On Memorial Day I completed my first 5K race. Now that may not mean much to you, but for me it was HUGE!
Why? 
B/c for most of my life I have struggled with my weight. It had been (notice I say “HAD”) a constant battle of the bulge for over four decades until I finally discovered the real cause of weight issues after attending a Tony Robbins event last year.
And as a result of that one event I was able to lose almost 50 lbs.
So, why am I sharing this?
Because as I was running the race on Saturday, I had a flashback to the time I was in 6th grade. It was a cold dreary day, and we were outside for gym class. Now normally I liked gym b/c we got to play some kind of sport. And I loved playing sports. But this day was different. We were scheduled to do something I hated…run. Mr. Morris, the gym teacher had us down to so something I hated (and sucked at) to run the 600 yard dash. The event I had failed to finish several times before.
And on this day it was no different.
I was so out of breath and out of shape that I couldn’t make it around the set of orange cones that were used to mark the distance.
I was ashamed and embarrassed. And as a result of this one experience I got turned off to the process of running long distances.
I played a lot of sports throughout my life, but anytime it was required to run long distances I emotionally (and physically) checked out b/c I knew I wasn’t good at it.
And the one thing about us humans is that we’ll avoid things that we know we’re not good at (like dating and relationships, right?)
Well, after taking all of the weight off over the last year I made a promise to myself that I was going to conquer the 5K demon.
Since I knew I sucked at running I knew I needed some help. In discussing my challenge with my younger sister I learned about a national sneaker chain called, Fleet Feet Sports, which offered a beginner’s program. I quickly signed up and attended my first “run” which was made up of walking 3 mins and running one minute for a total of 1 mile.
The best thing about this program was that it laid out a smart, easy and doable program. And after 3 months of training I was ready for my first race.
When the race day came there was a part of me that wanted to stay home. What if I failed? What if I stopped (my goal was to run the whole race w/out stopping once)? I literally had to talk myself into doing it.
So, that morning Natalie and the boys hopped into the car and headed to the race.
And I ran.
I started out on a nice even pace and I hit the first mile at a lil over 12+ mins. And then I hit the second mile at approximately 25+ mins.
And then something strange started happening. Once I hit the 2/3 mark I knew in my head that I had won. I knew I was going to do it. There was no way I was going to stop.
And then all of a sudden I had a flashback to that moment in 6th grade. To the lil fat kid who was so out of shape that he couldn’t finish a race that was only as long as 2 football fields.
I was immediately overcome with emotion and I started to tear up. I could feel my eyes well up and all of a sudden I felt a tear as it slowly flowed down the side of my face. I soon realized that all of the emotional energy that I had tied into my weight and running was being released.
I simply let the process play out and within a minute I had composed myself and was back to running and focusing on the tunes that were blasting from my iPod.
And I crossed the finish line….without stopping!
When the race was I sat down and explained to Natalie what I had experienced. And I could see her getting “the look”.
What look? Well, you know the look you get after you’ve had a few drinks and you see the man that you are really attracted to?
Yes, that look!
Because the one thing I know about my wife is that she gets turned on when I open up and express my sensitive side.
Now I’m the first to admit that I’m not a touchy, feely kind of guy. In fact, I think why Natalie loves seeing this side of me is b/c most of the time I’m relatively even keeled. I don’t get too high and I don’t get too low.
But when I do open up and show her the softer, gentler side she just turns to mush. Which is ultimately good for me….Wink Wink!
And it made me think. How many times do we quickly label someone without ever taking the time to understand them.
I was in no means crying buckets at that moment in the race. But in those few seconds I was welling up, if someone was looking at me they would’ve known that I was emotional.
And B/c it’s not common to see a guy express his emotions, I wonder how many would’ve labeled me as being weak or a wimp?
What would you have thought?
Question: Do you think a sensitive guy is attractive or a wimp? Please explain why? Post Your comments below.