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Monday, May 22, 2006

59:59

I came. I ran. I'm sore.

Oh, and I finished. So that's something. But there are no trophies or awards for for 152nd place. Although I did get a t-shirt and a glass mug. There are no acceptance speeches, either. So I will make my acceptance speech here, in writing, to you, loyal blog readers.

After all, it was you who inspired me to get out of bed Saturday morning and run. In a sense. I was lying in bed at 6:45 thinking that I really did not feel like running. I really had not trained to run a 10K. And I really would like to go back to sleep for a couple more hours. Then I remembered.

I had blogged about running. I had to do it. Everyone would be getting to work Monday morning expecting to read about my race. And so it was decided. I could not let my blog readers down.

And yet another use is discovered for this thing called a blog. Motivation. Accountability. Perhaps I should try this with all my personal goals. If you blog it, they will come you will do it.

The weather was warm and humid. 77 degrees at the start of the race. I felt really good for the first 2.5 miles or so. And OK up until about 4.5 miles. There was a water station there. And shortly after that, as the sun beat down and my legs threatened to go on strike, I remembered something I already knew. It's all in your head.

Running becomes at least 90% mental at a certain point. From the 5-mile marker on, there was a constant battle going on in my mind. The lazy-Kevin-James-looking-Bone on my left shoulder kept reminding me how easy it would be to stop and walk. Or deposit my innards along the side of the road. But the fit-and-trim-body-of-a-taut-pre-teen-Swedish-boy-Bone on my right shoulder kept telling me to press on.

And so I did. It's nice to win that mental battle. At one point in the last mile, I began singing in my head the old gospel hymn "The Last Mile of the Way." And I may or may not have heard angels singing. I'm not sure if that helped. Or whether I thought it was referring more to the last mile of the race, or the last mile of my life.

There's a sense of accomplishment in just finishing the race. I had loosely set four goals for myself. Finish. Don't finish last. Run the whole way. And finish in under an hour. I did not know how realistic the latter was. Since I had not been training for a 10K, and had never run farther than 4.5 miles at one time. But I made it. By one second. Mission accomplished. Back to bed.

After liberally coating myself with generic Ben-gay (it's sad when you don't even have real Ben-gay), I took a short nap. The Equate ben-gay may cost twenty cents less. But it smells just as bad. And easily transfers from body to bed sheets. And lingers a bit. Even after one time thru the washing machine.

Went to see Poseidon Saturday night. Not something I was dying to see, but some friends were going and invited me. Had read poor reviews, but after seeing Richard Dreyfuss was in it, I was hopeful. But his role was all but pointless. What a waste of talent.

I wouldn't recommend it. It felt rushed. There was very little character development. Three of the female characters were all very similar-looking so that whenever they'd show one, I had a hard time telling which one she was. And while most of the special effects were good, a couple were cartoonish. The best part of the movie, besides the gratuitous Emmy Rossum wet-shirt cleavage shots... was... uh... oh, right. Josh Lucas. He was excellent.

The title of this post has a sort of double meaning. Besides being my time in the 10K Saturday. Tonight is the season finale of 24. I can hardly wait.

"You may need me there to carry all your weight. But you're no burden, I assure..."

19 comments:

  1. I am so completely stoked that you ran and finished the race... you have given me new motivation in my life. Today I was out of bed before 9am... mission accomplished.

    I really am proud of you Sir Bone, fine job.

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  2. YAY You! I'm so proud! And excellent that you met all your goals. What was your AG (Age Group) placement? That's what really matters!

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  3. So I'm envisioning you running with "Chariots of Fire" music in the background, as you talk to the fit-and-trim-body-of-a-taut-pre-teen-Swedish-boy-Bone to motivate yourself. :)

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  4. I need to get back to running... i miss it! With the move and changing jobs, i've been terribly busy!

    Good job!

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  5. Yay for you for finishing, and not coming in last. That's great! I'd love to be able to run. I want to run, but have no stamina, nor motivation to be uncomfortable with the negative self-talk running through my head.

    I wanted to go see DaVinci Code this weekend but didn't. That's the only movie that's on my radar of late.

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  6. OCG: Thank you. Glad that I have helped motivate at least one reader.

    Lass: Thanks. I'm not sure where I was in my age group. Probably not very high. But I plan to get faster. I know I passed at least two or three guys that looked to be over 60 :-)

    Carmen: Exactly! It would be great if I could get a car to ride along slowly beside me playing that music.

    Kerry: Thanks. I've been there. Haven't been running as much as I did last year. But maybe this will get me going again.

    Carnealian: It feels good. A sense of accomplishment.

    I almost want to see Lake House. Not sure if it's out yet. Why'd they have to go and screw up a perfectly good Sandra Bullock movie with Keanu.

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  7. Good for you on your first 10K! Not bad for no training. I remember my first time...ah. It was swelertering hot at the beginning of May and I had to ascend and descend the Savannah bridge twice. I felt a great sense of accomplishement afterwards....before I headed stright over for a beer.
    Josh Lucas is a crazy man. He was in Savannah for the filiming of "UnderTow" or something that sounds like that, which I never saw because it looks like it sucks, and he bit my dear friend Molly's ear in the middle of Pinkies, after offering to buy her a drink!
    Her friend Charlie (a.k.a. "Char-fly")marched over, bit him back and said, "we don't do that sh*& around here." The next night he came back and apologized, but still....wtf?!? It's all recorded in "The Pinkies Diary."

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  8. "I came. I ran. I'm sore."

    I'd love to be feeling like this. As it is I feel fat and full of sugar.

    Not a good look for me.

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  9. I'm so in awe. How cool of you to run and finish. I don't run. I read that women's bodies are not built for running because of the child bearing hips our knees come in at an angle which makes running no good. So I follow that advice. hee hee any excuse will do.

    But running at high altitudes is not a good thing...I tend to fall over. I can walk and that will work.

    You're right about the buffer zone. We are so going to need that. But it might be a moot point if I can't even find a house she can afford.

    I did find a few really small houses and on mobil home in that price range. No mountains though. I'm going to mail her a copy of the classifieds where they list the real estate and these listings along with a note with all the reasons she does not want to live in the mountains.

    Who knows, maybe she'll decide to stay put.

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  10. Yippeeeee, Bone. Great job finshing that run. Mental determination is sooooo fab. I should get some. ;]

    What's the next step? Going to train for another race? Try to beat your time? etc, etc, etc?

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  11. Good job on the race! I'm watching King of Queens right now as I read your blog. When you made reference to Kevin James I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

    I will keep your thoughts on Poseidon in mind. I've been debating whether or not I really want to see that movie. I went ahead and joined the masses of people to see The DaVinci code this past weekend instead.

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  12. Tenacious T: Now, now. I'm sure we all have our "Josh Lucas bit me" stories.

    I didn't know you were a runner :)

    Buffy: It is a good feeling. I have that full feeling way too often myself.

    Renee: The excuses normally outnumber the reasons to run. Hope you're able to maintain a bit of a buffer.

    Xinh: Thanks :)

    Blondie: Ideally, yes, I will try and get faster. And start running more.

    Krista: Well, it's tough to say no to the KJ-Bone. Because KJ has a cute wife, seems to enjoy life, yet he's a bit portly.

    How was The Da Vinci Code?

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  13. 1) Never buy the generic. It's not worth it in the long run. And Tiger Balm's better--sure it's on line.

    2) I lived in Queens until I was twelve and go to it almost every holiday--my sister's in laws--not every man is fat and out of shape with a beautiful wife. I can present as evidence my own family--not that the women aren't beautiful but the men are thin. Always feel a need to defend Queens.

    3) Running and finishing a race, especially on a weekend morning when actually they all seem to be takes discipline and more. Though doing things in the name of your blog is a good cover. When you win a Pulitizer you will say that you needed something to blog about. You will ;-)ll

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  14. I can't run either. I always have a five-year-old with me and she can't keep up. Leave her with the husband? When he's home, that's shopping time. I simply have no time to run. I think I'll go "run to the store." OOHH!!! I DO run, but only in the South!

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  15. Congratulations!

    My first race was a 10k too and I remember how great the sense of accomplishment was. Admit it, it's a good kind of sore, isn't it? Like a badge of honor. So what's next? Maybe the big 26.2?...

    Congrats again!

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  16. Congratulations. I keep thinking about trying to run a race, but never decide to do it (I'm more of a hiker, swimmer). But Bone, you did it! Good for you.

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  17. Hey....I'm impressed....I wouldn't have been able to finish a marathon. I can barely run to the mailbox without spraining something. Klutzy me!
    Well?!? Was 24 good? I haven't ever watched it, and am too far behind to start now. All I know is that Dave Barry assures me that Jack Bauer will shoot someone in the thigh every week ;). I also know that those folks that love 24, really love it!

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  18. The DaVinci Code was good. It's probably not an oscar winning movie but it was worth the money I paid to see it. All the reviews I read said it was bad. However, I usually have opposite opinions from the critics. It was interesting to see how they combined fiction with historical fact. If you can get past all the controversy surrounding the movie and just see it for the entertainment value then it's enjoyable.

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  19. Pia: Ha ha. Numbered comments. I like it. Liked the last one best.

    Groovie: I always tell the secretary at work, "I'm gonna run to so-and-so." And she'll say, "Why don't you drive? It'll be faster." Or in the winter, "Why don't you drive? It's cold out."

    Lizzie: Thanks. Uh, no. Not the 26.2. Hopefully some 5K's and 10K's. Then maybe, one day, a 15K. :-)

    Sage: Thanks. Hiking takes it out of you, too. Well, swimming also. They're all good exercise.

    Jennifer: Yeah. 24 was good. Although this is my first season to watch all the way thru. And I wasn't aware that there'd be a cliffhanger and we wouldn't know what happened to Jack Bauer until January 2007! Urgh.

    There also always seems to be a tanker truck nearby at the most convenient times. So that he can shoot it and blow up ten or twenty bad guys.

    Krista: Well, I never read the book. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm not really excited about the movie.

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