Sheryl and I ran the Susan G. Komen 5K today in Philadelphia. The weather was perfect. And the 45,000 people who participated in the event (there are runners and walkers) had a ton of energy about it. I was really touched by the women who had the pink bib numbers — they’re breast cancer survivors. Quite a few were clearly undergoing treatment.
Here are some pictures from the run.
Sheryl was ready to run…and stand in the sun.
I was happy to have my fifth race of the season done. It was fun running with Sheryl.
And here’s Sheryl at Logan Fountain after the race.
by Frank Roche on May 1, 2011
in Fitness
10 miles, bitches!
I knocked out the 10 miles of the Broad Street Run in 1:56:19. Not bad for an old man who hadn’t run in his life until 14 weeks ago.
I started out too fast. (Yeah, I know better…but I just don’t know how to slow down in the beginning.) I did the first half about 5 minutes faster than I thought I would. Sarah, Charlie, Lydia and Wiley met me at Mile 6. I pulled over for 5 minutes to chat with them. And I followed my pre-race visualization that Helaina gave me. That included walking through all of the 8 water stops. (I drank like a camel and still don’t have to go, hours after I’m done.)
That’s my friend, Shelly, in the picture. Although we didn’t run together, we ended up finishing within a couple of minutes of each other. (Check out the cool finisher’s medals.)
Sheryl met me at the end of the race. We walked back to the car. And I passed out in the car on the way home for 20 minutes.
Broad Street Run is done. Next up: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K next weekend with Sheryl. Then the mud run 10K in June. Philly Rock-and-Roll half marathon in September. The Chicago Marathon in October. And the Philly Marathon in November.
I’ll be ready.
Yeah, I said it. I taped my nipples.
The indignities that runners have to endure. Like getting up off the couch. And motoring along with only shank’s mare for horsepower.
The Broad Street run starts in 12 hours. I spent the last 14 weeks training for it. I’m ready. By this time tomorrow I’ll start the slow slog to the start line.
I’ll worry about a lot of things. But I won’t worry about nipple chafing. I’ve got that covered.
by Frank Roche on April 17, 2011
in Fitness
So, the Revolutionary Run 5-miler didn’t kill me. And after kicking ass on the hills, I feel stronger.
My sign was still up at the Washington Memorial Chapel this morning. After Sheryl met me and ran in the last mile, we walked back to the car here and took this picture. Those of you who had different takes on the operative word “miss” were right. My demise wasn’t today.
Here’s a picture of me looking surprised that Sheryl was standing there along the road waiting to cheer me on. It’s the only smile I managed on the course. (Not quite.)
by Frank Roche on April 14, 2011
in Fitness
I decided to go for a run today. I knocked out 8.5 miles pretty easily. Then I realized that I should have brought water. I ran out of energy and did a bit of a walk/run back to the office. Total circuit: 13.24 miles. That’s about 13.24 miles more than I could handle 13 weeks ago.
Here’s a picture of me when I arrived at Falls Bridge. I can assure you that I wasn’t running so fast that it blew my hair back like that. My hair was like that because I was wiping sweat out of my eyes every two seconds.
