Weekend update

This past weekend was so nice. The weather was wonderful. I ran a 5K Saturday morning and it was in the lower 60s. It was a very good day to run. Last year the weather was cold and a raining. I started the run limping. I'm still getting used to my orthotics. A couple of minutes into the run, the limping went away. When I crossed the first mile I was surprised at the time. It was faster then my opening mile in last week's 5K. Personally, I thought I was going much more slower then that.

Mile two is always my downfall. This time I developed stomach cramps. They were really bad. A couple of times I thought about stopping and walking. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So I kept going along, slowly. Besides the stomach cramps, my back started to hurt. It was a wonderful combination. What really helped me turn things around is when I two runners in front of me started to walk. My goal was to catch them.

I did catch one runner and passed him. The other one was just out of reach. With a half mile or less to go, the guy that I passed, passed me back. I was staying with him until we hit an incline. I tried to stay with him, but he did get about 10 to 15 feet in front of me. The gap didn't get any bigger, which made me happy. I finished in 35:42:58. It wasn't my slowest time ever, but it also wasn't my fastest either. After the race I was happy. I was unsure how my heel would feel in the orthotics. I know that they really helped. Except for the limping at the beginning of the race, my heel felt good the rest of the way. Once I did cross the finish line, I did limp a little. But it wasn't as bad as last week.

Besides actually running, I did watch some cross country and track & field on TV. ESPN and CBC had the Penn Relays, The Drake Relays and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. I was disappointed in the Relays coverage. What they did show was good, but I wanted to see more of the college runners and individual events. The Penn Relays showed USA vs The World which was cool. It was nice to see USA Track and Field redeem itself in the relays after the horrible Beijing Olympics, but I was hoping for more. They did show some footage of the Tennessee women's team winning the distance medley. It would have been nice to see the entire relay.

At the Drake Relays, they showed the men's mile. That was nice, but what about the women's mile? In the 100 meter hurdles race Lolo Jones, she hit the second-to-last hurdle in the Beijing Olympics and finished fourth, was in the field. Throughout the entire race the camera was focused on her. She hit a hurdle, pulled up and didn't finish. Tiffany Ofili of Michigan won the race. I felt bad for Tiffany, they didn't interview her or really care that she won the race. Even though her time is the third fastest in the world this season. The announcers were focused on Lolo and how bad her injury was. I hope Lolo gets better but give the winner some love.

The IAAF World Cross Country championship was held at Amman, Jordan in March. It was nice seeing that on TV, even though happened almost a month ago. In the men's and women's races the Kenyon and Ethiopian runners were strong. A Kenyon won the women's race and an Ethiopian won the men's race. During the race, you could hear the music being played there. It was mostly Top 40 music. I heard Shania Twain and The Proclaimers. At one point the announcers even said "Shania Twain is being played over the loud speakers." I find that strange because that music was picked to play over the loud speakers at a World Cross Country Championships.