~~~~ The Mikey Observer ~~~~
Fast pace:
Running gives me a physical and mental edge
by Michael Waltrip, Racing Milestones
January 2005 issue
Our fund-raising effort for the Victory Junction Gang Camp is based on my competing in the Las Vegas Marathon on January 30. We're hoping to raise $1 million for the camp with this event.
You might be wondering why I like to run, or how I got started. Like a lot of things in life, it started out just as an activity that I thought I'd give a try and it wound up being something that's very important to me.
I've always been active and enjoyed all kinds of sports, but I remember that it was the day after Thanksgiving, 1995, when I decided I was going to run the 10K race in Charlotte. I'd actually gotten fat and said to myself, "I'm going to start running today." I'm sure a lot of people have made pronouncements like that right after Thanksgiving, but I set myself a goal of running it in less than an hour, and that's how it all started.
I ran the 10 kilometers in 58 minutes, and the next year, I did it in 54 minutes. Then, after running the second 10K, I started to wonder if I could run a marathon. So I kept on running and preparing and eventually made a 19-mile run around my house in North Carolina. When I made that, I said to myself, "Yeah, I can do a marathon," so I ran the Kiawah Marathon in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, in 2000.
It took me four hours and 15 minutes. That's still my best time. I've run two since then, but my first one was the best one and I prepared the most for it. You ran around a neighborhood, through a golf course, and you kind of ran back and forth a lot. It was really flat, so that was a good thing. I enjoyed the experience, and the next one I ran was the Boston Marathon in 2000. My time was 4:32 in Boston. I had raced at Talladega the day before, and I was into racing and didn't prepare as well as I should have, but I really enjoyed running Boston more than I did Kiawah just because of the experience. The last marathon I did was in December 2000, and that was Tampa Bay and I ran 4:35.
It's hard to describe the satisfaction you get from running. As I mentioned before, losing weight was the goal when I started out. Then it became more of a way to feel like I was mentally and physically as prepared as I could possibly be when I get in my car and go racing. When I got to looking at the marathon and thinking about it, my mentally (sic.) was that if I could run for four hours on my feet, I could sit on my butt and drive a car all day long if I needed to.
Car racing is very competitive, and it's very challenging, mentally and physically, but I felt, as I ran more and became more and more confident about my physical fitness, it gave me a mental edge, even when I was in a race car. I felt as if I was as tough and strong, bouth physically and mentally, as anyone I was racing against. I'd always say to myself that they might outrun me but they're not going to outlast me. Running really gave me that type of mentality.
Now running is an invaluable part of my life. I need that time. When I'm running, I look at it as time to prepare to race my car. It's a time for me to sort out what's going on with my career. Running is a good way for me to escape. Running a marathon is a mental commitment, as much a mental commitment as a physical one.
I realize that raising $1 million is a lofty goal, but so is running 26-plus miles.
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You can help by loggin on to www.michaelwaltrip.com or by calling 1-866-WALTRIP.
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