Azalea Trail Run

Fred and I began running together not too long after we got back from Christmas break. Running was something that I really wanted to do. It ended up that Frederick was feeling the same way. So we committed to run four days a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. I will admit that there were many days that I tried to talk Fred out of running, and there a few days that he did not want to run as well. But together, we stuck with it.


After about a month of running, I proposed that we run in the Azalea Trail Run. This year, they were introducing a 5k run. "Perfect," I thought. As March 27, 2010 came closer, I printed off the forms, filled them out, wrote a check, and mailed them in. It was on at this point. We were officially doing this! Spring break was a challenge. We both decided to actually take a break from everything, including running. Not so smart... but we ran the Tuesday and Thursday back from Spring Break.



And then Saturday finally rolled around. We both set our alarms for 6:00 a.m. I ate a little something for breakfast, took a quick shower, and headed over to Fred's place to pick him up. He drove downtown, and we figured out where the start was. We ran into Brian Himes before the race started. After a much needed bathroom break for the boys, we lined up and waited for start. Then... we were off.

The run started off slow... and a lot of dodging people was involved. Fred decided that he was going to stay with me the whole way since we "were doing this together." I was not expecting to run the entire way. But Fred asked how I was doing at the 2-mile mark, and I was feeling fine. I asked him NOT to let me quit, and he agreed. The last turn of the trail was a killer! My breathing shifted to my stomach, and I was getting winded. But Fred said with a stern voice, "You're not quitting." "Yes sir," I replied, and we carried on. We both crossed the finish line at 30 minutes 55 seconds.

I was just so excited that (1) we both set a goal and met it, (2) we ran the entire way... although I was the only one in question, (3) we did it together on a gorgeous, early Saturday morning.



The rest of day was just as great as the beginning! We picked up our shirts (and numbers) after the race, and decided that the game plan was going to be: clean up and brunch at Waffle House. Waffle House totally hit the spot for both of us. We then went back to his place and spent sometime outside in the sun reading Calvin and Hobbes.

I had to work from 2-8 p.m., but it went by rather quickly. Almost everyone that came through my line was pleasant. Fred picked me up on break for Sonic run, and then back to work for another 2.5 hours. I drove back to my place after work, and he picked me up from my car to take me back to his place for requested macaroni and cheese and Star Wars. We called it a night after the movie went off. But wow! It was really a great day.