Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JW94w5X31n7mmoXSA

Before The Start:    My 21^st race of 2022 was the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K on May 1^st at Morgan’s Wonderland Park in San Antonio.  This event supports the Colon Cancer Coalition, “a national coalition of people determined to end colorectal cancer deaths by increasing screening and educating others about the signs and symptoms of this treatable disease.” There are Get Your Rear in Gear 5Ks at several cities in the US at various dates over the year. Nice turn out for this one with 236 finishers.  There was also a Kid’s Run.  Race start time of 8 a.m.  Cloudy skies and very humid. Local weather folks had predicted some possible drizzly rain, but it never did rain on us during the event. I also had a very informative chat with a doctor from the Gastroenterology Clinic of San Antonio. He was a guest speaker at the 5K and he was very informative and helpful with me.   I found out they are a Tricare contractor, so I will probably get my colonoscopy from them later this year, as BAMC sent me a letter to advise me I was ‘referred out’ because they are so busy with the military members. I get a colonoscopy every 5 years and I am due this year. Colonoscopies are pretty easy. It’s that prep stuff that’s the difficult part, lol.

On The Course:   This was a mix of loop and out-and-back, with us starting inside the park and doing a loop around the park’s man-made lake. We exited the park with a right turn heading for nearby Heroes Stadium, and athletic facility of Northside Independent School District. Proceeding along the road that went around the stadium, we then entered one of its parking lots, went across that, and came back out on one of the roads near it.  We then proceeded back the way we had come out, finishing by doing another loop around the lake that took us back to the start/finish line. My friend Kristin and I were in the start crowd and she said “I may run with you today.”  That would have slowed her way down, lol, as she is much faster than I am.  Anyway, it was a moot point because after we crossed the start she was off-and-running at her normal pace, lol, and I never saw her again until the finish.  Probably a good thing she did not run with me, my slow pace might have given her leg cramps.  I was 7^th in my males 60-69 age group with a chip time of 41:32, averaging 13:22 per mile and had a negative split for Mile 3.  I was 7^th out of 12 in my age group.  I was actually trying to take it easy for this one after pushing myself a bit at the 5K I had done the day before; took a couple more walk breaks than I usually do and got a few extra photos. My speedy friend Eli, who was 2^nd overall in the 5K came back out to run in with me, which was nice of him.

After My Finish:  First, get some water in me, it was very humid out there. Also, ate a banana and had a breakfast taco too.  There was quite a variety of goodies offered post-race.  Enjoyed post-race chatting with friends and making new friends. There were lots of ‘teams’ at this one, and several other survivors there too. I really enjoyed chatting post-race with a lot of friends and other participants and getting a variety of photos.

Epilogue:  One of my favorite events of the year, especially as I, along with several others there, am a survivor. Colon was my first cancer I dealt with and I was very lucky that it got caught so early, I ended up having a fairly easy time of it. Some side effects I experienced afterwards gave me more trouble, that was a bad and depressing time for while and I had some really not-so-good thoughts.  Thankfully, I met my wife at that time and she literally saved my life by brining me back to  good place  Currently I am being treated for prostate cancer and I am in the process of beating this one too. Never give up!  Mucho thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants:  The Colon Cancer Coalition; all the sponsors and the many many volunteers; Morgan’s Wonderland for allowing use of the venue; iaap for course setup, timing, and results; and any others involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Also, thanks to the police officers on the course for our safety; the guest speaker doctor that gave us very informative information; the Super Heroes team and all the others that were there in support of us; and any others not mentioned.  Thank you all.   I will definitely continue to do this one in the future – running, walking, or crawling, lol – and certainly would recommend it to others.  BEAT CANCER!!  ALL types of cancer!