Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Tri to End Homelessnes Race Report: Homerun For the Homeless 5k

Today was my first 5k in years. Since I'm fundraising for Back on My Feet, the Colorado Rockies Home Run For the Homeless was an obvious choice. The cause was only the first of many things that made the race great, including running on the track around the perimeter of Coors Field, professional timing chips (the Blaster Blast tri did the timing by hand), organized volunteers, and a post race party in Coors Stadium that included free beer, hot dogs, and slushies in addition to the usual post-race bagels and bananas.

Mile 0-1 (~8:49)
My goal for the race was to run less than 10 minute miles. Little did I know that the first half of the race would essentially be an obstacle course. The race included walkers and there was no separating the walkers from the runners. By the time I reached mile marker 1 there were still walkers everywhere.

Mile 1-2 (~9:45)  
Mile 2 felt longer than I expected. Most of my runs are 6+ miles. I had it in my head that a 5k would be a hop skip and a jump but 30 minutes of hard running is still taxing and weaving in and out of walkers took extra energy. By mile 1.5 the walkers thinned out but as I approached mile 2 the rolling hills kicked in.

Mile 2-3 (~9:06mi)
The hills made my calves feel like lead. I started kicking myself for working out the day before. My legs were tired and people were driving up the hill past me as I putted along. I reminded myself of my goal and just put one foot in front of the other as we pushed on to the track inside Coors Field. By the time I hit the field it was flat again and I felt great. They had the jumbotron on us as we ran the perimeter of the field, which is much larger than it looks on TV. The end was near!

Mile 3-3.1 (~2:24)
The last push was fantastic. I took everything in me as I drove to the finish line. By the time I crossed the line I could not run another step. This is how you are supposed to feel at the end of a race! While I hoped for a better time I felt confident that I put everything I had into the race. I could have done better if I trained smarter by resting but that is a lesson that I will take with me to the Boulder Boulder 10k on Memorial day. Tomorrow will be resting and then it's back to work!

1 comment:

So Suddenly Meaningless said...

My name is Truman Alexander and I am making a documentary film called So Suddenly Meaningless. So Suddenly Meaningless focuses on transients, homeless people, and their antithesis, the 1%; the goal of So Suddenly Meaningless is to explore the similarities and differences between these two diverging sides of the social spectrum while exploring the stories and circumstances that brought them to where they are now. By popularizing the question, "What is the meaning of life?", the film illuminates the connections and lack thereof between all individuals and their socioeconomic classes.
Basically we are traveling around the United States, speaking only with homeless people and people who make over 6 figures. We are capturing each individuals story as to how they ended up where they are today, while asking personal and general questions on their history, happiness, and what brings life meaning.

We are donating 15% of any and all profits from the film to homeless communities across the country, including a foundation supporting homeless veterans. We are also passing out sandwiches to people who live on the street everyday during production.

So Suddenly Meaningless attempts to rid labels, classes, social statuses, and human inequality. We are all human, people seem to forget this. We are attempting to bring all humans together and help as many people as we can along the way.

I came across your website and I though this project might interest you. We have been traveling around California and plan on hitting the rest of the nation later early June. I was hoping you guys might be willing to share my campaign on your site. I am making the film completely independently and I can use all the help people are willing to give.

You can check out the campaign commercial on, http://igg.me/p/91805?a=537646

Thank you for your time,

Truman Alexander
818-620-5108
www.sosuddenlymeaningless.com