Now that I'm running on a consistent basis (~20 miles per week), I've tried a couple 5ks. The first, back in April, was the JFK Runway Run. My unofficial time of 30:20 was disappointing -- I'd set sub-30 as my goal.
That's me behind the girl in the pink sweater. That she's walking should've been a sign that I was not moving quickly.
An 'action' shot. I believe runners call what I'm doing here "shuffling." The other guy in the picture spent the entire race taking pictures. And he finished before me.
At least I finished hard . . . I had been ~100 yards behind the guy in the yellow as we hit the final turn.
One month and 60 miles of training later, I ran the NYPD Memorial 5k in Battery Park. With 1156 finishers, it was a big race. Using my stopwatch time (because it took a minute to get to the actual starting line), I finished in a respectable 27:29 and easily surpassed both my official goal of sub-30 and my unofficial hope that I'd finish under 28.
I started out well back, even behind more walkers than I care to remember. The perk to the crowd was that I couldn't start out too fast. By the time the crowd thinned a little, I was already one mile into the race.
Unfortunately, I finished in a crowd and my finisher picture only captured my sleeve:
(That's my sleeve/shoulder on the right, behind the man in the white t-shirt.)
One of the perks to running in New York is that you get to see celebrities every so often. My first racing celebrity is Kathryn Erbe.
I spotted her while awaiting the pre-race ceremony standing within 10 feet of me. But I didn't recognize her until I saw someone go up and ask her for a picture. She seemed really friendly and approachable. And I'm a big fan of two of her movies: What About Bob? and Mighty Ducks 2. But I make it a rule not to strike up conversation with a stranger unless I've got something important to say. And the world's no worse off for my not saying, "My wife thinks your character on Law & Order: CI should get to solve things and not just ooh and aah when your partner figures it out."
Next up, the Shelter Island 10k. Allegedly, I 'could' run it in ~57 minutes. I've set my goal at sub-60. At the very least, I'd like to improve on a poor Running of the Bulls 10k in 2004 when I was so near last place that I risked being chased across the finish line by a guy in a bull costume. As of right now, Ann's planning on watching this one so I'll have to try and put on a good show.
That's me behind the girl in the pink sweater. That she's walking should've been a sign that I was not moving quickly.
An 'action' shot. I believe runners call what I'm doing here "shuffling." The other guy in the picture spent the entire race taking pictures. And he finished before me.
At least I finished hard . . . I had been ~100 yards behind the guy in the yellow as we hit the final turn.
One month and 60 miles of training later, I ran the NYPD Memorial 5k in Battery Park. With 1156 finishers, it was a big race. Using my stopwatch time (because it took a minute to get to the actual starting line), I finished in a respectable 27:29 and easily surpassed both my official goal of sub-30 and my unofficial hope that I'd finish under 28.
I started out well back, even behind more walkers than I care to remember. The perk to the crowd was that I couldn't start out too fast. By the time the crowd thinned a little, I was already one mile into the race.
Unfortunately, I finished in a crowd and my finisher picture only captured my sleeve:
(That's my sleeve/shoulder on the right, behind the man in the white t-shirt.)
One of the perks to running in New York is that you get to see celebrities every so often. My first racing celebrity is Kathryn Erbe.
I spotted her while awaiting the pre-race ceremony standing within 10 feet of me. But I didn't recognize her until I saw someone go up and ask her for a picture. She seemed really friendly and approachable. And I'm a big fan of two of her movies: What About Bob? and Mighty Ducks 2. But I make it a rule not to strike up conversation with a stranger unless I've got something important to say. And the world's no worse off for my not saying, "My wife thinks your character on Law & Order: CI should get to solve things and not just ooh and aah when your partner figures it out."
Next up, the Shelter Island 10k. Allegedly, I 'could' run it in ~57 minutes. I've set my goal at sub-60. At the very least, I'd like to improve on a poor Running of the Bulls 10k in 2004 when I was so near last place that I risked being chased across the finish line by a guy in a bull costume. As of right now, Ann's planning on watching this one so I'll have to try and put on a good show.
