Ukrops 10K

I had so much fun doing the Hunter sketch and was so pleased with the reaction to it (Thanks, everybody!) that I couldn't wait to do another sketch. Problem is, most of the time I get my sketching done in my "downtime" at work and that was in short supply this week. I've been really busy at work and, though I try not to discuss it much here, there's been a lot to do in my free time dealing with Mike's affairs. Add to that a pretty bad cold and I had to let the sketch fall to the wayside.

So with all this going on, I really wasn't looking forward to this weekend. Suzanne and I have been training for the last 10 weeks for the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K. This is our fourth time running it in five years and my times have gotten steadily worse over the years. (I missed one year because I threw my back out and it took me over three months to recover from it.) Our training group this year was not what we'd hoped. Last year it was a well-oiled machine but this year their hearts weren't in it. We got rotating trainers, spotty stretching, late starting times and really bad street directions. I got lost twice, once pretty badly. The training is in a small town called Ashland that I'm not that familiar with and all the streets seem to do figure-eights.

Once I caught the cold I'd pretty much decided to bag the race. But after all that effort, training in freezing temperatures, I just couldn't let it go. I downed some cold medicine with my coffee (Is that considered doping?) and suited up. Wouldn't you know it, but it rained the entire race. It felt like someone was trying to tell me something. I ignored them. I managed to run the first half without stopping, walked a bit to catch my breath and then ran the rest of the way. I did my best time since the first time I ran it. The moment I crossed the finish line, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I had to laugh. Suze and I celebrated our run with a trip to Carytown Burgers and Fries, the best burger joint in town, and went home to hit the sack. When I woke up a few hours later, I noticed the second toenail on my left foot has turned black and I'll probably lose it. I guess those new running shoes I bought are tighter than I thought. But my cold has improved immensely. Go figure. Maybe I burned it off with all that exertion.

Anyway, no sketch but this still turned out to be a pretty good week after all.