Arnold 5K Pump and Run

Well, this past Sunday Eric competed in the Arnold Schwarzenegger 5K Pump and Run. Basically, the entire weekend consists of a bunch of athletic events and shows. They call it the Arnold Classic and it is in Columbus each year. Two years ago when we went, I actually met Arnold and shook his hand. I didn't think he would really be there; they kept saying, "The governor will be here to start the race shortly." I thought they meant some other governor! Anyway, how the 5K Pump and Run works goes like this: You check in and they weigh you. Then, they take your weight and either round up to the nearest 5 lbs. or down. Then, you lift that weight (your body weight) as many times as you can in a certain amount of time, the maximum being 30 reps. There are military guys who judge if your rep actually counts. The bar must touch your chest each time and your arms must become straight. It really is sophisticated! Then, for each rep. you get, you are able to take off 30 seconds off the 5K you will soon run. Eric has always pretty much been able to bench his weight 30 times, but hasn't in competition. This time he was 1 millisecond (as he says) away from getting his 30th rep. So, he got 29, which is awesome! Then came the 5K. He ran it in 22:01, which isn't his best, but I think it's pretty impressive since he's basically working 2 jobs. This put him at a time of 7:31. Out of 525 people (women included) he got 65th place. It's a little different for the women; they have to bench a certain percentage of their weight, and of course age is a factor as well. I am pretty proud of how Eric did. I don't think I could bench even half my weight once!
(See, he really does start the race! By the way, I always think about him in Twins and how big he seemed. He doesn't really seem that big in person.) (No, that isn't Eric pictured with him.)