5k Finishes, Then and Now...

So, I decided I needed to do a post because I just got an e-mail with some pictures from the Good Samaritan 5k this past weekend. I found the pictures of Michelle and Me, and was a little excited by what they revealed. Let me first post the finish of the Ironton Memorial Day 5k back on May 26th. About 3 months and 1 week ago. Be warned, this image may be shocking or offensive to...well, mostly me. :) This is one of those pictures taken on a downward step so I look like I'm melting, but for better or worse, here it is:

The first thing you might notice is the look of dire distress on my face, even in the downward pull of my stride. It is quite evident. You'll note that even though I am sweating, and desperate in appearance, Michelle has a pretty relaxed, "Stroll in the park" kind of look on her face, and is in fact, not sweating after a 3 mile run. Not sweating. Ole 495 there looks pretty good too for having finished the race well ahead of us and taken a walk back up the course a little way, and is now returning to the finish line. I find that the contrast in this picture makes it absolutely hilarious. :)

Ok, on to the next stop! This one of two pictures from last week, September 1st, that I'll post. First, in the style of those infomercials that show you a before picture where the light is bad, the clothes are bad, and the pose is bad, then they show you the after, where the lighting, pose and clothes have been replaced so that the person would look better no matter what you had done to their face with your miracle product! Behold:

This picture was taken in an infinitely better part of my stride. In the up half. Because of that, everything looks a little less...melty. There is, of course, a little less to melt and that helps too, but the really important difference is that Michelle and I are about to finish this race and we are both strong enough to look determined and even happy to be there! I was so glad to be able to look at this picture and see us both with that "stroll in the park" look on our faces! Ok, maybe I'm a little more, "brisk jog in the park", but that's better than, "Someone help me. Oh dear, oh dear, my face is melting off, would someone pick up my face and bring it to the finish line for me?"

So there you have it, Michelle and I have made great progress so far, and these pictures are super motivational for me. It's great to be able to track yourself in pictures! It'll be worth it later in life for our health if we manage to keep this up, but the good thing about it, is that it's worth it right now! That makes it so much easier to get out there and run. By the way, we ran an 8:07 this evening!

Ok, so where's the third picture? Ok, just so you can't say, oh he left out the ones with weird faces! This blog is rigged! Here is another picture from last weekend that was taken on the downward half:

This one was taken right after a bit of an incline right before the home stretch. This was taken about 3-4 blocks before the second shot there. Note that Michelle is still just as happy as a lark, while I am catching my breath. But there is still a difference. Note the eyes that seem to be carved from granite! Note the finely chiseled pectoral mahscles! (eh not so much...still working on that chiseled thing) Seriously though, I'm much happier with both of these pictures, and I just wanted to share! Thanks for reading and talk to you all soon!

-J