Uphill

I woke up at 5:00 this morning, ate an Apricot Clif Bar, drank 32 ounces of Lemon-Lime Gatorade, and got my racing gear on. I hadn't raced since the 4th of July, so I had no idea what to expect. I picked up Kurt and we made it down to the starting line about 45 minutes early. We jogged about two miles for a warm-up.

Great morning for a race. It was a 5K (3.1 miles) on a very hilly course. Kurt and I ran most of the race together. Our first two miles were 5:32 and 5:36. Before the uphill sections started our pace was well below 5:30. The last 1.2 miles was all uphill (and parts of it were very steep) except a short section near the finish line that was flat. My third mile was a very cruel 6:05 and my last .12 miles was 36 seconds. Team ndorfnz finished first and second. I won overall in 17:50 and missed the course record by 2 seconds. I didn't know what the course record was until after the race...so I probably would have dug a little deeper. But, just as well...the marathon is next Sunday and that is the race I have been training for for the last five months. I think third place was a few minutes back, so both Kurt and I ran well.


Shortly after I got home, Benjamin and I made our way in Lincoln to watch Nebraska and Iowa State play football. Before we left, I asked Benjamin if he wanted lunch. He replied, "No. I'll have stadium food." My reply was something like, "Let me make sure I have stadium money for your stadium food." We skipped lunch and enjoyed the ride down there with our friends Mark and Gary. It was a good game. Iowa State, fresh off a loss against national powerhouse Toledo, took a 10 point lead in the first half. Nebraska played pretty well the rest of the game and ended up winning.

Life is full of uphills. I climbed one for six minutes this morning. Nebraska had to climb up a hill this afternoon. Sport is a good metaphor for life. But in the grand scheme of things, the hill I climbed this morning and the hill Nebraska climbed this afternoon matter about the same -- not a whole bunch. Cancer patients are the true heroes. So are those who are overcoming learning disabilities. So are those whose heart has been broken and are trying to get well again. So is the single parent who works hard all day and then works even harder at night. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. So for all who are climbing, keep striving for the top and do your best to enjoy the journey on the way up.