Well, I finished

 

I learned an important lesson last weekend. But, let me set this up first.

It's been a cold winter. And, I've suffered though an incisional hernia above my navel. My first love is cycling (but you know that). I've started running. I have a full load at school and am trying to get into nursing school. I have two young children. And a wife.

Do these sound like excuses?

Yeah, I know.

Okay, so Friday rolls around. It's 80 freaking degrees in Kansas City! Warmest it's been since, what October? I had to ride my bike. I didn't get out until late in the day. I only did six miles, but it was just something I had to do for the sake of my mental health.

Saturday morning, 9 a.m. I'm lined up for the inaugural Big 12 5K. More background. This is an important event for me. Although my school, left the Big 12 for the SEC last year, a fact my friends say I am obnoxiously proud of, I am thankful that the Big 12 is still having its Men's basketball tournament in Kansas City. It has a terrific impact on the cit's economy and it's great for all the KU and K-State fans out there. Not to mention Iowa State, which has some great fans who travel every year for the tournament.

And hey, KU and K-State were playing in the championship later in the day. My team crapped out of the SEC tournament in Nashville the night before, so I was looking forward to watching a good game (on TV) between the two teams that tied for the regular season title in the Big 12 this year. I should note that my wife is a K-Stater, so I was rooting for them, though I don't root against the Jayhawks like I used to when we were rivals. Time to move on.

Anyway, I lined up in that 38-degree weather with a bunch of KU fans, a good showing from K-State fans and a smattering of fans from the other schools, chief among them not surprisingly Iowa State faithful. I was surprised that Mizzou was so well represented and aside from one comment from a KU fan who obviously can't get over "it" was well received despite the fact I was proudly sporting my Mizzou jacket.

So I lined up behind the 8-minute pace crowd. Now, I am significantly slower than this, but I did not see a 14-minute pace marker, so this would have to do.

I started out running my own race. That's what the all running magazines tell you to do. I made it all the way down Grand from the Sprint Center, turned right onto Pershing and tipped my hat to General Washington, passed Union Station, made it all the way back up to Southwest Boulevard and just short of the halfway mark water station my legs turned to rubber.

Nothing. Zero. Zilch.

I had nothing left. I walked through the water station (the magazines tell you to do this) and then considered picking up running again. I could still salvage something, right.

Hey! Who put this hill here. Huge hill up to the Kauffman Center. No way. Couldn't do it. Had to walk most of the way back.

As you can see from the above pictures, I did pick up running the last few blocks Got to look good for the cameras. You can also see that I 1) accomplished my real goal of finishing and 2) set the bar low for improving my time in June at Hospital Hill.

I will claim victory, despite my disappointment.