Gordon Ferguson Yackle .10K Run for Parkinson's Disease

My first "race" of the season was last Saturday.  (Note, the word "race" is quite a stretch of the imagination.)  This was a .10K run benefiting research and awareness for Parkinson's disease.  Let me repeat that.... a POINT 10K race.  That's like 1/2 a block.  What? Yeah, it's an incredibly silly and fun race my cousins organized.    All participants are encouraged to enjoy a few pre-race energy drinks and pizza to prime you for the run.  And when I say pre-race drink, that means it has alcohol content.  Once the participants were on the way to being "loaded", all 350+ participants were herded down the street to the starting line--sort of like Ironman Racine 70.3 a couple years ago**.

 Me, my Dad, and Reg--pre-race

Interesting enough, the walk to the start point was longer than the run itself.  You could just feel the energy and excitement in the air as we awaited the start of the race. I looked down the street and was shocked to see the finish line still well within my sight.  Really....that's what .10K looks like?  The gun went off (actually, my cousin just said "go"), and we all started running.  Smiles, I saw lots of smiles.  At the half way point, another one of my cousins offered me a banana and a small bottle of water.  "Keep hydrated", they yelled.   I ran and before I knew it, the race was over...literally.  I laughed as I crossed the finish and then I laughed some more. No medals, ribbons, results, or prizes were given out. But, our post-race "drinks" were waiting for us at the finish line.

Reg, Dave, Ed and Me

Last year, there was a guy who completed it in a scuba diving gear outfit.  Nice.  This year, I saw a guy run with his pet parrot.  No kidding.

If there is one thing I take away from this race, it is this:

Have fun...have fun while you race, have fun while you train, have fun in your life!

Because there are many people, like my Aunt Carol who is challenged every day of her life as she deals and struggles with Parkinson's Disease.  Not every one can run, or walk for that matter, just a short point 10K distance.  So don't get mad if you didn't make your goal time when you cross that finish line.  Smile because you did it.  Smile because you were able to do it!  And if you don't finish,  smile because you at least tried!   You know that old cliche....life is short...so you better have fun and enjoy it!

My cousin Scott and my Aunt Carol

Tomorrow, I will be "racing" (said, very loosely), in the Naperville Women's Sprint Tri.  I hope to be smiling every stroke, pedal, and step along the way....for my Aunt Carol.
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**Ironman Racine 70.3 2008--The swim was canceled due to ridiculous rough waves....we had to walk to the new start of the race (run, bike, run).  Thousands of racers were  herded down the street like cows.  All we needed was our cowbells.  They do this in Switzerland with their cows...I've actually seen it.

Hey, hey...I'm back!

Hey all you bloggers out there...I've awaken from my blogging hibernation!

Hmmmmm, yeah, I'll take my award for "Couch Potato Blogger"now.   Although I may have been non-existent with any online posts, I haven't exactly been a "couch potato" in other aspects of my life.  After my Beach2Battleship race in November, I did take some much needed down time from any fitness activities. After  2 months of sitting idle and doing this and that (which didn't account for much), I discovered yoga.  IronSnoopy gave me a heads up on a local hot yoga studio owned and operated by Adrienne Hengels, an accomplished triathlete.  I was intrigued.  I needed something different to challenge me and more importantly, I needed a physical and mental break from the three disciplines of a triathlon.

On the first Monday of the new year, I began a 40 Day Personal Revolution Yoga Program.  Thanks to Adrienne (http://adriennehengels.blogspot.com) and her great instructors, I learned a lot about yoga in that it the practice is not only great for strength and flexibility but it soothes the soul and calms the mind.  I usually leave the yoga session feeling like I got my ass-kicked (it's freaking hard!).  But in the same token, my mind feels refreshed and much more at ease.

Besides adding yoga, I've been training with Endurance Nation and just completed 20 weeks of the out season program.  I believe in the philosophy that "work works".  During this time frame, bike and run intervals are the basis of my training sessions.  I'm hitting huge watts on the bike; and making marginal progress with my running (running is my nemisis--but doing my best to become friends with it).


Work has been work; and it's been keeping me busy.  I've been working through some issues (project-oriented) and lo and behold, I think I actually see a light at the end of the tunnel for some of them.  Oh, we also moved our office location once again.  I think we are on our 4th or 5th move in 9 years.  I'm hoping our new location complete with a warehouse will be it for a long time. (Man, am I really tired of moving both our office and our warehouse).


Oh, I also went to Mexico for a few days for some much needed R&R.  Ed and I went with The Mix (Chicago radio station).  Don't be jealous, but Train and Lifehouse actually performed on the beach while we sipped on margaritas and basked in the warm sun.  We had an absolute blast and met some really cool people.  The resort we stayed at was nestled in a gated village.  So I was able to get in a run and I got to tell you, the 70 degree temperature was heaven to me (it was March).  Loved it!

Today will be my inauguration race for 2010.  It's a .10 K race in Rockford IL.  Yes, .10 (that wasn't a typo or missed-placed period.)  How long could that possibly be?  It's about a block.  It's a fun and completely silly race with the goal of raising money for Parkinson's disease.  This is the second year, my wacky cousins have organized this race.  Unfortunately, my Aunt suffers with this dreaded disease.  It's a great event since everyone and anyone can participate.  And all you have to do to "train" is walk your way to the mailbox and back.  Race report to come!

Well that's it in a nutshell. I'm going to be making more of an effort to blog more.  Did you guys miss me?  (just a little?)