The Final (?) Chuys 5K

Bottled coffee because 6AM is early for me.
Half a banana.
5K in 35 minutes and change (official time unavailable so far). Slacker, I know. but I haven't been able to run much the last few months.
Krispy Kreme. Banana. Water. Reconnecting with old Chuys friends at different locations now.
Ibuprofen. Hot tub. Soreness abating.

The final (probably) Chuys 5K for the Special Olympics is gone. A good time was had by nearly all. A couple of little kids were melting down, but with that many people, that's not bad at all. Highlights:

• People passing me, pushing single and double strollers with kids in them.
• Tall, long legged guys, idling effortlessly past me. I never saw them again. They probably started actually running and went back in time.
• One of them was whistling. A half mile into the race, he passed me, whistling a tune. like he was moseying without a care in the world. Cool moustache, too.
• Two eight year old girls passing me, then slowing to a walk, not really out of breath. As I passed them, "You really gonna let an old guy beat you?" Thirty seconds later they passed me, grinning back until they were sure I saw them.
• Big busted women passing me at a good clip, bouncing more than my belly did even when it was much bigger than it is now. They were clearly not wearing sports bras. That has to hurt, and it's not healthy. Don't do this.
• A guy with at least 75 pounds on me, sweating, walking pretty fast the other way. "Yeah, I already finished." True or false? No idea. I assume it was true, and good for him.
• Really nice cops doing traffic control. When we thanked them, they almost always thanked us back.
• Sharon walked it, and knocked a few minutes off her usual time, probably because she was alone instead of walking with someone to talk to.
• A mariachi band at the finish line. Playing Beatles tunes.
• After the finish line, I met a lady who looked a few years older than me, with purple hair and a shirt to match. "I've never run one of these. I trained with an app; I never broke 54 minutes. Today I ran it in 41!" We fist bumped. I would have hugged her but I was a lot sweatier. (I probably should have offered.) You generally don't know what you're capable of until you try it for real.
• We met the 14 year old daughter of one of Chuys top managers (now in charge of training and opening new stores). I recall the mom, Lisa, managing a Chuys while pregnant. The daughter now takes classes from two of Lisa's favorite customers from back then.
• They raffled off a dozen or so prizes. A woman won a $250 gift basket. A couple of tickets later her husband won dinner for four at Chuys. Good day for them!
• There was no booth with race times displayed or posted, and they couldn't declare winners. They'll do that later and notify them how to get their awards. Kind of a bummer, especially for those who came in from other towns for the race. (One year the winner of the 80-89 year old mens' bracket (who beat my best 5k time ever) had come up from Port Arthur. He had lived here back when there were only two Chuys on the planet, which is when I first moved here.)
• It's always kind of a hoot to find out how many people a good deal older than me blew my time out the window.
• Ditto kids. A few years ago some 10 or 12 year olds ran the whole thing in just over 12 minutes, if I recall correctly. I ran my first mile today in that time. My best time ever was over twice that.
• A group of ladies in sparkly tutus and tiaras.
• A dog in a bright blue tutu.
• Whole families, from greats to grands to parents to kids, all running.
• I didn't see any of my runner friends. That was a surprise.

Once upon a time, there were not many races in Austin. When Chuys started their 5K to support the Texas Special Olympics, there was maybe a race a month here, if that. Now there are often several each weekend. But the race takes a lot of time and energy to put on. So Chuys plans to come up with something different to help out the TSO. They'll probably expand the Thanksgiving Parade a bit as well.

Thanks, Chuys, for all you do. Thanks, Brooke and team, for the great work. Chuys: great food, great atmosphere, even greater people. You're awesome, and we love you, and all the Special Olympian and their families, friends, and supporters. Hugs for everyone!