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Many years ago, I made it a goal to complete a marathon before my 30th birthday. Once before, in 2001, I even tried Austin Fit's program, only to have my training interrupted by 9/11. I remember running with my fellow Austin Fitters one last time, carrying American Flags on a short Town Lake run. It was our attempt to show the world that we were full of pride, spirit, and courage, not fear and reservation. However, as a career firefighter, extra duties, meeting, and briefings all quickly took their toll, and my Austin Fit journey was over. Until... 2004 came, and brought the realization that February 2005 would be my last chance at running my marathon here in Austin, my hometown, before my big 3-0. A new journey began, and this time I would not be stopped... not by the shin splints in October... not by the knee problems, cortisone shots, and brace in December... not by the IT band inflammation, ultrasound treatment, and physical therapy in January... and certainly, without a doubt, not by the blazing sun that surprised us all on February 13th! I finished an hour slower than I had hoped to run when I started training in September, I had to stop at Mile 20 to wrap one knee, then again at Mile 21 to wrap the other, and I had to gulp water like never before just to make it across Longhorn Dam alive.
However, I am actually thankful for the grueling conditions and uncooperative weather that we all encountered. It forced my normally happy-go-lucky pace group (accustomed to singing cadences and TV theme songs on long runs, up to, and including, a 22-miler) to display the grit and determination that all of us had secretly acquired over the past six months: sapped of breath, we no longer had our cheery tunes to distract us from the difficulty at hand... splintered and spread apart, we no longer had the support and energy that normally come from running as a group... and until this challenge, I don't think any of us recognized just how much individual strength we had developed until we watched each other "gut it out" on Sunday! On Monday, still wondering if it was all just an incredible dream, I woke to reality and discovered something nobody had prepared me for. After countless 5K's and 10K's, I had grown accustomed to seeing my fellow race participants, during the week following each race, wearing the requisite race shirts with proud smiles. The marathon proved to be a different story altogether. On this first day after the "big one," I found myself quickly recognizing finishers, not by their shirts, but by their well-earned, distinctively awkward limps. More than once, I spotted an otherwise healthy looking Austinite, hobbling across a parking lot or into a store. Each time, the hitch-in-the-get-along was accompanied by the same proud smile, and I knew, without asking, that these were my peers. I like to call it "The Kinship of The Limp," and, although the name is anything but inviting, it's a club I'm proud to belong to! Thanks Austin Fit, Kenny
Kenny Pailes
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