Super Bowl 5K—On Ice

I truly enjoy running my local Super Bowl 5K. It’s well organized, a pretty sizeable crowd considering the time of year and wild variance in weather, and I can even run in tights if I wish.

Last year the main issue/problem with the course was the neighborhood. If you don’t recall, the route is mostly along a main street with one mile spent in a ‘hood.’ And last year the hood wasn’t cleared, forcing us to slog through several inches of wet snow. This year the streets were again clear, but the hood provided well matted-down snow; which was basically ice. Perhaps the organizers thought: ‘If Disney and Sesame Street can take anything they do, put it on ice, and still draw a crowd, why cant we?’ No joke, several runners decided it was better to run on the snow covered grass/sidewalks than run on the ice rink.

I, of course prompted by a voice in my head, decided the only ‘true runner’ thing to do would be to run on the course—regardless of the dangerous conditions. And I did, almost falling several times. I even heard a runner bite it behind me (and no I didn’t stop to see if he/she was alright).

After the second mile we returned back to the main street and smooth surface running. By that point, the 22M of hills had caught up, and I slightly wished a car would come along and give me an honorable DNF—plus chicks dig scars.

Instead, I rallied and managed to pass a few runners before the finish, romping in under 19:30. About a minute faster than last year’s race, and not bad considering the mile of ‘escapades on ice.’ I also managed to start my racing year off right with some bling. Despite my improved time, my AG place remained the same. But I’ll take it willing; so long as a beautiful redhead thinks my AG award is better than a massive car-induced scar.