Outpace Parkinson's 5K

On Saturday I raced on the UGA campus for the first time. I've run there many times, but this was the first time I've actually signed up. A member of my church has Parkinson's disease and she and her husband were the movers in getting this going. We were happy to support them.

Parkinson's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, "is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement... the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement." Proceeds from the race went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

I dug my Asics Gel-Lyte33 shoes out of the closet for this one, and I was reminded of how lightweight they are.

Temperatures were in the mid-70s, and the humidity was up there as it has been for the last several weeks. The campus has many hills, but UGA is building a new indoor training facility for the football program (have I mentioned I live in the south?), so the customary 5K route was altered to eliminate a famous hill but sent us around the basketball arena (and its extra incline) a second time.

The course took us around the journalism building where my master's classes were held and took us past Sanford Stadium, and past the hotel where there seemed to be sewage issues. It smelled like used port-a-hooters, and we ran through this area twice. Swell.

In fact, a guy I was chasing stopped to cough not long after we passed this area on the way back. I don't know if the smell was the reason, I just know that I won the master's division over this guy by four seconds. The finish is downhill and I'd turned on the jets and had no idea as to where anyone was behind me.

I did find a good pacer at the front of the pack who kept me going. I passed him once, but he passed me back not long after. I didn't mind-- he wasn't in my age group. My mile splits were 7:28, 7:23, and 7:37. Not bad, but the hills and the heat took a toll. My half -mile times alternated-- good split, then 3:50. Good, then 3:57 (bad). It was that kind of course.

Race number and SMO for a master's division champion! Not pictured: massage coupon. 

23:00 for the official time, 13th overall out of 200+. Slower than my Twilight 5K time, but I haven't done much speedwork and I don't really lift much. If I have time, I spend it running, although I'm working to change those things. I'll have to if I want to improve and maybe someday run under 20 for a 5K.