Giving Thanks 5K

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Last night, I was in charge of making “radish flowers” to take to our family meal today. Check out this fine craftsmanship:

I even made one into a “radish-o-lantern” just to see if anyone noticed:

...and it was eaten, and no one noticed it. Darn.

This morning, Pharmie and I headed to Como Park for the "Giving Thanks 5K." We got our numbers, said "hi" to Coach Jeanne, and here we are in the Como Lake Pavilion trying to stay warm before the start:

And here are some geese and ducks on the ice or in the frigid waters of Como Lake:

We hopped back in the car and warmed up for a few minutes, and then we were ready to race! We jumped out, and I showed off my sweet, sweet Thanksgiving Day outfit (it was the same thing I wore last year):

Is it still cool to tuck your shirt into your underwear?...

We got down to the start, lined up with 700 other people, and we were off! This race had the miles marked, but they were marked with how many miles were LEFT, so it was a little backwards. I just went with it. I took off in about 12th place, and by the “3 miles left” sign, I had moved up a few spots.

First 0.1 miles: 0:34. Running in 10th place, running pretty comfortably.

0.1 thru 1.1 miles: 5:55. I had just passed a group of runners, and I had moved into 6th place. When I started the 2nd lap around the lake, Gary (president of Charities Challenge) announced me as I ran by. Pharmie said that she heard me being announced on the P.A. system from across the lake! Too funny!

Right at the half-way point (next to the pavilion), I caught another runner, and I was now in 5th.

1.1 thru 2.1 miles: 5:57. Not bad. I now knew I’d be keeping them all under 6. We were running past the walkers that we had lapped, and it was a mad-house. They were all over the trail, and many would laugh at my outfit as I ran by! I loved it!

About a half mile from the finish, I caught up with 4th place. I said “good morning” and passed him. I held that place through the finish, and ended up 4th overall.

2.1 thru 3.1 miles: 5:39. Nice final kick – good last mile.

Total: 18:07
4th out of nearly 700
Tied for my 3rd fastest 5K
My fastest 5K (out of 3) run on that course

I ran back to the car and grabbed my camera. I got back to the finish line just in time to get a photo of Pharmie finishing her first 5K in a year:

Those are lapped walkers behind her

She wasn’t as fast as she hoped, but she still did great! I gave her some warm clothes (that I had brought from the car when I got my camera because I’m a good husband!), we walked back to the car, and headed for home. What a nice morning run to start off Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a great day! We all have so much to be thankful for! I’ll be back with a Friday Funny later tomorrow, and I’ll have more race photos from Gary in a few days! Happy Black Friday!