five k's at twenty below zero

as part of the ongoing "i'm fifty and so i will do all those things i know are difficult or unnecessary because time is passing me by project", my wife and i headed out around mid morning last sunday up to trent university where we ran in the tim horton twosome. the tht is a 5k race that pits runners of all shapes, ages, and sizes against the elements, the excesses of the evening before, and the stark truth which is that no one is training at this time of year - well not outdoors, and not seriously - and so we are all hurting but pretending to be keen and focussed and publicly airing out our slumping fitness levels.

to my astonishment, the race saw runners cracking the sub seventeen minute barrier, men in shorts, minus twenty celsius windchills, and bottles of wine for prizes. a sterling combination that brought forth the warmth and camaraderie i associate now with runners regardless of their age, gender, or experience. my own time was twenty five and a half minutes - a full minute and a half off my late summer pace but coupled with my wife's twenty seven something was good enough to put us in third in our category for which we scooped up two bottles of wine!!

here's a picture of the golden fish rounding a corner whilst visualizing the victorious finish.

to locate me, count four runners from the right to a tall skinny guy with black running tights, sunglasses, a burton snowboard toque, and a blue upper body enhancement jacket!