Aaron's
Crazy Race
AARON'S LAST-MINUTE RACE ENTRY
Day 8 -- Regression Is Undeniable
Today was busier than ever. After taking care of Holly, I helped the TV team which was back in the office all day. I dealt with several different projects and was going nonstop until I picked her up. I fielded numerous calls and e-mails -- ranging from doing sample calls for the TV team to making guest arrangements for the TV show to discussing a request to use part of the farm for a temporary paintball field. I did eat throughout the day in an effort to clean out my refrigerator. That gave me an excuse to eat anything and everything -- and I did.
I also had to deal with farm issues today as well as try to figure out how to save some of the 8,000 little seedlings I had purchased. The weather was heating up and they had not bee properly planted. I was disappointed in my lack of progress taking care of these little ones. By the end of the day, I was exhausted once again.
After picking up Holly and bringing her home, we got very little done but had a great dinner. Besides some vegetables and fruit juice, the main event was hot dogs and beans. I knew eating before running was a mistake but I especially knew beans could result in multiple breaches of running etiquette. Sadly, my willpower was long gone and I devoured most of the meal made for four.
At the YMCA, I weighed in at a pudgy 207. That made me feel as if I had made no progress at all. I was back to the same weight as when I had started training and had yet to run decently. This evening wasn't going to be any better. I knew eating before running again would make the effort difficult but this was impossible. I ran like an exhausted three-legged dog (actually, any dog with just three legs still would have easily outpaced me as they adapt far better than I adapt to having eaten before running).
Bill Jones's wife was walking the track as I ran and I was certain she noticed my labored breathing and glacial pace. If Bill had been there, he would have run three laps to every one of mine. I told her she might lap me that evening if I didn't find some strength. I avoided that humiliation... barely.
OK, I learned my lesson. I promised I would never eat and run but, instead, would reverse that order to run and eat. I stopped after 55 laps to take a break which benefited everyone within 100 yards of me. I decided to come back to finish at least the minimum of 75 laps (roughly 6 flat, easy miles) and added the final 20 so I could claim I had done the run. Pathetically, it had taken me 86 minutes to complete 75 laps. That worked out to about 15 minutes a mile or over an hour and a half for a 10K race. Holy cow!
There was no question -- I was regressing rather than progressing. With the Race coming up and few opportunities to run, I began to consider walking the route rather than running it. Wait a minute, who was I fooling? I already was going at a walking pace!
Maybe I was just kidding myself and it really was time to hang it up? Nah, I was too macho for that conclusion. Only when they carried me out on a stretcher would I admit it was time to retire. Heck, if Oprah could run a marathon, I certainly should be able to survive a 10K, right? (What did Oprah have to do with this anyway?) I decided to see if postponing dinner until after running helped as well as seeing if I could reduce my gluttonous behavior. Food was one of my greatest pleasures but I knew I had to exercise some restraint. Was the introduction of willpower in my future?
Note: To enter in the Bolder Boulder and run with Aaron, go to www.BolderBoulder.com.
NEXT: Day 9 -- Still No Progress In Sight
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