Crossing the Finish Line
August 19, 2008
I hate running for exercise. Just the thought makes me shudder. All the aches and pains that come the day after I can do without. I have no motivation to put my fragile body through that! 2008 Reggae Run The other day fellow LUCRUM employees Steve McWhorter and Julie Grant were talking about training for the Reggae Run and I volunteered to train for it as well.
What was I thinking? I hate running! So this weekend I started my training. I started “wogging”, a combination of walking and jogging. I wogged 4 miles on Saturday and about 3 miles Sunday. It was too much for my out of shape self because I hurt my foot and could barely walk the last 1/2 mile on Sunday. My training is already off to a bad start…curse those Oreo cookies I ate last week! I’m probably carrying around another 5 pounds because of that cookie binge.
During my “wogging” on Saturday I came up with the perfect motivation to keep me running and participating in future marathons. (Okay, the Reggae Run is not your typical marathon, but to me, 5K might as well be). A close friend of ours has an inoperable brain tumor that is slowly growing and at only 34 years of age, its a scary reality for him and his wife to face. Saturday, as I’m sweating and cursing with the hot sunshine on my face, I think, “I’ll do it for Johnny 5. I’ll run my butt off and send all this positive energy his way in hopes it will help him through this ordeal.” I’m the last person to believe in all that mumbo-jumbo…healing crystals, your individual chi, feng-shui…yada yada, but for Johnny, I’d do anything to help him get better.
When I first met him 7 years ago, I nicknamed him Johnny 5 after that cute little robot from that 80’s movie Short Circuit. That was Johnny, the sweet guy in the group. It’s like in every group of friends you have the Jock, the Ladies Man (sometimes more than one), the Comedian, the Leader, and the Quiet One. That was Johnny, the Quiet One. All my girlfriends loved him because he was so easy to make blush and the easiest one to talk to about anything. He was like your little brother that you wanted to protect from all the “Cougars” out there.
Another friend just recently convinced me to run in the United Air Force Marathon held in Dayton on September 19. I’m only doing the 5k portion but it’s so soon, I know I won’t be ready. When I’m embarrassing myself by crawling to the finish line on my hands and knees, at least it won’t be front of friends and family from Cincinnati.
So when I’m huffing and puffing next to my fellow LUCRUM employees in the Reggae Run I’ll keep thinking of Johnny and what he’s going through. I’ll make it to that damn finish line no matter what! Even if I’m the very last runner I’ll pass the finish line with my hands raised like an Olympian. I now have huge motivation for the worse exercise known to man (in my opinon), but best of all I have the perfect inspiration. If you have anyone who might motivate you to do the same, join us on October 4th, 2008 or be there on the sidelines to cheer us on. I’ll be wearing a t-shirt that says, “4 Johnny 5“.
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YOU CAN DO IT!!!