The View from the Back of the Pack.

I have never won a race. That's not exactly true. In 3rd grade Lloyd and I won the three-legged race on Field Day. If there had been a betting line we would have been considered long shots. Yet the upset reigned the day! However, it was still just a three-legged race in 3rd grade. So I guess I should say I have never won a meaningful race.

I was on the cross country and track team in high school. I came in second a few times and got a few third place medals but I never had the elation of breaking the tape.

The fact it most of us will not. Only one person gets to in a race so the odds are against us. Especially if we are Woggers. It was hard for me to come to grips with this. When I was in high school I was a pretty good runner. A front half guy at least. So it was hard when I wogged the San Antonio 1/2 marathon last year.

Now realize I had no illusions that I was going to do well. I had not trained properly and I am very very out of shape. But I did not expect to be so far back. I did not expect to turn the corner for the last mile and start seeing people on the sidelines that were finished ... with the FULL MARATHON. I mean they had run twice as far as I had Wogged, were done, showered, had eaten and some were even running more! It reminded me of this scene from Scrubs:  

But you know what? I wasn't doing it to win. And the people who finished hours ahead of me? They weren't there to tease me. In fact, the most awesome part of the day was seeing those that had finished their race coming back to the course to cheer on those of us still working at it. Indeed, the view from the back of the pack was pretty good from that sense. I think what we Woggers have to remember, at least I do, is when I look at the magazines with the ripped people, or I look up my stats online the day after the Seabrook 1/2 Marathon and realize I came in last in my age and gender group, it doesn't really matter. I set out to accomplish a goal I set for myself. It's my goal and I'm glad I finished. Even if my name was at the bottom.

The Pilot

It's July 11, 2011 and I need to start getting in shape. I used to be in shape. Now I am not. Well I guess that's not true. I am just in the shape of an avocado.

My friend Tricia has tricked me into doing a half marathon with her in San Antonio on November 13th. She did this to me last year and I near killed myself. Yet I did it again in March of this year in Seabrook, nearby here where I live in Houston.

I did not run these 1/2 marathons. Indeed lawyers from both races have urged me not to say I ran them as this would be misleading. I Wogged them. That's right. I said Wogged. This is what I call what I do. A combination of walking and jogging. Now I hate to admit it but I mostly walked. This year I would like to mostly jog. But by God, there will be NO Running!

To get ready for this fall's race I got a subscription to Runner's World and I realized there was no way I am ever going to look like anyone in these photos. I am not going to ever not have love handles nor am I going to ever run (wog) sub two hours in a half marathon. And neither are many of us. So for the rest of us I introduce Wogger's World. A blog for those that want to exercise, do some 5ks, maybe even more but aren't going to be too serious about it.

I thought I would let you in on how my so-called training goes and see if we Wogger's can unite against the photos of rock-hard abs and tortured-looking physiques we see in the Runner's World.