I'm baaack....

Final results from the Rattlesnake Master 10k are in, and here's my official finish:
55:09 (as I'd thought), 44th out of 53 overall, 5th (last place) in my age group.

Finished my cheat week, had the sausage pizza and BBQ that I'd been craving (and my heart's doing just fine, comments to the contrary notwithstanding), am now back to athlete mode. I'm doing a 5k on the 4th of December, which I'll be using to try to qualify for preferred start at the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. That'll require finishing the 5k in <23:30.

Cheat week snack

Cheat week 2005

With Rattlesnake Master over, I don't have any organized cycling or running events until Siberian Express in January, I'm taking a week off from full-on training life (still going to the gym, and will be doing a 10 mile urban hike with Kathleen on Saturday), and among other things, indulging in the food/beverage cravings that I've had during the on season. Monday, large bourbon and coke with dinner. Last night, I had a buffalo chicken sandwich with fries + half of the 9-ball combo from Jillian's, along with 2 Long Islands and a Knob Creek.

Aww, they drew an angry face on my sandwich in blue cheese dressing :)

This morning, we stopped at Carmella's on the way into the office.

The spoils of my doughnut quest...


Still needed to complete my cheat week

• Sausage pizza
• Barbecue
  

Day of pride

In 2000, I ran (supposedly) the Rattlesnake Master 5k, finishing in 42:06. Today, I ran the Rattlesnake Master 10k, and finished in 55:09 (unofficial results - I'll post the official results as soon as they're online). Finished the race looking like this:

Went to Radio Maria for a yummy brunch consisting of grits, potatoes, and a smoked trout and avocado omelette. Was joined by the lovely and talented Kathleen:

She did the 5k walk, finishing in 43:15. Yup, she did the 5k course walking in just over a minute longer than when I did it running, and she finished second in her age group. I couldn't be any prouder if we were a family of lions....

Grrrrarw! Shea Hungry!

Long workout at the gym yesterday (spinning class + weights + treadmill). Have been craving sushi (and specifically salmon) recently, so went to Kamakura for dinner, where I embarked on what may have to become a tradition...

The sushi quarter-century.

25 pieces of sushi for dinner. 1 spicy tuna roll (6 pieces), 1 Alaska roll (salmon, cucumber, and avocado; 8 pieces), 2 pieces toro, 2 pieces tamago, 4 pieces sake, 2 pieces inari (1 of which I gave to Kathleen), and 2 pieces tobiko (not pictured, already IN MA BELLY when pictures were taken).

Race results

I competed in the 2005 Allerton Trail Race on Sunday. Official finishing time was 53:23.9 (9:42/mile), which places me 326 out of 451 overall, 15 out of 18 in my age group. Compared to others, I'm not thrilled with my performance, but that just gives me something to work on when I do the race next year. Compared to me, I'm thrilled. I'm doing the Rattlesnake Master 10k this weekend, then will probably think about doing the 2006 KRR Grand Slam events, plus the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in May. I'll still be doing a full biking season, although I am currently considering replacing participation in one of the 24-hour races with participation in the Fall Death Valley Double Century.