~3 miles @ ~7.6 min/mi

Purple chalk squiggles mark ridges on the sidewalk where runners might trip. Officially it's a "5k", but both of my GPS units put it a bit shorter. MITRE/McLean where I work holds an annual health-promotion "fun walk/run" and I join several dozen colleagues to do it at noon today. Big raindrops splatter the parking lot as we register, and then the sun comes out to make it just a trifle warm and humid. Mile splits according to Runkeeper are 7:09 + 7:43 + 7:51 — Garmin splits are 7:34 + 8:03 + 7:45. Pre-race I chat with triathlete Eileen Boettcher and tell her of my plan to do the first couple of miles at ~7.5 min/mi pace, then see how I feel. But when the young folks dash off at the "Go!" signal I give chase too enthusiastically.

Bottom line: 9th place overall, official finish time 23:02, likely first among the over-50 gang but apparently no ages are recorded. I give my race t-shirt to colleague Kristin who is recovering from recent surgery and can't run again yet.

^z - 2013-06-01