Headless Chicken Race

The first question that probably comes to mind (hehe) for a lot of you about the Headless Chicken Race is "Why is there a Headless Chicken Race?"  The answer is that in 1948, a chicken named Mike lived for 18 months without a head.  Part of the brain-stem was attached to the rest of his body, which informs us about a lot of cool things dealing with brain function.  However, as I have not filled my head (hehe) with neuroscience, I'll stick to the race.  The Headless Chicken Race is part of Mike the Headless Chicken Days in Fruita, CO, a festival to celebrate the fact that people are willing to celebrate headless chickens.  Unlike the path of a real headless chicken, the Headless Chicken Race is 5km long and has very few corners.  It's not one of those races where you have to constantly use your head (hehe), you can really just run.

Given that I have several road races coming up, I figured running the Headless Chicken Race as a tuneup was a no-brainer (hehe).  I was looking for a quality effort more than anything else, so I put my neck on the line (hehe) and got out ahead (hehe) early.  I was not entirely sure how much of the Boston Marathon was still in my legs, but I tried to keep an open mind (hehe) about pacing and just listen to my legs, not my head (hehe), keeping in mind (hehe) that it is best to even split races.  I ended up running a 15:47 or something (I don't have the head for memorizing times.  hehe) and was really pleased with my effort, but I'm not letting it go to my head (hehe).  Next weekend I'm heading (hehe) to Boulder for the BolderBoulder, where I'll have to remember to keep my head on a swivel (hehe).  Actually, given BolderBoulder, the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon six days later, and everything else happening, I'm about to start running around like a chicken with my head cut off (hehe), but I really don't want to get ahead (hehe) of myself.

I am cognizant (hehe) that when telling jokes, one is supposed to assume that their audience has enough between their ears (hehe) to get them, but I just can't help myself.  It's like a reaction that doesn't need to go past the cerebral cortex (hehe).  I would probably laugh at these puns even if I were braindead (hehe).  Anyways, here's a picture of the race shirt.

Stay headless, my friends.