Fredric Altman
I'm 56, my wife, 40. My wife has always been a runner, from track in high school and college up to
today. Myself, I've never run except in the military, where you had to, or else, and that was over
thirty years ago. Janet occasionally runs local races, 5ks and a local 7 miler. Last November, I
decided, for a practical joke, I would start running and train for a 5k on New Year's day, all
without Janet's knowledge. Just talk her into entering the race and then, at the last moment, say,
hey, I think I'll run too. She would think I had lost my mind, she would be amazed, then I'd tell
her what was going on, voila, the joke. Anyway, the training went well up until a week before the
race. I did something to a tendon or ligament below my knee and could barely walk. I have had
trouble with my knees, so Janet wasn't suspicious. I had even awoken at four in the morning, ran
four miles, came home, cooled off, got in bed and she was none the wiser. Anyway, after the injury,
I went to see a physical therapist that specializes in runners and got a little advice, which was to
start slower and work up to 5k slower than I had. Janet got the idea to run a race in Miami on March
1. I started training in mid January with my knee still very tender and began working up to 5k
again. I wasn't completely ready, but I didn't think I could keep the secret until the next race
which is in April, so, the day before the race, which Janet thought she was going to by herself, I
asked her what time we needed to leave for the race. She looked at me funny and said, well, about 6
am. When I told her I was going to run the race, she thought I had lost my mind, she tried and tried
to talk me out of it, saying I was just going to hurt myself. Of course, I insisted. I finished, but
when Janet saw me cross the finish line with a respectable time, way before she thought I would, she
thought I had hitched a ride with someone. She was thoroughly amazed, but even more amazed when I
told her I had been training behind her back for three months. She didn't like the idea that I could
get up out of bed, run for a hour, come back and get back in bed without her knowing a thing. Oh,
there were thirteen in my age group, at least I finished ahead of three with a time of 31:29.
Since March first, I'm down to 27 minutes flat.
today. Myself, I've never run except in the military, where you had to, or else, and that was over
thirty years ago. Janet occasionally runs local races, 5ks and a local 7 miler. Last November, I
decided, for a practical joke, I would start running and train for a 5k on New Year's day, all
without Janet's knowledge. Just talk her into entering the race and then, at the last moment, say,
hey, I think I'll run too. She would think I had lost my mind, she would be amazed, then I'd tell
her what was going on, voila, the joke. Anyway, the training went well up until a week before the
race. I did something to a tendon or ligament below my knee and could barely walk. I have had
trouble with my knees, so Janet wasn't suspicious. I had even awoken at four in the morning, ran
four miles, came home, cooled off, got in bed and she was none the wiser. Anyway, after the injury,
I went to see a physical therapist that specializes in runners and got a little advice, which was to
start slower and work up to 5k slower than I had. Janet got the idea to run a race in Miami on March
1. I started training in mid January with my knee still very tender and began working up to 5k
again. I wasn't completely ready, but I didn't think I could keep the secret until the next race
which is in April, so, the day before the race, which Janet thought she was going to by herself, I
asked her what time we needed to leave for the race. She looked at me funny and said, well, about 6
am. When I told her I was going to run the race, she thought I had lost my mind, she tried and tried
to talk me out of it, saying I was just going to hurt myself. Of course, I insisted. I finished, but
when Janet saw me cross the finish line with a respectable time, way before she thought I would, she
thought I had hitched a ride with someone. She was thoroughly amazed, but even more amazed when I
told her I had been training behind her back for three months. She didn't like the idea that I could
get up out of bed, run for a hour, come back and get back in bed without her knowing a thing. Oh,
there were thirteen in my age group, at least I finished ahead of three with a time of 31:29.
Since March first, I'm down to 27 minutes flat.
