Frigid 5k's

Mother Nature isn't being kind to the runners this spring. The morning of the Association of Former Students Run for the Ring the temperature was in to 40's. This morning at Run Thru The Vines it was a little warmer, in the 50's, but still with a blustery north wind. The weather at Run Thru The Vines is cyclical though. It seems like every other year is a beautiful Parent's Weekend day, while the off years suck. I remember big thunderstorms rolling in after the race two of the three years I covered the event as a photographer for Rec Sports.

The race today was a much better showing by yours truly. To recap the "highlights" from last year:

* 100th overall finisher
* 11th in my age group with a time of 29:31
* Beaten by a gaggle of junior high girls, a dog, and a mom pushing a stroller

This year I was much improved.

* 45th overall finisher -- my goal was to be in the top 50.
* 4th in my age group
* New personal best time for 1 mile -- 8:19
* I was not beaten by any dogs, 12 year old girls, or bad-ass mamas with strollers, though three 13 year old boys did finish in the top 10 (two in the top 5). They were amazing.

I missed 3rd in my age group by 4 seconds. Looking at the official results the 3rd place finisher actually came in just behind me. The joys of running with 600+ other people.

While I didn't get the trophy bottle of sparkling grape juice I managed to pick up a door prize with lots of triathlon related goodies. All in all a great race for me, even if I did freeze my tail a bit.

Hopefully the weather will be nicer in two weeks for the triathlon. A cold north wind after a swim in the lake will really suck.