Arrived in plenty of time to get registered and say a few hellos and do about a mile warm-up. The race is an interesting one, the 10K, 5K, and one mile fun run all start at the same intersection in the middle of Huntsville,and they take off in different directions. Steve Shepherd of Weber State was there for the 5K, and like I presumed, no other horses in the 10K. I was chatting with Nate Wilcox in the middle of the intersection--no where near the start line--when the gun went off. Luckily, my pickup was about 50 yards into the course, so I stripped off my glasses and shirt and wadded them up and tossed them into the bed as I went by. Weaved in and out of people for a block or so, then open roads. I wasn't trying to be skeptical, but skeptical I was about the mile marks' accuracy, and it seemed that each mile confirmed that. After mile 1, I shifted into "enjoy the scenery" mode, with a sizable lead and enough left in the tank if something should happen. Mile two was on a dirt road, which continued for some time and then spilled out on what I believe is middle fork road, heading north at a slight incline. Reached the turnaround point, which was spray-painted on the ground--nobody there to direct traffic. Not poor race management, that's just how the Huntsville 10K works. However, I noted that this year's turnaround was spray-painted 150 yards farther up the road than last year's faded painting. Oh well. Made the turn around and had just over 2 miles left, with a slight downhill and the Huntsville town in sight. Ratcheted up the tempo to roughly 5:20 effort, and started passing other runners headed for the turnaround point. Kept it steady the last mile, though it seemed like each mile was long. Finishing time was 35:02, and second was at least 5 minutes back. Won a trophy and a medal, despite rumors that Peak Performance was giving shoes for the winners. That's okay. AnnMarie and Myles came up for the awesome breakfast after the race, pancakes, sausage, eggs, juice, etc. Nate Wilcox ran 23 minutes for his 5K, and several of my former students ran either the 5K or 10K. Always good to see them out running. Sure beats video games or iPods. Jogged an easy cool down with Nate, then cruised around the booths at the park with AnnMarie and Myles. Headed over to Pineview for some fun and sun with the in-laws, and decided to try my hand at slalom skiing after a several-year hiatus. Managed to get up on the third try, and enjoyed my time for a few minutes before my skiing rustiness and general fatigue signalled an end to the days' skiing. Came home and napped, will avoid the heat until this evening's fireworks light up the sky. What a great country we live in to be able to do so many things in one day. We are blessed. | 