Heather and I headed up to Oakley on Thursday night and watched the Rodeo with Jack. I have no way to harmonize my views about the ethical treatment of animals with going to a rodeo. It can't be done, except to say that I like mixing up my experiences and getting a little bit of small town culture. No better way to do that than spend the 4th of July in a place like Oakley. Jack liked the rodeo (or maybe just the crowds and the cheering) and we had a pretty good time.
After the rodeo we drove back to Park City and stayed at our friends' house. This morning we got up and headed back to Oakley to run in the annual Oakley Freedom Run 5k. Now, I know there are many racing options on the 4th of July, but none of them actually excite me that much so I figured as long as we were in the 'hood, we should run this race. When I say "we," I mean Heather, me and Jack.
Heather has grown tired of being on kid duty all the time while I race so this time I thought I would give her a break. We agreed that I would push Jack in the baby jogger and she would try to crack the top 3 in the women. All I wanted to do was get in the workout anyway.
I warmed up 3 miles before the race. The race started at 10am, which is way too late. It was already 80 degrees at least. At the start, I didn't see anyone I knew but there were a couple of fit looking guys. When the race started it took me a bit to moving quickly because of pushing the jogger. After that, I made my way into fourth place and stayed there behind a group of three guys who were battling it out for the lead more or less the whole race. The race is a loop, with the first mile a slight downhill grade, then a little bit of a climb back up. First mile was 5:32, which isn't bad pushing the jogger. The flatter second mile was 5:53. The third mile was sort of a joke. I was dodging the floats that were lining up to start the parade, avoiding getting kicked by clydsedale horses, that sort of thing. This is easier to do without a running stroller to push. Then there was a 180 degree turn that was tough with the jogger too. Oh and it was hot and slightly uphill. So those are my execuses for running 6:24 for mile 3.
Since this was a small race (117 runners) and very low key, I doubted the distance would be accurate to 5k. I was right. It was at least 3.25 (my watch said 3.28). I had to push through a gravel ditch also becuase the course wasn't marked at one point.
So, that was my small town 5k. It was really hot, but I enjoyed doing the workout with Jack. The winning time was just under 19 minutes.
Heather ended up either 3rd or 4th in 24:55. She didn't feel great and the heat got to her. I think she's glad she ran, however!
| 