the [supporting] life

last weekend my team, participated in wichita's race for the cure. wanting to have a little fun with the team name this year i opted for "the septemberists", which i thought, not only played tribute to a great band, the month of the race, but also provided opportunity for some creativity with team uniforms.

having some discussion's with my team members about possible outfits, it quickly become apparent that the "vintage-tweed-look" i was hoping for, might not work for a race. we eventually narrowed it down to headbands and goofy socks.

we got there early saturday morning and prepared for our race, a 5k. a distance that had not previously been in my vocabulary. however, i had done some training, and felt i could do it, in slightly better form then that of, michael scott from nbc's "the office". i took a good 15 minuets to stretch and prepare my mind emotionally.

figuring a person can walk a mile in 15 minuets, i was hoping to finish under 45. i put 45 minutes worth of music on my "race_4_da_cure" play list on my ipod, and entered the line. the gun went off and i started my 3.1 mile trek. for the first part of the race, i just followed the herd and kept up. i was doing relatively well, up until the halfway point, where they were handing out water. as i approached the table of tiny cups, i was so excited! i thought to myself,

"wow, i'm actually in a race, long enough for people to hand out water, sweet!"

wanting to pull off a move like runner's do in the movies, i grabbed a cup up, as professionally as i could. as i snatched it up, some water splashed up and glistened in the early morning sun almost in what appeared to be slow motion. i kept my pace, opened my mouth and poured the water in....and immediately coughed most of it back up as most of it got into my lungs. not a pretty sight. obviously something i'll have to work on.


alright, i'll admit it.....i wasn't able to run the entire distance, i took a break in the middle, but upon hearing that we had 3/4 of a mile left from the other runners, i picked it up and finished the race, just back from a few mothers with strollers that i was drafting behind, but i am happy to admit that i still had two full songs left on the play list....you do the math.

all in all, i had a great time, and i want to thank everyone and anyone that participated for their support. the whole event is bitter sweet, and i was reminded in more ways then one that day, about the obstacles that are presented to us, in this life, and how no one is a failure that faces them head on and gives it their all.