Cancelled my A**!

So today was the day!  My first 10k.  I was very excited; didn’t sleep too much last night but still woke up ready to go.  Went by the gas station to pick up a water, some Gatorade, and a morning snack to get me started.

This was the Jazz in the Woods 10K/5K in Overland Park, Kansas; not too far from me on the Missouri side.  Packet pickup was organized, parking was great, and everything seemed to be set up well.  Then the skies opened up.  A thunderstorm at that.  Yikes.  We were ordered to our cars to wait it out.

After an hour several of us reassembled at the starting line.  It continued to rain lightly.  Then it happened: cancelled!  Oh no!  This wouldn’t do!  My very first 10k, history! 

I promptly removed my timing chip and gave it to the organizers, and then said “forget this, I’m running!”  I started the Garmin, and along with about 15 other runners headed down the route.  I ran about half of it before they had removed the markers, and it was difficult to see where I was supposed to go next.  So I had to wing it a little.  I ran through parking lots, up and down some streets; whatever it took to make 6.2 miles.  The rain eventually stopped, and conditions, while humid, weren’t that bad.

While running, I recalled that this was supposed to be my long run day in my training, replaced by this 10k.  I was supposed to hit 7.5 miles today. So I decided to do my best 10k, and then push ahead for another 1.3 miles to hit my target.  I made 10k at 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 45 seconds.  To me, this was fantastic!  My previous best was around 1 hour and 10 minutes.  I kept pushing on through.  The crowds were gone.  There were no aid stations.  The parking lots were deserted (except for some event organizers still cleaning up and the other crazy runners who stayed to run).  And I made 7.5 miles.  I did it.  I felt fantastic!

No pressure, a clear, non-crowded course.  There were a couple of places where mud had washed up due to the rain, where I had to tread carefully, and my spotless Kinvaras suffered, but other than that, I really couldn’t have asked for better conditions.  I understand why they had to cancel, and I don’t fault the organizers.  I appreciate those who organize these things. 

All in all, this was one of the best days of my running life.  I’m very proud of myself today.  Some days are going to be tough; others are going to be like this.  Some days I’m going to be challenges, and I have to find a way around or over that barrier. 

I called my story into the Extra Mile Podcast.  We’ll see if it makes it on.  I just HAD to tell someone about it. 

Hooray for today, and my cancelled 10k!

Enjoy your progress! 

Travis