Save The Males

I used to run 10ks on the weekend many years back. That was before scouts and soccer and band performances and swim meets and Eagle projects and summer camps and football games. With junior off to college, I've gotten a portion of my weekends back but my other four footed kids seem to have taken up the slack. This past weekend I picked back up on that habit again. Won a drawing at work (most miles logged over a 3 month period) and I got a gift card to a local running store (new shoes!). Neat little specialty store (On The Run) that caters to runners. It’s been there for years and I’ve been meaning to check it out, but just didn’t find the time. It’s run by a woman who is a typical hard core runner – all of 100 lbs, no body fat. Nice little store with my brand of shoes, some nice gear/attire and interesting changing rooms. I definitely will have to blow the card there (plus some).

Changing rooms

While there, I noted there was a run scheduled for Father's Day weekend. Since I’ve recently signed up for next year’s half marathon, I thought I could do a simple 5k run for training. This one piqued my interested because it was “Save the Males”. The organizers set up a run (1k walk, 3 k & 5 k run) tied to Father’s Day to increase awareness and generate donations for Prostate Cancer. Since I am a member of that club, it intrigued me to sign up. Actually it was a pretty nice run. Downtown Houston by the Symphony Hall running past the Aquarium on one of the older boulevards that meanders out from the city. A simple down & back 5k (3.1 miles) on flat streets with a few overpasses. No big challenge. Except if you don’t account for the 85 degree and 70% humidity starting conditions. A wee bit warm, but I’ve been working to condition myself by running during lunch. I wasn’t impressed with my time, but that wasn’t my intention on this course. One thing that made it interesting was that I was in a “elite” group of runners. As you signed up for the run, they asked if you were running as a group or running for someone or if you were a cancer survivor. I fit the last profile that bumped me into the small group of survivors. First time I’ve been in my own special group that wasn’t age based. A small number (31) of runners in that category. Would love to say I really kicked running butt for the survivors but when a 67 year old man puts in a 7:54 pace, I’m not all that and a bag of chips.

One more mile down the road