November 20, 2005
Toys for Tots Trot
Bruce, Will, and I ran the Toys for Tots Trot 5K today. Bruce, of course, is veteran companion for these races, but today was Will's first time out with us. It was pretty damn cold, especially since it was foggy, so I had a warm hat, running gloves, and a vest on. These made standing around before the race bearable, but proved to be a bit of a pain during the race; I still need to figure out my clothing strategy in these things.
I ran a respectable 27:08 by my time (I think the official was 27:17 or something) which works out to 8:29 miles on my clock and a bit more (like 8:45) on the official clock. I like mine better. If my Forerunner is to be believed, then I finally beat my 8:30 split target. However, my splits were a mess. I started out too fast at 8:14, had a bad second mile at 9:02, and then came home in 8:27 for the third (including a short walk to get my heart rate back under control). I finished strong at 7:13 pace for the last part. I had hoped to beat the Marine who ran the race in a flak jacket and carrying the Marine Corp standard; I passed him at one point, but during my short walk, he passed me and then ran a strong finish.
I did, however, beat Bruce, who normally beats me by a minute per mile. It would be more accurate to say that Bruce beat himself, deciding to do an extra loop around Seattle Center. The course was not well marked and the attendants were not always diligent, but I like to think I had better course management than Bruce. In the end it looks like he ran an extra .8 of a mile -- definitely significant.
Will did very well, finishing in the low 25's I think. I guess all that Salumi's didn't slow him down.
Of course, the most important part of our races is the brunch afterwards. Today we went to an old haunt of mine, Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe. Per my tradition, I had huevos rancheros (with grits this time!) -- lovely.
(This is quite possibly the most unflattering photo ever taken of me.)
Posted by Tony at November 20, 2005 01:08 PM | TrackBackThe race was a lot of fun. I kept up with Bruce for the first 10 minutes but then he slowly pulled ahead. Mae's was great too. Gotta love a breakfast place with grits.
Posted by: Will at November 20, 2005 07:01 PMYou're right, that's a particularly dreadful picture of you.
Posted by: Leslie Irish Evans at November 22, 2005 07:55 PMwhoa. You need a better camera. Everyone looks better when shot by a Nikon D70.
Posted by: Elphaba at November 26, 2005 08:19 PMWell, you know it's bad when the ladies also think the photo is bad.
Elphaba, I'm afraid a different camera isn't going to help here. I've tried that tactic for a while now. Nothing short of a lot of exercise and way less food is going to do the trick. (Or a lot of Photoshop work.)
Posted by: Tony at November 27, 2005 03:01 AM