Running Ann Arbor

Yesterday was the day of the annual Dexter Ann Arbor run. This was my first year of running in our local race, and it was also my very first time competing in a 10K (6.2 miles). I spent most of the past two months being absolutely certain that it would at least be cold and rainy, since my first go at the Shamrock Shuffle was such a weather disaster, but as it turned out it was a beautiful day for it, with temperatures in the low 50s at the start, and a warming, but not scorching, sun overhead.  My goal, since I was well aware of the hills involved, especially the half mile long torturer leading up to the finish line, was to finish with a 10 minute mile average, and since I was only aiming to compete with myself in this race, I can confidently say that I won, finishing with a time of 55:28 (according to my stop watch), making my mile average just below 9 minutes.  That is by far a personal best, and in my longest race yet to boot.

But I realize that this blog isn't about me, so let me get back to the most important character involved and say that Calvin also had a great weekend.  Saturday night he had a dinner party with his Grandparents O and Aunt Ann (when we arrived to pick him up the house was completely dark and they were all playing with flashlights - you can only imagine the fun he had and how often we've heard about it since).  He also got to see his uncle Curtis and friend Julie who came for the weekend to run in Sunday's race and to share the stories of their trip to Japan (from which they returned last weekend, and if I thought I did a great job running yesterday, you should know that they both beat me, even with only a week to recover from jet lag).  And yesterday we closed out our race morning with an afternoon spent at the Taste of Ann Arbor.  I can't really say that the crowds were worth it - it seemed like one of the most poorly organized of Ann Arbor events we've attended - but the food was good and Calvin, at least, enjoyed the live entertainment while we enjoyed great beer.  Grandparents, visiting uncles, and live entertainment, oh my.  Visit the May 2009 album one last time for pictures from this weekend and last.