Skirtchasing -> brewchasing

Last Saturday, Michelle and I ran in the Raleigh Skirtchaser Series 5k in downtown Raleigh. The event is part of a national series to promote running skirts for ladies. Its also a good time to run a 5k as its an evening run that starts and finishes at a popular Raleigh pub. There was a street party of sorts under a tent with live music and plenty of free beer from Oskar Blues afterward.

This was the first 5k I had run in almost two years since I have been focusing on longer distance events however it was a good way to tune up for the sprint triathlon that we have coming in about a month and more importantly, it was Michelle's very first 5k event. The race start is split between the ladies in their skirts who started at 5 PM and the guys - the chasers; who started at 5:03 PM. I would definitely say it was a flirty event with plenty of opportunity to meet others or just have a good time with friends and spouses as we did.

Once I caught Michelle about a mile in, I slapped her on the bum and ran with her to the finish. It was a fun event with plenty of hills to tackle in the evening heat and humidity. She did a great job and finished the 3.1 miles with ease.

While everyone else cooled off, I collected free beer tickets up and got myself a cold six pack of Oskar Blue's Mama's Little Yella Pils. Definitely not as good a beer as their Dale's Pale Ale but the price was right and so was our evening that we finished inside watching the Canes game at Hibernian Irish Pub.

94th Indianapolis 500 becomes Helio's 3rd

This year's 500 has now passed and I wanted to look back at the race with a few comments. To no one's surprise, Team Penske took their 15th 500 victory in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Helio Castroneves started from pole and drove a Rick Mears style of race - hanging in the top 10, letting other drivers lead and than got into position and took the lead in the final 50 laps. He pretty much checked out after that and won his 3rd victory in the Indianpolis 500 over 2nd place Dan Wheldon and 3rd place Danica Patrick.

Also as expected, Marco Andretti crashed out early tangling with Champ Car/KV Racing convert driver Mario Moraes and blamed someone else. Does an Andretti ever accept fault for an incident? Marco is proving more than more that he is following in his daddy's shoes - well, other than the fact he isn't winning races. Sadly, young American drivers Graham Rahal and Ryan Hunter-Reay did nothing to prove teams should hire American drivers either considering they also crashed out early on their own. At the end of the day, Danica proved why she is a racer and a good one who also happens to also be an American.

Wheldon was a bit of a surprise to see finish in 2nd - not because he can't get around Indy quite well (he won in 2005) but because he now drives for a low budget team. If it wasn't for the late caution (which is actually normal for 500s), Danica Patrick's strategy on fuel and long runs very well may have led her to the win. If she doesn't bolt to tin tops in 2010; maybe we'll see her challenge for the win again one day. After all, our greatest 500 champion in the series today is a cry baby with dancing shoes so why not have a petite and sexy woman win one too? One of the more entertaining moments of the race was her new Go Daddy.com commerical which you can view in full below. Guys - its worth the click.

AJ Foyt was likely smashing laptops and breaking chairs after Helio's latest tearup in Victory Lane considering his comments about this year's winner. At least one old guy is keeping it real! On to the Milwaukee Mile where AJ's regular driver - Vito "no luck" Meira is out for the season due to this nasty crash below but Mr. Excitement Paul Tracy will be filling in and sure to entertain.

Jet vs. Jet truck

Last Saturday, we went down to Havelock, NC for the annual airshow at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. While not really a racing event, it was certainly an entertaining afternoon of speed and there was one brief race to mention too. As always, I had my SLR camera and shot some fun photos to share here and on my smugmug site.

The race I mentioned was a staged event between a 57' Chevrolet truck fitted with two jet engines and a civilian owned and piloted British Sea Harrier. I've seen this truck run before at Cherry Point as it rockets down the strip pushing 25,000 HP with 12,500 lbs. of thrust but never against a plane. I grabbed a couple shots as they lined up and lauched for the brief 250+ MPH run down the strip. As you can imagine, the truck won with its twin afterburners but the Harrier was no slouch having started from a near hover in the air over the runway.

The main event for the day was the appearance of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds who were visiting in place of the regular US Navy Blue Angels who I saw on a previous visit to the show. While not as aggressive or fast as the Blue Angels, they certainly impressed with their beauty and symmetry in the air.

How do I love you?

It's May which means 'The month of May' will soon be underway at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The IndyCar Series roars in for nearly a month of practice and qualifications leading up to the 93rd running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing - the Indianapolis 500.

If you know me or at least follow my blog, you know there are few things that excite me in sports or life as much as the Indy 500. Yes, its an obsession however a healthy one since I usually just watch it at home on TV. If I had the choice, I would journey to Indianapolis every Memorial Day weekend for the race like I did in 2000.

This year marks the beginning of the speedway's Centennial Era which will last from 2009-2011. On June 5, 1909, a helium gas-filled balloon competition was the first event to take place at IMS, more than two months before the oval was completed. This weekend, the speedway and city will host the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Centennial Era Balloon Festival. May 2011 will mark 100 years since the inaugural Indianapolis 500 and I sure hope to be there for the race.

The wonderful Firestone Tire commerical below sums up how many race fans feel about the speedway. Enjoy watching it again with me and keep an eye out for their new commerical entitled "Take me out to the Speedway."

Update: Read this article from SpeedTV.com why this year's Indy 500 is a classic in the making.