My Forrest Gump Day

I took a really long run this morning, the first in over a year and a half. Last year I had a bad knee and could not run during the summer. This year I have gradually run more, but before today, my longest run was only eight miles.

I took my camera, but did not see anything interesting to shoot. However, I do like taking a picture of the junction signs at the point furthest out. (I live at approximately 580W and 520S.)
I checked my route on http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/index.asp?, which is one of several sites that lets you plot running routes, and it came to 15.7 miles. My watch said it took about 157 minutes, so I managed to average ten-minute miles. I ran faster than that the first eight miles, but much slower the last four. My muscles are not too sore, and more important, neither are the joints. However, I have not had energy to do much today.

Now I need to go now and eat some delicious peach oatmeal crisp to get my strength back.

Dessert Survivor Wins a Shoe

Last week I wrote about running in a little 5K. This week I ran in a much bigger one, with over 500 runners. In a race this big, you never run alone, and that helps you run faster.

The treats at the finish line were very different from last week. There were cookies, but they were McDonald's cookies. All the rest of the food was gone at the end, except the McDonald's cookies.
They also had watermelon, cantaloupe, and bananas. The watermelon was especially refreshing after an exhausting run.
And they had two kinds of tasty muffins. They were almost as good as real cookies.
This race gives away shoes to winners of all the different age categories because it was once part of a festival called the Touch of Dutch festival. It was named for the heavy Dutch settlement of the area. For reasons I do not understand, it was renamed the Town and Country festival, a far less interesting name in my opinion. Anyway, the race, called the Rotary Ramble, is one of the best 5Ks in the area. It attracts some very talented runners, and this year it was the state champion meet for some group.
I managed to cut my time from last week by almost a minute. The cooler weather (and some serious training at the beginning of the week) probably contributed. I was in the top half of the race, and finished third of ten in my age group, which was good enough for a shoe. (There are a lot of age groups, so they give away a lot of shoes. It is really tough to win one if you are in high school because there are so many high school runners who enter.)
I probably will not run another 5K this year, so now I can worry less about how those cookies will affect my running time.

Running a 5K

I (Dessert Survivor) entered my first 5K race in almost two years on Saturday. Each 5K is different, but there are some things you expect from a well-managed race.

Generally you can register in advance and save a few dollars, but you also can register at the check-in.
When you do check in, you get usually get a goodie bag, and the highlight is usually a tee shirt. This year the race organizers gave long-sleeved tee shirts, which are great for running in the fall and winter.
There is time to kill before the race. One important thing to do is make sure you know where the nearest facilities are, especially if you are an old man.
After a lot of milling around and talking to friends, people are eager to get started. They line up on the start line several minutes before the start, and everyone tries to find the best position. This race is held before the new school year begins and there are kids who will be running cross country in the fall. They usually claim the first row, and they start fast.
We are off and running. I am old, perhaps the oldest runner in the race, and it takes a while for me to get into a comfortable pace. There is a tendency for young runners to start too fast and run out of gas later. I always enjoy passing them.
This year the race had a different course because the old course had road construction. But like the old course, it was an out-and-back rather than a loop. With an out-and-back those of us who are not so fast will get to see who is leading the race. Here Naza, as expected, has pulled away from the field. Naza runs cross country in college and loves to run. The picture is a bit fuzzy because I am taking it as I am running and I cannot hold the camera steady.
I finally get round the turnaround and start back. There are people ahead of me and people behind me. I have closed the gap on the girl ahead of me and will eventually pass her.
By the end of the race I was running alone, about 30 seconds behind a group ahead of me and about 30 seconds ahead of the person behind me. (The race results will tell me if that my impression was correct.) I have run about as fast as I can and it takes me about fifteen minutes to catch my breath. Three years ago I was more than a minute faster. Can I blame old age?
Waiting at the finish are cold drinks, cookies, and apples. Yes, cookies. Dessert after the race. Next to the tee shirt, the cookies and drinks are the most important reward for entering a race. I drink three little bottles of gator aide, and eat an apple and a bunch of cookies. (I like cookies.) According to one calories counter, I expended about 400 calories running the race. But I consume a lot more after the race. Does running this race causes me to gain weight?
After the race there is a drawing for various prizes. The winners are usually pretty happy, even if what they won is not very useful to them. The prizes are mostly donated by sponsors, and they get a little ad on the back of the tee shirt. This year I did not win anything.
And then there are the results and the ribbons for age divisions. I got a red ribbon. Unfortunately for me a super runner, Roger S, is in my age group. He ran a bit over 19 minutes. Once school starts, the high school and college runners no longer enter the 5Ks, and Roger wins many of the races he enters even though he is over 55 years old. I was about four minutes slower than Roger.

One Hundred Pushups Challenge

So have you been enjoying a lot of desserts lately and want a quick way to get in shape and feel stronger? Me too. Here's the latest fad, one that I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and do:

one hundred pushups.

There's a six-week training plan, taking about 30 minutes a week, and at the end of the program you should be able to do 100 pushups. If you'd like to learn more about it, visit http://www.hundredpushups.com/.

I'll let you know how it goes. Good luck!