Half-Marathon: Day 3
Day 3 -June 15, 2012:
Weight: 262 lbs
Run: 0 minutes
Distance: 0 miles
Terrain: N/A
Weather: Gorgeous and Sunny (72 degrees)
The calendar says “Rest” for today. Who am I to argue with it? I’m a little more sore than I was yesterday but overall feeling great. Waking up to see a 4 lb loss will always make me feel better. What does it say about how bad my diet was that I can lose 4 lbs in a day just from NOT eating certain foods? I don’t know how many documentaries about food I’ve seen, but it makes total sense that the more organic foods you can eat, the better. Less chemicals and unknown ingredients mean an easier time for your body to process them, not to mention that no one really knows the long term effects they may have.
Once in a while, even though I’m a comedian, I’ll have to get serious on here. Today is the first of those days. Although I’m not running today, it’s still a very important day. Today I’ll be playing in the 3rd Annual “Alex Jones Memorial Golf Outing”. Ironically, the purpose of the outing is to raise money for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, the same charity that I’ll be running with for this half-marathon. Alex took his own life at the age of 17 a few years ago because of how depressed he’d become from the complications of Crohn’s disease. Once a happy kid who excelled in baseball and soccer and did very well in school, Alex was unable to participate in sports and had to miss many days of classes because of his symptoms. They tried every medication, every known strategy, and nothing worked. His family has become very involved with the CCFA and are some of the most dedicated and kind people I’ve met. It’s people like this that have really opened my eyes to what’s important.
On my dad’s side of the family, we’ve lost six people to cancer. Six. Including my dad. And that’s just from his immediate family (his parents, three siblings, and my father). One of my cousins and my sister-in-law are battling breast cancer right now. When you see those kind of numbers hit home, not a statistic in a pamphlet, you stop taking things for granted. For me personally, it’s been my health. Here I’m surrounded by people I love who’ve become stricken with these horrible diseases and I’m wasting a perfectly clean bill of health because I can’t stop eating candy and baked goods? It’s almost insulting to them for me to say, “Poor you” and then devour five tacos and a large Coke. (In fairness though, if you don’t enjoy cake or appreciate the genius behind turning a Dorito in a taco shell, we shouldn’t be friends.)
So I guess that even though I’m not running today, it’s a good day for reflection. I’ll be surrounded by a family that lost their son, but who decided to do whatever they could to make sure no one else has to go through it. What an example for others, huh?
This Sunday is my first Father’s Day and I’m sure I’ll be all over the place. Joyous for this amazingly perfect child we’ve been blessed with. Swearing I’ll do anything I can to make sure that no one ever wrongs him or hurts him. Missing my own father, my best friend and the best human being I’ve ever known. I’ll try to keep it together peeps, but no promises.
Well, I guess today’s not an off day after all. I need days like today that give me the time to help others, appreciate what I have, and maybe have a little dessert after the golf outing. Don’t judge me people, it’s for charity.