Irish Jig 5K Run

Well, I've kicked off the running events this weekend wit hthe Irish Jig 5K Run in East Grand Rapids, MI. It was a cool morning but nothing I wasn't already used to with my Winter Saturday morning runs. It was all rather quite uneventful to my surprise as the start passed without much fanfare.

The most fun I had doing the race was listening to all the conversations happening around me as we ran. All the observations of the people participating in the event. I won't go into specifics with anything but will generalize a bit on their descriptions. When we cleared the start, I listened to the smacking of shoes on the pavement. I forgot that sound as the last running event I had done was a year and a half ago and I turned in a 7:30 pace. Before mile marker 1, I had already passed a half-dozen walkers or so - those that I'm sure busted out of the gate and died. I could hear people panting and grasping for air all around me as if it was for their lives. Rolly fellows passing me. There was a woman behind me as the group approached mile marker two... "I can do 2 miles, I know I can... I can do three, I just don't have it today!" Running in front of me... "Do you need someone to run with? Do you want me to run with you?" Panting lady with a gasp, "Yes! That would be great! Yes!" By marker 2, I increased pace just a touch to move upto the next little pocket of people. No real conversation there, but I settled in until the home stretch. While there an older running in a pair of explorer-type khakis came blazing by me. Wow! I had a smile crack my face as I remember what an old road biker companion taught me over a decade before, "Respect your elders". His name was Barry and I'll write some stuff about him at another time. Now we were on the home stretch and I again increased my pace. I also noticed the entire pack surge. There were a lot of shouts and the rabbits with reserve took off. At the 3 mile marker, I did the same. I crossed the finish with a pace of 9:21. A bit disappointing, but pretty good considering the ordeals of the last year and a half.

I found my wife and we decided to just go home. On the walk back to the car, we overheard a guy talking about running with a female runner. She said, "I don't really keep track of miles...". He responded, "Keep track of your miles! Once you do, you'll get even more addicted!" Not to be crude, but what a dipshit spewing out garbage like that. It's just another reminder why I hate running and why I much prefer the company of bikers.

Overall, the event was quite boring with little to no fanfare. My wife said she won't be coming with next year.