I ran a 23 minute 5k yesterday (3.1 miles). It equates to a 7:30 mile pace.
I just want to record my fleeting moment of pride over my new personal record at the Schlotzkys Bun Run. It’s a great race and benefits something called the Austin Sunshine Camps which gives ‘disadvantaged children’ the chance to go to summer camp and learn life lessons and all that stuff. Good cause but I think they should change the name – it sounds outdated and a bit embarrassing, sort of like the English cerebral palsy association being called the Spastics Society until recently and my village’s annual fundraiser, Mentals Moto-thon.
Anyway, having recorded my time, I can list all the caveats about the race:
– the Bun Run course is very flat (and therefore easy peasy)
– the last mile marker seemed short
– I should be closer to 7 minute miles by now
– I grabbed onto the coat of a fast golden retriever for the last mile
A man had a heart attack on the course. It was early on and I do remember seeing a man on the sidewalk along Cesar Chavez but it looked like he’d just tripped over and was about to get up. Apparently when Erik saw him a few seconds later he was grey and not moving. Neither of us stopped. But he’s in ‘good condition’ now according to the papers. He’s only 51, which doesn’t sound as old as it used to. When someone has a heart attack while exercising, people always point to the exercise as the cause and as a good reason for them not to take up running or whatever it may be. But I’d far prefer to collapse during an Ironman endurance event than on the sofa stuffing my bloated face with a ready meal and watching reruns of some mindless sitcom. At least I’d have some muscle tone and I’m sure the paramedics would work harder to save me. They claim to be impartial, but I’m sure they can’t help themselves when they see an athletes supertoned body. It’s the same if you’re very tanned, which I’m not, so I have to compensate by working out harder to improve my chances of survival.
My first triathlon (the Rookie) is in 3 weeks. This weekend I swam, biked and ran the triathlon distances. However, I did it over 2 days instead of the more traditional back to back format on race day. I’m exhausted, which doesn’t bode well for the proper race.
In unrelated news, I got accepted into the solo performers workshop at the CalArts summer program. I’ll be there for two weeks in July and will create and perform a totally new solo piece in that time. This is terrifying. More later.