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| My running partner, Sebastian the Boxador, after a brief warm up jaunt back to the vehicle to deposit swag. Check out that tongue! |
What a beautiful day for a run! Cliff's Notes: Had a great deal of
fun, PR'd (22:08), and got to hang out and chat with Shelly and Jason
Robillard. Awesome morning! I will let the pics and captions tell the rest. Pictures are more interesting than my ramblings any day of the week.
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| Milling about pre-race. Lots of family types on the course. Several military guys from C-ville (they stick out like a sore thumb). Really laid back, friendly folks. |
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| Aw, the "wares" tent. Got a close look at a few upcoming models that spark my interest. Stay tuned for a preview. |
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| What have we here! (Back row - two pairs on the right: gray/orange, and blue/gray = Road Gloves!) |
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| Several minimalists in the crowd. I love how Vibram has really decided to go low-key with their latest designs. /sarcasm |
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| There are the barefoot Yoda and Yodette at the pre-race briefing. Actually, Jason is more like a Qui-Gon Jin... or maybe Obi Wan due to several factors, particularly youth. Not sure what that makes Shelly. Ken Bob is definitely Yoda being the eldest and wisest of the barefoot advocates. Excuse me while I adjust the tape on my glasses. ...laugh *snort* laugh... |
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| Quite a few first-time barefooters in the crowd, which was rad. Also, Sebastian was one of about 1/2 dozen doggahs that ran the course. |
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| Anxious to get this party started. This guy lives for cool weather runs! |
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| And we're off! Dude in yellow had awesome form. |
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| The trail was about 1/2 asphalt paths, 1/2 grass and dirt. Only one gravel patch at a crossing. Very smooth, very fast course. |
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| Purty. |
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| Through the grass and freshly fallen leaves. |
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| Flags mark the way to the finish. The Parthenon on the horizon make you feel like an OG Greek Marathoner. |
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| Closer. |
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| Closer still. |
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| And we're done! |
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| Rest time! I think his tongue grew significantly in the last 22:08. |
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| This band was rad. They're called....erm, I can't remember. It was something like "Studio 10" or other. They were fantastic, though, and represented a progressive Nashville flavor. |
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| Chillin' after cool-down. |
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| A barefoot clinic with Jason. |
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| "Qui-Gon" at work. Learned an awesome new drill from him for use with my middle school running club. |
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| I ran around to snap some pics before participating in the dill. |
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| The master at work. |
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| Jason and I love us some Brooks Infinity racing split shorts. Seriously, try them and you will never go back to "basketball shorts" ever, ever again. |
I learned a few things today. 1) I kind of already knew this, but I can absolutely fly on grass barefoot. As soon as I got back on pavement my pace slowed considerably. 2) Running with a rambunctious dog and an SLR camera in hand is incredibly challenging (but worth it for my blog). 3) People love dogs at races. 4) Jason and Shelly rock! I hope I get a chance to hang out with them again soon. Next priority: finding a justification to travel to Minnesota to hang out with my fellow lanky internet barefoot blogger, Christian - AKA the Maple Grove Barefoot Guy.
Up Next: Merrel Barefoot Road Glove - First Look!
Nice pics, love those low profile laid back events more family then hard edge competition. Must be starting to get cooler in your end of the world now
ReplyDeleteYeah, this definitely had a nice, non-intensely competitive feel... which I totally dig! I think running is something that binds us together on a level that is more than physical, and competition can dampen that kinship (at least for those who are super competitive or depend on racing for their livelihood). Not to get all esoteric or anything, but I definitely agree with you, watzz. Of course, everyone has his or her own reasons for running, but mine definitely include the social connection that races tend to foster.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a sidenote, I am a race talker. I wonder if anyone on the courses at the races I have run did not appreciate my quips or musings as we ran along side-by-side seeing as how I will talk to anyone and everyone I run with/past/behind. Maybe they are making blog posts this very moment about some annoying dork who kept cracking wise about the nuances of water stops and variances in asphalt at their last race. Makes one wonder...