Welcome to the official training blog of ulcerative colitis survivor Tom Meersman!

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed of my progress training to run a half-marathon for ulcerative colitis on July 20, 2008 in Napa, California. You gave money to help me get there, you deserve to know how I'm doing!

On January 16, 2008 I had my ileostomy taken down allowing me to go to the bathroom like a normal person again. I weighed 140.5 lbs. and had the energy of a tortoise. This is my progress since then.

Thursday May 29, 2008

Weight: Unknown. I didn't come within 10 feet of a scale today. Actually I did, just not with my shoes off.

I ran 1.56 miles today. It was bogus.

There you have it, a measly blog for a measly workout.

Wednesday May 28, 2008

First off I'd like to start off with a very Happy Birthday to a frequent visitor to the blog Aunt Sue. Happy Birthday Scoooooty!

Weight: 178 lbs. I am no longer the 180 pound beast that I was two days ago.

There was no working out yesterday because it conflicted with my sister's high school graduation. I was forced to prioritize between my own well-being and her graduation and I selflessly chose her graduation.

I could say I'm so proud of her, or I could say it's high school, you should graduate. I'll stick with both.

Today I went up to Cardinal Fitness to work out. No big surprise there. However, how I made my way up to Cardinal was a little different. My car was blocked in and I really wanted to go, so I was like, "Well self, I guess you're going to have to run up there." So I grabbed a bottle of Propel, wrapped my hand around it and took off out the front door. It's always sweet getting to the gym and already sweating. It looks really classy.

Once I was there I lifted and ran some more on the treadmill. I went 2.25 miles on the treadmill. Add that to the run there and the run home, and it'll get me about 3.25 miles. Decent run today.

I found out once I got home that my mom went creeping on me and drove by and looked at me through the window while I was on the treadmill at Cardinal. What a creep.

She claims that she went up there to see if I was done and needed a ride home. The validity of that statement is TBD. A ride would've been nice though as it was "chilly-con-carne" as my mom would say, on the way home. That means that it was really cold.

Decent day working out. Still would like to get better. I got to watch the Celtics while I ran today as well. That was nice. Go Celtics.

Monday May 26, 2008

Happy Memorial Day to everybody! I am enjoying my 3rd straight day off of working. Nothing is more beautiful than not having to work.

Weight: 180 lbs.! That's right I said 180 pounds! I have finally made it all the way back to the weight that I consider "normal" for myself. My whole adult life before colitis when asked my weight my response was "180." It has been a long, long road getting back to 180 pounds, but I'm glad I'm there. I can definitely tell a difference from when I was that scrawny 140 pound colitis-ridden man. I look and feel so much better. It is great!

Yesterday I guaranteed the world that I would run at least 4 miles. I am a man of my word. Today I went 4.05 miles on the treadmill. Let me tell you, it felt awful. I wanted to quit so often and I probably would have had I not made that guarantee the day before. I didn't want to let myself down. So I toughed it out and made it over 4 miles. My time was slow, especially the second half of it, but I did it.

I need to start running longer distances and I need to start going outside. I will hopefully try running outside this week. I just don't want to be thirsty. But it would behoove me to run outside being that the half-marathon isn't ran on a treadmill. If I'm struggling to run on the treadmill, the outside world will be even harder. I have to prepare myself for it.

Today was a decent day though, going over 4 miles and hitting the 180 lbs. milestone. Now, I'll probably help my mom some more around the house. Because I am a good, and not to mention her favorite, son.

Sunday May 25, 2008

Weight: Unknown. I didn't weigh myself today. However, I did weigh myself on one of the days that I didn't blog/do anything and I weight 179.5 pounds. That is as close to 180 lbs. as you can get. Or at least as close as the scale in the bathroom can get.

Workouts have been few and far between as of late. I have been finding it harder and harder to motivate myself to go run. I been doing stuff and really I just don't enjoy running. There isn't a whole lot about it that you could consider fun. Even though I'm not ready for it, in some ways I wish the race was tomorrow. Then it could be over and done with. I think I will continue to workout after the race is over with, just not nearly as much as I do now, or at least should be doing now. Once it's come and gone I'll probably work out a couple days and week and I'd imagine I'd feel much better about myself then. I say that because if I go two or three days in a row without working out I won't have the guilt like I do now. Whenever I skip a day of working out, I mentally beat myself up and say, "Come on Tom, you're better than that, you know you have to work out." Usually I counter this by not talking back to myself.

I skipped a few days in a row of working out. Either three or four. I don't really know, I sort of lost count. I guess that's the sad thing about it. I've been busy though. I've been helping my mom fix up the house for my sister's graduation party. That has been no small chore. We have been outside pretty much this entire weekend doing work to the house.

On Saturday we put a clear-coat finish on the deck. That was quite the project. It wasn't bad doing the floor of it, but the railings took forever. It looks very nice though.

We also did some trimming of the ugly trees that our neighbors have in the backyard. We trimmed a lot of the branches that were hanging over into our yard. My mom also spray painted a white chair, yellow. She is such a good little spray-painter.

That was my day on Saturday so that's why I was exempt from working out at all. It was such a laborious day working in the yard that I didn't have time to go up to Cardinal Fitness and work out at all. I think I was justified in skipping working out on Saturday because there is no better thing in the world that you could be doing than helping your mom out around the house. That is what I've always said and I stand by my words.

Sunday we again did work around the house. We planted some bushes, put down some dirt, and did some other various activities that needed to be done.

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So it has been a busy couple of days at the house. Not a whole lot of time to work out. I however was determined to find a little bit of time today to work out. It turned out to be a very little bit of time.

I went to Cardinal Fitness and ran 1.05 miles. I was hoping to do a lot more, but I just wasn't feeling it. I am not motivated for some reason and I should be. It is getting down to the nitty gritty here and I need to start working out harder. Much harder. I think while I'm running I look for any little excuse I can find to stop running. Like if my leg itches, well then I need to stop running. If I get thirsty in the least, I stop running. I need to stop being such a wuss and just suck it up and run hard. The race is getting so close. I want to make sure I'll be able to finish it. I will feel awful if I don't.

Tomorrow I have a guarantee. So far whenever I have guaranteed something on the blog I have followed through on it. I think it's only happened twice, but hey, it's something. Tomorrow I will run at least 4 miles. Guaranteed. Book it. If I don't do it I will come up with some way to adequately punish myself.

We also have more work to do tomorrow around the house. Hopefully this won't impede again on working out.

Tuesday May 20, 2008

Weight: 178 pounds. My highest weight to date. I am getting ever so close to that much coveted 180 plateau.

Well once again I had a lapse in my blog writing. Once again there was a revolt by the people against me due to my lack of blog writing, and once again the charge was lead by Grandma Rosie. She sends me e-mails reminding me that I have been slacking. My blog equals excitement and when I don’t write one she is lost.

Oftentimes I just can’t find the time to do it. Right now I am on my lunch break and thankfully Culver’s provides free wi-fi, so I’m able to do it. So I look like a dork right now sitting here eating a Double ButterBurger with cheese and typing away on my laptop. Speaking of ButterBurgers, why does Culver's put a pickle on top of the bun of your burger even though you order it ketchup only? I don't know. I will never understand. I hate pickles, I don't want that juice soaking into my bun. Wise up Culver's. Culver's is busy right now and someone just yelled from the back, "We need a runner!" Do you think they were referring to me? I would have to assume so.

I’ve been working out, but I’ve also been getting lazy as far as working out is concerned. Americal Idol ends this week and hopefully that will help me resume a more rigorous workout schedule. We shall see. I’m looking forward to it ending though so now I have every night of the week free to workout. Except when the White Sox play. Just kidding. I can miss a couple innings of White Sox baseball to workout.

I went to Cardinal Fitness this morning before work. It was the first time in a long time that I have gone before work. I wasn’t too happy to go when I woke up, but I have to say I’m glad I did now. It’s nice to know that it’s over and done with and that I can go home and just relax. I have been going after work and while I like sleeping in, I just think it’s a lot harder to get motivated to work out after a long day of work. I work all day, go home, have to eat something because usually I’m starving, and then I have to wait for my food to settle and sometimes that takes a while. Like last night we had tacos. I was in no shape to run and have my belly bouncing all over the place after downing about a pound of taco meat. It just isn’t feasible. Maybe I’ll have to proactively get myself up in the morning and start going then. When I went in the morning I was my most consistent. But I also did run into the problem that I couldn’t run as long as I wanted due to the fact that I have to be at work.

Speaking of work, I finally made it on the bike to work. I failed on Tuesday and Thursday of last week. That’s right, the chain fell off on two occasions. So I returned Guarino’s garbage bike and borrowed one from Stew and Cathy Magnuson. Their bike was much better than Guarino’s. I made it to work without a problem. It was about 6 miles each way. I was fine riding to work and then once I got here and stopped riding I began to sweat. It was pretty sweet being at work and being all sweaty. Not to mention it was windy and my hair was all puffy. It was pretty awesome. My mom says that when I ride a bike to work it looks like I’m doing it because I have my license suspended for something. But that’s not the case, I’m doing it because I’m the man. Plain and simple.

Well now that I got all that out of the way, on to my workout of the day. It was a measly one at best. I lifted some weights, which felt good. But then when I got to the running, things didn’t go so well. I went 1.11 miles until my shins started killing me, so I had to stop. I don’t know why they hurt so bad today, but they did. I didn’t like it. I need to start working out harder. I’m being foolish. It's exactly 2 months to race day. I need to get my butt in gear. I want to have a strong showing at this race. I need to work out! Grandma Rosie, please motivate me.

Tuesday May 13, 2008

Weight: 175 pounds.

I don't know what inspired me more: my bike riding from the day before or the fact that is National Ride Your Bike to Work Week, but I decided to ride my bike to work. It's not actually my bike, I borrowed it from Adam Guarino, and little did I know that he was loaning me a death trap.

I left 45 minutes before work started and embarked on my 5.6 mile bike ride to work. I was excited to help get myself in shape, help the environment and save some gas money by riding my bike to work. I was 3.1 miles into my trip when all the sudden the chain on the bike fell off. I sat there for 15-20 minutes desperately trying to figure out a way to get this chain back on the bike without dirtying my work clothes that I was wearing. Annoyed and embarrassed, I finally decided that it was no use, I wasn't going to get the chain back on. Like a defeated warrior, I called up my boss Kathy and explained to her that I was stranded. Most people call-in because their car won't start, it's not everyday someone calls into work to say that they're going to be late because their bicycle broke down. She offered to come pick me up and as soon as I hung up the phone with her a man came over to me from a house nearby where I my bike failed on me. He had a van with the backseat out and offered me a ride. I accepted, called Kathy back and he drove me home to where I then in turn drove my car to work. Whatever purpose I had in riding my bike to work was effectively defeated as I ended up driving a car anyways. I don't know if I will attempt to ride the bike to work again or not. I don't want to have to have my bike towed two days in a row.

I went to Cardinal for just a short time tonight. I ran a mile the fastest I have since I started this training. 8 minutes and 17 seconds. Almost a full minute faster than my previous best. I didn't run much longer, I finished out the full ten minutes and called it quits. I didn't feel very good. I just ate two cans of tuna, with about half a jar of mayonnaise and it just wasn't sitting well with me. So, I decided to stop short. It was a life lesson learned not to eat tuna and mayonnaise before a run. Now I can scratch that off of possible pre-race breakfasts in Napa. That and riding bikes may not really be very efficient. That's all for tonight.

Monday May 12, 2008

Weight: 174. You figure out the unit of measurement.

I didn't end up working out on Sunday. I spent a lovely weekend up in the great city of Madison, Wisconsin to celebrate the birthdays of Peggy and Kate.

I was too wiped out on Sunday to partake in any physical activity. I was scheduled to do my long run then too, so I guess it was the perfect day to miss!

Monday is the day that is supposed to be "active recovery." We are supposed to do some easy work to rest up from our long day on Sunday. As it's been documented, I didn't have a long day on Sunday, but I still took it upon myself to have active recovery on Monday. I hit up the stationary bike at Cardinal Fitness. I went 6.17 miles in 20 minutes on the bike. That's almost half a half-marathon on a bike. I hope to get up to the point where I can run 6.17 miles in 20 minutes. Really if I could run the half-marathon in under 45 minutes that would be great. Any longer than that and I'll get bored.

Saturday May 10, 2008

Weight: 174.5 pounds. Losing weight apparently.

I went to Cardinal Fitness at about 10 o'clock on this Saturday morning. It was the first time I had been there in the morning hours of a Saturday. Not that crowded, that's always good. Recently I've been going more and more after work as opposed to before work and I think I'm starting to dig that a little bit. I definitely seem to fit in better with the other members of Cardinal Fitness who go at this time. Nothing against women in their mid-60s, I just prefer to be around people who are my own age. The mid-20s crowd is definitely more prevalent in the evening as opposed to the morning.

Today on my training schedule it recommended an easy 25 minute run. Well being the so-so competitor that I am, I like to take everything that everyone else is supposed to do and scale it back a notch. It's kind of like the opposite of the Michael Jordan factor. He liked to go above and beyond everybody else, but I'm no Michael Jordan. So, I did a nice easy 20 minute run instead. I figure it's almost 25 minutes and almost is just as good as actually doing it. Or at least it almost is. Make sense? Sure.

So today I ran 20 minutes for 2.04 miles. It was a decent run. I completed my first mile in 9 minutes and 9 seconds. I believe this is my fastest one-mile time to date in my post-colonic period. I was pleased with it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another one of the longer days. I hope to be able to do it. I have some reservations about it because I'm going out of town and will probably have some beers. In my post-colonic state, beers usually have an effect on me that results in me not feeling like doing anything but sleeping the day after having them. So we shall see how that goes. I ran like a month ago a day after having some beers and I didn't feel like running before I started, but once I was done running I felt great for the rest of the day. So, perhaps that is what I need to do. Maybe just sweat it all out. But, contrary to what Tom Petty says*, starting is the hardest part, so we'll see if I can get my start. Maybe it'll be smooth sailing once I just get my feet amovin'.

*For those of you whom do not get the reference to today's trivia question, the Tom Petty lyric states, "The waiting is the hardest part." Buy an album why don't you. Get cultured people. Have a great weekend!

Friday May 9, 2008

Weight: 79.8322 kilograms.

The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation sent me a water bottle in the mail because I was one of the first 5 people to reach $3800. It was very nice of them. I look forward to using it to hydrate myself when I get oh so thirsty during my runs. Not the runs I became accustomed to when I had colitis, but actually running. With my feet.

Today was supposed to be another off day per my schedule, but I decided that I was going to work out anyways. I figured since I kind of put a half-ass effort yesterday that I would go at it today.

I ran a solid 2.5 miles. That's not exactly as far as maybe I wanted to go, but it was 2.5 miles further than what I was supposed to do. So I'll take it.

I was also sent a drawing from my honored teammate Kyle. It's a picture of the two of us together colitis-free. He's a good kid.

Thursday May 8, 2008

Weight: 175.5 lbs.

I took the day off from working out on Wednesday due to the recommendations of my training schedule from the foundation. I like days off. They're easier than days on.

I ran 1.25 miles today. I was planning on running four miles. I didn't make it that far. I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of running and then when I was done, I was out of the running mood. Stupid no colon. Stupid. So, eh, what can you do?

Tuesday May 6, 2008

Weight: Unknown. I once again forgot to weigh myself. I just weighed myself now at 8:15 at night and I was 177.5 lbs. That doesn't count though because you have to be weighed in the morning for an official count. That's my rules.

Today I decided to run outside. When I came home from work I measured out 4 miles with my car and decided that I was going to run that. When I got home to change and get ready for a run I decided that I wasn't going to make the run that I had just mapped out for myself. I didn't have any Gatorade or anything and if I took that route I would get extremely thirsty and have no place to stop to hydrate myself.

I decided to run to the Shell gas station that is by my house so I could by a Gatorade to run with. So I ran through the neighborhood to the Shell, stopped bought my Gatorade, and resumed running. I ran back up through the neighborhood and snaked my way around and ran to Cardinal Fitness.

Once I got to Cardinal I lifted some weights and then resumed running on the treadmill. I ran an even mile on the treadmill at Cardinal Fitness. After that I lifted some more and headed out the door to finish my run home. I got home and the total time I ran, including the time on the treadmill at Cardinal, was just over 40 minutes.

I like running outside because it's fresh air and sunshine and perhaps I can get a little tan. I don't like not having an abundance of beverages available to me. I get thirsty like someone who doesn't have a colon. I think this has to due largely with the fact that I don't have a colon. I get like instantly thirsty and have to find a way to efficiently hydrate myself as I'm running outside.

As I ran today I thought to myself, "Will I continue running after the marathon?" I didn't really have an answer for myself. I would like to think I would to stay in shape. But, in reality running isn't very fun. So maybe I will resume running after the marathon but not on such a serious schedule. It would be nice to stay in shape. I will get back to you on my decision at least by August. So, stay tuned.

Monday May 5, 2008

Weight: Unknown. Forgot to check my weight today. Today was probably the day that I hit 200 lbs. too. Bummer.

I went to Cardinal Fitness before work in the morning. I am trying to get closer towards the recommended workout regime that they sent me in the mail. They recommend a long run on Sunday, which I did. On Mondays they recommend what is called "Active Recovery." Active Recovery is something exercise that isn't as strenuous as straight running, but can get your heart rate up nonetheless. One of their recommendations is biking.

While I was at Cardinal I lifted and then I hopped on the stationary bike and rode for 2.81 miles. It was different on a bike than running. Probably because one you're running and the other you're biking. It was nice. Biking is easier than running. Maybe I should be a biker.

Sunday May 4, 2008

Weight: 174.5 lbs. I'm on my way back up.

The training for this half-marathon is all about setting goals and realizing them. The original goal of this half-marathon is to prove to myself that I am healthy again. I decided shortly after my second surgery that this was something that I wanted to do as a goal to know that I've recovered from my colitis.

In my blog I had previously stated that within the next week it was my goal to run 5 miles. Today I woke up and decided that this was going to be the day that I was going to run 5 miles.

I went to Cardinal Fitness early this morning, lifted some weights and then hopped on the treadmill. I got going and felt pretty good from the get-go. This was the first time I was able to run hard continuously until I was done with the first mile. I ran the first mile in under 9 minutes. That still is by no means an Olympian time, and not even close to what I was able to do in my colonic life, but it was still by far the best that I have been able to do in my post-colonic life. I was very happy that I was able to run that entire time without slowing down to a brisk-walk pace.

I continued my journey to my goal of five miles. I slowed down from a walk to a run on several occasions, but after the first mile I set a new goal for myself: maintain an average pace of 10 minute/mile for every subsequent mile ran. That means be able to finish 2 miles in under 20 minutes, 3 miles in under 30 minutes, and so on. This involved me occasional speeding up to finish a mile, but I was able to do it successfully every time. Another goal reached.

Once I passed the 4 mile mark I was still feeling pretty good. I decided that it was time to set a new goal: Instead of stopping at 5 miles, I was going to run for an hour.

I passed the 5 mile mark in under 50 minutes. A goal accomplished. I kept on trucking for my quest to reach the 1 hour mark.

Halfway past the 5th mile, I decided that I wanted to run for 6.55 miles. That would make half of a half-marathon. Or a quarter-marathon. Or a Quarter Marathoner with Cheese if it was a sandwich at McDonald's. Or a Royal Marathoner with Cheese if it was a sandwich at McDonald's in Paris.

I figured I was setting all these goals, why not keep on trucking. As the 59th minute was coming to a close I was excited that I was going to soon be achieving the goal of running for an hour.

As soon as the machine reached the hour mark it instantly went into cool down mode. Apparently it automatically does that when you've ran for an hour. I had no idea. I was annoyed because after reaching goal after goal, I was stopped short of reaching my final goal of 6.55 miles because the treadmill cut out on me.

My final tally was running for 60 minutes 12 seconds. For a total of 6.04 miles. At the average pace of 6.02 mph, which translates into an average mile of 9 minutes 57 seconds.

Even though I didn't reach my final goal of the day I still feel I did a great job. I think this was a big step in proving to myself mentally that finishing a half-marathon in 2 1/2 months is within reason. Not only within reason, but extremely doable.

I also helped my mom today with work around the house. I hadn't been able to help in about two years. I caught flack for it because I previously sit on the couch while everyone else was helping, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was simply too sick to get off the couch. Now that I'm healthy I can once again help out around the house. I just hope my mom doesn't figure that out.

Friday May 2, 2008

Weight: 172 lbs. I was up to 175 lbs. at one point when I wasn't blogging, but now I seem to have lost a couple pounds. I am hoping that I will be up to 180 lbs. soon. That is the standard barrier for what I consider normal. I would imagine that I would even surpass that mark because for really the first time in my life I am lifting weights as well.

The more I think about it the more disappointed I am with my showing at the 5k yesterday. I think that is in direct result of my training. I've had way too many days where I run for a mile - 1.5 miles and call it quits. I can't do that anymore. I refuse to do that anymore. The 5k was challenging enough and the half marathon is a 5k + 10 MILES! TEN MILES!!! That's insane. I need to kick it into high gear. I've decided even if I'm tired, even if I don't feel like running, I'm going to push myself. I need to get the stamina, the energy and my legs up to the point where I can feel like I can run a half-marathon. I still stop to walk sometimes and I don't doubt for a minute that I will walk part of the half-marathon. I expect it and that's ok. Walking is just a way for me to collect myself until I start running again. Walking is the bridge between running. That's what I always say. I have said that my whole life. Truthfully, I just made it up now. But I think it sounds good and am copywriting it. "Walking is the bridge between running."

With my new "I'm not going to take any crap from myself" attitude I headed to Cardinal Fitness determined to run more than a wussy mile. I got on the treadmill and after I ran about .25 miles I was exhausted. I didn't feel like my legs were going to carry me any further. I assume I was still sore from the 5k the night before. I really contemplated stopping at a mile. I was so close to doing it and then I really just psyched myself up and said, "Tom, prove you can do this." So I kept on motoring.

Once I got to 2 miles I decided that I wanted to go even further than the 3.1 mile 5k that I ran the night before. I ended up going 3.26 miles in 35 minutes. I didn't beat my time of 33:12 from the night before and that upset me. I don't remember the exact time because I stopped looking because I was disgusted when I didn't do it, but it was like 10 seconds short of hitting it. Once I didn't do it I decided that I would kick it into high gear and run until the 35:00 minute mark. I cranked the treadmill up to 8.0 mph pace and ran the last minute or so like that. It was nice to end on a high. I tried doing that yesterday at the race and just couldn't muster up the strength to finish strong. I was pleased that I was able to do it today.

My new plan is to run hard every day no matter how I'm feeling. I understand that this isn't very realistic, but I will try. My more realistic goal is to get up to five miles sometime soon. Hopefully next week. If I could do 5 miles non-stop I will feel good about where I'm at. From there I can build it to 6, then 7, then 10, then 13.1. I'll be all set at that point. Anyway you slice it it's gotten to the point where I need to take my training to the next level. The half-marathon is rapidly approaching and I don't want to be unprepared. I will do myself, along with everyone else, proud.

Thursday May 1, 2008

Weight: 172 lbs.

Hopefully this is the absolute last thing that I have to say about the status of the website: We are back for good! There was finally one straw too many placed on the camel's back and it broke. I completely switched companies that run my website, hopefully now reliability won't be an issue. The other one was nice because it was FREE, but it's better to pay and have something than to get something for free but have nothing to show for it.

I took a large step in training towards a half-marathon today. We're talking major leaps.

First off, I decided that it was time to buy some new shoes. My legs were constantly hurting while running and I came to the conclusion that my shoes were to blame. I went and got myself a pair of Asics. They say you're supposed to buy two shoes and alternate days in order to keep them fresh. I think I eventually will do this, but I want to make sure I like the shoes first and separate the cost of buying two pairs of identical shoes at the same time.

I didn't want to waste any time in breaking in the new shoes. I decided that it was best if I throw them right into the action. So, I went to Chicago for the Chicago Foundation for Women 5k. While I don't have any special ties to this organization other than the fact that Andrew Pomatto's work was sponsoring it, I liked the challenge of competing in an actual race. It was something that I knew would be good for me, because unlike starting running on the treadmill where I could just stop whenever I wanted, I actually had a set distance that I needed to get done. It's not like I could just stop and not finish either because then I would be the laughing stock of the entire race.

I wasn't sure if I was actually a little nervous before the start of the race because I didn't want to disappoint myself. I had hoped that my training was far enough a long to do this 5k rather successfully. I was worried about hydration with this race as I always seem to get thirsty. I decided to carry a Gatorade bottle with me throughout the run. This was easier than I thought it would be as the bottle had some nice grips on it. It worked out so well I plan on doing it for the half-marathon.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to stop and walk at all during the race, but this turned out to not be the case. I walked a few times to catch my breath and to hydrate, but I still finished the race in 33 minutes 12 seconds. Not bad for 3.1 miles from a guy coming off having his colon removed. Pomatto and I wondered before the race if I was the only one in it without a colon. We were going to go around and do a belly check where everyone had to lift up their shirts so we could see if there was a scar, but we ran out of time before the race. Pomatto did end up beating me. But we've always called him a white Carl Lewis. So there's no shame in that.

The actual course of the race was very nice. It started in Grant Park and then went right up against Lake Michigan and around Buckingham Fountain. So it was a nice view and a nice course. I can't stress enough how different it is running outside as opposed to running on a treadmill. It is so much harder. I can't wait for consistently decent weather in Rockford so I can run outside on a regular basis. Immediately upon finishing the race I was handed a bag of cotton candy. I thought this to be peculiar, but did not complain as I love cotton candy. I don't know if it was designed to put some sugar and energy back into our bodies or what, but I was happy nonetheless. So happy that I helped myself to a second bag.

I was happy to compete in the 5k and finish it successfully. This was another milestone for me on my road to recovery as this was again something that I wouldn't have been able to accomplish when I was sick. It really is a rewarding feeling when I take the time to reflect back and see how far I've come. A year ago I wouldn't even have gone into Chicago because I wouldn't have felt comfortable enough being out in public. It's nice to do things that are normal. It's very rewarding and I'm not too humble to say that I'm proud of myself.

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