Victory 10k

Monday, Labor Day:

Hey, two minutes faster than I ran the Hennepin-Lake 10k. That’s great! Probably due to the reduced dosage of dexamethasone, down from twenty mg/wk to twelve. This was a warmer day, too, 70 at the start, humid and sunny. Perfect weather for Red State Republicans, who are in town for their Gustav-abbreviated convention. Does God really favor Republicans? :-)

Splits 8:09, 8:08, 9:16 (5k mark), 7:04, 8:28, didn’t record the rest, total 52:03 from the gun, pace 8:22, better than I thought I’d do. Sixth of 16 in my 5-year age group. I’ll take it! I did slow for the water stop on the way back, and took several other short walk breaks as well in the last mile. Had to. But no pains or other complaints.

The Victory Races are possibly the best of all for kibitzing with the other runners. The start and finish are the same place, there is a nice area for people to mix, and the frequent racers all show up, some of them even if they’re not running. Lloyd came down from Pine City for the 10k, this time to make a Minnesota 10k record for 85-year-old men, 56:49. He’s my hero, and he finished less than five minutes after I did. GO LLOYD!

The Victory 10k is an MDRA Grand Prix event with about 500 runners, and there is also a popular 5k starting 90 minutes later. In addition, for those who just can’t get enough, a double-header (run them both, add up the times). It would be hard to find a flatter course, except maybe the Park Point Five Miler in Duluth. If I only went to one race all year, the Victory races would be an excellent choice, second only to the MMRF Race for Research, a 5k that’s especially popular with me because it raises money for research on myeloma, my particular cancer.

Shoes: I tried the brand-new Brooks Burns (discontinued model) that Sunshine scrounged up on the internet and bought for me. They were just fine, my 18th pair. These are red-orange; all the rest are blue. I have enough Burns now to carry me through the next several marathons. I’ll use the Brooks Ghost shoes too - maybe I’ll get used to the pavement-slapping sound. The Burns are pussy-cat quiet; you are likely to hear my breathing before you hear footfalls.

Saturday, Aug 30:

St Croix Valley Runners, five miles in 45:11, pace 9:02. Ran with George and Mary today - George was doing 8 minutes running and one walking - Mary and I were plenty happy to walk each time the nine minutes were up. All in all I think we had 14 runners for a pleasant run on a nice 60-degree morning. No pains. It's a masterpiece.

		Breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal, blueberries, organic strawberries, cashews, nonfat organic milk.
Leftover lunch: Organic chicken breast, bison bratwurst, onion, organic mixed veggies.
		Dex (low-carb) dinner: Curried organic chicken breasts and thighs, organic chard, organic strawberries, sparking water.