Summer Series XC #2 & My Birthday Party

I ran Summer Series #2 in my Nike XC spikes last night.  There were parts of the course where all the recent NJ rains have caused erosion and the exposure of random rocks and other scree.  I would have had to slow down a lot if I ran barefoot.  But it was very hot and humid last night and I am not acclimated because it just hasn't been hot this spring.  The spikes felt so heavy and hot I really wanted to stop and rip them off my feet.  I won my new age group, at least.

The greatest thing about last night was everyone in my running club that made it special for my birthday.  The race directors, Doug and Janice, gave me bib number 50.  They announced it at the start line and gave me a special start line about 10 yards ahead of everyone else.  It felt so unfair but it was humorous.  There was another former president, IronPete , that shares my birthday, but 10 years younger.  He got a head start too, as well as bib number 40.

After the race there was the singing of Happy Birthday and an absolutely wonderful birthday cake, made by Rebecca T.  It was an amazing work of art that is cheapened by text description: It was totally themed with icing as a plush mountain with a path to the top on one side.  The path had shoes cast aside and bare footprints passing milestones marked 35, 40, 45.  Over the top, the other downhill side had a gray rocky barren down-hill path with animal bones and skull exposed.  Rebeca spent like 10 hours creating that.  She should do that for a living!  And she cut it up herself.  (You might be able to see pics of it on Facebook.)

Finally, Chris L had people chip in for a gift last Saturday.  What a guy!  They got me Vibram Five Finger KSO shoes.  I had been wanting them for a long time but have been too cheap to buy them.  So that was wonderful.  Of course we hung out and drank some beers as always.  It was absolutely the best 50th birthday I could have ever wanted!