the turkey mascot before the race began. That smile on my face is real.


This is about 1/3 through the race. At this point, I am still surrounded by a good handful of people -- the little 10-year-old girl running with her dad is not too far ahead of me. The only reason it looks like I'm running perpendicular to the crowd is because I am getting into position for my next photo.


This is the money shot. I love the look of determination on my face, my fists raised victoriously in the air, my gut and man-boobs flapping violently in the breeze. Unfortunately, this slight photo-op detour has put the 10-year-old and her dad out of my reach. The old man behind me, however, is going down!


This is the final straight-away. To my dismay, the old guy blew by me at about the half-way mark and I never really saw him again. At this point, no one is even running with me. The people on the left finished their race long ago, completed a full after-run stretching routine, downed some bagels and juice, took a dozen photos with the turkey mascot, and are now heading back to their cars.


Just a few strides away from the finish line at this point. Heidi is there cheering me on yelling, "You can do it Michael! Give it all you've got!". She told me later that she thought I would have kicked it up a notch on that last leg. What she didn't know is that I was giving it all I had. The remaining race-watchers were nice enough to shout some encouraging words to me while they waited for their 85-year-old wounded war-vet grandfathers to round the corner in their walkers. I could definitely feel them breathing down my neck that last quarter mile.


I'm now across the line. As I strain to fill my lungs with much-needed oxygen, the lady in blue takes a moment to check me out in my sexy, form-fitting red running shirt. I swear, sometimes a guy just wants to have a workout where no one ogles his rippling abs and rock-hard pecs. Am I nothing more than a piece of meat?


This close-up shot clearly shows the agony that I endured to get to this point. I had finished my first 5K run in 40:07 -- certainly not record breaking, but a steady 13.3 minute mile pace (pretty good for a fat guy). As my body began to recover, my eyes scanned the parking lot for the on-site ambulance and EMT team -- just in case.


As soon as I was certain that no medical intervention was going to be necessary, I stopped to take an after-race photo with my beautiful wife. I love that she was there with me, but that smile on my face is very forced. It took every last ounce of strength I had left to have my brain tell my facial muscles to make a smile. What a day!


Well, the first hurdle toward my ultimate 2009 resolution has come and gone. While I'm not terribly impressed with my 5K run, I think it marks an important milestone and showed me that I can improve. The idea of running 13.1 miles by next September seems daunting, but then again, so was the idea of running three miles by Thanksgiving.

Disneyland, here I come!