Nintzel 5k and Heckscher 5 Miler

On Saturday June 12th Dori and I ran the Kieth Nintzel 5k in Sayville.  We packed up Aidan and headed over to Gillette Park to meet up with grandpa.  Grandpa and Aidan stood at the starting line to see us off and then headed into town to get cookies at the bakery.  So you know Aidan had a great time eating cookies for breakfast.

There were around 550 people running that day so the first few blocks were a pretty tight field.  Once again I will edit the play by play because nothing really out of the ordinary happened.  I crossed the finish line in 27:40.  I had set a goal of breaking 27, but I will take the 8:55 splits happily.  The greatest part had to be Aidan waiting at the end of the chute with a bag full of cookies to share with me.  Of course by share I mean he let me take one bite of one cookie before he took it back.  Dori finished up strong in 39:04 after a very rough start.

On Monday June 14th the New York State Park Summer Run Series kicked off with a 5 miler at Heckscher.  Kevin and I represented UVR&SC.  Sadly John can't get out of work in time to make it to the Monday night madness.  Kevin and I decided we a cool banner or flag or something so we can feel a bit more legitimate when sitting around the picnic tables with all the running clubs with actual members and events. 

With around 2,400 people running you can imagine what the starting line felt like.   It had been threatening to rain all day, and a nice light drizzle started within minutes.  I will run in the rain anyday.  Again, long story short I crossed the finish line in 49:09.  Kevin finished in 35 flat.  It probably took us longer to get through the snack line than it did to run the race. 

I have to say I felt pretty good going out and doing 5 miles at what I hope will be just a bit slower than my marathon pace.  It was shocking because I did this race without my trusty iPod.  The thing decided to die on me earlier in the day.  I thought I would be lost without the ability to check my pace, distance and rock out.  But after the first mile I did not even miss it.  In addition thanks to the rain I had to take my glasses off.  For those who don't know, I have really, really horrible vision. Running blind felt less disorienting than I thought it would though.  Might make it a habit.  So the less learned is that the more sensory deprived I am the better I seem to run. 

Marathon training continues.  Fundraising continues.  Between donations made on-line and off-line I have raised $500 for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  It is my goal to raise at least $3,000.00.  Thank you to everyone who has already donated.  Every donation, of any amount, helps this worthy cause. 

Take a moment to make a donation to Memorial Sloan Kettering by visiting Daniel Jimenez's Fred's Team Fundraising Page