Winter Pickle Run (2 of 3) - Ridley Creek State Park

Wind, wind, and more wind.  My god, was it windy today.  Race was at 3:00 in the afternoon.  Temperature was great when there was no wind, which was not often.  Chris Felix joined me again for the race.  Much smaller turnout than the first Pickle Run.  Again, we had the choice of doing the 5k run or the 7k run (with the final 1/3 run on trails).  Chris and I decided to do the 7k run. 



Registration:

#2013.  Cool bib design.  Great advertising for "Run the Day" to have a stellar athlete like me wearing this during the run.

Had a cup of coffee and a 5 hour energy drink before the run.  Turned out to not be a good idea, because I had to take a piss the whole run.

Oh yeah!  This was waiting for me at the finish line!!!

The one and only Chris Felix.  As seen below, he takes his coffee black.....just like his men!

No, this is not Achillies, or Superman, or Rambo.....it is just me!

The start of the race!  Much less crowded the first Pickle Run

The Pickle giving race instructions

So, the race starts, and I am jamming to Guns N Roses Greatest Hits.  "Welcome to the Jungle" is the first song, which is a great song to start off a race too.  This was followed up byt "Sweet Child O Mine"

This was the leader of the 5k race.  He was freaking flying!  I wasn't running as fast as he was, since I was doing the 7k race (yeah, thats the reason)

This is where the GNR album let me down.  The third song is "Patience"  Awesome song, but not the best song to run too.  Of course I am singing along as I am running.

This is a big f**king rock.  It certainly caught my eye while I was running.  I took a picture, and then started wondering why God would put this big rock here.  Was there a purpose to this rock being there?  Does this rock serve some kind of cosmic purpose in the current dimension of this reality and/or universe?  These are the thoughts that keep a runner occupied while he runs (and maybe...just maybe....that was the purpose of the rock)

Finally, the awards ceremony, and I did not win one.

2 of 3 Pickle Runs done, one more to go in March.  Looking forward to it.

update on 2/26/2011 - Here are the pics from runtheday.com:

one is a picture of a serious runner, and the other two are of a guy who has no business entering runs ever.

run, bowl, then run again

3 mile run in the morning at Goose Creek Park
Bowling for my son's 4th birthday parth
3 mile run on Struble Trail in the afternoon


Goose Creek Park

Started the day off with a 3 mile morning run at Goose Creek Park.  Ran 1/2 way around the park, then got up on the train tracks and ran on there for awhile.  Ended up by Cheyney University, then ran back up to and then down 926 to the Goose Creek Grille.  Great way to start the day.

Nathan's Birthday Party

What a great way for a 4 year old to spend his birthday....at a bowling alley.  Bowling, pizza, presents, birthday cake, beer, video games, chips, pretzels....does it get any better?


Cake made by Niki

Nathan bowling

Chris bowling

Grammy and Nathan bowling

Grampy (hard at work as always)

me and Nathan

Bob and Luke Bonnes

Nathan blowing out candles



Struble Trail

Finally, a nice 3 mile afternoon run on Struble Trail.  Just a little bit of ice left, but I needed to go burn off some pizza and birthday cake.

What a phenominal day!!!







Athlete's Closet Winter Series (3 of 4)

The race was supposed to be yesterday, but was postponed to today because of icy conditions yesterday.  I didn't get to run yesterday, and I ate a whole lot of food yesterday (mostly junk.....ok, thats bs,.....all junk.)

Race was at 9:30am.  Weather was warmer than the last race a month ago.

Great news for me.  There were a total of 66 runners that ran the race.  I checked the results, and I got 5th place.  I'm pretty excited about that.  (Granted, that was 5th place in my division, the Clydesdale Division.  There were a total of 6 runners in the Clydesdale Division, and the guy who came in 6th was running with his 10 year old daughter, but 5th place is still 5th place!) 

Silver lining, getting real close to not being a Clydesdale anymore.  That is pretty exciting.

http://www.athletescloset.com/racedata/acwsfeb2011result.TXT

Race number.  This will be worth a lot of money some day.

Gathering at the starting line.

Dick Fitch (in the red) giving out pre-race instructions (lots of slippery spots to keep an eye out for)

Getting ready to start.

Plenty of snow and wet roads

Post face refreshments at the Ice Cream Co in West Chester (right next to the Athlete's Closet).  Doughnuts and hot chocolate.  Nothing like a cup of hot chocolate after a run on a cold day.

So, went home to see how the boys were doing.  They had all of their cars and trucks lined up.

Grampy hard at work watching the boys!

Now, these next 3 pics have nothing to do with running or anything, but all 3 were taken by the boys

Nathan's picture of Daddy

Nathan's picture of Christopher

Christopher's picture of Nathan





Went back over to East High School for an afternoon 3 mile run, since I had to make up for the fact that I missed one yesterday.  Now, just unwind and get ready for the Super Bowl!