Last week: 394 lbs.

Start (Dec. 17): 470 lbs.

Total lost: 76 lbs.

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Three months after completing the Lake Placid Half-Marathon — which tested my physical, mental and emotional limits — I was looking forward to taking it easy by walking the Lake Placid Classic 10k Saturday, Sept. 6 with several of my friends.

Yet, when I read an Aug. 30 Facebook post from one of my fellow walkers, Take It Off veteran Robin Miller, I began to worry. She had originally wanted to run the 10k, but it wasn’t working out.

“Signed up for the 10K!!! May walk most, if not all, but I am doing it!” Robin wrote.

I took “May walk most” to mean “May run some,” and I was confused, so I commented, “You are walking with me, right?”

“Yes, Andy, can’t run,” she wrote. “Thought we might toss in a couple of minutes of jogging here and there. Most likely walking will be the ticket for the day!”

Jogging? During the Biggest Loser 5k in Plattsburgh on June 1, I tossed in a couple of minutes of jogging going down the tiny hills and at the finish line because I wanted to finish in less than one hour. It almost worked. My time for the 3.1 miles was 1:00:48. That was close to my goal, and it was the first time I’d walked less than a 20-minute mile, so I was pleased with my personal record.

The question remained, “Did I have a little jogging in me for the 10k?” Maybe, but I was looking forward to a nice walk in the park, an easy workout with four of my friends: Robin, Alison Haas, Jeff Letson and Cherie Ferguson. I had visions of bringing up the rear, finishing last but definitely finishing. I didn’t want a repeat of the agony I had endured during the half-marathon in June, when I almost fainted due to the heat, yet I was still open to the jogging suggestion made by Robin because I love a good challenge.

I made one more comment on Facebook: “You will have to teach me how to jog a little.”

Robin liked the comment, and I thought I dodged a bullet. Maybe she’d forget about the jogging. That was my hope.

But she didn’t. The day before the 10k, she made a comment on someone else’s Facebook post about completing the 10k and wanting to go “very fast!!!!!” I forget how many exclamation points she used, but there were way too many to ignore. She was serious about not taking it easy, and my dream of a nice, easy walk in the park were shattered.

I didn’t get angry or discouraged. Worried, yes, but I’ve been through tough workouts before, especially with Robin. I knew I’d survive.

I believe things happen for a reason, and there must be a really good reason Robin and I crossed paths on our weight-loss journeys. While working out with her at Fitness Revolution, I’m continually inspired by her resolve to push through the pain. I always look to her for help and inspiration. While hiking with Robin up Mount Baker and little Haystack Mountain, she kept me going with words of encouragement and the perseverance of the Energizer Bunny. Pushing our limits together, we reaped the rewards of hard work and found that we could do much more than we’d ever expected.

Whether she knows it or not, I sincerely believe Robin was there to subconsciously push me during the 10k, just as she had at the gym and on the hiking trail.

“It’s only pain,” her husband Mike says. “Piece of cake.”

That’s what Take It Offers do; we push each other, overtly with words of encouragement and subtly by setting an example. Robin was my hero. As such, I felt compelled to push myself much the way she does.

As soon as I accepted that reality, my worries about competing with myself during the 10k faded away, and I felt a little stronger. Memories of our fitness endeavors bolstered my confidence and enthusiasm for the event. I was mentally prepared to push my limits.

Yet I was still open to an easy stroll with my friends, if that’s really how Robin wanted to spend her day. Just to be sure, when I saw her at the start line, I asked, “Were you serious about jogging a little?”

“Yes,” she said.

“OK,” I said nervously and thought to myself, “Let’s do this.”

My goal was to keep up with Robin, and if that meant jogging a little to meet my goal of 20-minute mile splits, that’s what I would do. I kept pace through the first mile, even jogging a few times to catch up. By mile 2, Robin and Cherie had increased their distance between us. Alison, Jeff and I were bringing up the rear. By mile 3, Robin and Cherie were out of sight, and Jeff had begun to pick up steam and create a little distance.

“Robin and Cherie must have found kindred spirits within each other as walking partners,” I said to Alison, who was carrying my small backpack with Gatorade and her jacket.

“I’ll be your Sherpa,” Alison said before the race.

Alison is a saint. She stayed with me the whole time. She’s a runner and used this walk as a “cross-training” day while training for the upcoming half-marathon in Peru. We had a great time telling jokes, and she tried to prevent me from pushing myself too much as I jogged a little to mile markers 2, 3 and 4 to meet my 20-minute splits.

“You’d make a great coach,” I told Alison.

I even jogged a little up the Sentinel Road hill by Lamb Lumber. I was in the zone. By mile 5, I was tired, sore and slowing down, but I had walked faster than ever before, and I completed the 6.2 miles in 2:08:08, an average of 20 minutes, 38 seconds a mile. In the spring, I was walking 25-minute miles, so this was a clear improvement. Since it was my first 10k race, I can consider it a personal record. Next time, I’ll walk faster and jog more.

Scratch that. Next year, I’ll walk/jog the Lake Placid Classic Half-Marathon, not the 10k, and try to average 12-minute miles. That would be something, wouldn’t it?

Hometown event

Walking the 10k was a great way to cap off my summer. It began with a 13.1-mile walk in the Lake Placid Half-Marathon, included a lot of hiking at Henry’s Woods and swimming in Mirror Lake and at the mini-triathlon with the Lake Placid News Papermen team, and ended with a 6.2-mile walk in the Lake Placid Classic.

I was blessed to have my 10k walking partners with me. Alison — my mobile aid station and walking coach — kept me laughing the whole time. Jeff — another Take It Off veteran — continued to inspire me with his achievement; the 10k was his first organized race. Robin — always pushing me to be my best — finished with style, even with two blisters. And Cherie — the rock-solid fire chief from North Creek — who amazed me with her first organized race by beating the entire group then walking to meet Alison and me at the top of the ski jump hill to videotape our finish. I’m proud of the entire group.

I’d like to send out a special congrats to Kristin Makrin, a fellow Fitness Revolution member and friend of the Take It Offers, who finished the Lake Placid Classic Half-Marathon on Sept. 6. She continues to inspire me with her grit and determination, logging 675 miles of running this summer. That’s impressive.

There must be a reason our weight-loss journeys have crossed paths. Looking at the race results, I see two common denominators: Kristin finished last in the half-marathon, and I finished last in the 10k. But we’re not really at the bottom, are we? Being last in the race means we outran and outwalked the thousands of people who didn’t get off the couch to participate in the Lake Placid Classic. At least we were there. At least we finished. And based on our track record of self-improvement, there’s a good chance we’ll both be moving up the ranks in next year’s race.

With 375 finishers, the Lake Placid Classic Half-Marathon and 10k was an event with a hometown feel. It was small enough to know many of the participants yet big enough to count as a major accomplishment. The finisher’s medal was the third I earned this year, and I’m now starting to walk for the bling.

Throughout the entire race, especially at the finish line, the Classic felt like one big party. For me, it was an opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones, share stories about past and upcoming races, training and weight-loss challenges. It was so Lake Placid, and it felt great.

If you’re not from Lake Placid, maybe you don’t know what I mean by “It was so Lake Placid.” In the other Tri-Lakes communities, this village has an unfair and undeserved reputation for being a facade, a busy tourism town with no heart or soul. That’s simply not true. It’s a typical Adirondack small town — draped with a beautiful landscape, blessed with endless recreational opportunities and filled with residents who genuinely care about each other. When you get past the bustle of Main Street, look deeper and get to know the people, you’ll find — as I have — an extremely supportive network of people who share the same daily struggles in life as everyone else.

Lake Placid is the perfect place to embark on a weight-loss journey. Although I grew up in Tupper Lake and now live in Saranac Lake, I feel at home here in the Olympic Village. The Lake Placid Classic reminded me why the Lake Placid Diet works.