For the boys

Today was my treadmill-a-thon to raise money for my son’s all-star team. I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to all of you who pledged and encouraged me along the way. It means so much more than I can say.

The final tally was 75 minutes and $90 pledged. (I had one very generous donor offer an additional $15 on top of minutes already pledged.  You know who you are, and you know I love you.) So I laced up my Nikes (seriously, Nike, call me for some sponsorship or whatev. I’ve been a Nike girl since I started running at age 11. Look closely at that pic up there in the banner.), filled a couple water bottles, tuned my mp3 to my Sounds of Spring playlist and got busy.

Sexy, huh? Be grateful it's not scratch 'n sniff.

I am really proud to say that I kept up a good pace, even working in some sprint intervals. In fact, I went much harder than I thought I would. I did a 5K in about 46 minutes. I upped my “walking” pace to 4.0, which used to be my “running” pace a few months ago. I did a few speed intervals at 5.5 mph. The soggy, crappy weather has made my bum ankle a bit cranky lately (shall I just start referring to it as my “crankle”?) but I decided to run through the pain and you know what? It’s fine. At around 63 minutes, my Sounds of Spring playlist was almost done and I wasn’t quite ready for a crooning Uncle Kracker, so I jumped the deck (safety first! No more falling off the frackin’ treadmill–OK, I probably will) and tuned over to another playlist for Hurts So Good and Jessie’s Girl, two well-paced songs for running. And you know by now that I live and die for irony, so as I cranked up to 5.5 mph to do a nice run after more than an hour on the treadmill, I kind of chuckled that it really did “hurt so good.” An elbow dig on every drum beat powered me through to the end. I slowed for a bit to catch my breath on Jessie’s Girl and then at 74 minutes I busted out a 1-minute 6.0 mph sprint to end it.

786 calories burned, 75:05, 5.08 miles - PHEW!

I am especially proud that I covered more than 5 miles in 75 minutes. I’m no math whiz, but I know that’s a sub-15 minute mile pace and I haven’t been able to do that consistently for a longass quite a while. I grinned at the photo I keep by my treadmill–the one my sister took of me at age 14, decked out in running gear, down in the starting position, and fit as a fiddle. I know I’ll never be that girl again–5′7″ and 135 pounds of sprinting fury. For one thing, I’m two inches taller now, and for another thing, I’m pretty sure I’ve got the better part of that 135 in my bra. So, no. But I did close some distance on the gap today, and I’m happy with that.

But enough of that. What really, REALLY makes proud is those boys who go out and hustle every game, practice good sportsmanship, and cheer on their teammates, regardless of the score. This is why they’re all-stars. I’ll take hustle and a good attitude over talent and skill any day, but these kids have it all. It is my pleasure to watch them play each week and their enthusiasm is infectious.

What makes me proud is the way our team’s parents have sprung into action to raise funds for this team and have not turned down one request to help. Like most parents, they would do anything for their kids, and they have proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

What makes me proud is all of you–Jacqueline, Josie, Susan, Ernise, Sue, Shannon, Karen, Lori, Pocket, and Joanna–who pledged to help a good cause. And all of you who’ve helped spread the word on Twitter. You let everyone know that you think promoting good health is a better way to raise funds for a kids’ sports team than selling sugary treats. You are all people of principle, and I salute each and every one of you for joining me in this endeavor. (Truth be told, somewhere around minute 50, I swore I heard Sue whispering, “Go hotass, go,” in my ear. Might’ve been the ZZ Top. Not sure.)

At any rate, I know I speak for all of the parents when I say thank you for your support!