Our family participated in the 2nd annual Rox Trot this morning, which is our local community 5k/10k fundraiser for the elementary school.  The race was actually free to enter, they were just asking for donations in the form of reams of paper.  Mom and the girls volunteered, and Malcolm ran the 10k along with Jessica and I.

Right this way

We got there a couple of hours early to help set up the registration area and to get the course marshall assignments.

Cold and windy while we were setting up.

I’ve been feeling pretty decent this week.  Really only took Monday off.  I did some easy jogs in the Vibrams on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a quick 6 miles on Thursday where I felt far better than at any time in the week before Leadville.  Crazy how that works.  I guess one benefit of the slow race I had is that the legs seem to have bounced back pretty fast.  I also got back on the bike again for the first time since June and put in three nice 20 mile rides.

Umm, where was I at this time last week?

To call this race ‘low-key’ is a huge understatement.  It doesn’t draw from much of the outside world (although the 10k winner was from PA!), making it truly a neighborhood event.  A nice change from the usual races.

The official race clock. No joke.

When my buddy heard about the race clock, he asked me if we used sun dials for timing chips.  Love it.

Lindsey and Natalie - awesome helpers!

There were only about a dozen takers in the 10k (which was newly added) this year.  Many more would stick with the 5k option.

Dad and Jessica, ready for takeoff

I lined us up at the back of the pack, truly intending to just jog the course and maybe snap a few photos.  I was bummed to see the low battery message on my watch – I was hoping to gather some more huge heart rate vs. slow pace numbers pushing that 70 pounds of kid & stroller up the hills.  Last year I held my heart rate over 180 for the last 5 minutes of the race.  Hard work!

Soon after the start, though, I found myself weaving through the other runners and was up into 3rd place before I knew it.  We ended up holding that spot to the finish.  Well, Jessica likes to say she took 3rd and I took 4th, but whatever!  This was a VERY hilly course and I didn’t feel too bad on the normal inclines.  There were a handful of short killer hills that really took it out of me, though.  At one point I was basically in a prone position on my tip-toes with my arms fully stretched out with my face about 12″ from the pavement trying to drive that thing over the top.  Ouch!

The sun came out and it got blazing hot for a while.  I was glad to see the finish!  Malcolm came in running strong just a few minutes behind us in his first 10k.  It was great to see Mom and the girls out on the course as we ran by, lots of fun.  Big thanks to them and to all the volunteers!

Jessica and Dad, 3rd place overall.

Jessica loves to chat the whole time in the stroller.  Unfortunately, my responses are like – daddy…….can’t……….talk…..right……….now….  It was a great workout!