Week 30: Run A Race

It's week 30, another nice round number.  Lets take a trip back down memory lane and see what we've learned.

• We've learned that a gallon of coffee makes for a great panic attack simulator.
• We've learned that getting a tattoo based off of something you drew out of a hat doesn't earn you much street cred.
• We've learned that in a battle between ass-clenching terror and pants-shitting terror, ass-clenching wins out, when flying a helicopter.
• We've learned few people think Cool Hand Luke is as great of a movie as I do.

Still behind schedule and struggling to keep up another task is upon me.  This time drawn by semi-professional baseball pitcher Leo.

This was staged after the fact

And the result of course:

Teenage Mary said to Uncle Dave
I sold my soul, must be saved
Gonna take a walk down to Union Square
You never know who you're gonna find there

You gotta run, run, run, run, run
Take a drag or two
Run, run, run, run, run
Gypsy Death and you
Tell you whatcha do

-Run, Run, Run - Velvet Underground
Some quick Binging (ha, can you imagine), showed that apparently there are races every day of the week seemingly at all hours of the day.  So this challenge shall be exceptionally easy.

I've found two acceptable races.

5k for the Center for African American Health
Not sure what to expect from this, but the time and location are right so I'll probably be there.  It's a good cause so I'll even try to sucker some of my friends into donating.

An Aquathlon
I'll admit I only want to do this because it sounds ludicrous.  Initially I thought I had to cancel because its a swimming thing and the challenge specifically says "Run"  but this particular race is to swim a mile, then run a 5k.  So not only does it qualify, it may kill me.  So double score.

Stay tuned gang for updates from the exciting world of charitable running.

The Results

After doing some math I decided swimming a mile was likely impossible for a man of my age, and lung capacity.  So, like Robert Frost's lesser know brother Bill Frost, I took the easy way out.

The Race

The race I decided on was the annual 5k for the Center for African American Health.  I realize running such a race could potentially put me in a precarious position politically correctly speaking.  But I assure you, friends, potential future employers and jurors, that I meant no disrespect.  It is an excellent cause, and I'm happy to have donated to it.

Should you feel the philanthropy bug burrow under your skin and lay some eggs too, you should follow the link below too.

http://www.caahealth.org/

The race itself took place at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am on Saturday morning, at lovely City Park in Denver CO.

Seriously, who the hell wakes up this early on a weekend?

I showed up, got my tee shirt, and participated in some warm up exercises, by which I meant we all did the cupid shuffle.

Some of us did it better than others

After milling around waiting for it to start, and lamenting my complete lack of friends or support network it was time to start.

Of course I somehow managed to end up at the very back of the pack for my starting position.

It's okay though because I like to come from behind

The Results (Again)
With a mighty rush of wind I took off and wove my way through the crowd, and promptly ran out of steam right around the 1 mile mark.  I slowed down considderably and was able to finish with a time of 24:50.  Which is just above in shape grandpa, and just below out of shape teenager.

So ... not so bad.  And mission accomplished.  So let us end on a high note with some before and after pictures:

You can't see it but there is a small lake of sweat underneath me