Run of the Mill 5K

Jeff celebrating afterward with too much beer and rum!
Jason doing some double-fisted celebrating with Jeff!

Julius with his free Top Pot donut!

There goes Jeff! (Red tank top)

There goes Amy! (Purple shirt)

Amy (purple shirt) and Jeff (red tank top) cross the starting line!

Jeff and I - love this pic!

Amy, Kathy, and Jeff before the race! Go runners!

Jeff says "ouch, my hamstring still hurts!"

Today was Run of the Mill 5K road race. Jeff competed, along with our friend Amy and we found Kathy along the way as well! Everyone did great on their times (Amy beat her personal best!) and Jeff came in at 29:20. That's 9.7 min. miles! That's pretty fast for an old guy! HAHA. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and hot. We came back to our house after, grabbing Azteca for lunch on the way (this was so early we even had to wait in the car till the restaurant opened!). We had Mexican food and beer on the deck and then I took a three hour nap, while Jeff ran some errands. (Watching people exercise is exhausting to me, I guess!) Jeff celebrated later with a lot of rum and beer (I can smell him as I type!). Go, Jeff!

St. Patrick's Day Bitch and Moan Festival

Yesterday we participated in the 25th annual St. Paddy's Day Dash in downtown Seattle. Or should I say St. Paddy's Day Splash. Or, as the title suggests, The Bitch and Moan Festival. This was to be a culminating project of sorts - we had been working on ten weeks of "living healthier" and making changes to our diet and exercise (with limited success, I might add), and this 5K was to be the "celebration" at the end. Well, daybreak brought 33 degrees and snow. We rolled out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and dressed in long underwear and layers. Begrudgingly we headed downtown to falling snow with flakes as big as the palm of your hand! We were running late so Jeff dropped us off and we were on the opposite side of the Seattle Center from the start line. So, huffing and puffing before we even started the race, we found the starting line just as the starter gun went off for the "yellow wave". Thinking we were the purple wave, and therefore the last wave, we didn't rush to get in line. Oops. The yellow wave WAS the last wave so we quickly realized our error and skipped across the barrier to get in line. At this point, Jeff was parking the car and planned to meet us along the route. Several minutes went by while I waited for his call. After 20 minutes or so, I finally called him. He was ahead of us by a few blocks, having started at the wrong spot. We met up and that's when the hell began. After walking several blocks, we began to hear Harrison complaining about........well........EVERYTHING! Let's see, here are some of the more notable complaints: My legs hurt. My ankle hurts. This must be more than a 5K. Where is the turnaround? You said it was just around the bend. I can't do this. I think I'm having a heart attack. My legs are so tired. I can't do this. Why can't we jump over the barrier? I'm tired. Stop walking so fast! I can't do this!!! Of course, he COULD do it, and he did, but the 1.5 hours of constant complaining, coupled with freezing rain, wet feet and the fact that we were dead last made the whole experience about as pleasant as putting bamboo shards under one's fingernails. I believe I said things along the lines of: NEVER AGAIN! Hannah and Arlie walked so slow that the "sweeper" police car was on their tails the last half of the race, and when we crossed the finish line, the crews immediately started taking it down! We stepped across the finish line and headed to McDonald's where we indulged in Egg McMuffins and hot cocoa while we sat dripping and soggy and freezing. And that, my friends, is spring in Seattle. Hannah and Arlie came up with a slogan to help us decide whether or not to leave the house next time we decide to do something like this (oh, but I did say NEVER AGAIN, right?). They said "Rain and snow? Don't go! Sunshine? It's fine!" Don't let the photos fool you. It was pure misery, despite the fake smiles. Did I mention NEVER AGAIN???

I guess I have to write about me..........

Ok, so my only "event" this weekend was a 5K. I had big plans to train for this and run my first 5K (I've walked several). But alas, I did not train adequately, and so I knew I would be walking this one as well. However, seeing as how it appeared most people would be running it, I really wanted to run a portion. So, Jeff and I awoke early on a VERY cold morning (foggy and under 50 degrees in JULY!), and arrived at Duck Lake. The previous day was "triathlon" day and this day, Sunday, was the "footrace" day. Everyone started together but some chose to do the 5K, some the 10K, and some the half-marathon. I started off running (ok, it was more of a very slow jog) and tried to keep up as long as possible. When I could take it no longer (my lungs were ok, but my achilles tendons were screaming), Jeff said "that was about a mile" (how embarrassing!). We then walked, increasing our pace as I realized the couple in front of us, walking with grandma and pushing twins in a stroller was beating us! Adding insult to injury was 75-year-old Margaret who was smoking me with her lopsided gait and run/walk pace. I was being left in the dust by two grandmothers! So, with all the energy I had left, I began to run, if only to pass up my elders and not feel like such a dork. I was totally sucking wind by the time I crossed the finish line, but at least I came in ahead of the Geritol generation (wow, a real feather in my cap, right?). However, I did wait for Margaret to cross the finish line and asked her was her secret was - running a 5K at 75? She explained that she and her husband started running at age 50 when their son got into running. They recently cut back their "50 events a year" to 25 and had just run a 5K the day before. That's it. I'm eating Wheaties and running my ass away from Starbucks. I want to be running a 5K when I'm 75! Anyway, I got my medal and had the kids take the obligatory photo (note how lovely I look after camping for two days, doing the 5K and having no shower). I'm inspired for my next event, however lowly I am on the athlete's totem pole. I finished, right?