Fast Times

I had a fantastic weekend, but it was another example of how 2013 seems to be in "too much, too fast" mode. For a low-key, ultra-mellow guy like me, having so much going on can sometimes be a bit much.

Because there were so many activities, there is much I'm forced to leave out. But I'm sure everyone wants to hear about my trip to the dentist, right?

OK, maybe not. But the one noteworthy thing about that is they talked me into a new "fluoride lacquer" treatment. It made my mouth sticky and unpleasant for hours afterwards, like a coating of 6-week-old honey -- but it should further protect me from the Cavity Creeps.

Anyway, once I escaped from the land of drills, spit vacuums, and pointy metal tooth probes, I drove over to the emissions testing station, which is even less pleasant. While I do admire the cleverness with which the government extracts money from our pockets by promoting the idea of clean air, I seriously doubt that the hours wasted (and CO₂ expended within the tests, etc) provide an overall benefit to the world. It would be interesting to see statistics on how many cars are rendered less polluting for having gone through this testing. (My guess is: Not Many.)

As the dentist had done a bit earlier, the emissions folks eventually pronounced me free to go, and I embarked upon my next errand, which would take me over to the other side of town to take care of some financial paperwork. When I emerged from that appointment, I noticed that my gas cap door flap was wide open -- and the cap itself was missing!

How much pollution did that cause? Geez. The good news is that the emissions station DID still have the missing gas cap, and I was able to get it back in place before heading over to the car wash.

With teeth and car both clean and certified functional, I began to worry about how my legs would hold up in Saturday's "Snowman Stampede" 10-mile running race. I was confident that I could finish the distance, but I really wanted to test myself to see if I could hold a 10-minute per mile pace for the entire distance.

The race began at Hudson Gardens, and then went north to Dartmouth Street along the Platte River bike path (AKA the Mary Carter Greenway), and then returned along the same trail. It's a pleasant course, right by the river, with several areas where you can run on dirt or gravel rather than concrete sidewalk. There were also some interesting natural sculptures standing where where water from leaking pipes under bridges had created some impressive ice stalagmites.

People tell me it was windy, but I didn't pay much attention to that. I just ran as hard as I could, trying to stick with a few competitors who seemed to be holding a similar pace. We leapfrogged a bit, with me gaining an advantage by not stopping at aid stations...while my competitors had the advantage of being slightly better runners. It was good to have something to hold my focus, so I could ignore the fact that running is really hard, and not much fun.

I am very pleased with my overall time: 1:32:57. The astounding thing is that while I did fade on the back half, I was still able to hold every single mile under my target 10:00 pace, and even got a couple of them right around 9:00. Though I'm a LONG way from being in marathon shape, this race was a good confidence builder; not only was I able to run hard for 10 miles, but I also did it in relatively little pain, and was mostly uncrippled afterwards. I'm definitely making progress.

I know I promised you a summary of my belay certification class at the Ridge's climbing wall, but it will have to wait until later. I will also post links to official Stampede race photos once they become available (assuming I don't look too stupid in any of their pictures.) Until then, enjoy this lovely running weather, and have a great day!