Not so Lucky, but Still Dashed for Prize

Through Cold, Wind, Snow, and Sleet the Green Survive...

The Challenge:
Looking for a run to kick off our Team XMW race season, we stumbled upon a basic 5k to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Lucky Dash.  Dressed in green I was ecstatic to run, until I looked out the window and noticed it was a blizzard outside.  Snow was falling, sleet had settled to create sheets of ice on the roads, and the wind offered just enough of a breeze to remind you that this "bites".  The race took place 2 weeks after my birthday, bumping me up to a new age bracket.

The Race:
The layout was 1.55 miles of straight road, turn around and 1.55 miles back.  No problem, despite the cold, I felt great and was ready to kick some...omg is it cold!  The race had a nice atmosphere, friendly people chatting and cracking jokes about the cold.  A few idiots ran without a shirt and probably went home with the sensation that a Chihuahua had gnawed their nipples off.

 

I love when a race plays hype music before a race, and of course this was no exception.  I entered the Vin Zone (when I get hyper focused on dancing and bust out moves like a kangaroo at a disco).

The race was off to a great start and I was feeling great, until I was passed by some young Justin Bieber wanna-be.  Then I kept getting passed by a few more high school punks.  Suddenly I snapped like James Belushi's character in The Principal and internally screamed "No more"!  I took off running like a Beagle that spotted a squirrel and started passing these younglings one after another.  At some point the race became Vinny Kangaroo vs. the entire Royal Oak High School Cross Country Team.  AND...I had one major advantage over them...Rocky IV.  While their childhood was filled with Sponge Bob & Jonas Brothers, my Rocky filled childhood was preparing me for battles such as this.  As the snow flew past my cheeks (no, not those ones), my mind flooded with images of Rocky running up the side of the snowy mountains.  Adriaaaaaan! 

After scaring the crap out of everyone with my scream, I continued to pick up the pace.  The finish line was in sight, I kicked on the after burners and bolted across the line.  When I crossed the line, I felt great and noticed that I had accomplished a personal record of 20:23!

The race results were in and prizes were given to the top 3 in each age group.  Ha!  I'm in an older group and I'm getting faster!  I hurried to the race table to find that I finished 2nd in my group.  Had I been 2 weeks younger I would have won the age group, but as it was my friend ended up winning.  I still took home a prize for top 3.  A sweet looking glass mug...

 
Final Analysis:
Not much set this apart from other 5k races.  The top 3 prize in each age group was nice and the straight away run allows for a quick time.  Most of the festivities were over by the time we crossed the finish line.  I do not know if this was planned or due to the freezing temperatures.  Donations went to some non-profits so that was nice.  Aside from a rivalry being born (me vs Royal Oak CC Team) there was not much excitement here.