Thursday, March 13, 2014

03/01: Diploma Dash 5K

I saw Ronald McDonald milling about before the start of the Diploma Dash 5K at the University of Texas - San Antonio, and relief washed over me - at least I wouldn't be the only clown in this race. I don't think he ran, though, so maybe I was. I also saw a bag of groceries representing H.E.B. supermarkets and Rowdy the UTSA Roadrunner, but I don't think they ran either; I think they were just part of some sort of mascot convention. Too bad - I think I could have taken the groceries. Seeing all the mascots, I flashed back to the Sausage Run in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which I ran maybe ten years ago. I beat three out of four Sausages - I think the Italian Pepper smoked me rather than the other way around. This race, the one at UTSA, started in an alley by a loading dock, ran around more scenic parts of the campus before finishing next to a parking garage. It was also much larger than I expected - maybe a couple of thousand people - but I should have realized that any race that's been around for thirty years is probably attracting more than a handful of participants. It was also the San Antonio City Championship 5K which I'm not sure I'm eligible to win, seeing as I live much closer to Dallas, but given that I finished 20th out of 42 in my age group, it seems like a moot point anyway. Like Rocky, and Ray Kinsella, I guess, I just wanted to go the distance. Well, actually I would have liked to run the distance but I know how lackadaisical my training has been thus far this year and given that, I was happy I ran more than I walked, both in terms of distance and time.