St. Patrick’s Day 5k
03/18/2023
Leawood, KS
Okay, now I’m mad. This race was cruel and unusual punishment! This is no slight against the race director and organizers, but did you see the temperature?!?! The wind chill had this bad boy at -2 degrees (f)! I add the (f) for Fahrenheit, but we all know what that eff really stands for!
I was honestly close to not going to this race. I’m not going to lie. It was just too damn cold for me. I am really not a fan of running in anything below 32 degrees. It makes breathing much more difficult for me. My problem with ALL this darn cold weather winter running though is that I CAN’T GET LOOSE! I can stretch and warm up all I want. I can do it until I am so tired I can’t run the race, but I will still be stiff. I know there are runners who prefer the cold stuff, but get me to sixty degrees and I am a happy guy!
It was nice before this race to have our big group picture taken with myself and everyone from the 2023 KCRC Team. We were told there would be a team photo before the race, but I don’t think anyone knew how dang cold it was going to be. The picture got taken then everyone scrambled to get into whatever nook and cranny they could find to hide from the cold and wind.
The race kicked off and everyone was absolutely miserable. We had wind throughout the whole course. It did not matter what direction we turned, the wind was always in our faces. It just chased us for the whole course. Making us regret every decision we made that day that lead us to the start line.
I was a minute-plus slower than I was at the cookie run just a couple weeks ago. That course was more difficult than this one, but I just didn’t have it on this day. It is unfortunate because I think we crush that course on a better day weather-wise. It is not overly difficult. It was just a combination of wind and cold that slowed everyone down. Brutal.
The real story of this race though was the medals. Well done KC Running Company on the medals for this one. I am partial to green and St. Patrick’s theme as I have a lot of Irish in me, but these were really cool medals.
Not surprisingly after the race, I took my medal and bottle of water and headed back to the car. The best part was seeing ALL the people hiding in the coffee shop! Heck, I’m not mad at you! I waved at some folks, then deadheaded to my vehicle. This was a fun race that would have really been enjoyed more with better weather.
Next week is a biggie! The Liberty Half Marathon! This is the first race of the Heartland 39.3 Series, so it is an important one! Time to stay healthy and get focused. As they say in the old wrestling business; “Business is about to pick up!”
-Kyle