St. Pat's Day Human Race Report

Today was the Human Race in St. Paul. It is billed as the season opener for the racing season with a 5K and an 8K, or for Super Humans, the option to do both. I can see why it is such a popular race. The race is very well organized with chip timing at the start and finish. The course is along Summit Avenue, a beautiful boulevard with lovely historic homes and beautiful trees. I ran this same stretch during the Twin Cities Marathon, but I have to admit that, since it was very late in the race, my mind wasn't totally functioning and I didn't appreciate the beauty as much as I did today.

My two kids, Brady (14) and Katy (12), ran the 5K which was held first and Mike and I ran the 8K. Here is Mike with the kids after we picked up our numbers and shirts. Katy and I decided that we would dress for St. Patrick's Day, so she is sporting a green tam.

The packet pick-up and after race snacks were all held in the University of St. Thomas' Field House. It was nice to get in out of the wind and have a place to relax before and after the races. Here's Katy and I sporting our festive hats together. I swear that I am not a drug addict... I just cannot keep my eyes open when someone takes my picture with a flash. (It must be genetic, because Katy appears to have a similar problem.)

The kids ran first and did a great job. The official results aren't posted yet, but Brady ran around 22 minutes and Katy around 33 minutes. I'm glad they got out there and had a great time. I'm also happy to report that they take after their father more than their mother when it comes to running. I spotted both of them with both feet off the ground at the same time while they were running. This is a feat that I have yet to accomplish.

While we were lining up for the 8K, I recognized Jean from his blog. It was so nice to meet him in person. He is just as charming in person as he appears to be in his blog. Hopefully we'll get to meet up with him again at the Ron Daws 25K or at Fargo.

It sounds like Sunshine was out there too, but I didn't see her. Sorry, Sunshine!

I was pretty happy with my race. I had tried to do a short run on Friday, but my legs were just too tired from the 19 miler on Thursday. Today I just went out and figured I would go with the flow and see how I felt. Happily my body decided to cooperate with my mind today and I found myself racing along just fine.

My Garmin had the race as 5.07 miles long, so my 44:07 finish time was a 8:42 pace. I got a little faster each mile, with the first mile coming in at 8:59 and the last mile in 8:17. It helped that the first half was slightly uphill and into the wind, so coming back was slightly downhill with the wind to our backs. Mike ran well, but due to operator error his watch didn't start. He thinks his finish time was around 34 minutes. Here we are after the race.

It was a really nice, family day for us. Everyone was happy with their race, the temps were great, and although it was a little windy, it was certainly nothing to complain about for March in Minnesota. I wish I had some funny story about some big gaffe that I made, but everything was nice and boring. I can live with that!