You've got to walk before you run

I haven't talked about my track career(hobby) here so I thought I would write a bit about that. I've competed in track since junior high(1972) -2008. So, 36 years of track still hasn't satisfied my competitive itch. I just love the process of building a base of fitness then cutting the training down and racing(usually late spring and through the summer). Why does a 50 y.o. still want to race around a track? I don't know, but the desire to do so is still there. I have some great friends whom I competed with over the years. I think all adults should engage in some fitness activities so I think why not push on a bit more and compete. My times have gotten slower over the years but that is to be expected. I've beaten some people in Master's(over 40) track who were way better than me in our younger days simply because Masters is a battle of attrition. My main event the past several years has been the 400M dash. It's the perfect event for me because it requires good speed and endurance. I can train for endurance most of the year(good for an old fogey), then concentrate on speed when it's time to race. In 2005 I had my best year in many years as I consistently ran in the 54's. Since I turned 50 in Dec. '08 I have looked forward to being in a new age group and being competitive on the national level. Us old guys can compete in Sr. Olympics(which includes many sports in an Oly like festival) or USATF(which is track only.) I won the 100M and 400M dashes at the Texas Sr. Games in '08 which qualifies me for the National Sr. Games in California in August of '09, but I think I'll only be able to attend the USATF Masters Nationals in Wisconsin in July of '09. A win at USATF would be harder to attain than the Sr. Games. Anyway, here on 1-19-09, with many broken bones and getting fatter everyday that I'm not able to run I vow to run in the USATF 400M this summer. I would love to guarantee victory or run a 54, but I know there is too much uncertainty for that. I believe setting the goal to be there and to be competitive will motivate me to get my broken fat butt in gear as soon as I heal enough to run. Right now it's a struggle to walk an easy half mile. I know God will give me the strength to fully recover. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!! The pic is from last Fall where I won the 100 and 400 at TX. SR. Games.