Summer 2013 Races

(I started this post over a month ago on 8 August, but things happened and other posts and such, and then I decided to put them all together in the same post, so here they are at last, and the draft will finally not be sitting there forlornly looking at me whenever I post something.)

We had some races over the summer!  They were varied in length and style, but I'm (FINALLY) going to blog about them all at once, so here goes.

We heard that on 24 July there was going to be a Pioneer Day Temple To Temple 5K, starting at the old Provo Temple and ending at the construction/re-construction site of the Provo Tabernacle temple.  Julie thought this was good timing for her to try to get back into running and racing after having The Boy, so she signed up for it (along with, apparently, no less than FIVE THOUSAND OTHER PEOPLE...), and when we realized that there was this issue with transportation (how are the runners supposed to get back to their cars if they park at the starting point?!?), we decided I would just drop her off and then meet her with the little one to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line.  So The Boy and I dropped her off at the top of the hill, then drove home, and then picked up some race prizes for mum, and then had a short run from our house to the finish line downtown.

Here she is!  At a much quicker finish time than expected!

The Bobo was on hand to give flowers and encouragement.

A runner again!  Yay!

Showing great progress in the jumping picture department.

Mommy's little cheerleader.

We were both evidently very worn out after our little run (and also a peek at the temple construction).

She did so great!  She opted for the free registration (along with MANY THOUSANDS of others), so she wasn't included in the chip timing or get her official results on the printout or anything, but it was her first post-pregnancy run, and she ran it like a champ.  It sounded like a fun (downhill!) course, so maybe I'll join next year if they do it again, though the logistics do present a problem.

Next up came the Provo Pioneer Day (in name but not in actual date) Classic, the following weekend  Julie decided to sit this one out, satisfied with the accomplishment of having just completed her own race just a few days before.  For some reason (called peer pressure) I decided to do the 10K, which I haven't done in a while, and which I've never done for this race.  As it turned out, the peer pressure wasn't even true, since most of our party did the 5K, and it also turned out to be a terrible time to give in to it.  The prevailing attitude as I crossed the finish line, and for pretty much every step leading up to it, was NEVER AGAIN.  A 10K is one thing, but that 10K is quite another, and there is NO REASON to put runners through that torture during the first mile.  I had to drive Julie along the course on the way home because there's just no way to describe or imagine that monster slope, aptly named Goliath.  No.  I'll be just fine with the 5K next year if we do this one again.  It was also considerably less runners than previous years, but probably because most of them did the one a few days before, which was FREE, and didn't have a ridiculous hill.

Trying not to die.

Can you fix my feet, free massage dude?!?

I placed anyway!

Bobo woke up shortly after I finished.

There was a dance contest for prizes, but none of the judges seemed to appreciate this boy's already impressive moves.

Athletic supporters.

Everyone who ran placed!  It was fun that Emily was in town and could join us for this one.

I did all right, coming in at 45:31 (goal of 45, close enough), 7:20 min/mile, 14th overall, 9th in men, and 3rd in my age division.  I set a lap at the halfway point to see if the second half would be significantly faster due to no hill, and it was, but just by a couple of minutes.  It was tough recoup.  It should also probably be noted that at the finish line I BAREly measured six miles.  I mean, I was fine with a little bit of an early finish (though I ran it out to make a full 10K anyway), but come on!  How many years has this course been a quarter-mile short??

And then, as we sometimes do, we joined a bunch of kin to run the Alpine Days 5K in August.  For this one, we decided to run it all three of us together, including, for the first time (on the outside), The Boy.  I pushed him in the running stroller (thanks for the loan, Melody!), and it was fun to start and finish all at the same time (36:47ish).  CAG seemed to enjoy his first race, and Julie and I had fun running together.  I didn't keep close track of my placement, but it seems that even at my not-so-usual pace I placed in the top 10 of my division (maybe #7?).  That goes to show that there weren't too many people in my category.

Fun races!  We're glad you're back in the game, Wife!  I'm sure you are too.