40:58

That is how long it took to achieve a goal and cross it off my bucket list. 40:58 that is the length of time that it took me to complete my first 5K today.

About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to run a 5K. I am not sure why I decided this because I HATE Cardio. Love strength training, but hate cardio. But something told me that I needed to do this. But it seemed that every time I started training, something happened.My back went out, I got sick, I got bored, I talked myself out of it. ….whatever it was, I did not do it last year. This year, I started looking at races again. I found one in June. I told myself this year, I was going to do it. I started training and did not really follow the training schedule. One of my best friends, Melissa, told me that she signed up for one on April 29^th. What the hell? I will do that one. She had been pretty faithful at the gym. Not me. I was not sure I could do it. So two weeks ago, I went to a place that I knew was 3 miles. I ran 90 % of it. So I figured, “Let’s do it”. I signed up.

One week ago today, I lost one of my closest friends suddenly. He died of a massive heart attack. If that wasn’t a wake up call to stop putting things off I don’t know what was. He was only 50 years old and so full of life.

As the race day approached, my friend Melissa told me that she understood what a tough week I had and would have understood if I couldn’t do the race. I told her that this past week was all the more reason that I HAD to do this race. It made me realize that life is too short and there are too many “ I should have… ”and “ I need to…” There need to be more “ I did…. “

Well today “ I did run and complete my first 5K!!”

I definitely had an angel on my shoulder for the last mile. Today as I put my bib with my runner’s number on my shirt, I placed a picture of Scott on the underside of the bib. I told him we were doing this together and I expected him to get me through.

I did not have many goals for the race. One was that I did not want to walk any of it. I didn’t. The other was that I did not want to finish last. I didn’t. The other was that I wanted to beat my time of 44 minutes. I did. All goals accomplished. I am not much of a goal setter, but I have learned to realize that without them, we have nothing to strive for…. So goals accomplished!

As soon as the race started, My feet went numb and my breathing was heavy. Uh oh. I thought.. “This is going to be a long three miles.. The route had mile markers at mile one and two and water at mile 1.5. When we got to the first mile, I was happy that was done. Then when we got to the water station, we knew we were half way done. But then there was mile two. The hill they told us about. That was going to be tough. I decided to look down and not ahead. I slowed down my pace and just went for it. Got to the top of the hill and had a cramp in my side for the remainder of the race. This is when I started talking to my friend Scott. “Scott – come on babe we can do this” I joked with him that his face was pressed against my stomach and he needed to get rid of the cramp. The cramp stayed, but talking to my friend helped me continue. Throughout the course, there were people in their front yards clapping and cheering. Each time I wanted to give up and walk, someone shouted “Great job. You're almost there.” I remember one woman sitting on her picnic table just clapping. I high fived a child. Those people gave me the motivation to keep going..

As I got closer to the finish line, I could hear the cheers and the music. I turned on the field and entered the track. I was exhausted and wanted to stop. I could see the finish line in my sight, but my body wanted it to be over. I told Scott I really needed him and at that very moment, my speed picked up and  I was running faster than I did throughout the entire race.  I felt like I was being  lifted and pushed to the end. I crossed the finish line and remember someone handing me a bottle of water and remember thinking, I DID IT!

It is amazing what a difference a week makes. This time last week, I was reeling from the news of Scott’s death and today he helped inspire me to stopping putting off my dreams… Thanks my friend....

I miss you….my friend

D.Scott Noble 

November 30, 1961- April 22, 2012

Taken from us too young... too soon.....  

Have you ever met someone that was truly a good person? I mean good to their core? Not phony, but genuinely a good soul.

Have you ever met someone that never said a bad word about anyone?

Have you ever met someone that always had a smile on their face? And always had a way to make you laugh?

I had the privilege of having someone like that as one of my dearest friends. His name was Scott Noble. 

Scott was probably one of the nicest people that I knew. I have been friends with Scott and his wife Maria for over fifteen years. Maria is one of my best friends. They are genuine caring people who truly loved each other. When I got the call on Sunday from Maria telling me that Scott “was gone”, I thought I must have misunderstood that Atlanta accent of hers. As much as I wanted to believe that I may have misunderstood her, the truth was  I didn’t.  It is still so surreal to me and everyone around us that he will no longer be with us. Scott and Maria were the type of friends that you could see once or twice a year and it was just like you saw them yesterday. We have been so fortunate that over the last few years, we have been able to see them more often. 

We were lucky to have just had dinner with them a few weeks ago. As always, there were many laughs. Scott really just enjoyed life. He liked the simple things in life.  Family and friends. He didn’t need anything more than that. There was never a time that you were with him that he wasn’t talking about his children or his grandchildren. He was so proud of all of them and loved them more than life.

Scott’s kids and Maria were trying to finalize his obituary today and they wanted to add some personal notes. We all tossed around things that reminded us of Scott. His Smile is what I will always remember. His son Scotty said, “When he talked to you, he had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the world”.  That statement stopped me dead in my tracks.  What an incredible thing to have your child (or anyone) say about you! Scott was not a rich man in material items, but he was rich in something you cannot buy:

Love, Respect, Kindness and Goodness. 

Scott’s love for Maria was always evident. As is her love for him. They were best friends. They truly enjoyed being together. Being married to your best friend is the best foundation for a marriage and they had that. 

I cannot believe that last summer was our last July 4^th celebration that we will all be  together. We have been getting together for years to celebrate, Gloucester style. We did add our own twist to the celebration as we crammed six adults into one of our vehicles, usually with someone laying down somewhere, and  we drove through the streets of Gloucester heading to the parade and the fireworks, singing songs from KISS (usually it was usually the song "Beth", played over and over and over). Every year we sang louder and every year we laughed harder…. It will never be the same without you… 

I still am not sure when the reality will hit me. I am not sure that I ever want it to. Scott was taken from us far too young. I have heard people talk about him over the last few days and have read online posts. Scott was a man that was truly loved by many. I think most of us can only hope that people can say such nice things about us after we are gone. His sense of humor and his sense of caring are what made him special to all of us.. 

Scott.. I miss you and love you..  

Your bright light will burn on through your children and your grandchildren.