I went through my first obstacle like the fleet-footed sports writer I’m training to be.
Actually, more like Fred Flinstone swiftly gliding through a bowling alley, light on the feet but heavy on the stomach.
As I broke past the halfway point toward July 4th’s Baytree 8K, I made it through the training trap known as Mrs. Fazio’s kitchen. Never you mind that it was just barely.
After hearing the news that this running gig was paying off in the health department, I held my head high on the way to Florida. I was focused on continuing my almost daily running.
Easier said than done.
First off all, if you combine dozens of tanning beds and put them a foot above your head, you’ll have to wear a jacket compared to the furnace that is the Sunshine State.
The window to do any activity outside the safety of air conditioning is about as small as a ship’s porthole, and with my almost non-existent mornings is reduced even smaller.
But, you’ve read my columns throughout this endeavor, you know I’m a machine. I woke up bright and early, just three hours after sunup.
OK, maybe not early, but it was definitely bright. I was able to tour my parents’ neighborhood and the surrounding area without suffering heat stroke, dehydration or sun poisoning.
On my way back to the house I was now thinking that my parents know I’m serious — they see me running. There will be no more than the two varieties of cookies already freshly baked on the counter.
No, instead my dad urged me to shower to get to lunch. It was 11 a.m. I had been up for two hours.
Coming home from lunch, it was off to the golf course. Good, more activity to counteract the chicken and rice in my belly. However, back from the golf course, directly to dinner. The hard part was saying no to the dessert back home. It would be easy if this was just a cookie or two, but not at my house. There are more delicious leftovers than all the Old Times buffets in Georgia. Dinner was followed — unfortunately for my waist line, and fortunately for my taste buds — by mom’s pork roast from the previous night, followed then by fresh out of the oven orange-pecan cake and then the cookies.
OK, this training just took on some weight, but I was destined to stick to my running. And surprisingly I did.
After coming back to Valdosta, I continued eating like a single young man, paid accordingly for working at a newspaper and was back to running in dusk.
All in all, the damage of going home was minimal, and everything is back to normal. I even left the confines of the high school track and have been taking the scenic route around VSU and other exotic locales.
I am feeling confident about achieving my goal now just two and a half weeks away.
And with all that home cooking, I have the nutrients and warmth of two parents to get me through the last half of the training.
Baytree 8k
June 18, 2007
Nothing can stop me now.
- Baytree 8k
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Seppala takes 8K again
The field was bigger, the weather was hotter, but the result was the same: John Seppala dominated the Baytree 8K.
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Seppala runs away with Baytree 8K
On Wednesday, John Seppala ran away from the other 180 runners at the Baytree 8K road race.
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Column: I did it!
Wow, I did it!
- Column: It’s finally time for the race Dear Valdosta,
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BAYTREE 8K - Registration Form
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Training for 8K is getting me healthier
OK, it’s hitting me. Five miles is a long way. But for me, running just two is also coming a long way.
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Rise and shine, 8K runner
This far into preparations for the Baytree 8K, my legs are supposed to be a little sore. However, I can’t tell over the pain my fist is experiencing from the fifth week.
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Nothing can stop me now.
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Baytree 8k, Here I come!
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Week 2 and still training
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