Finished
2006-06-02, 2:06 p.m.

Day 649 Finished

Well, yesterday is definitely over. Finished that pesky presentation for a Wellness Challenge we�re doing here at work. Lucky me gets to be the local team coordinator. 20 folks signed up. Pretty snazzy I think. Just have to keep them motivated for 8 weeks.

Didn�t completely finish that major project deliverable, but I�m not the long tent pole. I should be done today though � that�ll keep me out of the warmish waters, for now.

The race. Holy cow. What a huge event. The final site write up is here, along with photos of the really fast runners (not me) - - JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge

9,371 runners/walkers was the last official number I heard. The RIT campus is such a great site for something like this. First, it�s big enough that a 3.5 mile course can be laid out as a single loop, no doubling back needed. Second, it�s also big enough for all the corporate tents. Looked like a little city with all the tents set up. Logistically, the campus is also capable of handling something like this. Local sponsors literally poured in bottled water, fruit, sports drinks. Each corporate team kicked in for post race parties for their individual teams. I think there were some 340 corporate teams in attendance. Our team from Kodak had 185 individuals. The Men�s team finished 5th overall, while our women�s team finished 2nd!! Way to Go Girls!!

Me? I finished. Ran every step. Started out a little too conservatively, then had to dodge around a lot of walkers who didn�t realize (or just didn�t care) that they were to start at the back of the pack. The starting line was such a (slow moving) mass of humanity that I FINALLY got to the actual starting line 2:09 into the �race� � and also had to travel an additional 300 yards or so.

Still, like I mentioned, started out too conservative. Maybe the big hill � mile into the race had me concerned. I don�t normally run hills. Turned out that going up wasn�t all that bad, then on the down hill side you can really open up your stride and make time. Hardest thing is to just keep up with your feet and manage to slow down some when you hit the flats again. Two big things tell me I started too slowly. First, even from start of the race, I was constantly picking out passing lanes, always passing people. Tried to find someone going my pace to maybe hang with for a while, but all I could manage was a minute or so, then I got the urge to move on. All the way through the race. Second, at the end of the race, I had a little too much energy left for the kick. Seems like folks always like to finish with a good strong kick, but the one I had was a little silly. Cranked it up maybe a half mile from the finish, really stepped on it with a quarter to go and maintained a nice fast pace right through the finish gates.

Now I want to go run another 5K and see if I can improve on the 5K results from last month. Think I�ll avoid anything with 9000+ participants though. Better go check my calendar.

Later on, back at the ranch:

Hmmm. Checked my calendar. My race calendar. Found a very cool 5k at the Greater Rochester International Airport . Three weeks from tomorrow. If you check out the course map, we�ll actually be running on the Airport runways. Bet there won�t be any hills on that course! And yes, I already signed up. If I get $50 in pledge money, the entrance fee is waived, AND we get yet another free t-shirt. To go with the 2 from last night and the one from the 5K last month � this is doing wonders for my workout wardrobe. Time to start chucking the ones that jump out of the dresser drawer on their own.

On a side note, I�d been lightly harassing Sport about her lack of updates on our little weighdown challenge. Well, I�m here to officially say I�m sorry. Now that she�s reported in, she is officially kicking my butt. You gotta remember, we were testing the theory that guys can lose weight faster than girls. I think we�re going to be like the Mythbusters and expose that idea for the old wives tale that it is. Someone call Adam & Jamie and tell them we got another show idea for them!

Better get back to the zoo. I got a reprieve on my deliverable. Other guy isn�t ready yet. Whew! Now, I need to still be ready ahead of him or it�ll look bad, ya know?

Updated stats:
Weight start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current weight 189.75 on 5/28/06
Target: 180 by 7/1/06 (Start of swim suit season??)
Next �official� weigh in: 6/3/06

The Keep on Truckin goal: (idea stolen shamelessly from Marn�s Big Adventure)
Miles at speed 6/2/06: 420.54
Miles with cooldown: 462.58
Target for 2006: 1000 miles

Weighdown Stats

VICTIM	NET LOSS	TARGET	WEEKS TO GO
Brian	4.0	14	4
Sport	3	8	4
alison	2	8	5

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