President's Day 5K Today!

Today was the President's Day 5K at Coyote Point!

It's a gorgeous place on a nice day...sad to say, but this morning was not very hospitable to racing....

We had quite a storm yesterday, nearly 2.5 inches of rain. Would I be the only nut out there this morning? I called the organizer to be sure...nope, the race was happening, rain or shine! Mr. Handsome-and-Handy, though, dug out a set of waterproof pants and jacket. I woke to another stormy morning, but made a nice, hot dish of oatmeal and peanut butter and went to the race!

No, I was NOT the only nut out there! There were folks of all ages and running abilities, and there were even a couple of young kids run/walking with their parents. But I was the only one in heavy plastic pants and jacket. (I squeaked. Oh, the shame.) And we weren't the nuttiest of the nuts...stage 2 of the Tour de California bike race was also happening this morning.

"Well," I said to one woman, "this is probably the only day I can say, 'If Lance Armstrong can do it, so can I!' "

I swear, she must have been a Bumbling Band member in disguise: "No! Today is the day to say, 'If I can do it, so can Lance Armstrong!' "

Then it was time! We assembled at the starting line, and the organizer informed us that the 5K was a little longer than that distance, by about .4 mile. I was near the back of the pack the entire race, and I was worried about getting too tired, so I just kept a steady jog the whole time and enjoyed the scenery. (I'm a pretty slack racer...next one, I'll have to go all out.)

All finishers got a nice medal, in addition to a sweatshirt. My time was 45:49, which is slower than I did in the Pumpkin Run. I probably would have been faster in less cumbersome gear. Oh well, it was a really pleasant run, even with the wet weather.

The early hour and wet weather prevented my fans from joining me, but I got a couple of nice banners to celebrate when I got home!