“Watchin the snow melt,” I heard my sister-in-law, Barb, tell Jenn over the phone on our way home from Papa John’s Cardinal stadium.
“What?” Jenn asked, her pitch rising.
“We had 8 inches of snow earlier this week, but it’s almost 50 now.” Barb lives in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, one of those Midwestern towns where spring weather can easily make it seem like January or July in March and April.
The dogwoods popped around town in Louisville Friday, like pink, yellow, and white confetti thrown on all the trees in our neighborhoods. It might have been just starting the warm up out in Nebraska’s panhandle, but we were already into perfect weather for the Papa John’s 10-miler yesterday morning.
I was up early.
Graham was up at 5:00, barking like a baby seal lost on the tundra. Croup.
The last time Graham had croup, he turned blue and they coded him in the ER. This development was definitely going to snag our already overly complex lacework of plans for the morning.
The boys had their first soccer game scheduled. I’m their coach, but we’d arranged parents to play team manager and coach. The pediatrician didn’t open until 9:00, the same as their kickoff time. The 10-miler started at 8:35, and the kids were coming down to the fun run at the stadium at 10:45.
Jenn’s persistence, along with the miracle of friends and phone calls, made it work out. And, yes, we are still married.
It poured rain on the East End of town at about 6:30. I worried about the course, and whether I should pack an extra pair of socks. But we had mid-60s for the entire event, a good light breeze, and slightly over-cast skies. Running perfection. While I wasn’t among them, I’m sure many runners set PRs yesterday.
My legs were heavy for the first four miles, up passed the first big hill in Iroquois park. I’m fairly confident this was a result of having run 10 miles of hills the week before instead of tapering. It might also have been getting up at 5:30 with a sick kid. I had a severe stitch, starting at mile two until I stopped at the second aid station. It could have been my breathing or my gait, but it might also have been poor hydration. I’d had nothing other three cups of coffee to drink before the start.
It all passed coming up the last hill in Iroquois, and I felt strong.
David and I hung together all the way up until mile nine, when he fell back a bit. That’s a tough spot, it includes a final hill on the bridge at Central before heading into the stadium. Lots of folks walk that bit.
I had a great deal more kick than I thought I’d have, and really put it into gear around the turf for the final turns. I felt a little like a jerk passing folks who’d pushed to their limit, when I obviously mustn’t have, so I made sure not to cut anybody off or brush anybody.
That tops off my fourth Louisville Triple Crown. It wasn’t my fastest, but it was fun, better than watchin the snow melt.