For the third week in a row, I have been so busy that I only got to run one day this week. I didn't get in off the road until Saturday evening and didn't get to run with the group. I did get a good 10 miler in Sunday morning around the new route that I mapped out a couple of weeks ago.
This week I want to share with you, for the first time, the event that took place that lead me to start this journey in the first place. Some of you may already know but most of you do not. Two years ago this past Saturday, on August 20, 2010, I got up just like it was any other morning. I started my day in Kentucky and was on my way home to spend the night and then deliver my load about an hour from home.
Since no one was going to be at home, I decided I would stop about two and a half hours from home and eat some lunch. Any other time I would have gotten something to go and head on to the house. As I was finishing my lunch, I noticed that the sky was getting dark and knew it was going to rain soon. I got in the truck and got back out on Interstate 40. I did run into the rain and soon after "the event" happened.
Just west of the 139 mile marker, a car hydroplaned in front of me and I made a split second decision to change lanes. I glanced in my mirror and saw that I could safely change lanes and just when I thought I had missed the hydroplaning car, we crashed. There was no time to react. I won't go into detail about all that I remember except to say that the two ladies in the car survived the crash but the driver passed away a couple of hours later at the hospital.
I had heard for a long time that exercise was a great stress reliever. The stress from the accident was getting to me so I made the decision to start walking on October 1, 2010. At the time, I couldn't walk a half a mile without my legs hurting bad. I learned to deal with the stress and even now when I'm stressed I go out and pound the pavement.
This is the first time that I've ever shared my story except for telling individual people one or two at a time. Even after two years, sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday but other times it seems like it has been a very long time.
Thanks for stopping by this week and I hope to see you again next week.
Thank's for sharing Jeremy, that must have been a really bad day. I started for a much different reason. Being over weight and have high blood pressure, after getting only a 90 release on my D.O.T. physical, I knew I had to do something. I started walking every morning before hitting the road and eating a whole lot better. I never thought I'd be a "runner" but after getting under 200 lbs I started a wak/run program. After run 3 min. and walking 1 min. X 10 for a couple of weeks, I was able to run 3.12 miles with out stopping. I don't plan to every quit...
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