Memorial Day Classic

I've been trying to garner the motivation to run a 5K for a while now. I originally targeted the Shoney's 5K this past spring - (Because, come on, what's better than an appearance by Shoney Bear and a post-race buffet?) - but we ended up having a scheduling conflict that day. Instead, I settled on the Memorial Day Classic in neighboring Hendersonville, Tenn.

Aside from some minor setbacks like locking my keys in the car prior to the race, things went well. I beat the goal I established for myself in terms of finishing time and went home with an age-group medal to boot. I believe the last age-group medal I received was when I was a teenager. The guy who finished in first place asked what my next race was going to be. My thought was, "To the fridge."

The advantage of having locked my keys in the car was that Erica came by with the kids after the race. They arrived in time to hear my name announced as an age-group winner. I want to lead by example for the kids on many things, including the importance of taking good care of your body. Based on his comments as I arrived at the car, Graham was clearly impressed.

"Congratulations! I wish you had gotten first place, but second place is pretty good, too."

I took this before the race, not as I headed toward the finish line. That would have been impressive.

I was pleasantly surprised to head home with an age-group medal.