Sunday morning, I got up at 6:15 a.m., threw on my running togs, and with Shel, EW and SCW, made my way down to Soldier Field, where the inaugural run of the Windy City Relay was being held. We of course stopped by the local Starbucks on the way there, and dosed up on the daily bold blend (regular coffee, black; I figured that the dairy in a latte would precipitate disaster in the field).

Now the relay is apparently the latest trend in running madness: you get a coupla people together and take turns running specified lengths. You have a Champion Chip, so you get timed on each leg of the race, and you give the chip to your relay partner when it's his or her turn to run.

This was a 10k two-person relay, and so EW and I were each running a 5k. For running geeks, it turns out that that the accepted wisdom here is that the fastest runner takes the last leg, serving as the anchor. We were both there just for a laugh, and to do something together in the process of building our friendship. So I went first and EW went second.

The race was held along a path that runs by Lake Michigan, and it was a gorgeous, cool morning. As you can see, I, uh...I hadn't finished my coffee, really, by the start of the race, and so here I am sipping it until just before starting. What can I say? They tell me that coffee helps a morning run. I guess they might not have been talking about 16 oz's worth, though. Note the guy on the right looking at me like, "what the?" Oh well. I'm comfortable with my priorities.

And my previous best 5k time was a 25:40, run with Karen at the Toys for Tots Trot in Seattle last November. I was not expecting to finish better than that, because it kind of blew me away that I could average 8:15 or so per mile. But I knew that this course would be flat, where the Seattle course was nothing but hills, and that I was used to running on hills.

I came out of the gate a little too fast, and so I was suffering a bit by the third mile. But in a 5k, the idea is that you are at a near-sprint the whole way, since you don't have to save anything for long miles later on. I tried to ignore the pain and push on, but I know I flagged a bit on the last stretch.

Turns out I crossed the transition line (where my leg ended and EW's began) with a time of 22:26. That's a 7:14 mile; how in hell did that happen? I am getting faster; I still can't hear the Bionic Man sounds yet, but I understand that comes soon. EW's finish was a terrific 26:02 (8:23 mile) despite some last-minute heckling by a stupid git on the sidelines. That man was later found and beaten. Our total time was a 49:17, or an average 7:56 mile. Not too shabby! Then they fed us tons of great food -- free sandwiches, sports drinks, Naked fruit drinks, cookies the size of scones, and fresh fruit. Eeeeeeyummaaaaay! What a terrific race it was.



News of the Weird! After the race, they awarded prizes for placing in the race in various categories, and then they held a raffle for some prizes and such. After all of that, though, they had a bizarre contest in which adult men were challenged to hula-hoop for 60 seconds straight. Fortunately for yours truly, my hip is a bit gamey after a run, and as such was too tight to venture into the depths of self-embarrassment that taking on the challenge would precipitate. One guy managed 52 seconds and failed -- oh, the shame. Pictured here is the winner, together with a man who is not Al Sharpton. The man who is not Al Sharpton was working for the radio station, and was circling around the contenders counting to 60 in an inspired shout and going through the physical contortions of an old-time itinerant revival preacher.

And what did the winner get? An 80's CD compilation, which EW quickly determined was not worth the cost in dignity. Thus ended our adventure at the first Windy City Relay; long may it run!