Fired Up 5K

For my next trick, I will attempt to type out a report on this year's 5K benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association while one hand is occupied with a SuperSonic breakfast burrito.

This is one of the events I did during my first summer of road races, and I've come back ever since:

2005 Fired Up 5K: 35:22
2006 Fired Up 5K: 31:59
2007 Fired Up 5K: 28:53
2008 Fired Up 5K: 28:29

Today's run started out great and I had clocked an even four minutes upon reaching the marker the organizers thoughtfully planted at the half-mile mark, so I thought I had the pace under control. But just like last month in Seabrook, the humidity was high and I could sense that my body was struggling to cool itself, so I had to throttle down to a pace around 10:00/mile. I will try not to obsess over what went wrong, however, and just be happy I broke last year's time.

After running through the fire station and crossing the finish line, I took a cooldown jog over to my car. In the parking lot I came upon a woman who was standing at her car door, peering inside anxiously. "Are you locked out?" I asked. She wasn't just locked out; she had been robbed. She had gotten in the practice of hiding her car keys on the outside of her vehicle. I guess someone saw her do that before the race today and had an opportunity too good to resist.

Bad things happen to runners every day, but this is the first time I had seen such a thing happen at a race event. So, take heed, adherents to the hide-a-key practice: You never know when you might be unwittingly playing a game of hide-and-SEE with the bad guys.

After letting Ms. Hide-A-Key borrow my phone to call a friend to come help. I returned to the fire station to meet Runner's World forumite Lisa D. The man at the Finish Line Sports booth was nice enough to take a sweaty post-race picture of the two of us. Lisa's a sweetie and can definitely rock a Nike skirt. As we sat through the awards ceremony, Lisa noted that it was uncharacteristically breezy for a morning this time of year. For those to the east of us being lashed by Hurricane Gustav, know that our thoughts are with you today.

On a final, gadget-oriented note. This Labor Day weekend, I treated myself to a new ForeRunner 205 after the most recent price cut. My old 101 has served me well over the years and I've loved it to pieces -- literally, I'm afraid to say.

I like that the 205 is much easier to recharge, and the wrap-around shape of the receiver does look sleeker. But the size and placement of the buttons makes it too easy to press the wrong one on the run. At least I don't have to worry about whether the Scotch tape is holding anymore! And the rubberized wristband makes absorbed odors a thing of the past.

Of more genuine concern is that the 205 logged today's certified 5K course as 3.02 miles. I'm hoping that maybe it just needs a software update. (Or I will realize later that I need a programming upgrade to work properly!) Otherwise, I guess the trees lining the boulevards were too much for this device to overcome.

Well, I cheated. I took down the rest of the burrito before the third paragraph was done, so I guess this report wasn't such a trick after all.....

Have a great Labor Day, everyone!