A couple of weekends ago I participated in the World’s largest (or is it longest?) relay, PTC http://www.hoodtocoast.com/index_ptc.php. The company I work for sponsored our team and we have been training for months. I am the only person on the team with experience, so 11 of us were just stepping out on faith. Not only did most of us have to build from 0 miles to 3-4-5-6-7 miles but we had to be in good enough shape to turn around and do it again 9 hours later.
I thought committing to the relay would give me a goal that would help me get into shape. Maybe it worked but I have been disappointed in myself. My blood pressure has come down from pretty high numbers that caused my doctor to give me blood pressure meds to a blood pressure of 117/77. But I have not lost any weight at all. Such a disappointment. I ended up with back pain 2 weeks before the event that stopped me cold. But the yoga class helped me at least be able to walk. Not sure walking was going to be fast, but I could walk.
On the day of the walk (or race as someone so eagerly pointed out to me) I looked around and saw the most courageous people. Yes, those younger folks walked really fast. But there were older people and there were heavy people, and there was a blind team that just humbled me. The important thing is to get out and do it.
The interesting thing to think about is why we do these relays and 10ks, why we climb mountains and why we ride 500 miles on a bike, why we race cars and why we ride dirt bikes, why we bowl 100 games a week, and why we ski and skate board. Our lives are not dangerous; we rarely face risks. We simply hunger for accomplishments bigger than our desks and files.
As I recovered from my little “race” it seems that the stress of the race triggered a small case of shingles on my face no less. Again, I am reminded that our bodies are precious and we have no idea what lies deep in our systems, just waiting to pop out. Last night I heard someone on TV say that “we gotta take really good care of our bodies JUST IN CASE we get sick!” Well, I am going to keep on walking! DKU
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