Even though today was just going to be an easy run, I decided to meet my team at the track and at least warm-up (and possibly cool-down with them). The dew point, near 70, was oppressive and I (almost) felt sorry for the group as they did 16 x 400 while I jogged 6 miles with Mary.
After watching the last of the 400s, I decided to cool-down with Mary and Sue (who’s training for Ironman Wisconsin). We ran down Summit Avenue towards the University of St. Thomas. Or is it St. Thomas University? I can never remember. It’s not a big deal to me, but it’s probably a pet peeve for those with ties to the school. Anyway, there were lots of runners and bikers out tonight. As we were running, I looked up and thought the guy coming towards us looked familiar. He was cruising pretty well and was already by us before I realized it was Bob Kempainen. He is from this area, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Maybe he’s back for a long holiday weekend.
Speaking of elite runners, I failed to mention that Katie McGregor was standing near Lemon Drop hill on the Grandma’s marathon course. I don’t make it a habit of looking at spectators, I just happened to look over and see her. Again, it took awhile for my brain to kick in and realize it was her. I like to think I helped inspire her 10k victory the following weekend at the U.S. track and field champions. Ha!
I wonder how often elite or former elite runners get recognized when they’re out running or even just out around town. It’s not like they’re stars from a sport with a lot of exposure. I was running at Pike Island last summer with Eric and we saw Carrie Tollefson. He knows who she is, but at the time, he had no idea it was her. Okay, enough name dropping for today.
I had plans on riding my bike after the run, but by the time we finished our cool-down, I had run for 80 minutes. Being in recovery-mode, I thought that was enough for the day. I called it 9 miles, which is more than I had planned, but it was all very easy.
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We hardly ever get to see running celebrities here unless there's some big race going on. Or maybe I'm just bad at recognizing them. About four years ago I had a good sighting as I came out of Central Park and I couldn't help but turn to the guy next to me at the corner and tell him excitedly, "Oh my god, that was Tegla Laroupe!" He just kind of stared at me and inched away as if I was having a schizophrenic episode.
Ha. I told the "kid" (21 year old) running next to me "that was Bob Kempainen." He just looked at me with a blank stare. I guess he would have only been 11 when Bob last competed. Plus he's a triathlete, not a runner, so I should cut him some slack.
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