The Run to Remember

See Pat's T shirt collection

Ohh, the weather was wonderful this morning. Low 80's and I got to race at Kiwanis Park. This was the Run to Remember 9/11. It was a charity run to help support the 100 Club for Police and Firemen who have been hurt or died in the line of duty.

A few years ago my son was in Boy Scouts school with Rupert Snedigar. I was showing homes one Saturday and I heard that a Chandler Police Officer was shot to death attempting to apprehend a jewelry store thief. When I got home I quickly found out that the officer was the father of Rupert, Officer James Snedigar. He was the first officer to die in the line of duty in Chandler. Today I thought about Rupert and his younger sister (I can't remember her name, but she was in girl scouts with my daughter). They live in California and I hope they are doing well.


Kiwanis Park is one of my favorite places to run.
This race started in a new location, the corporate picnic area. A much better place to start because it had lots of tables and seating. The race started with the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" and was lead by a fireman in full gear. All races should start with either a patriotic anthem or the "Pledge of Allegiance".

I don't remember ever passing the fireman. He must have been moving. I started close to the front and did the first mile in 9:19, a PR for one mile. I got to the half way mark around 15 minutes and was hoping to PR this race. I didn't think I could do the 2nd half as fast as the first, but I gave it my best. Soon fatigue set in and I did my best to keep moving. I was happy with an 11:14 2nd mile. All during the race I kept hearing a group of runners singing. It was four guys with a flag and matching shirts. Army? Police? Fire? Not sure, but they were behind me until about the 2.8 mile mark. I was walking and they ran right past me. They weren't singing anymore.


If you look at the graph you'll notice at the end of the 5k (midway in my run) I poured it on and finished right behind the four. My garmin showed a finish time of 34:07. Not sure what my clock time for the 5k is. I was running a 4:18 pace at the finish according to my garmin. I do like to fly at the end (vanity fartlek).

I got some water, banana and orange for my rest. I got to talk with Mark. He's always at the races. Mark is going to be doing his first half marathon next week. I asked him what his top mileage has been. Mark said 4 miles. Good vibes go out to Mark.

After a rest, I ran some more. I wanted to get in 8 miles today. I ran the course in reverse. Going out I passed the last of the walkers coming in. Ran past the lake where there were lots of people doing T'ai Chi. Past a group of runners in a seminar and past a young group of runners finishing up a run with their coach yelling out times. I got back to the finish line completing 5.5 miles or 2.4 miles after the race. They were giving out awards, I grabbed a drink and looked at the finish times. I don't remember my time (I'll get online later), but I did see that I was 7th of 8 in my age group. No need to stick around, I started my 3rd loop on the race course. I did a mile around the lake, said hi to one of the race officials picking up signs and felt I was done for the morning. 6.4 miles done. My marathon training calls for 6 miles, but I wanted to get in more. It, also calls for a rest tomorrow, but I will probably do a short recovery run tomorrow to get my 8 miles in for the weekend.

I'm excited about the cooler temps. I hope they keep up. And one more thing, I got the t shirt above in a large and it fits. All my other tees have been of the XL variety.

Update: 169 out of 232 PAT MONAHAN 45 7/8 M 34:31 11:07
I think my garmin time of 34:07 is more accurate. I, also, found out that the winner was Kal Clark (his dad was second). It's just no fair having Kal in the race.

Softball

The past two nights have been softball nights. On Thursday we split two games. We're 5-3 so far. The first game I went 4 for 4. No power, all singles. The second game I went 2 for 5. Friday was the first game of the season for our coed team. We always get a large turnout for the first game. Which dilutes the quality of our play. It's a church team, so everyone plays. I pitched and held the other team to 7 runs. Pretty good for softball. However, we didn't hit and only scored 3 runs. I only got one at bat and made a weak out.

The streak continues and is now at 60 days.

Quote of the Day:
I think I'm allergic to exercise - I keep breaking out in a sweat! -Justthisguy.