I'M BACK!!!! Wow it has been a rough start to getting back into the running life. After my last painful 4 mile attempt at running, I felt pretty good overall with the week of training and results. My body however had its own view on what the hell I was doing to it. I got sick Friday night and it would not go away. At first I assumed it was just a touch of food poisoning, however I was miserable all week and the 100+ heat indexes along with work would not allow me to shake it. I tried to call in sick for work but I was denied.....not sure why I have sick days!
So here I am over a week later getting back into the groove of things. I have less then one week till my first race, but feel that I am ready. I am not sure I am at a very competitive level, but am really excited that the race is in my home town. My Parents moved out of Axtell when I was in college, along with every other relative I have, so it is nice to go back to where you are from.
This brings me to the focus of my blog today. This weekend I will also be attending my 15 year class reunion. I started to reflect the years of living in Axtell, USA and have to admit the sadness I have for not still having Axtell in my life as much as I used to. It is only in DJ jobs or reunions that I get to come back. I spent 19 amazing years growing up in a small town in northeast Kansas. From sports to cruising on Friday nights. I can honestly say that it is true when they tell you to "remember these years, as they are the best years of your youth". I can remember working for the city in the summer during the day, running 4 miles and sprints after work, lifting and drinking beer with classmates sharing stories of our first year in college. Seems like such a distant memory that gets pushed to the back with all the changes we all have in life. Bridge parties are replaced with birthday parties, waxing your car with packing the mini van, Axtell/B&B football game with all day soccer tourney...... we are grownsed up!!!!
I know all of us would not change anything to be where we are today, but does that mean we cant relive the past every now and then. What we did in the past is insignificant to most and honestly not nearly as a big of an accomplishment as it is to us and all around us. I think about winning the state championship in football in 1993 for example. I have many ex-teammates and co-workers who did not get why that was so big. Their schools had numerous state championships and they could not grasp that you had to compete against 100's of schools to get there. Same in track in field. In class 1A in KS there are over a 100 schools. It is safe to say that each one of the those schools had 1 person for every event. Take in consideration that some school, like Brewster when I won, had two guys that were good. So to win state against those odds is a great accomplishment.
Basically my new source of motivation has been converting VHS tapes to the computer/dvd's. I was fortunate to have 3 separate tapes that allowed me to remember friends, classmates and accomplishments. I have my junior year track, senior year track and jr/sr class play! I have watched them and it has made me eagerly anticipate going back to Axtell and running. What better place to run your first race of the season then the place where you ran a million races in the past. From racing bikes with friends as a kid, to running out of a moving truck while smashing pumpkins(real pumpkins not the band lead by the bald headed weirdo) to friday night football games (track meets to most of our foes!)....it will be a blast. To sum it up in the best way I can, I like to reference music and songs to settings. My days growing up in Axtell, Kansas are best summarized in the Kenny Chesney song "Back Where I Come From". I may push my body beyond limits next weekend, but will have a smile and know that I will enjoy a lot of memory lane all day!
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