18 walks til christmas

Today was the Hot Toddy 5K in south Philly sponsored by Jack Daniels. The race stayed in parking lots. We went past the Wells Fargo Center, under the highway, then back and around Citizens Bank Park, and back to the highway, back past the Wells Fargo Center to the finish.

It was nicely organized, and the building was open for bathrooms. We used the Job Johnny's in the parking lot. (P 3.5)

This was a no frills race. No food, just booze. And that's okay.

We arrived in plenty of time, parked at the LINC and were close enough to take my jacket to the car. Five mnutes later it staarted to fill up. Perfect.

Plus we had time to walk around the block and warm up.

There was a fire pit at one of the restaurants. They actually kicked us out right after I took this pix. The area was closed for a private party. oops. I guess the fire was for other people.

We also figured out how to get on the big chair. Thru the side silly. Why didn't we think of that? I felt like Edith Ann sitting in that chair. It is so big.


During the race we went past a Bus/Subway station where there was a group of Muslim people cheering us on. Angel wanted to take a pix, but decided it was rude. I'm guessing they were just waiting for a public transit, but they were hooting and hollering.  No other "boosters" along the way. For a minute it felt like the 3-Day.

I played games to keep motivated. It's been a long time since I've done a race. The I have to pass someone, and then they can't pass me again game, to be specific. One person I had to pass was ugly pants. They hurt the eyes. Day-glo footprints all over them. On the last mile she past us again. I'm pretty sure she was run-walking. She came from nowhere.

Angel slowed down her pace and stuck with me for the whole race. My goal was 50 minutes. We finished in 52:34. I did okay keeping up but I was wiped at the end. But holding a conversation was tough. Bonnie and I have discovered this problem on long road trips—we almost ran out of conversation. Between Friday and today we had already had about 5 hours in a car, plus the time we spent walking and lunch Friday. No subjects left to talk about. But we did find some.

The official recipie for a Hot Toddy:
 Ingredients

• 1 part Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey or Jack Daniel's Tennessee Fire
• Spoonful of honey
• Cinnamon stick
• A good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Boiling water

Instructions

• Pour Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey or Jack Daniel's Tennessee Fire into a heavy mug. Add a spoonful of honey, cinnamon stick and lemon juice. Top with boiling water and stir.

So pretty much it's Jack and hot water. I think the addition of cider would have been really yummy.