I know, the title of the post peaked your curiosity. Well, be prepared for the story, as it is a long one.
First let me say, I am not perfect nor do I pretend to be. I'm no stranger to my own mistakes as I tend to make them daily. Just ask my wonderful wife. So, it's in a very light hearted and jovial fashion that I bring the subject to my blog. What subject? Read on...
As many of you know, I continue to strive toward my goals in my own health & fitness routine after my bypass surgery. Looking for a 2 hour finish at the Dallas Half Marathon next month, training for my first Sprint Triathlon next March. But, I also make sure to take part in some other races and events along the way. One of the events I like to take part in is a 5K race that is put on in my own town of Royse City in October of every year. This year, just like last, I ran the race. Of course, it was a little different than last year since I chose to carry Old Glory in honor of yet another one of our nations military veterans. This time for U.S. Army Sergeant Joseph Prince who served and fought in Vietnam from 1968 - 1970. The only thing was that I ran out of ink in my color printer and didn't realize this until the night before the race as I got home from one of my late night shifts at the State Fair of Texas. The stores were all closed so I had no chance of getting any replacement cartridges. I was completed disappointed in my lack of preparation in honoring a humble servant of our freedom. But, the show must go on right? I staged all my running gear for the next morning and told my daughter to be ready to leave by 6:30am to get ready to man the eater station that she had agreed to volunteer for.
This was going to be a special race for me because I get to see my wife's company on the back of the shirt since she agreed to sponsor the event. I got a preview of the shirt a few days prior and learned that she was taking center stage among all the other company logos printed on the shirt. It served as a good representation of how I see my wife day to day. Center Stage!!! She deserves a day in the spotlight. And so much more...
The next morning we arrive and I pick up my packet and bib and get her connected with the volunteer team for the water station. I've got my flag. I'm ready to go!! I go through my usual pre-race ritual of stretching and warming up while friends take candid photos and selfies as we are all warming up. A running buddy captured the image below of me in my new Hoka One One Stinsons in their first race and my team RWB regalia.
Well, I ran the race with no intentions of getting a personal record. I ran a good race and gratefully carried the flag honoring Sergeant Prince and felt good about the race. And at the finish line, I thought far enough ahead to drop my flag sideways to avoid hitting the uprights as I crossed the line.
At the medals ceremony, I just missed medaling in my age group (as I expected) by what I could only guess was a few seconds or perhaps a minute since I hadn't seen my official finish time. Then again, I may be giving myself more credit than I deserve. But, just go with it ok?
But, here's where the story comes full circle to the title of this entry...
I had to go to work at The State Fair of Texas directly after the race so I didn't get to go back to the race tent to get my official time before leaving. Later in the day, I checked the race results from my smartphone and found the "Gender Confusion". I searched for my name in the results of the race only to find that I was recorded as Desiree Jeson from Topeka Kansas with a finish time of 25:07 at an average pace of 8:05 per mile. Now. I'm not afraid to admit I have an X chromosome (all me do) but I have a Y chromosome to go with it making me 100% male. I'm not sure how the results got mixed up like this, but it gave me something to laugh about even in the midst of the frustration not knowing what MY finish time was. I wish I were capable of an 8 min pace. But, I'm not there yet. And I KNOW I didn't finish the race in 25 minutes for sure. Oh well,
Another race; another story to tell.
And by the way, I'm still working toward that 2 hr finish time for the Dallas Half Marathon. Nothing will stop me. Not heart disease. Not quadruple bypass. Not high cholesterol. NOTHING!! I'm a man on a mission.
Remember,
Happiness is a Choice; Make it Daily
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