I Ran, Horses Ran, Saw Dan

My very long Saturday began at 5:50 a.m. I decided to run in the Valley Haven Hike Bike Run in Valley, AL. The 5K run started at 8:15 eastern or unfortunately 7:15 central. There weren't very many people in the race, but those that participated were pretty fast. I wasn't trying to win any prizes....just wanted to run the whole time and finish.

I saw Bruce Schoonover, a former Knology colleague, and his daughter at the start of the race. They ran ahead of me, but I kept my eye on them. I still don't know how to determine my pace or how far I have gone during the race. I caught Bruce and passed him towards the 2.5 mile (I guess) mark. I could see the finish line as Bruce caught back up with me. I started sprinting as best I could and so did Bruce. We both didn't want the other finish ahead. We crossed at the same time. I was glad to run the whole time and finish, but I still had some left in the tank. I guess I should have gone faster.

I was back home by 8:30. I crashed, knowing that my day had just started. It was also Kentucky Derby day. AJ insisted that we have mint juleps. Do you know how difficult it is to find fresh mint on Derby day? After 3 stores, I found it. With mint juleps in hand, we watched Big Brown impressively win the Derby. Have we just seen the next Triple Crown winner? We were devastated that Eight Belles was put down after the race and a fall.

Our next stop of the day was Loco's. We met the Hodos and Dan Adams Band for dinner. It was then on to Strutting Duck. I borrowed some cowboy boots so I would fit in at the Duck. Too bad my boots didn't make any of the photos....

We visited with Dan, Steve, and Avery (aka The Fiddler) on Sunday morning. They have a video coming out on GAC in the next few weeks.