And I Ran...I Ran So Far Away

So this is really dumb: I'm running a 5K on July 4th. Correction: I'll probably be walking most of it, with a dash of jogging and maybe a sparse sprinkling of actual running. It's kinda amazing. I mean, I signed up for this darn thing over a month ago and...guess what?! That month sure did pass by quickly.

But, I'm going to go and I'm going to stick it out. Have I been "really" training? No. Have I been walking more and more each week, eating better, and lost weight? Yes. Will I be traversing the course with a trained, seasoned athlete who will help me gauge my ability to finish all five K's? Also yes. Which is why I'm going to show up, tough it out (within healthy, reasonable limits), and hopefully use this event at the kick in the butt I need to get serious about the 10K in the fall.

Is this a pretty crazy, slightly not-smart plan. Probably. But like I've said before, I'm not one to live my life without a little extreme behavior now and then. Who know? Maybe I'll end up like Emil Zatopek (above), the only athlete ever to win the 5K, 10K, and Marathon in an Olympics. Only instead of a quadrennial sporting event, my accomplishments might come over the course of a year, or a lifetime.

This Saturday just might be the start of a beautiful thing.