Walking

Thanksgiving 2010 is now history. Starting at 9 AM on that day I began the 5k run/walk at Bidwell Park along with thousands of others. Many thousands. As I shuffled along in the mass of humanity, strollers and dogs that were trying to get to the Start line, I realized that I had made a tactical error. Those who had elected to be chip timed were at the very front of this crowd while I was stuck somewhere near the middle. So myself and others who had made the same error began to work our way past those who were at park to enjoy a pleasant walk that benefitted the work of the Jesus Center, our local homeless shelter. As I cut right and left and swerved here and there I was reminded of my previous life as a driver on the freeway system of Los Angeles. My plan was to racewalk the entire 5k but I was soon running along the edges, off the trail, as I passed those groups of walkers who were deep in conversation while blocking the entire trail. This worked until trees and vines forced me back into the pack and I had to walk at the pace of the crowd once again. It wasn't until the second mile that I was more or less free to racewalk as planned. At the end, the clock said 48:50 as I passed the finish line. I deducted the 3:30 that I spent shuffling towards the Start and then averaged out the slow and the fast moments on the trail to arrive at a time of 45 minutes. Sub 15 minutes miles. Compared to my 2006 time of sub 12 minute miles. Oh well, time marches on.