Joe's Run (5K)
Usually when I hear rain and thunder on a Saturday morning, I think, "Cool...I can sleep in!"
This morning when I heard the thunder and rain, I thought, "I don't care if there's a tornado, I'm running that friggin' race this morning!"
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It was chilly this morning (about 50 degrees), and cloudy. Not much of a breeze, but still...enough wind to keep things feeling even cooler.
It was a good morning to run.
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typsygypsy and I planned to run the race together. Two friends from work (Dave and Velina), planned to walk the race. (Dave's only been walking a month, and he's losing weight and racking up the miles; Velina's planning to walk in a grueling charity walk in November.)
Me, Dave, and Velina before the race.
We picked up our little microchip thingies that track when the starting line is crossed and when the finish line is crossed.
Dave and I put our chips on while Velina--always the instigator (unlike me!)--teased us for being anal-retentive about the way we secured the chips to our shoelaces.
Ever the anarchist, Velina only used one twist tie to secure her chip, and she secured it so it flopped around and showed the other side.
The foot on the right is the foot of anarchy!!!
Don't you just want to fix that chip?!
typsygypsy and toarthos found us.
The mascot for the race is a parrot. A person in a parrot suit that smelled like a hippie den (the incense-smelling parrot was probably stoned!), wandered around the crowd.
I had to get a pic with Candace and the parrot.
Trivial Fact: All three people in this photo have donned giant animal costumes at some point in their lives...
The mascot for the Fort Worth Cats was there. I figured a cat and bird would fight, or something, but the cat and the giant parrot seemed to get along pretty well. I would not be surprised to see colorful, feathered cats roaming the streets of Ft. Worth later this spring, if you know what I mean...I think the mascots got along that well...
Toar, The Cat, and Me (Gotta "thumbs up" when you're with a mascot).
They called everybody to the street for the race. We ended up near the end of the pack, but it was cool because it gave us people to pass.
Chatting with Candace before the race.
Candace shooting two fingers at my favorite photographer.
While chatting, the starter's pistol went off and everybody struggled for position. Candace and I moved to the outside and started the slow trodding pace that would carry us through the race.
Trying to get outside so we could run.
* * *
Last Saturday, on our way to Dave's property near Bowie, darthcynthia and I saw a clown.
We saw a clown this morning, too!
That's two Saturdays with clowns.
That's two Saturdays with clowns too many...
Had I known there was a clown behind me, I would have run faster at the start (I didn't see the clown until the end of the race. I had to pass it to finish. To stop would let the clown win; to finish would be defeating the colorful beast! Did I finish the race? You'll have to keep reading to find out...
I bet the clown didn't smell like incense.
Clowns have a smell all their own.
I've smelled clowns; it's an odor one never forgets.
It's the smell of sorrow...
* * *
We trodded along Magnolia Street, actually passing people (and being passed). Candace and I chatted about races she's run in the past, and it wasn't long before we were hoping the ONE MILE marker would come up.
A couple homeless guys shouted out to us, "What are you running for?"
Candace was bummed that she didn't say "FREE BEER!!!" in time.
At the one mile marker came the first hill.
"I may be a little quiet going up this thing," Candace said.
"Yeah," was my reply.
The first hill was a new thing on a run to me. The route I run...there's a small hill, but not as long as the first hill on the course. We made it to the top, hung a right, and were on level ground again.
At what we guessed was the 1.5 mile mark, there was a water station.
Candace got water in a Coke cup; my water came in beer cup.
"Hey, you got beer!" Candace said.
I tried drinking, but ended up spilling on myself. I vowed to not walk once during the race, and stuck to that vow while trying to drink. Candace was smart and walked a few steps, and then caught up to me.
I got a few sips, but ended up more exhausted trying to drink while jogging than focusing on breathing while tackling the first hill.
Even though I know people clean up after races, I felt weird just throwing my cup to the ground. When I finally did, though, it was cool--like, "Yeah, I'm running a friggin' race!!!"
* * *
We felt bad when we saw the crying child, but he was with a cop who assured him they'd find his mother and all would be well.
Before you think we're saints, we did laugh at the poor kid! He was an odd looking wee'un...
Candace thought it was surreal, seeing a little kid who looked almost like an adult in the face crying as we neared two miles.
* * *
Oh, I forgot to mention...the two mile mark was up a hill, too!
We finally reached a turn and one of the race volunteers said, "It's downhill, now!"
Yes, it was! And it was nice! We passed the recording studio where Spriggan recorded their latest CD (you should go to the Web site and buy the disc...cool stuff!).
We took a right, and there was the steepest hill of the course.
I remember this: at some point, Candace said, "Next to being clowns, this is the most painful thing we've ever done together..."
Candace and I used to be clowns. It was all her fault! It was painful, but at one point on the hill when I was forced to take a deep breath, I almost thought, "I'll don a foam nose and pancake makeup again if it means I could be teleported to the top of this friggin' hill!"
Somewhere in it all, Candace made me laugh. I thought, "No, this is bad. If I laugh, I'm out of breath and tanking."
But I laughed; I wasn't as out of breath as I thought I was! I could still talk, and that gave me the energy to keep going.
I knew there would not be another hill that bad on the course, and we were back on pace on the way down and to the straightaway toward the finish line.
We passed the Samaritan House apartments, and some of the residents who have housing provided by the charity we were running for hung out on their balconies and patios, waving as we jogged by. One lady cheered us on, and Candace told her she had a very pretty patio. The woman looked touched.
Oh, Candace saw puppies! She gushes when she sees puppies. Had Candace had a tail, my legs would have been bruised because she was more excited than the newborn dogs in the middle of all kinds of commotion!
* * *
"When we cross this next street, we need to sprint," Candace said.
I'll admit, looking like gazelles at the end would be cool, but I didn't want to get wiped out before the finish line.
I could make out the finish line. I thought it was just some point right ahead when a race volunteer said, "Great job, just ten seconds to go!" I visualized ten seconds ahead and it didn't look like a finish line.
And then I saw the clown...
* * *
There's a scene in Run Fatboy Run when the main character hits the wall--that spot in a race when you give up, or keep going. I thought the wall was the final hill, but it was the clown. I almost started laughing, and that would have wiped all oxygen from my system.
Without oxygen, I would have passed out...at the floppy feet of a painted-faced fiend!
To pass out before a clown is worse than having to pick up the soap in the shower in prison.
You never know what a clown will do to somebody who can't defend himself. It could have been worse than when I was a kid and humiliated (by a girl!), on Bozo's Circus and that friggin' bastard, Bob Bell--the Bozo--laughed at me!!!
Instead, I focused...Ignore the clown, Chris...
I ignored the clown and saw the finish line. It was a gate with a timeclock and everything--Just like in the movies!
Crossing the finish line!!!
* * *
I don't think that's our official time in the photo. We were so far back, we didn't cross the starting line for a little while. I wasn't out to hit a time, but when I find out the official time, I'll post it.
My goal was simple: start the race running and end it running. Every step in between...running! Even while trying to drink water, I kept pace. I did what I set out to do and felt great at the end.
* * *
We chatted with Candace and Toar while waiting for Dave and Velina to finish.
It was cool being with my sweetie, who got my ass off the couch many times I didn't want to walk. It was cool running the race with Candace, who had me thinking about running for years. And it was cool seeing Dave and Velina--two other people who always keep me going--crossing the finish line. (The only person missing was my tennis/running buddy, Steve. Steve got my ass running, and I look forward to the day I can do a race with him!)
Dave and Velina crossing the finish line.
Look at the time--The seconds are blurred.
Dave and Velina warp time with their mightiness!
Dave and Velina again...
Chatting with my friends.
Dave (looking all preppy with his sweater tied at his waist), Velina, Candace, and me.
Cynthia, me, Toar, and Candace.
After the race, Dave and Velina headed out, and Toar and Candace treated us to breakfast.
We sat outside, eating and talking.
A veggie burger (with chipotle hot sauce), bagel chips, and coffee will never taste as good as it did this morning...
Thanks Cynthia, Dave, Velina, Candace, and Toar--it was one of the best mornings ever!