The Lafayette Oatmeal Festival 5K- Bill’s first race!

Bill ran his very first 5K race yesterday!!!

 This is a huge deal for him.  He’s stood by me and cheered when first started running, then racing.  He’s my biggest fan, the sweetest guy around, and now he’s started his own journey to lifelong health.

Last summer I worked with 5430 Sports as their Environmental and Expo Coordinator on the triathlon and running series (5430 Sports has since been sold to WTC, the corporation that owns Ironman).  Bill would come out for the triathlon weekends at the Boulder Reservoir and volunteer with Eco Cycle for our Zero Waste efforts.  He got to watch Triathletes from start to finish, and cheer them on.  Always, the best part was seeing the VERY LAST person finish, which was usually a 280 pound person who had probably lost a good 50 pounds to get where they were at that moment in time.  That person had made a lifestyle change and had the goal of finishing a triathlon to motivate them to swim, bike and run.  Well, Bill was inspired to do a triathlon, has worked with Bob Cranny of Altitude Physical Therapy on a training plan, has lost 15 pounds since July, and has signed up for a Sprint in June 2010.  Along the way, he’s doing a few races to gear up for the big day.

The Lafayette Oatmeal Festival is a huge festival complete with an oatmeal baking contest, a health fair, an oatmeal breakfast with “the world’s largest topping bar” and a 5K race around the town.  We didn’t get to stay for the eats, unfortunately, but the kids and I went to cheer Bill on, armed with a homemade sign Connor created just hours before.

We parked along a side street at 9 AM and found the starting line a few minutes later.  He already had his bib (it’s been taped to the bathroom wall for a month now, and I’ll describe this in another post shortly) and left us to do a little warm-up.  As I’m a seasoned racer (imagine me snorting here) I’ve been giving him racing tips based on my VAST experience (insert another snort here).

 Here’s Bill just moments before the starting gun went off:

And they’re off!!!  I managed to catch the edge of his face in this one, looking pretty excited here!

 

We headed over to the finish line a few blocks away, and settled in to wait.  Connor was having problems with his sign and gloves; the corner of it ripped and he was in full-on pout mode.  He wanted to throw it away and was mad that I wouldn’t let him.  While we were waiting at the finish line, a race photographer came over and asked him to hold up his sign so she could take a picture.  He refused.  I told him that she was interested in his sign because it was a good one, and when I held it up he smacked it out of my hands.  I had a prime parenting moment  where I got to discuss (okay, I lectured firmly, let’s be honest here) the fact that it actually doesn’t matter that the sign was a little torn in the corner; the important part is that he went to the trouble to make it to show his Daddy how much he’s supporting him in his first race and that’s why the sign is so nice.  It doesn’t matter what the sign says, it’s important because he thought so much of Daddy’s first race that he wanted to do something to show Daddy he was thinking of him.  That’s why the lady wanted to take his picture.  After my 60 second diatribe, he came out of his pout and said “I’m sorry, Mom.”  Attitude adjustment = success.

 As we waited for the minutes to tick by, I guessed that the first racer would cross the finish line in 15:47.  Boy, was I ever wrong!!  A 36 year old man came through in the astonishing time of 15:06.  He did sub-5’s the entire way and there was no competition.  The next person to cross the finish line finished in 15:45, a lot closer to my estimated winning time.

 We cheered (well, I cheered, the kids stood there silently wondering why Mommy was making so much noise for people she doesn’t even know) for the next several minutes as racers came through.  I wasn’t expecting Bill until 23 minutes at the very earliest, more like 24:00 or 25:00, so when I saw Barry Siff (friend and former owner of 5430 Sports) come barreling down the road in his Team Timex jersey I snapped a picture and noted his time:  20:28.  He’s a former adventure racer, Eco-Challenger, Ironman, businessman and all-around amazing individual.  I ran over to congratulate him on his race, and he introduced me to Verne Scott, the octogenarian who is teaching Bill to swim.  (If the name Verne Scott sounds familiar, it’s because he has over 100 triathlons to his credit, he was recently inducted into the USAT Hall of Fame, and his son is the famous Dave Scott, 6-time Ironman champion.)

Verne shook my hand and looked up the street to where the racers were coming in.  “Where is he?  Did he stop for lunch somewhere?”

Barry threw back his head and laughed, while I scraped my jaw off the pavement.  “He never lets up,” Barry told me.  I laughed at that point; this sounded like a typical Verne comment, judging from some of the comments Verne has made to Bill during their swim lessons, and I liked him already.

“I’m expecting him in about 24 minutes,” I told him, then excused myself to go back to our position at the ropes.

We unfolded the sign and I showed Connor how to hold it so the torn corner was supported.  He held the left corner and Sophie held the right corner, while I stood behind them with the camera.  People were finishing in a steady trickle now, and we were ready to capture his finish.

And there he was!!  25:56 by the race clock, giving him a pace of 8:19/mile.

Bill nodded his head in his typically unassuming, humble way.  “Yeah, I mentioned to him yesterday at the pool that I was running and he said he’d come down and see me.”

Barry inducted Verne into the USAT Hall of Fame last year, and has known and respected him for many years.  Bill and I are just some young kids (relatively speaking of course, we’re closer to 40 than we look) who aren’t saturated in Boulder’s athletic community and just happen to know Verne.  Bill met him a year or so ago at the Assisted Living place Verne lives with his wife when Bill first started volunteering to show folks how to get around on the internet and help them with their computers.  He and Verne hit it off right away, and a friendship was borne. 

We didn’t stay much longer after that, and left the party for the quiet of a hot bath at home.  He kept moving throughout the day and didn’t let his muscles stiffen up, and even joined us at the local pool for playing, diving, and a lap to show me how far he’s come since doing lessons with Verne!

Today, almost 24 hours post-race, Bill says he feels fine.  His legs aren’t too sore, he’s energetic, and he’s Barbequing tonight!  What’s on the menu?  Adobo Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken, a crisp Current Salad with Currents, and I’m thinking of making a gluten-free chocolate cake I’ve had my eye on.

One race down, one bib on the wall of fame. 

Cheers to the next one!

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