Ode to Bubba

This post has been bouncing around in my head for sometime. One of those things that drift into the present moment and then fade into the To Do list of the mind. I can guess about some of the reasons...but I digress.

I'm not sure exactly when it started, maybe Bubba has a better recollection. I think it was around the time I was training for the Chicago Marathon, the spring of 2002. My training got interrupted by a little bit of surgery on my left knee, but by June I was back on the road, literally @ WL. I used to treat myself by running in races around the metro (I know, sick, huh?) and I think it was the Lenexa Freedom Run, on July 4th where we, the Bubster and me ran our first race together. He had been doing some running @ WL so it seemed natural to invite him along. It was fun, even if the temp at that time of the year can be a bugger. Some time after that we began what became a ten year habit (or more) our Sunday Run Around the Block. Okay, you know WL doesn't have traditional blocks, so we just ran around the lake...about 6 miles to be exact. In the beginning it seemed like quite an accomplishment. We had two routes, clockwise around the lake or counterclockwise, starting at Bubba's almost exactly 3 miles from my house or at my house...usually alternating weeks. Didn't make a difference, summer, winter, wind or calm. We ran.

And it morphed into a little bit more. Some of our Sunday runs went longer as we eyed longer races. The St Joe YMCA hosted a Half Marathon...we did that a number of times. Of course we couldn't pass up the granddaddy of races in KC, the Hospital Hill Half Marathon. And then we did the inaugural Phoenix Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix/Scottsdale...twice (Bubba actually did more on his own). The Kansas City Marathon (Half) beckoned as well...so we ran that as too. Crazy, huh?

In the beginning watching race times and improvements (or not) was important to us. I thnk we both figured out in time that running times were just an artifact of the event. What really mattered was enjoying the ride, which we usually did. There was an occasion or two where one of us was "leaking oil" but we just backed off the pace and finished. We always finished. The T-Shirts, medals and race bibs all proof that Bubba and Me had been there.

This year marked a change as we did our Around the Block less than we would have preferred. Bubba and Mrs Bubba made plans to relocate to another Lake, in Utah, so our running escapades were drawing to a close. Bubba couldn't make the Hosptial Hill Half, son Mboy "subbed" for Bubba, finishing his first half. Mboy had his "leaking oil" moment but kept plugging on, made me proud.

My nagging right hip just wouldn't relent, regardless, Bubba and me showed up for the Lenexa 5K Freedom Run on July 4th. It was a tradition after all. As we walked to the car after the race we commented on what a nice race it is. Indeed.

The Bubbas moved from WL shortly thereafter, new chapters for both our families. Our friendship will never be broken, but it will be different for sure. No more sweaty running clothes protested by my tribe as I returned from the run. As it turns out, Lenexa will probably be my last run, my new hip not terribly amenable to the pounding running dishes out. I'm okay with that. I can smile and rewind all the mental tapes of Bubba and me running. Good times, the best.

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