On Sunday, my husband, son and I all participated in a 5K race. This particular 5K was presented by Kidzcope, a non-profit organization that provides a variety of support groups, programs and workshops to help children and families struggling with the death of a loved one. Its mission is one that is near and dear to my heart and one that I hope to volunteer for in the near future.
The weather conditions were not ideal for a race. The wind was gusting 20-30 mph and it was h-o-t, HOT.
We arrived at the race location and quickly checked in and received our race bibs and shirts. We had about an hour to kill before our race began, so we decided to go get our lawn chairs from our vehicle and bring them back to the location where the after-party was to be held. When we walked back to our vehicle and inserted our key in the door to unlock it, we received an unpleasant surprise. Even though the key turned in the lock, the lock held fast. Mr. CF kept inserting and turning the key thinking that something would change, but it was not to be.
Forty-five minutes to race time. Dilemma. Do we call a locksmith now or later? We decided to do it now in the hopes that the problem could be rectified in time so that we could all be at the start line in time for the beginning of the race.
Mr. CF called the nearest locksmith and was assured that the locksmith would be there in 30 minutes or less. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Twenty-five minutes.
We hear the announcer instructing runners to go the starting line.
Finally, fifteen minutes before the race, Justin the Locksmith rips into the parking lot, tools in hand. The stars aligned for us and Justin popped the lock in just a few minutes. And while I had visions of this door-unlocking costing us a chunk of money, Justin strikes a bargain with only a $35 charge. Life is good, folks! Mr. CF pays Justin, and our family of runners gets to the starting line with plenty of time to spare.
Justin the Locksmith–Our Hero!
We got to the starting line, adjusted our ear buds, and we were off!
As usual, I had to sweet talk my legs to keep going the first mile, which was on downtown city streets. We then turned to cruise the path by river and enjoyed this scenery:
And no, I didn’t take that picture. I was too busy panting and bribing my body to keep on moving. Pretty though, yes?
The wind and heat were taking its toll on me. I actually didn’t mind the heat as much as the brutal wind. It reminded me of running track when I was in junior high and how much I hated running in the wind back then. Thirty-some years later I still hate it. Ugh.
But I wasn’t going to quit. This was Mr. CF’s first race after only running for three weeks and there was no way I was going to let him beat me in his first race. My spidey senses were tingling and I knew he wasn’t very far behind me, so it was game on.
I kept on trucking and the finish line was finally in sight. I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to make my sub 30 minute goal, but frankly at this point I was just glad to be DONE!
My official race time was 31:01 with a pace time of 9:59. Even though my goal was not met, I was pleased with the sub-10-minute mile pace.
My son finished several minutes ahead of me and Mr. CF finished less than 30 seconds behind me. Here’s our running family after we survived the gusty wind and heat otherwise known as Kansas in August:
The after party was fun with lots of good food, drinks, games for kids, and a live band.
A local sports bar provided yummy kabobs and corn:
Freddy’s Frozen Custard served, of course, frozen custard:
Then it was awards time and Son was pleasantly surprised when his name was called as the first place winner in his age group:
Score one for the Caffeinated Ginger family! This makes up for the last race he and I ran when I received a medal and he did not.
All in all, it was a successful night of running, even with the emergency locksmith situation. Mr. CF is now hooked on racing and we are now signed up to run at least one race a month through November. I’ve created a monster. Oh, well….as they say, the family that runs together, stays together!
Happy Running!
The Caffeinated Ginger 