My blog is moving!

Hey fellow runners and followers…

Please note that I have collapsed my blogs (as I was working on two of them…1 for food and 1 for running) into one.  Under the name The Celiathlete.

Therefore, this blog is moving to that one…so if you could please take a moment to visit my new blog and follow me there, that would be awesome.

You can find me here:

The Celiathlete

I hope you join me at my new space.  See you soon…

…and I’ll be updating hopefully this weekend.  Sorry I’ve been away so long…

Capital City Stampede 10K – Frankfort, KY (June 14, 2014)

Me crossing the finish line of the Capital City Stampede 10K – Frankfort, Kentucky

Race: Capital City Stampede 10K

Place: Frankfort, Kentucky

Date: June 14, 2014

Time: 44:03

Your eyes do not deceive you.  That is a brand spankin’ new 10K PR!  I couldn’t believe it.  I honestly couldn’t believe it.  Believe me, after the week I’ve had…I couldn’t be happier!  And this is once again proof of how important it is to take those rest days.  Rest brings magic.  And it was not easy to skip my Friday morning spin class…but…I am getting back into the habit of obeying and respecting those days of rest.

Guess it worked.

Yes…it’s that time again.  The final race of the Frankfort Trifecta Run/Walk Series.  The first race was a 3K, the second was a 5K, and the final leg…a 10K.  Now…I don’t know if you know this or not…but I absolutely despise the 10K distance.  I hate it.  It’s just…not long enough for my legs to get warmed up, but I can’t sprint it either.  UGH!  Damn you 10K distance.  But, I don’t care when it comes to this race.  Because I love running in Frankfort.  I have met so many great people there…been able to run with them…run their streets.  I’ve forged so many friendships through running, and I count myself lucky to know so many people in Frankfort.

So…this meant an early morning to allow for proper travel time.  I got up early enough to do my PT stretches, drink some tea, take in water, put on sunscreen, drink some coffee, eat cereal, brush teeth, get out the door.  The ride to Frankfort actually went quickly.  Seriously.  I was just flipping through one of my magazines and before I knew it, we were exiting and making a stop at the Kroger to get pre-race bananas and allow me to use a flushing toilet (because I’m a princess!).  With all of that accomplished, it was off to the State Capitol Building…which was where the race starts.

I got into the line to pick up my packet.  And it was while I was standing there that Linda found me.  It was hugs all around.  We talked about the race and she mentioned that she broke the cardinal rule…and did her first kettlebell class on Thursday night and now her legs were screaming at her.  She, much like me, figured kettlebell was more upper body.  Whoops.  Anyway…I was being called up to get my bib number and my goodie bag, so I told her I’d catch her in a bit and we parted ways.

For being a runner who completed the three-race series, I also received a mug.  Awesome!  Cathy and I walked these back to the car.  It was 30 minutes to start time…so I peeled my banana and gave that a good noshing while we moved.  I finished it up at the car.  Good timing.  Cathy dug some safety pins out of the race bag she carries and pinned me up.  I zipped up my hoodie (YES…a hoodie…because it was about 49°F this morning!) and we meandered back down toward the start line.

This year…there was actually a start/finish line.  A big black and white checkered inflatable arch.  Awesome.  Moving on up, Capital City Stampede!!  Looking good!  We stood at the top of the circle where I did a few stretches and high knees, getting my limbs as warmed up as possible.  I hate stretching, but since my injury in the winter, I’ve embraced stretching and don’t just half-ass it anymore.  Even days I want to skip them or just do the bare minimum.  Nope.  Not anymore.  About 10 minutes before race time, Cathy sent me for some strides down the hill and back up to the line, just to get my legs warmed up.

Why?

Because I’ve had the right hamstring from hell this past week.  All week, my hamstring hasn’t hurt, but…it’s felt so tight.  So, that was my biggest concern going into this.  My legs weren’t wanting to fire like they normally should or would.  Another reason I’ve been taking on my stretches, my foam rolling, and even using the dreaded “stick” on my hamstrings.  It was still tight this morning, but you just work with what you have, right?  Right!

Five minutes to race time and I get into the starting area.  I’m a few rows back from the guy holding the 6:00 MILE pace sign.  No…I’m not that fast.  But I was standing in the middle between that guy and the lady holding the 8:00 MILE sign.  So, I felt I was in a good spot.  The start area was filling up now, with lots of chatter going on.  Even though I don’t live or train in Frankfort, I’ve never had a difficult time making friends at a race.  And I overheard some people talking about those relay races that happen and someone mentioned the Market to Market one, which my friend Kelsie wants me to run with her on her team (and I’m really hoping I get to do so!), so we talked about that while the start was delayed…because the roads needed to be completely cleared for the safety of us runners!  And they said some people were sneaking through.  When the okay was given…we were off…without much of a warning!

I started my Garmin late…oh well…

“ONLY SIX MORE MILES TO GO!”

I was off.  Immediately tackling an uphill climb.  Up…up…up…around the Capitol…around the back…and then…the downhill.  I was feeling okay.  I felt like I was struggling a bit, but I was focusing on my form and my breathing.  Neither of which were very good at this point.  HA!  As I’m coming down the hill, I see Cathy on the sideline and hear her shout, “GO TWIN!  YOU’RE ALMOST DONE!  ONLY SIX MORE MILES TO GO!”  It cracked me up and I threw my hands up in agreement and continued to pound that pavement.

I didn’t feel like I was hitting that first mile very hard, but apparently…I was.  When my watch beeped on my first mile, I had covered it in 6:54.  My entire intention was to ease into the race.  Run the first two miles slow, pick it up, then kick it at the end.  That wasn’t happening.  But the pace was set and while I didn’t look at my watch to know what I was running (I never look at my pace), I did know that it was faster than I would have liked to run it…so I eased up.  But not by much.  In fact, I didn’t officially ease up until Mile 4.

This was a fantastic course, in my opinion.  We ran around the Capitol…then down the straightaway, across a bridge and then we sort of did the last part of the Pro.Active For Life 5K portion downtown.  But, we go beyond that and head further into the downtown area.  It’s fun to see people come out of the shops and cheer people on.  There may not be a lot of crowd support in Frankfort, but what is there is vocal.  And that makes this place special.  Mile 3 had us heading back toward the Capitol, but turning away to run down this long stretch of road.

I call this the hardest part of the race.  From around Mile 3.1 to Mile 6.1 it’s three miles of…NOTHING.  Runners are sent down past a few homes, under a parking garage of sorts, then down this winding road (and hill that we will have to run back up!) into open country, it seems.  It’s hard because there really is nothing out there.  Just you, the road, one water stop (which was manned by two very adorable little girls!), and the runners.  It was just past Mile 4 that I saw the leader (Adam…as always!) heading back the other way.  He had a huge lead.  Like…seriously!  I kept waiting to see that second place runner behind him…but there was no one there.  Not for a good long while.  But then they came…and not long after that…with a biker beside her, the lead female…Kendall Hayes (no surprise…she’s even faster than lightning this year!).  There was a female just slightly ahead of me (she was WAY ahead of me at the start, so I really closed the gap).  She made the turn…then a couple of seconds later…I made the turn.

As we were nearing the 5 mile marker, I had two runners tell her she was second female overall and that I was third female as we ran past them.  That was encouraging.  Mile 5 clicked by and Greg, the runner just slightly behind me the entire time picked up his pace and said to me, “We can catch her!”  That made me smile.  “I don’t know!” I said.  But, the gap was closing…and he did go on and pass her…and I was hot on her heels as we climbed the hill, ran back under the parking garage thingy…where a car pulled out in front of us.  What. The. Hell.  Damn truck. But, we moved on.  We made the curve and I could see, up ahead, the lights that marked the road we’d turn on to run…up a hill…to the finish line.

My legs were screaming.  For the first time ever, I had a calf muscle wanting to cramp up.  It didn’t…but it felt off.  My hamstring was fighting me.  My quad was tight…but I pushed it.  She just pushed harder.  I heard Cathy screaming at the finish line and I crossed…just a few seconds after her.

With a new PR.

I’ll take it!

Kendall Hays (first female overall), Jennifer Watson (second female overall), and Me (third female overall)

Cathy came around and immediately congratulated me on closing the gap so much on the female ahead of me.  Then she told me to go grab some water…which I happily did.  I was running as fast as I ran my half marathon before I ran Buffalo…but this just felt…so much harder.  My splits were not the way I wanted…the first two miles being the fastest, the middle two being the slowest, and the last two being the last ditch effort to maintain some semblance of my strong pace.  Go figure.  We decided to take a walk, but I stopped and said Linda wasn’t too far behind me and I wanted to see her finish.

We got to that finish line just in time as she was powering up the hill for a strong finish!  I was screaming for her the entire way and she finished strong.  She was happy with her finish, despite no new PR for her.  And we took a short walk together before she turned around to go cheer her sister in to her finish.  Cathy and I finished our circling of the Capitol building and went to grab some water from the McDonalds table.  We went to settle in on the steps and heard the announcement for free McDonalds sandwiches.  While I couldn’t eat them, Cathy said it would be way better than her protein bar.  So, I went to grab her one.  I asked which one was the sausage biscuit…but they told me wrong.  Cathy was okay with her egg biscuit though, because she said the biscuit was the best part.  I noshed on the Quest Chocolate Peanut Butter High Protein Bar.  It was a bit chewier than I expected, and I’m assuming it’s because it melted once and then solidified.  We’ll see when I try the next one.  But it wasn’t bad at all.  My jaw just got tired of chewing for so long.  But, it was something more than cereal and a banana…and that was what I needed.

Me with my awards for finishing Third Overall Women in the Capital City Stampede 10K (plaque) and for finishing the 2014 Trifecta Series as the First Overall Woman in the Open category.

As the final person crossed the finish line, they were getting ready to hand out awards.  They started with the overall winners…and when the females were announced…it was Kendall as first…Jennifer Watson as second female overall (by 10 seconds on my time!)…and then…ME!  For the second year in a row, I came in as the Third Female Overall in the Capital City Stampede!  Proud of myself.  Proud of the ladies I ran with.  Kendall is always amazing and I don’t know who Jennifer is, but she ran a hard race and really pushed me.

Then…the age group awards were handed out…and Linda won her age division!!  Fantastic!!  I high fived her.  They went through the age divisions backwards…and I cheered and applauded for everyone!  Hey…they earned it.

And then…it was time for awards for the Frankfort Trifecta.  And coming in first for the women for the entire Frankfort Trifecta was…Kendall!  BUT…for the second year in a row, I came won the Female Open Division for the race series!!  YAY!  Both of my titles…maintained!  So happy!

So…the official results of the Capital City Stampede 10K are that I finished with a new 10K PR of 44:03.  WOOHOO!!  I managed to shave almost a minute and a half off my previous 10K time.  NICE!  I was 20/322 finishers of the 10K run overall.  And, I was the 3rd female finisher overall for that race.  Surprised.  Content.  Happy!  Really happy!

Really looking forward to returning to this race series again.  This is my series.  It involves some drive time, but I always have found it worth it.  So much fun.  Great city.  Great people.  Great time!  Is it any wonder I love to run in this city?  I’ll be back Frankfort Trifecta.  Next year!!  Already counting down the days!

Buffalo Marathon – Buffalo, NY (May 25, 2014)

Me and Kat crossing the finish line at the Buffalo Marathon – Buffalo, New York. This picture encapsulates everything about the marathon. (Photo Credit: Diane Sardes)

Race: Buffalo Marathon

Place: Buffalo, New York

Date: May 25, 2014

Time: 4:32:44*

“When you cross the finish line, no matter how slow or fast, it will change your life forever.” – Spirit of the Marathon

I want to point out the asterisks above, as this race was not one that I was running at my normal marathon pace.  Nope.  I agreed back in March to pace two of my friends, Kat and Janelle, to their hopes of a sub-4 finish in the Buffalo Marathon.  This race was not about me or my goals…this was all about them.  And I took this responsibility very seriously, mind you!  I trained as I would if I were going to be the one racing…meaning all of my training runs I did as though I were running this race at my pace.  I didn’t want to over-train or get cocky and think that I could run more because this race wasn’t going to be done at my “normal” pace.  Nope.  Like I said…I take my job as a pacer very, very seriously.

I know what you’re doing.  You’re looking at that finish time and wondering what went wrong.

Well…I will get to that.  And then I will reflect on what this race has taught me, in general, about the human spirit and the spirit of the marathon.  But…let me start at the very beginning.

Fridays are usually hectic as it is, but this Friday just put me out-of-my-mind.  I had tried to do most of my packing on Thursday, but I still had plenty to do that morning…plus a date with my spinning class at 5:30 a.m.  Go figure.  As I was racing on Sunday, I went to class, but kept the heavy down and just did what I was comfortable with.  I didn’t want to wear out these legs.  I had two people counting on me and I wasn’t about to let them down.  I thought about skipping my class, but I figured I’d be in a car most of Saturday, so as long as I didn’t put too much resistance on the bike…I’d be fine.

I did manage to get everything packed up and loaded into the car.  But I wasn’t Buffalo bound yet.  New York was going to have to wait.  I had to go to work for the entire day first.  Then…then I could start my journey toward my sixth marathon this year.  Whew.  I headed into the office and made little to no use of my standing desk, once again, trying to keep as much pressure off these legs as possible.  I wanted to get to that start line feeling ready and relaxed.  It worked.  I got through the entire work day without any issues, then packed up and headed out at 4:30 p.m. to head up to Columbus, Ohio.  Jenn was going to make this journey with us for the marathon, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  YAY!  But…this meant enduring the ride up to Columbus.  But first…I stopped off at my local gluten-free bakery to pick up a pizza crust.  I promised Kat, back when she was in town for the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon that I’d bring her one of Annie May’s Sweet Café’s amazing gluten-free pizza crusts.  And…while we were there, Cathy and I each ordered a sandwich to go to eat in the car on the way up to Jenn’s.  We might have also picked up one of her vegan and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies too.  Maybe.  Anyway, this plan to grab dinner worked out perfectly.  An Annie May’s sandwich might be a new travel after work tradition.

Soon, we were on the road and making good time up to Columbus, Ohio.  As we came through Cincinnati, Ohio, I asked Cathy if we were going to stop soon because the unsweetened iced tea and the water I had with dinner had gone right through me and I “really needed to pee.”  TMI?  Nah.  Anyway, she said we’d stop at somewhere up the road…which turned into about an hour wait.  Seriously.  The information center she had wanted to stop at was closed…and already way further than I had hoped to go before I got my break.  So…I was not happy.  We finally pulled over at a gas station on the exit you would take if you were going to the Ohio Renaissance Festival.  I went inside the BP and took care of business, only to be interrupted by a woman pounding on the door, declaring she had an emergency.  Um…yeah…kinda busy…gotta wait.  I peed as fast as I could…but she kept pounding and pissing me off.  Do NOT piss off a runner who has been tapering.  I washed my hands and hurried out of the bathroom, having her blow past me like I was doing it on purpose.  UGH!!  People suck.

Back on the road…and no more stops until we hit Jenn’s house somewhere around 9 p.m.  Cathy and I changed out into more comfortable clothes and then we settled in to talk a bit and eat Jenn’s infamous (but to me it’s famous) Pink Salad.  Mmmmm…just what I needed.  Hit the freakin’ spot.  I knew I needed to get up around 4 a.m. to do a shakeout run, stretch, shower, eat breakfast, and get out of the door in a timely manner to continue the journey up to Buffalo, New York on Saturday morning…so we were turning in earlier than normal.

My alarm went off at 4 a.m. and I immediately dropped my iPhone before I could turn it off.  Whoops.  I got up and got changed into my running clothes and headed out Jenn’s garage to do 3 very easy miles as a shakeout before my drive up for the marathon.  I forgot that Jenn’s roads have storm drains in the center of the road, so those were some fun obstacles at first.  HAHA!  I finally just got off to the side, and ran a loop around her inner circle until I hit my miles for the day.  I actually did it faster than I intended or felt like I was running…so my legs were definitely feeling good.  I ducked back inside, shed the reflective gear and went to do my stretching.  Jenn came down as I was finishing that up.  And soon I was headed up to shower, wake up Cathy, and we were settling in for some gluten-free bagels for breakfast.  Topped off with a Garlic and Herb cream cheese of deliciousness.  It was like eating garlic bread.  The car was loaded back up and we piled in…heading out for the long road to Buffalo, New York.

I was already tired from not sleeping much, so Jenn passed my pillow up and I dozed up until we made our first stop to put in some gas.  There was a nice Starbucks attached to the gas station, so we all got one of their refreshers…mine…the Cool Lime (YUMMY!) before piling back into the car and making our way up to Erie, Pennsylvania.  That was going to be our stop for lunch.  Back when I ran the Hershey Half Marathon, we found a place called Picasso’s to eat dinner at on our way back to Jenn’s.  They specialize in very unique sandwiches…and we fell in love with them.  This was our lunch destination…and we got there just after they opened.  We each got a sandwich and drink and settled in at a table.  My Gluten-Free Venus de Milo Sandwich was fantastic.  It was a combination of hummus, onions, baby spinach, tomato, muffaletta spread, carrots, avocado, and a roasted red pepper mayo, toasted on gluten-free bread (in the oven to keep it from being cross-contaminated).  Seriously…delicious.  Then, we ducked over to Wegmans (an awesome grocery store for those not familiar) to grab a few necessities for Sunday…like bananas and water and watermelon.  Then…back on the road.  Next stop…the Hyatt Regency Buffalo (the host hotel) where we were staying.

I had hoped to meet up with both Kat and Janelle at the the expo, but Kat was there earlier in the day and Janelle, honestly, was leaving as I was pulling in.  Dang it.  I was seeing Kat later that evening for dinner, but Janelle was not going to be able to make it.  So, we all planned to meet up on Sunday morning with the 4 hour pace group.  Deal.  We pulled into the hotel and valet parked the car, hauling our stuff inside.  I went to check in, and as I was running the marathon was gifted with a bottle of Gatorade.  I signed a sneaker with how many marathons I had run and my best finishing time, was given two keys to the room (I gave them to Jenn and Cathy to handle…I am a zen runner on race weekends and want no responsibilities).  We took our stuff up to the hotel room to drop it off and then headed out to walk through the walkways from the hotel to the expo center.  Weirdly enough, there were no signs really directing anyone to where to find the expo…so we randomly followed some people and ended up making our way there.  Let’s hear it for the blind leading the visually challenged!

Bart Yasso and me at the Buffalo Marathon Expo – Buffalo, New York

The expo was small.  We stepped inside and I got in line to get a plastic bag that contained some race information and my safety pins.  From there, I had to wind my way through the vendors and other races there to find the tables in the back where packet pickup was happening.  I went over to the side for the marathon (there is also a 5K and a half marathon), and gave my name.  The teenager behind the table looked me up, grabbed my race bib and race shirt and passed it over to me.  I thanked him, tucked it into the plastic bag and went to meet Jenn and Cathy over at the BondiBand table.  HA!  They knew I’d want to make a stop there.  We didn’t spend too long digging through the BondiBands as I own most of them (it’s a sickness…I know!)…but I found two that fit my personality and I ended up getting those.  It’s tradition!  You never break tradition.  We wound our way back through, stopping off at a few interesting sounding races…all of which are on weekends that don’t work for me…this year…and ended up at Bart Yasso’s talk.

I LOVE Bart Yasso and really want to incorporate the Yasso 800’s into my training…eventually.  We listened to him talk, and when he finished up, I went to see if he would sign my book (I brought it with me!) and maybe get a picture with him.  There wasn’t a long line…and before long I was up there and talking with him.  He remembered me from Facebook (HA!) and just asked if I spelled Karen with a “K.”  That was awesome.  He was very kind and wrote me a nice message before taking a picture with me and wishing me luck on Sunday.  With that…we made our way out of the expo and back to our hotel room, where we crashed until about 4:15 p.m., watching Food Network (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was on, followed by Guy’s Grocery Games).  I took the time to do my evening stretches and some foam rolling so I wouldn’t have to worry about it after dinner and could focus more on getting race morning stuff together and getting to bed at a decent time.

All that did get accomplished before we headed back out to the streets of Buffalo and walked to our dinner destination, Merge, located on Delaware Avenue.  We were early.  The restaurant hadn’t even opened yet.  But, we knew that would probably be the case.  We left early to give us time to get lost and all.  But at the first sense of us not knowing which way to go, Cathy asked the valet guys and we were immediately on track without the whole wander around town mess.  Love nipping something in the bud.  At 5 p.m., Kat and Adam (Kat’s boyfriend) arrived and we went inside for our dinner reservation.  We were immediately seated and asked if we wanted something other than water to drink.  I don’t do anything but water these days as it is…so I stuck with that.  Then…it was menu time.  I had looked at this menu DOZENS of times before…and I knew there was a gluten-free and vegan pizza option.  That’s my traditional food before a race…but there were so many enticing dishes on this menu that I couldn’t get anywhere else…and I get good gluten-free pizza in Louisville.  SO…now I was waffling on what I wanted for dinner and everyone else was ready.  With the assistance of the waiter, I bucked tradition again and went with the Gluten-Free and Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta, which was a basic brown rice fusilli pasta with local tomato, red onion, spinach and tossed with toasted walnuts.  It was as amazing as it looked.  Got a Gluten-Free and Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Spiced Berry Compote for dessert, which I split with Cathy.  All of us talked for awhile, not much about running but about other stuff, until we were told they needed the table.  So, with that, we parted ways.  Cathy, Jenn and I walked back to the hotel room. and I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, put out my race clothes for the morning, plugged in my Garmin to charge, set the two wake-up alarms, and then…went to bed.

My first alarm got me up and I went through my routine before hitting the sack again for another hour.  The second alarm rang and I was up and into the bathroom to change into my race gear.  I had opted for a tank top, despite the 47 degree weather that morning.  I had my homemade arm warmers for the start, figuring I’d shed them sometime in the race.  My running skirt, my CEP calf sleeves, my Newton’s.  I was ready to run.  I put on my sunscreen and got my “epic race hair” done up before stretching.  Jenn woke up just before I was to wake up both her and Cathy to get ready…so I just needed to worry about getting Cathy moving.  I woke her up and then settled in to eat my cereal (a pre-race tradition for EVERY race).  I took my time, relaxed, and occupied my mind with things other than the race.  Both Cathy and Jenn grabbed the free granola from the expo and got something in their stomachs and soon, I was grabbing my banana and we were heading down to the lobby and outside to the starting area.

The start area hadn’t been opened to the runners in the full or half marathon yet…so everyone was sort of behind a barrier on the other side of the street.  I saw pacers walk by and really wanted to go find my girls, but Cathy was like…”Um…good luck with that!”  Which, sort of annoyed me so I was in a huff when the starting area was finally opened.  But, she called me back and I settled down.  I got hugs and was told to have a good race.  Jenn told me that “The Power of Dean [Karnazes] Compelled Me” and not to “pants my poop.”  This is tradition.  It has to happen.  With that, I left them to go find a spot near the start line and I went to hopefully find Janelle (who I hadn’t met yet in person) and Kat.

Kat (green arm warmers), Me, and Janelle (pink shirt) heading out at the start of the Buffalo Marathon – Buffalo, New York (Photo Credit: Jennifer Mariani)

Janelle found me, actually…which was awesome.  We were about 15 minutes away from race time.  I was so happy to see her.  She looked rested and ready to run.  Perfect.  I asked if she had seen Kat…and she hadn’t.  But a few minutes later, miss Bright Green Arm Warmers was at our sides.  We attempted to do some stretching in the start area but it was really crowded and moving around was not much of an option.  Kat was talking to pretty much everyone…because I really think she knows everyone in Buffalo…and we did our best to keep our legs loose and limber in the chilly morning air.  I pointed out that the girl in front of me had her shirt on inside out and we agreed that if it wasn’t three minutes to start time, we might have informed her…but it was too late now.  The National Anthem was sung…and we were right in line with the 4-hour pace group.  Right where I wanted to start.  One moment later…runners were off.  And we were making the march toward the start line.  Kat doesn’t like to start running until she crosses that mat, so we kept a fast walk until we hit that start gate…and we were off.  I spotted Cathy and Jenn immediately, flashed a peace sign…and fell into pace.

Janelle, Me, and Kat love seeing familiar faces around Mile 6.3 in the Buffalo Marathon – Buffalo, New York

We stayed behind the pace group for the first mile, wanting to make sure we didn’t have the “fly and die” technique…wanting to go into this easy and work our way up.  Kat and Janelle both liked this plan and that was what we worked at doing.  But somewhere before we hit Mile 2, we got ahead of the pace group.  I asked my girls how they felt about pace, and both agreed it was good.  I told them that whenever they wanted to back off, just to say the word and we would.  So, Kat did that every now and again, terrified of going out too fast and wanting to have that 4 hour pace group not too much behind or ahead of us at any time.  As both seemed comfortable…we continued on.  We hit that 5K mark feeling strong, and I once again checked on the pace.  We backed it off a little per Kat’s request and continued on.  I ditched my arm warmers somewhere around here as well.  HA!  Looking at my Garmin…we actually were keeping a very level, even pace for a good stretch of this race.  It was awesome.  It felt good.  We all felt good.  Kat gave me a bit of a tour as we were running, as this is where she grew up.  I’m a history buff, so I found every bit of this fascinating.  And…it made the miles fly by without us really paying attention to them at all.  Before we knew it, we were at the 10K mark…feeling good.  We rounded a corner, and Kat spotted Adam and went over to see him, but he told her to keep going as she was right on pace.  And just a few feet up…was Cathy and Jenn.  I spotted the donkey sign!  I gave a big wave and a smile.  It’s always nice to see familiar faces during a race…and we were only 1/4 of the way done.  But…we were feeling amazing.  So, on we went.

We kept this great pace (just under sub-9) up through the LaSalle Park area.  We hit the waterfront, where the road narrowed quite a bit.  The slow-up was welcome though…so we took the break and eased our way through the crowds.  The waterfront was gorgeous!  Honestly.  I loved running this part of the race.   Great breeze.  Great views.  The lake was stunning.  We knew as we were going to be leaving the waterfront that photographers were stationed.  And we spotted them up ahead.  The three of us raised our arms for the shot…and that was when some jackass pushed Kat.  Like…literally pushed her.  RUDE!  So, not sure how that shot is going to turn out.  Asshat.  We had now hit the 15K mark…and all of us were still feeling good and strong.  My girls were rockstars!  I asked about pace every now and again, wanting them to feel comfortable with it…and so far, they were.

Janelle, Me, and Kat at the 13.1 mile point of the Buffalo Marathon! Feeling strong. Looking strong!

Kat continued her guided tour as we ran around the Erie Basin Marina and back into town.  She was elated when she noticed the course was going to take us past the First Niagara Center, where the Buffalo Sabers play hockey.  She has season tickets…so she was glad the new course still ran past there.  The sun was up now and there were no clouds in the sky.  None.  So it was warming up fast.  We came through town, loving the shade that the buildings provided, but the heat was there.  We hit the halfway point…and were pleasantly surprised to see both Jenn and Cathy standing right at the 13.1 marker to cheer us on.  We were powering through that first half, maintaining a relatively even pace…backing off where necessary…and feeling awesome.  We were just where we needed to be…right in between the 3:50:00 pacers and the 4-hour pace group.  We were right on target.

But as we headed a few miles further in, the heat started to really affect Kat.  She came to a walk on a hill around Mile 15, taking out her inhaler.  We were ahead of schedule and the walk break was a welcome one on the hill, and once she fueled and took in some liquid, we were back on our way.  We knocked out another mile back on our pace, but the 4-hour pace group had caught up to us.  We decided to run just behind them for a little while.  Good strategy.  But as we came into Mile 16, going into 17…Kat slowed again and the pace group moved ahead.  She was getting angry and frustrated with herself, but we were still ahead of the pace group so that was of some help to get her focused again.  The fuel belt she was wearing wasn’t sitting right on her body, so Janelle asked if she wanted to try holding her bottle with Nuun in it and ditching the belt with her husband at Mile 17.  Kat agreed so Janelle ran up ahead to find her husband, dump water out of one of her bottles, and get one ready for Kat.  Kat was really struggling here and as we walked a bit through Mile 16.55, with her in tears and angry at having to walk, one of the volunteers checked to make sure she was okay, letting us know where we were in the race and asking if she needed any sort of attention.  She waved him off and we both thanked him, and when we hit some road signs, we started to pick up the pace again, maintaining that until we met up with Janelle and her husband near Mile 17.  We changed out the fuel pack for the handheld water and we were back on our way.

We were now in Delaware Park, which would last for a mile, where we then would enter back onto the streets and re-enter the park around Mile 20.5.  As we were heading up the hill, Kat went to fuel with her Craisins.  But they didn’t stay down.  The heat was really getting to her…as she hadn’t had warm weather this year to train in.  Buffalo was 40 degrees all day on Friday…and Saturday was slightly warmer, but with a cool breeze that made it feel cooler.  We had a slight breeze, but the air was hot and the sun was relentless.  Kat handed me the handheld bottle and tried to fuel again, this time to keep it down.  I gave her one of my bottles on my fuel belt that had water inside.  She took it…and this time…it all stayed down.  She asked if I was okay holding onto the handheld bottle for her…and I said that was fine.  Mind you, I hate running with things in my hands, but this was definitely more important.  And…it would help me keep a steadier pace for Kat.  But then the 4:10 pace group past and I saw that fight go out of her.  She felt defeated, but I did what I could to get her to press on.  We could at least try for her next goal of a PR.  We came out of the park and it was a run walk method, with Janelle and I just wanting to keep Kat going.  Finally, Janelle said she was starting to hurt, so she was going to put on her headphones and head for the finish line.  We had tried to get her to do that earlier…but she stuck it out with us for some of it, even giving up her sub-4 finish to make sure Kat was okay.  But we wished her luck and sent her on, telling her to let Cathy and Jenn know that we would be behind her.

I did my best to keep Kat going.  The heat was really doing a number on her.  She was getting dizzy and suffering from a headache.  In addition, she said at some points she felt like she was going to pass out.  I didn’t want that to happen, so I told her to walk when she needed.  We were coming up around Mile 20 when one lone woman was standing on the road, shouting support to everyone.  She saw Kat, who was crying, and honed in on her.  It made me smile when I heard her say to Kat…”I see you, 890!  You look so strong.  Come on 890…you can do this.  Push through, 890!  I know you can do this.  I know you want to run.”  Kat started crying more, but this time tears of happiness, and her pace…picked up.  It was the push she needed…from a random stranger.  And as she ran up the hill…the woman said, “That’s it 890!  Keep going!!” and other inspiring and motivating words.  She was a rockstar.  And, honestly, was able to do what I couldn’t.  As we came back into Delaware Park, Kat said she had to use the bathroom and maybe that would help.  The problem was…there were no port-a-potties on the course winding through the park.  So, it was run, walk, run…until we were heading out of the park where there were some port-a-potties.  Luckily one was not in use.  I waited on the corner while she ducked into one.  A minute later, we were back on the road and back to running.  She felt better.  And we now had just over 4 more miles to go.  We were getting there.  When the 4:20 pace group passed, she started crying again.  And…she handed over her Garmin, saying she didn’t want it on anymore.  Is trapped it onto my wrist and we moved on.  It was better this way.  She had been so focused on that pace and now…her disappointment was setting in.  I kept assuring her that her primary goal was to finish…and I was going to get her to that line.

With only a few miles left, we were determined to go without stopping.  Kat was determined now, despite the heat.  She was sweating out salt, so I was trying to get her to take in as much water and electrolytes as possible.  Her compression socks were starting to bother her, so she stopped to roll them down.  Only, that felt worse as we started up again, so she pulled them back up.  We ran and walked for the next few miles, doing what she needed.  I pushed her here and there, telling her what landmarks we would hit and start jogging and picking up the pace…easing back into it.  She listened to me…and did as I said…and she’d slow and walk when she needed to.  Around Mile 24, she was done with the compression socks.  So she pulled over to the side of the road and sat down, taking off her shoes and removing the socks.  I ended up tying them to my fuel belt and she put her shoes back on and decided to finish the race without socks on.  I told her she’d blister…and she said blisters already happened.  Might as well be comfortable.  A woman who was cheering on runners across the street asked if she was okay…and we said she was…and within moments, she was back on her feet and we were heading down into the next mile…slapping hands with college boys at the water stop.  We walked a bit coming into Mile 25 and I could hear that crowd ahead.  The finish line was getting closer.  We picked it up…we backed it off…we walked when she needed it.  She finished off her Nuun…she took in one last water stop…and we pressed on…walking to the edge of a building I pointed out…and then picking up that pace.  We were in the home stretch and she was going to run it in.

We had made a deal to cross that finish line together.  I was wrapped up in the excitement and my finisher’s kick was already there.  She called me back, saying she wasn’t ready yet.  She wanted to see that finish line.  So…I fell back and we rounded through Niagara Square.  And then…there it was…the finisher’s chute!  We picked up our pace and sprinted…as fast as our legs could go.  As we neared that finish line, we took each other’s hands…and crossed together.  It was…by far…one of the most rewarding and memorable finishes I have had in my life.  We hugged tightly and I told her how proud I was of her.  And we moved out of the way so that she could try to catch her breath, regain her strength…get her medal…and get some ice from the medical tent.

Kat, Me, and Janelle proudly displaying our finisher’s medals at the finish of the Buffalo Marathon – Buffalo, New York. So proud of these ladies!

After snagging an ice pack to put on the back of her neck, we headed back out, retrieving Mylar blankets and started down the chute.  She spotted Adam and her mom and went to talk to them for a moment.  And then…we went to get our picture taken for finishing.  We moved further down the chute, retrieving water bottles and any snacks needed.  She snagged an orange…good choice.  And then we met up with Janelle, Cathy, Jenn, Janelle’s husband, Janelle’s dog (Domino), and Adam and Kat’s mom at the very end.  We stood around talking for a little while and snapped a picture of the three of us with our medals.  But then I needed to get up to the hotel room to shower off and change (as they were not allowing any late check-outs.  Nope.  Not at the host hotel!).  Kat came with us because I forgot to give her the pizza the night before…and she changed while I went to shower.  Cathy and Jenn packed everything up and when I stepped out of the shower…we were ready to head out.

Hugs all around and we were off.

So…my official results for the Buffalo Marathon are that I finished in a time of 4:32:44 (gun time) and 4:31: 36 (chip time) (for 26.49 miles).  I was 832/1287 finishers overall.  I was the 311/548 women to cross the finish line.  And I was 64/108 in my age division.  I can honestly say that this was the first time I ever crossed the finish line carrying more gear than I left with.  HA!  First time for everything!

Yes…there was a twinge of disappointment that came with this finish.  But it wasn’t with the finishing time.  It was watching a goal slip away from a good friend of mine, who worked her ass off to achieve it.  Her body wasn’t ready for the heat, as she hadn’t trained in it yet.  There were a few other factors as well.  And the relentless sun did her in that day.  But…she was not defeated.  No matter how she felt, no matter how much she wanted to collapse and give up…she didn’t.  Kat is a fighter.  She’s strong and determined and stubborn as hell.  And every time she fell back…I saw that flame in her eyes spark up…and she’d start to move again.  There were plenty of tears shed at goals that weren’t reached, but ultimately, she proved not only her strength and her determination, but her worth out there on that course.  I was so proud of her at that finish line.  There was nowhere else I wanted to be than at her side that entire race, seeing her push through her own doubts.  She is a fighter and she fought for this finish.  She gave everything she had to reach that finish line.  She finished strong.  And every ounce of me has been inspired by her sheer determination and will to push through and see herself to that finish line.  Her original goals fell to the wayside…but she finished.  And ultimately...it’s not about finish times…it’s about finish lines.  So often, as runners, we put so much emphasis on a new PR, a better time, faster, better, perfection.  Those are all nice to accomplish and to have as goals, but we get so focused on that and sometimes we lose the actual joy of the run.  We forget to have some fun.  To enjoy it.  To just take it in.  When Kat crossed her finish line that morning…and when I gave her a tight hug, I told her just how proud I was of her.  I still am.  Best finish for me…ever.

Thank you, Kat…for inspiring me to push on when my self-doubts want me to stop.  You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.  This is one race I will always point to and say…”She wanted to give up…but she never did.”  For that…you are more than an inspiration.  You’re my hero!

When you can’t walk, you crawl. When you can’t do that, you find someone to carry you. – Firefly

Geist Half Marathon – Fishers, IN (May 17, 2014)

Me sprinting to the finish line at the Geist Half Marathon – Fishers, Indiana

Race: Geist Half Marathon

Place: Fishers, Indiana

Date: May 17, 2014

Time: 1:38:52

NEW. HALF. MARATHON. PR.

F*CK YEAH!

Okay…so it was a PR by 8 seconds, but that’s still a PR.  And given the fact that I wasn’t pushing or truly giving my all on this race and course since I’m racing again next weekend…well…this was a surprise.  A very happy, welcome, great surprise.  Especially since this course was quite hilly.  Hilly enough that my calf muscles protested every single one of them.

Note to self…hill work is a must!!

But, once again, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let me start at the beginning of this journey…

Friday.  I did a short shake-out run that morning…1 mile…in the pouring rain…because…it rained on me after I headed out on the run and at that point…I was out and wet.  I then…stupidly…went to my spin class.  I did not put on my heavy heavy when we were told to take it to heavy…so, that counted for something, yes?  After that…a long day at the office…and finally got let loose a little early…just past 3:30 to start on the journey up to Fishers, IN…north of Indianapolis.

The car ride took forever!  Seriously.  First…storms.  Dark clouds…rain…apparently Indianapolis had hail.  The area the race was happening on Saturday morning was getting marble size hail.  Because when I race…I bring the storms.  Every…freakin’…time!  Anyway…the weather put us a little behind…but so did the traffic!  GOD…the traffic!  Apparently people panic when it rains up there because we saw so many accidents.  Some were roll-overs.  Some were just one-car things.  Some two-car things.  All of them…pissing me off because it was keeping me from picking up my packet and getting to food and my friend Julia…who was meeting up with us for dinner.

UGH!  But, we made it to St. Vincent Fishers Hospital.  The packet pickup was being held in the visitor’s waiting area near the food court.  I posed for a picture by the banner outside and then headed in.  This race never has much of an expo…so this was going to be a quick stop.  I think we were there for a grand total of 5 minutes.  Just long enough for me to walk up to a table, get my bib and long sleeve tech shirt, check my timing chip, pick up a poster (that has my name on it!), and leave.  The rain cleared up for a moment, but it was definitely chilly out.  I already knew from checking the weather that race morning was getting an unseasonably cold 39°F temperature.  Usually this race has killer heat…so this was different.

So…it was off to dinner.  Julia was already at the restaurant with a table…and we were 10 minutes away.  Except 10 minutes took 30 minutes because of traffic issues and accidents on I-69.  We learned…never take I-69.  HAHA!!  Thanks for the tip, Julia!  But…we arrived at Rockstone Pizzeria and Pub in Fishers and found Julia at the table in the bar.  As we settled in, a table in the back stood up and I spotted Laura, Tammy, and Mike from my running group!!  YAY!!  We talked for a moment…and they headed out.  It was now 7 p.m…a full hour after I would normally have wanted to eat…but that’s life for you.  We placed our orders, all getting the Vava Veggie Pizza (mine was gluten-free…hers was not).  The pizza was good.  Cathy and I split mine because I really wanted some gelato for dessert…but in the end, as it was now past 8 p.m…decided against it.  I was bummed.  But…race was important.  We talked some more with Julia, but around 8:30 p.m…we headed out.  I needed to pick up a banana for race morning and get to the hotel to get stuff ready.  And I was hoping to be in bed by 9 p.m. that night, but with all the delays…I hit the bed around 10:30 p.m.  And then slept like hell.

My first alarm went off and I got up to shut it off and do my first morning ritual on race day.  Then, back to bed for an hour.  The second alarm went off and I was up to get changed, put on some sunscreen, and get my stretching in.  At 5:30 a.m., I woke up Cathy and finished up with doing my traditional race hair and eating some gluten-free cereal for breakfast.  I took in some water, took my vitamins, and then got pinned up and ready to run.  We left the hotel room…and went back for the bananas…then left again and headed out to the high school where we chose to park the car.

Chris and me at the start line of the Geist Half Marathon – Fishers, Indiana

On the way, I was messaging back and forth with my friend Chris from a running group I belong to.  He and his girlfriend, Becca, were running Geist on a last-minute decision.  Awesome.  We were planning on meeting up.  He said he’d look for my “race hair” (HAHA!) and I told him that I was dressed as Wonder Woman…so he said he’d look for a superhero.  Chris is truly this awesome.

Cathy and I parked and started the mile walk from the parking lot to the starting line.  I kept looking in the groups of runners walking that way for Chris…but never spotted him.  At 7 a.m., I broke out my second breakfast…my pre-race banana…and that was when he found me.  HUGS ALL AROUND!  And photos.  We talked for a few minutes and then he and Becca headed back further in the corral line-up.  The announcement was made that the start of the race was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, which turned out to be a woman who was running the half marathon and on her way to the start, running in a crosswalk…when she was struck by one of the buses that was acting as a shuttle that morning.  It happened at 6 a.m….and the race course hadn’t been cleared yet.

But, once the go-ahead was given, opening ceremonies began.  The national anthem was sung beautifully and really set the tone of the race.  I shed my hoodie and passed it off to Cathy, who went to find a spot on the other side of the start line…and I shivered for a little while and made new friends, as I always do.  Everyone was so nice!

And…a moment later…we were off to the races!!  Instead of a staggered start time for the half marathon and the 5K, this year, the Geist races began at the same time…on different sides of the road.  I headed out, crossing the start mat and getting into a groove.    I saw Cathy, waiving my sign and cheering me on, so I flashed a peace sign…and carried on.  The first mile had a lot of people…but not too bad since I was up near the front.  This was the first trip across the bridge…and I had two children running the half (boys!) who were trash talking their 5K friends.  Acting all tough.  And then I hear, “I have a cramp.”  Followed by “Let’s not talk as much…”  And then I moved past that disaster waiting to happen.  Mile 1…and I feel a tap…and turn to find Tammy!!  TAMMY!!  Tammy is awesome…fresh off a fast (and Boston Qualifying) marathon in Fargo the weekend before.  She ran with me for a mile before she said she was dropping off the pace because she said she wasn’t going to race this one.  Crazy girl still came in 3rd in her division…and not long after I finished either.  Drop off the pace, my booty!  I want to be Tammy when I grow up!

So, I was out on the course now on my own, runners beside me, runners in front of me, and runners behind me.  I was taking it all in.  We were now in a small neighborhood and people, despite the cold air, came out to cheer at the end of their driveways.  As I rounded the corner, I got my first WONDER WOMAN shout out…and then the woman started doing the Batman music.  That made me giggle.  I knew this part of the course.  It was the 5K course all the other times I ran this race (I did the 5K twice before…but not the half marathon.  Nice change!).  So, as we headed across the reservoir, I got a shout out from the photographer.  Also was told I had the best running outfit ever.  HA!

So…the race turned out to be a challenging one.  This was a brand new course for the Geist Half Marathon, making the 5K and the half marathon an out and back instead of a point-to-point as it had been in the past.  NICE!  But, with this new course came some new challenges.  Those are called hills.  And those hills are what I need to really work on this coming summer.  And not just talk about it…do it.

The first part of the race had some minor climbs…but after I hit the halfway point, that’s where the challenging hills really came into play.  I took in some fuel, even though I didn’t think I needed it (trying to get back into good habits!), at the halfway mark and continued on.  My legs were really fighting the hills.  They slowed me down because my calf muscles wanted to protest every climb.  But…I had a goal…and that was to try to keep as even a pace as possible on this run…even with all the hills.

TONS more shout outs for my Wonder Woman outfit happened along the way, and I soaked up the atmosphere, the beautiful surroundings, and just the feel of the race.  My hands were so cold that it was hard for me to hang onto the water bottles from my fuel belt, but…again…trying to get back into good habits…I made sure to hydrate throughout.  Even if it took some effort to get the bottles back into my fuel belt.  My hands don’t work well when they are cold.  In fact…they don’t work at all.  And I didn’t think to pack gloves…because…it’s May…

Mile 10 came into view and I was still feeling good.  The legs were still feeling strong.  And I knew I was a 5K away from my finish.  I was happy with the way I was feeling…challenged for one thing…but not tired.  I came into a turn at Mile 11 and was sent up a hill in through another neighborhood.  That hill slowed me down a little, but I powered up it, feeling it in my calf muscles.  But as I crested it and hit a flat road, the legs adjusted and I kept on.  Mile 12….another trek over the reservoir.  I had been hearing tales of the “hill at the end” and wasn’t sure what to expect.

It was…KILLER!  I thought Chicago was evil for putting a hill at Mile 26 of the marathon.  This was the half marathon equivelent.  Not only do you climb this hill…you then round a corner and the finish line is right ahead.  So, with legs screaming at me…I got up the incline and took the turn…and there it was…the finish.

With no clock.  I had no idea what my time was.  Not at all.  Yes…I know I was wearing a watch…but I never glance at it.  If I pay attention to my pace, I struggle.  When I am a zen runner…I do better.  That’s just how it works for me.  I saw Cathy screaming at me and I put on my barely-there kick to get across that finish line.  I passed the photographers (who were all shouting WONDER WOMAN!) and paused my Garmin.  Since there was no race clock, I glanced down…and saw 1:38:and change!

Cathy came over to the rail and I said, “Um…I PR’d.” She didn’t seem surprised at all.  This was the second time in as many weeks to PR in a race.  And both times, I wasn’t trying.  I wasn’t setting out to PR.  I was just running.  I do better when I “just run” for enjoyment and all.  Seriously.  It’s when I start to put pressure on myself that things go to hell.  I should really focus on the joy of the run more often than the competitive part.

So…I headed into the recovery area.  There was a power outage at the results tent, so it wasn’t going to be set up.  We meandered about for a moment, and as we turned around, I saw Laura, who had just finished up.  We talked about the run…and the evil hills…and took a picture together.  Then, she and Mike went to walk around and Cathy and I went to do the same.  We were waiting on result times so I could get an official time.  But it was taking awhile.  So…I got a post-race massage!  And it was awesome.  My massage therapist was a really nice guy who thought I had a fantastic time for the half marathon.  He asked about my upcoming races…and I told him about them and he said that if I wanted a traveling personal massage therapist…he’d love for me to hire him.  HA!  After my massage, I hopped down and went to find Cathy again before we wandered off for a little more.  I did notice that the jeweler in the recovery area was doing medal engraving for $9,95…so we thought we’d do that when they opened.  Why not?

Me striking a pose with my finisher’s medal after a fantastic race at the Geist Half Marathon – Fishers, Indiana

Results finally posted after many times of scanning my bib. It showed my official time and I was THRILLED!  A new PR!!  The jewelry store opened early and we went in to see about getting my medal done.  They asked for my results, and I said the results tent was down and no slips were printed.  This was aggravating…so he went to pull the results up online.  It took some time to find the page, but he did…and found me.  The race was still running, so my overall status would stand, but the number of finishers was still unknown at this time.  He said that he could at least engrave my name and finishing time…and he’d do it for free.  AWESOME!  He said to give him 15 minutes, so we went to walk around a little bit more and stretch out the legs.  We picked up my medal and took the hike back to the car…then…drove back to the hotel so I could take a nice hot shower.  We left the hotel and went to my required stop for lunch…Cheeseburger in Paradise…because I can get a gluten-free veggie burger on a gluten-free bun…with gluten-free fries.  I devoured the entire plate.  HA!

So, the official results of the Geist Half Marathon was that I finished in 1:38:52, setting a new half marathon PR for myself.  Thrilled!  I was 87/1506 finishers overall.  That’s amazing!  I was 14/703 women to cross the finish line.  And I was 4/??? (the race results don’t have the divisions for female up…just division female) in my age division.  If they ever get that posted, I’ll put in the number.  FOURTH!  That’s fantastic, I think.  I was beyond proud of these results.  I mean…it was hilly and cold (two of my least favorite things!), and I was focused more on keeping an even pace (THAT…was a success) than my finish time.  And BAM…magic!  Even better…my distance was actually 13.24…which means I PR’d running past the half marathon mileage.  I need to take corners tighter!  So happy!

I am starting to feel so much more confident and better about my running after these last two weekends of running.  I’m coming back…and coming back strong.

I definitely would love to run this race again!  I love running Geist.  Third year back…first time doing the half.  BOOM!

Throo The Zoo 5K – Louisville, KY (May 10, 2014)

Me crossing the finish line of the Throo The Zoo 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

Race: Throo The Zoo 5K

Place: Louisville Zoo, Louisville, Kentucky

Date: May 10, 2014

Time: 23:45

Less than 12 hours after arriving back at home from the Pro.Active For Life 5K in Frankfort, Kentucky, I was awake, dressed in running clothes once again, and heading out the door to run another 5K.  Hi…I might be addicted to racing…again!  HAHA!!

My legs were feeling a little tired, but good when I woke up early that morning so I could get in my physical therapy leg stretches prior to the race.  I also brewed up a cup of coffee because…I gotta have my coffee.  It’s required.  Anyway, I stretched and enjoyed a leisurely morning…listening to the sound of the rain outside.

Wait…

Rain.

Dammit.

Ugh.

But…after eating some cereal and finishing the race prep stuff, there was a lull in the precipitation.  I threw on a rain jacket though and Cathy and I headed back out to hop in the car and make our way to the Louisville Zoo…for another one of the races I seem to have a habit of running…the Throo The Zoo 5K.

The drive over was uneventful and rather easy.  And, for once, we weren’t stuck in the long line of cars streaming into the zoo.  Nope.  Not this time.  Cathy went some back way into the Louisville Zoo…and that worked like a charm.  We were into the zoo and parked without any problems.  As we got out of the car to find packet pickup…the rain kicked in again.  We donned our hoods on our rain jackets and made our way toward the zoo entrance, where packet pickup was happening at some tables that were under cover.

Packet pickup was a breeze.  I got my race bib and some safety pins at one table and then was sent over to another table to get my t-shirt.  The shirt this year was light blue with a white tiger on it.  LOVE!  Cathy and I then walked back toward the car to toss the t-shirt in there and get me pinned up.  Now, normally I would have just sat in the car for a little while and waited on the rain, which was now falling harder to pass…but this, apparently, wasn’t even crossing Cathy’s mind.  She pinned me up and was up and walking toward where the start of the race was going to be.  There were some tents set up…for Whole Foods (who were dishing up yogurt, berry & granola parfaits), and McDonalds (they had apple slices) and a table with bananas…and the Fleet Feet tent…which was PACKED with people.  Cathy and I ducked under a tree…which wasn’t keeping us dry.  And that’s when the lightning started.  I made some comment about not being under trees during lightning and she got all miffy at me for the comment and…then Fleet Feet’s tent cleared out momentarily…so we ducked under that.

I spotted Laura and Mike from my local running group, as they took cover under the Whole Foods tent.  The starting line was still being inflated, but the lightning was very active.  Finally, as people started to line up at the start…the announcement came that the race would be delayed for 30 minutes.  If there was still lightning, they would make the call on whether the race would be cancelled and rescheduled.  After all, the zoo had to open and all at some point.

So, Cathy and I moved over to the Whole Foods tent to talk with Laura and Mike while we waited the official word from the organizers.  I always like hanging out with these two.  They are so much fun.  Anyway…the lightning did stop soon after the race was delayed…and with the rain lightening up, Mike and Laura decided to try to get a light run in prior to the race.  So, they headed out.

The announcement came that the race was going ahead, so I got out from under the tent and stepped into the rain.  I kept my rain jacket on until about 5 minutes before the official start…maybe closer to 2 minutes…I won’t lie.  Finally, I shed it, stepped away from my roomie and got into the starting line.  I wasn’t up front, but I wasn’t too far behind it either.  I knew my legs were shot from not only spin class on Friday, but also my hard race through Frankfort (with my new 5K PR!), Kentucky the night before.  This wasn’t going to be a speedy 5K, but I was going to get these legs moving the best I could.  We were all awaiting the horn to send us on our way…in the rain…and through the zoo.

That came soon after…and we were off.

Now, in the two previous years I have run the Throo The Zoo 5K, the course has been mostly through the surrounding streets and neighborhoods, with the last bit going into the zoo, and up Gorilla Hill, before sending us out of the zoo and around to the finish.  So, usually it was maybe about the last mile and a half or something.  But this year…they changed the course again and MOST of the race was actually done…inside the zoo.  This made me so stupidly and incredibly happy.

The start of the race was damp, but we went out fast.  I eased up immediately, knowing that my legs were already feeling the night before.  But, I pressed on, because I was going to still take this as a challenge.  This was not a course to PR on, because there would be narrow areas where only a few people could be across…and some steep inclines to deal with as well.  This wasn’t a PR attempt for me, so I was okay with that.  The first part of the race happened on the neighborhood roads, for less than half a mile.  Then we made a left turn to enter through the back part of the zoo.  Mike was standing on the corner cheering as I ran past.  That was awesome.  Into the zoo I went…where I encountered something akin to mud running.  The path was a complete mess…mud everywhere.  I was sad that I wore my new compression sleeves because I could feel the mud being kicked up on them already.  Ah well…part of being a runner, I suppose.  At least I wore my old Newton’s and not my new ones for my shoes that morning.

The next half mile was spent in the zoo itself.  I could see quite a few animals as I ran past, which only made me smile.  At Mile 1, we left the zoo to wind our way through a couple of the parking lots, past a water station, and then just after Mile 1.5…go back into the zoo for the next mile and a half.  This was fun!  I loved the variety of animals and the people I was running near or around.  One thing that did peeve me off, however, was this dad who was running with his little girl.  She was struggling and he turned around and told her that if she wanted to PR, she had to move it!  She said her shoe was untied…so she stopped to tie it.  I thought he was going to blow a gasket.  But I ran past them and didn’t hear from them again.  Who knows how that turned out.

After making a few climbs, and some downhills too, I wound my way out of the zoo, hitting Mile 3.  The finish line was just ahead, so I put on the afterburners as much as I could, moving as quickly as I could to get across the line.  I managed…with a much slower time that last year, indeed.  By about a minute and a half.  Back to back races are tough, man!

Me…all muddy and damp after the Throo The Zoo 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

Cathy came over to congratulate me and I went to snag some water from the recovery area.  I had a raffle ticket to deposit at the white tent, but Cathy told me to grab water while she dropped it in.  I did just that and went to find her afterwards.  She wasn’t sure if I placed or not in my age group, so we decided to hang around for a little while.  This turned out to be a long, long while…actually.  But at least at this point it had stopped raining.

As the race was finishing up, someone did come over to the tent to remind runners to get their raffle tickets into the drawing as that would start soon.  I was now getting hungry, so I snagged some apples from the McDonalds table and Cathy got a parfait to at least keep the hunger at bay before we could go get gluten-free crepes at The Flea Off Market from our favorite food truck, Sweet ‘N Savory.  They called over everyone in costume for the costume contest and then began some raffle drawings.

I didn’t win.  Anything.

That pretty much sums it up.  Finally…it was time for some awards.  YAY!

They gave away the overall female, male, master, and grandmaster awards…and then…passed it off for the costume contest.  At this point, I was starving and really ready to go get some food.  But, we cheered those in costume to help decide the winners.  The Incredible Kermit…FTW!!  And the awards then came back…and I didn’t place in my division either.  So…we decided to go get some food…finally!

Except…The Flea Off Market was postponed…so instead…we went to Annie May’s Sweet Café for breakfast sandwiches and some take-n-bake cinnamon rolls and take-n-bake mac & cheese.  We ate our sammies…and then headed out to do some grocery shopping and some regular shopping…while killing time.  We were meeting up with my good friend, and running buddy, Kelsie, at The Comfy Cow for ice cream at 2 p.m.

Anyway…the experience and the thrill of this run was what made it.  The weather didn’t even dampen my spirits too much in the end.  I actually found the challenge of back-to-back 5Ks difficult…but one I was really ready to just test myself on.  Since the ankle injury, I haven’t been pushing my pace or myself much on my runs.  This was a way to test my will to actually push myself…at least a little.

So, the official results of the Throo The Zoo 5K is that I finished the race in 23:45.  I was okay with this time.  Much slower than last year, but I ran hard just over 12 hours before this one…so…yeah…this was good for me.  I was 55/1252 finishers overall.  I was the 14/765 female finishers.  And I was 5/130 people in my age division!  I’ll take that!

It’s good to be back to running races again…of varying length.  The 5K distance is not my strongest race because I’m not a sprinter.  But…these back-to-back 5Ks were a great challenge and a good exercise for me.  I can’t wait to run Throo The Zoo again next year.  Preferably without the rain.

Pro.Active For Life 5K – Frankfort, KY (May 9, 2014)

Me crossing the finish line of the Pro.Active For Life 5K – Frankfort, Kentucky

Race: Pro.Active For Life 5K

Place: Downtown Frankfort, Frankfort, Kentucky

Date: May 09, 2014

Time: 22:01

SO CLOSE!!

I was so close to hitting my sub-22 minute 5K goal on this race.  It’s a bit of a letdown to be that close to my goal and to fall short.  By two…freakin’…seconds.

However, I don’t feel that this is a disappointment at all.  In fact, I still count this as a victory.  Not only did I clock a new 5K PR by 26 seconds…but I did this…on my recovering ankle.  Yes…the very ankle that has been plaguing me since February.  The very same ankle I rehabbed…and that has mentally left me feeling nervous and, yes, scared, to really push on the roads.  I don’t want to damage it again.  I don’t want to push too much too fast and end up back to square one on the recovery.  I can’t afford another round of physical therapy…that’s for damn sure!

Anyway…that being said, I went into the Pro.Active For Life 5K (the second leg of the Frankfort Trifecta) with only one thing in mind…and it wasn’t defending my title.  Nope.  Not one bit.  It was to just…have fun.  That had been my goal all along.  After not even placing in my age division during the Good Shepherd Run For The Gold 3K (the first race in the Trifecta), I didn’t even consider defending my title I won last year.  Nope.  And it still isn’t even a glimmer in my eye for the next race in June.  The entire goal this time…was to enjoy the run.  To have fun.  To…maybe test myself a little.

But first, I had to get through the workday.  And in order to make sure that I could leave on time to drive to Frankfort and deal with any traffic…I wore my running skirt to work.  I will probably never do this again, because I got teased unmercifully over it.  And…while I am a good sport about things…this really bothered me.  Probably because it was my place of business.  None of my bosses had a problem with it.  But, some of my co-workers made some comments that just…bothered me.  So…yeah…I’ll just stop what I’m doing even if I don’t have the time to do so, and change like I normally do.  So much for trying to streamline the process, right?  It was also supposed to storm.  Like…right at race time.  I watched the weather all day, because, as we know…if I run in Frankfort, Kentucky…it will either rain before, during, or after I do so.  I was so not looking forward to running in the rain…and this meant I had to wear my old shoes for rainy conditions…MEH!  But…it was time to stop watching the weather and pack up to get on the road.

Cathy and I actually left a couple of minutes early and we hit the road.  About half an hour later…she was ready for her peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I had packed for our dinner.  I wanted to wait a bit longer, but was told we would make our usual Kroger stop for snacks as we got into Frankfort.  This is also where I go and use a real bathroom instead of a port-a-potty!  There is a method to this madness.  HAHA!  So, I gave in and removed the sammie from the cooler, along with the last of our paleo cookies and our water bottles.  And we commenced the noshing.

The food died a messy death.  I think I was hungrier than I thought I was.  And, soon, we were pulling into the parking lot of Kroger.  I went to throw away the baggies that held our sandwiches and go to use the restroom while Cathy went to grab snacks for us (Doritos for her…a banana for me!).  We were back on our way to the race in no time.  And, for some reason beyond even her knowledge, Cathy turned the wrong way.  So, we had to pull over and wait for a break in the traffic to turn around and head the right way to the parking garage where we normally park for Frankfort races.  We parked in the same spot we always park in before stashing some of our stuff in the trunk and heading up to the street level to get to packet pickup.

It was a short walk, and I stepped inside to a madhouse.  It was packed and busy and buzzing.  YAY!  Energy!  It took a few minutes, but I finally worked my way up to the table and gave them my name.  I was asked if I was doing the Trifecta, and I said I was…so the volunteer helping me when to find my bag.  While I waited, I snagged four safety pins.  The man returned with my bag with my tech shirt (I paid for an upgrade!) and my bib and a few goodies and informational handouts tucked inside.  I thanked him and removed myself from the building, heading outside to meet up with Cathy and get pinned up for the start of the race.  I ate my banana and we moved to stand on the lawn of the old Capitol building so I could do some stretching.  I promised my physical therapists I would be good about stretching…and Cathy has been holding me to it.

I even did some strides.  Nothing hard and fast.  Nothing all-out.  Just an easy jog down and up the road.  I did this for a few paces…until the cars were becoming bothersome (the roads weren’t completely closed yet) and went to stand on the sidewalk opposite the Capitol to do a few more stretches and await the official line-up portion of the race.  This came to be moments later, and Cathy gave me a hug and told me to have fun before going to find a place to stand to spectate.  I moved to the starting lineup, staying rather close to the front, wanting to avoid the children that would, inevitably, crowd the front of the start line.  I love this race, but that is the most difficult part of this race.  Some of the kids can hold their own…but some are just trying to be up front…and that can be dangerous.  And, wouldn’t you know it?  I blinked and suddenly was in a sea of children, one with a dog on a rope, lining up near the front.  They weren’t the contenders you would expect at the front…I could tell from the conversation.  The, “My goal is just to keep up with the dog,” comment was a dead giveaway.  But, this is their race too…and everyone signs that waver.

Debbie Brown got on the microphone and began to give some instructions.  Unfortunately, the running crowd wasn’t quieting down…so I heard none of this.  She did get us ready to run though, faking us out with an “On your mark…”  And then making us stretch.  HAHA!! EVIL!  But soon, she gave the word…and the starting gun went off!

And I was off.  Kind of.  Because those I was pushed and elbowed by the woman standing next to me, hard enough that her arm shut off my Garmin watch.  I had to restart it.  And all those kids that had lined up near the front…I saw a little girl go down in the fray…and Cathy said another kid, a boy, was also pushed down.  Dangerous…see.  I know it’s exciting, but I hate seeing kids get hurt at the start of a race because they lined up in the front, where the competitive runners are trying to position themselves.

That being said…I moved onward, heading down the street and making the left turn on the course to start on the path toward the Capitol.  My legs felt heavy and tired.  I guess going to spinning on Friday morning probably wasn’t the wisest thing I had done on a race day.  I pressed on though, and felt that I was moving at a good clip regardless.   I made another turn and was heading up the street toward the incline that would take us over the bridge and toward the Capitol where we would make our turn to come back toward the finish line.  About halfway up the street, just before the water stop, I hit my first mile.  My watched beeped a moment later, and apparently I went out hard…hitting that first mile in 6:54.  Whew.  But, the rest of my race was certainly more conservative.  I passed up the water and made my way up the small incline to dash around the annex area and come back around.  There was a nice downhill awaiting the runners there, and I slightly pulled up so as not to strain my quads.  I passed up the water again and carried myself through to Mile 2.  Just over a mile to go.  I pressed on, passing some people and being passed by others.  The legs were screaming at me, but I kept going.  I headed back over the bridge and, this time, down the steep incline to make my way down the street to make the final two turns before the finish line would come into view.  It was when the street leveled out that my legs really began to feel fatigued.  I was determined though.  I might have slowed down, but I was still moving forward.

I made the final turn and headed up the ramp that would carry us to the main street where the finish line was waiting.  I couldn’t make out the clock at the moment, but I was pushing as much as I dared.  I just wanted to get to that finish.  As I got closer…I saw…21:57…21:58…I tried to kick it into gear, and I crossed the finish line at a point I couldn’t tell if  I hit sub-22 or not.  I had to wait for official results.  But I was worn out, tired, thirsty, but feeling rather awesome at that point.  Cathy came rushing over…declaring…”You were third female!”  I was shocked by that too, as I wasn’t aiming to win, place, or show in this race.  I just wanted to run it…and do the best I could.  I guess I had more gas in the tank than I thought.

I moved through the finish area, being handed a bottle of water and then went to just walk around as we awaited results.  I didn’t care where I placed…I wanted to see if I hit that sub-22.  It was going to be SO close.  Cathy and I decided to walk to the other side of the square and cheer on runners as they came down the street before making their final turns to the finish.  That was fun.  I love cheering people on…I know it lifts me up while on the run, so I wanted to lift them up.  We moved on to go cheer at the finish line…just walking back and forth.  As I was heading back to the finish line, I was stopped by a nice lady with a stroller who asked how I did.  I told her that I did well…I beat last year’s time if nothing else.  She said she knew I had been worried about it with my ankle and was glad to hear it.  YAY!!  BLOG READER!!

Me with my bronze medal and bag of goodies for being the 3rd Overall Female at the Pro.Active For Life 5K – Frankfort, Kentucky

Soon after, results were starting to get put up, so we meandered over there.  Cathy moved up ahead of me and looked at the results before I had the chance to do so myself.  She said…”You finished in 22:01!”  “SO CLOSE!” was my response.  I was just 2 seconds away from a sub-22 minute 5K.  SO close!!  Finishing in the top three females was an added bonus and not something I was even shooting for.  I love an added confidence booster.

So, this meant we needed to hang around for the awards…which was fine…just not something we actually had planned for.  A much later return home now…but I wasn’t going to complain.  I was feeling so much better about my running now.  And, after a moment, I went to chat up the winner of the 5K, not Kendall…she came in second this year…a nice woman who is a teacher in Frankfort…Robin Lawhorn.  Why randomly go chat her up?  Why not?  Well…one reason was she was wearing Newton’s.  Just like me.  We have great taste in shoes and since I know how hard it is to find Newton’s in this area…well…I had to talk to her.  Turns out she picked hers up at a triathlon store in Lexington.  Going to have to look that up next time I head to Lexington, for sure!

Cathy and I went to walk around the old Capitol building a little bit to pass the time before the awards.  But we soon just went down toward the street to watch the last of the walkers come in and to dance with the music that was being played.  After a little while, Debbie grabbed the microphone and asked if any children wanted to help pass out the medals.  She was consumed by a bunch of volunteers.  So…it was medal time.  And they started with the overall males and then moved to the overall females.  And as I came in third…I was called up first…and handed the wrong medal…and a very nice gift bag.  My picture was taken I then went to track down someone to give the gold medal back to and exchange it for the bronze.  I finally got that cleared up, and after some photos with Kendal and Robin…I got my stuff together to head home.

I normally would have stayed for more awards…but…I had another race on Saturday morning in Louisville.  So I needed to get home…and storms were apparently coming.  And, true to form, it stormed on us pretty bad on the drive back to Louisville.  Never fails.  If I keep running in Frankfort, they will never have a drought.

That being said, the official results of the Pro.Active For Life 5K are that I finished in 22:01, setting a new PR for myself.  I know I can hit that sub-22 goal this year…I’m just really going to have to work hard for it.  I intend to do just that though…for sure.  I was 28/843 finishers overall.  I was 3/509 female finishers.  And, would have been 1/70 in my age division.  But, as I came in 3rd Female Overall…no age division award for me.  I’m okay with that, because I totally exceeded all expectations of myself.  I don’t know where that came from, but I’m so glad that somewhere inside…my body remembered what it felt like to fly.

Another year of running the Pro.Active For Life 5K behind me and I’m already looking forward to next year’s race.  I swear, there is something so near and dear to me about this race.  It’s a challenging, but fun course…and I was able to run it better this year than I did last year.  I hope to continue to come back to Frankfort for not only this race, but the Trifecta, year in and year out.  As it stands, I’m feeling a little better about pushing myself a little harder.  I’m still tentative…my mind not quite overcoming the natural fear of getting hurt again or doing further damage.  But…this race proves that I’m getting there.  And I’ll only continue to get there…as long as I run smart and run with all my heart.

See you next year!!

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon – Louisville, KY (April 19, 2014)

Silvia, Aaron, Andrea, Me, Kat, and Colleen after finishing the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and Mini Marathon – Louisville, Kentucky

Race: Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon

Place: Louisville, Kentucky

Date: April 19, 2014

Time: 4:13:01*

Ahhh…where to start?  Where do I even begin to start?!  There was so much excitement coming into this race because there were people I knew who were flying or driving in to run either the full or the half marathon.  And if that wasn’t enough excitement…I was asked by one of them to pace her to a sub-4 marathon finish.  I didn’t have to think about this at all.  I was more than happy to assist my friend, Colleen, in attempting to meet her goal.  And that…my friends…is the reason for the asterisk on this post.  I wasn’t running this race to race it for me.  I was running it to help a friend…and come what may, I was staying by her side the entire time.  I take my “job” as a pacer very seriously…and I trained to run at an easier pace than I normally would for a marathon.

But…I might be getting ahead of myself a little.

First of all, there was the expo.  As I am local to the area, I figured it would be much better for me to hit up the expo on Thursday, before the mad crush on Friday set in.  So, after work, I headed over the river to the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown, Louisville, Kentucky.  There weren’t a lot of signs that directed people to where the expo was, so Cathy and I simply followed the crowds, figuring someone had to have an idea of where they were going.  This did pay off, and soon we were on an escalator heading up to where the expo was being held.

Most expos in Louisville are small matters.  And while this one was not huge…it wasn’t just a couple of tables and Fleet Feet either.  In fact, walking in, I ended up going to the table for the mini marathon (actually a half marathon…as there are different definitions of what a mini marathon is)…and then had to slide over to the full marathon where I picked up my race packet (which included a woman’s tech shirt, a hat, and other goodies).  I was complimented on already having my wallet out and ready…the volunteer going, “Well, you’ve done this before, I see.”  Oh yeah…a few times.  *WINK*

After receiving my packet, Cathy and I turned to see about walking through the actual expo part.  But first, we both stopped to sign the “I run because…” wall.  Cathy put up something about not being a runner, but being great at ringing a cowbell (AWESOME!), and I wrote a tribute to my grandpa.  It was fitting.  We hit up the official merchandise first, where my phone rang.  I answered it, and unfortunately, it was a friend of mine giving me some horrible news about her sister.  Her sister was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and she asked that I do something for her sister during my race.  I wasn’t going to say no to that.  At all.  I was more than happy to help.  After I hung up, I ran into Harry and Tammy, two people I often run with, and we stood around and talked for a little while.  Cathy spotted the official Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon BondiBand…and I knew I was making that purchase.  But then I spotted these bright lime green arm warmers.  Upon trying on the smallest size, I found that they actually fit my little noodle-y arms.  That doesn’t happen often.  So…I ended up with those as well.  I immediately said I was not allowed to buy anything else.  So, I spent the rest of the time winding my way through the expo and trying not to get too caught up in it where I end up buying more stuff.  I managed.

I knew my friend Kat and her boyfriend, Adam, were at the expo as well, so I gave a quick text to find out where she was.  She was in from Buffalo, New York and I was really looking forward to seeing her.  She had already made her way through the expo and they were sitting outside the entrance.  I exited…and my bib was activated as I did so…and spotted her immediately.  We ran up and gave each other a hug.  Kat was going to run the half marathon with our friend Andrea.  Andrea’s husband and our friend Silvia was doing the full with Colleen and I.  And our entire group was getting together Friday night at Martini’s in Louisville for pre-race food.  But, I got some time to chat with Kat and discuss where she was eating Thursday night (she wanted local breweries…and found one!).  We said good-bye for the time being as it was getting late and I still needed my customary night before the night before a marathon meal – Indian food.  It was off to Shalimar where I got a the vegan Yellow Dahl…spicy of course…and everything seemed right with the world.  Got home around 8:30 p.m. where I got things ready for work in the morning and went to bed.

Friday morning came and I got up to do my shakeout run per my training program.  Three  miles.  Race pace.  Or 25 minutes of running.  Whichever came first.  I did an easy run for three miles and then went inside to get ready for work.  Normally I would go to spin class on Friday…but not this time.  I needed fresh legs for Saturday’s race.  That threw me off, by the way…having a marathon on a Saturday.  I’m so used to Sunday races.  All I needed to do was get through the workday and then it was fun times at Martini’s with my racing friends.

The workday did go by relatively fast.  There was some discussion about the upcoming race as the receptionist wanted to know where Cathy was going to be as one of her son’s and her husband were running.  Her son was doing the full; her husband was taking on the half marathon.  In fact, her husband came in to take her to lunch and we talked a little bit about the course and how the events were going to unfold that following morning.  But when 4:30 p.m. hit, I was out the door with Cathy and we were winging our way to Martini’s in Louisville.

We arrived just as Kat and Adam were arriving.  Imagine that.  The rest of the crew, Andrea, Aaron, and Silvia were there.  We were simply waiting on Colleen…who flew in from Chicago and was taking a taxi to the restaurant.  If I had thought about it beforehand, I would have offered to pick her up on the way from her hotel.  Anyway…it was taking awhile to get there…traffic was insane.  So, we all just made small chat and browsed the menu on occasion.  We had plenty to talk about and most of it had to do with racing.  Well…that and acquaintances and life and everything else.  In fact…there wasn’t too much discussion about the race going on at all.  Rather, we discussed previous races we had done…and how we were feeling…and what we might like to eat that night.  Some ordered wine.  I stuck with water.  Bread was brought to the table.  I’m gluten-free and didn’t touch it.  Kat, who has a dairy allergy, was brought a dairy-free ciabatta bread to enjoy.  That was very nice of the chef and the restaurant to do.

Me and my gang at Martini’s in Louisville, Kentucky, the night before the race! (L-R: Adam, Colleen, Me, Cathy, Silvia, Aaron, Andrea, Kat)

And…then Colleen appeared.  And we all greeted her happily and let her get settled in.  I wanted to sit next to her so we could discuss her race strategy if needed.  The waitress who was tending to us was kind enough to take a picture of our group.  And with that, we were ready to get to the business of pre-race fueling the night before.  And I actually had to do something different this time.  Every race prior to this, gluten-free pizza is a must for me.  I always have gluten-free pizza.  It works.  Martini’s has gluten-free pasta…but not pizza.  So…I changed it up.  I altered my usual plan.  I had…the Gluten-Free Pomodoro, which was gluten-free fusilli pasta (brown rice) that was topped light garlic tomato sauce, a basil chiffonade, and I asked them to leave the mozzarella off…due to my lactose intolerance.  I don’t play around before a marathon.  Nope.  Everyone else put in their orders and we were left to return to our various conversations.  I was jumping back and forth on topics with a variety of people…which is how I roll.  And after a little bit of a wait, our food began arriving.  My order was perfect…no cheese…gluten-free…and it looked amazing.  It smelled good too.  Everyone else received their plates…but the kitchen forgot to do Kat’s dairy-free pasta with the brown rice pasta as requested.  Hers was sent back but she told us to go ahead and start while she waited on her replacement dish.  After a small wait…her food was served and we all were digging in.

Another thing I did differently…I didn’t have dessert.  I have always treated myself to a dessert the night before a marathon.  And while Martini’s did have some gluten-free options…they weren’t dairy free.  So, alas…I went without.  It was strange…not having that little sweet treat at the end of the celebratory meal.  A few of my peeps enjoyed either a drink or dessert…but then…we all agreed it was time to head back to our respective hotels or homes…because it was going to be an early morning.  Cathy and I volunteered to take Colleen back down to her hotel near the convention center…and we ended up doing a scenic tour because I-71 was backed up.  Taking the long way around gave us some more time to chat with her though…and we soon got her to her hotel and we headed home ourselves.

I made some tea…did my physical therapy stretches…and foam rolled.  I had every intention of getting to bed early, but by the time we got home and by the time I was done doing my necessary stretching…it was a normal bedtime.  Ah well.  I never get to bed early on race nights, even when I make every attempt to do just that.  Nothing new here.  The only part that concerned me was that the downstairs neighbors were having a rowdy party.  Seriously.  I turned on the fan in my room and turned up the sound machine.  Thankfully…this drowned out all the noise.  I was not, however, afraid to be that neighbor who called the cops.

My first alarm of two (my usual race morning routine) went off at 3 a.m.  I got out of bed and did the first part of my race morning routine…then went back to bed for about an hour.  The second alarm went off and I was so tempted to stay curled up in bed.  But I knew Cathy would be getting up in another hour and I had to get on my race gear, get some coffee, get some breakfast, and do my physical therapy stretches as well.  So…I reluctantly got out of my cozy bed and went to pour myself some coffee (which I set to automatically brew, giving me time to drink it and pee before I left the apartment…no such thing as TMI, folks!).  I had my outfit laid out the night before, so I put on a coat of Body Glide, eased into my race day clothes, put on my Newton’s (the first time I was running a marathon in this particular pair…the new pair…which I bought in Atlanta).  I did my stretches for my ankle and legs and then heard Cathy come out of her room.  So…I got up to pour her coffee and get our cereal bowls down and filled.  We tried to have a relaxing morning, but I was just…everywhere.  I put my water and Nuun into their bottles then attached them to my fuel belt.  I stashed my GU packets in my pockets where I could easily get to them…and stocked a few extra in my fuel belt…just in case.  I slipped into my hoodie.  I brushed my teeth and put my hair in pigtails with my colors of choice…rainbow…and pink.  I don’t know why…it just seemed right.  And then…Cathy grabbed her bag, stashed with more Nuun, more water, and my protein shake, a towel, med kit…and other items…grabbed how cow bell…and grabbed my sign.  And we were out the door.

Our first stop was the Sheraton in Jeffersonville to pick up Andrea, Aaron and Silvia.  They were providing me with a (big) race day banana so I wouldn’t have to swing by the grocery store the night before.  We made plenty of big banana jokes because we are totally awesome like that.  It was just a short drive over the bridge and into parking at the KFC YUM! Center.  No problems at all.  We stashed what we didn’t need in the car and began to hike down the sidewalk toward the start line.

Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics before the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and Mini Marathon in Louisville, Kentucky. I’m in the Wonder Woman shirt (the red) right there in the middle!

We were quite a few blocks away, but it did allow us to see the start line and walk past the corral system.  Originally I was placed in Corral B…but everyone else was in Corral C…so I decided to hop back to where all the cool kids were.  But…first…I had a 7 a.m. photo to be present for.  The Marathon Maniacs were meeting near bag check…in front of Slugger Field…to have our group photo taken.  That wasn’t happening yet…so I figured I’d not be a princess for a moment and go use one of the port-o-potties.  I was the first person in mine…and had to figure out how to get the paper wrapper of the toilet paper.  Thankfully this one had the antibacterial lotion to put on your hands afterwards.  Afterwards, Silvia (also a Marathon Maniac) and I went over to Slugger Field and got with the gathered Maniacs and Half Fanatics.  This was where I found Harry.  YAY!  I gave him a hug and we chatted for a little bit before the photo op.  And then…photo madness.  I was asked if I could squat down some because “you’re really tall.”  I thanked the girl for saying that…as I’ve never been called “very tall” before in my life.  I’ll take it!  Cathy ended up on photo duty for a lot of people and she did it with style.  And then…we all dispersed.  Silvia and I went back to where we left Aaron and Andrea…who were waiting on Kat and Colleen.  Kat showed up across the street and we went to go meet up with her.  Except as Andrea forged ahead, I met up with my running buddy, Patrick.  He was also in Corral C…so we hugged and I told him I’d see him in the corral.  I never saw him again…

I made it through the stream of people and got up to where Kat and Andrea were waiting.  Adam came to take a picture of the three of us.  And Aaron made his way over as well.  Kat and Andrea were doing the mini…so they were in Corral A.  WOOHOO!!  The rest of us fell into Corral C…where I was in search of my race buddy for the next 26.2 miles.  And, thankfully…we did find Colleen…whew.  I wasn’t sure what I would do if I didn’t find the person I promised to pace.  We moved up a little…I searched for Patrick…but with no luck.  And we eagerly awaited the start.

It was actually a cool morning with a wind.  I was shivering a little in my short sleeves and skirt, but I know I warm up fast…so this was actually not a bad idea.  As the race progressed, I was kind of wishing I had on a tank.  If my number had been attached to my fuel belt (which I normally do, but changed that up too, pinning it to my shirt) and not my Wonder Woman tech shirt…than I probably would have shed the shirt and just gone in the sports bra…about the time we got through Churchill Downs.  Just saying.  When it warmed up…it warmed up quickly.

Again…I’m getting ahead of myself…

The wheelchair racers were sent off and the elites and first corral eagerly anticipated their start.  We heard the countdown…and the start.  And we stood as our corral wasn’t going anywhere yet.  In fact…even as the different corrals were brought up to the start, this was the first time I was pretty much on top of the start line before I even started to jog.  Everyone was just meandering.  I’m used to a warm-up jog over the start mat at least 20 feet away.  Not here.  I even commented to Aaron and Colleen that it felt weird to still be walking.

But we were soon over the start mat and we were off…hitting the streets of Louisville, Kentucky for 26.2 miles.  I was super excited and feeling really good.

So was Colleen.  The brisk morning was perfect for running.  She had an old running jacket on, which she did shed around Mile 2…but we decided to start conservatively.  In fact, we lined up just behind the 4 hour pace group.  And we stayed there…for about the first three miles.  It was as they went through a turn that Colleen and I passed them and stayed ahead of them.  That was a good feeling.  In fact, we put some distance between us and the pacers…and all the while I would talk to my runner…and ask how the pace felt…how she felt…and told her that we would do what she needed…just to let me know.

It was nice to run with someone.  The miles just ticked by.  We talked about our jobs, our families, what we liked, what we disliked, how she and I are in the minority…as in we love to eat after running and always get the “runchies” and “runger.”  Ah…it’s nice to not be the only one ready to eat after a run.  Our miles were coming along great.   We both were feeling good.  We were actually surprised there was no 5K mat down as we ran past that point.  No matter.  On with the run.  And the morning was absolutely stunning too.  We kept on going, loving the people who came out to cheer, taking advantage of their motivation and their funny signs.  We passed a runner wearing a birthday balloon.  Moments later, the group behind her started to sing happy birthday to her.  It was awesome!  Before we knew it, we were hitting the 10K mark.  As I was acting as a pacer, I actually looked at my watch during this race…and we were making perfect time.  In fact, as we came into Mile 8…just before heading into Churchill Downs, we had time to spare.  Just in case.  As we made the turn to head into Churchill Downs, I turned to Colleen and said, “Now we get to run like pretty ponies.”

For those of you wondering…no…we don’t run on the track.  They did have horses out though, so that was cool.  We entered the infield and made our way around the paved portion of it.  As we came into a turn, I spotted Andrea (I couldn’t miss her in her pink socks).  I told Colleen we should try to catch up to her…and we did.  I didn’t see Kat…but it turns out Andrea’s IT Band was acting up…and she told Kat to go on without her.  Instead, Colleen and I fell into step with her and we ran with her the rest of the way through Churchill Downs…and only parted ways when the split for the mini and the full came up.  Colleen and I were to stay to the right…Andrea had to go left.  We said goodbye and wished her well…telling her to be careful.  And we were now on our way to the challenging part of the run – Iroquois Park.

But there were still a few miles to chase down before we entered the park.  I was talking to her, letting her know that while this was a hilly park and there would be some climbs…it wasn’t going to be too bad.  And, with the removal of the hill at Mile 23…these would be our only hills this race.  YAY!  She did make a mention that she was getting a side stitch, so we eased the pace back just slightly to allow her to breathe deeper and see about ridding herself of the cramp.  She said she ate way too much for breakfast before the race.  But, soon she said it was easing and we kept on and kept easy conversation.  We were so busy talking that somehow I missed seeing Mile 10.  We were reaching Mile 11…and the park was just head.  We came into it…and immediately were sent up our first hill.  Colleen wanted to attack the hills and ease up on the downhills…so that was the strategy we were going with.  And she really did so well on those hills.  Honestly.  But the day was heating up…and it was about to take it’s toll on my runner.

She made it through the park in good shape.  I pulled ahead of her for a few moments, but would find myself glancing back and seeing her behind me.  I’d pull off to the side and wait for her.  And we’d continue on.  I leapfrogged like this all the way up our final hill in the park and through the downhill that carried us then past the amphitheater and then…back out.  A glance over my shoulder and Colleen wasn’t with me again.  I got past the crowd and pulled over to the side, keeping my legs moving to prevent cramping.  And a moment later, I saw her making her way toward me.  I rejoined her again, and we pressed on.  I asked how she was feeling…and she said she was definitely feeling it.  To make matters worse, she said she had this hard lump (probably her breakfast) in her stomach…and it was just sitting there.  It was definitely not making her feel better.  And now that we were out of the park, we were out of the shade as well.  The sun was high in the sky and the heat was getting to my friend from Chicago…who was not prepared nor acclimated to this sort of weather yet.  She was sweating out salt, so I encouraged her to take in some of her electrolyte drink.  While her stomach wasn’t feeling well…she did this and…then we had our first walk break.

She was definitely not doing well at all.  My job, however, as her pacer, was to get her to that finish line.  And I was going to make sure I did just that.  She glanced over at me.  “I hate that I’m walking right now.”  I told her not to worry about it.  We would just readjust our goals.  She said she still wanted her sub-4…and I said I would do my best to see her there.  She started to jog…and then we were off again.  Between the heat from the sun and her stomach, she really wasn’t doing well and every mile from here on out was a struggle.  But…I was doing my best to keep her mind off of her pain…and into the race.  Anything and everything I could think of to keep her moving forward.  Even if that forward movement was a walk.  And…it was that for some of it.  That’s okay.  Walk breaks are necessary.  At one point, I pulled ahead of her again…and as I glanced back, I slowed down and let her catch up.  She was definitely not feeling good at all.  I asked how she was doing, and she said she got dizzy back there.  So…I told her we’d ease off the pace and at the next water station, she was to take in the Powerade (for the sodium!) and some water.  She agreed…and we walked and jogged our way to that next water stop.  And she did just as I asked her to!

Colleen was pushing through it…taking breaks where she needed.  I told her I wasn’t going to leave her behind, so we stuck together and I helped her tough it out.  And when it really got rough, I did everything I could to get her head back into the race.  I think the biggest mental break for her, however, was when the 4 hour pace team passed us up.  She pushed to stay ahead of them, but when she needed another walk break, they went on ahead.  This wasn’t easy for her…as she really, really wanted that sub-4…and was well on her way to that until the race turned ugly for her.  I could almost see the defeat in her eyes.  So…I told her to set a secondary goal.  About six miles out, she said…4:10.  I told her it was doable…but we’d take it mile-for-mile.

I talked to a bunch of other runners along the way as we made our way through the streets of Louisville.  Things were starting to look familiar again, and I kept pointing ahead and saying, “See that?  That’s the skyline…that’s downtown…we’re almost there.”  Anything just to get her through this wall and on her way to that finish line.  The morning sun was getting warmer and she was really fighting for each stride.  We walked more when she needed it, and then I’d get her moving again, telling her to at least jog to the next water stop.  Which was a great idea…until there wasn’t  a water stop anywhere near us.  We did eventually find one…and we walked through it, giving her some time to recover and assess how she felt.

I gotta hand it to Colleen…she is a fighter.  And when we came into those last three miles, I said, “It’s just a 5K race now.  That’s all.  You got this.”  And with each mile…I would tell her it was just like being out on an easy training run.  She still had a few more walk breaks, but at Mile 25…right at Mile 25…her watched showed 4 hours exactly.  It was now my job to see her into her final 1.2 (or in our case 1.42) miles.  Every chance I would get I would say something encouraging and really try to drive her home.  She felt a little better…and I said we were going to sprint to that finish.  We had to go down a stretch of road first before making that turn to the finishing chute.  But…I talked her through it, telling her that the finish was right ahead…all that noise…that was her goal.

Me crossing the finish line of the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon – Louisville, Kentucky

And we made the turn and we turned on those afterburners.  I had a lot of extra energy left, as I wasn’t running this race at pace.  In fact…I felt awesome.  I found myself flying past people at the finish line.  I know the runners I passed were probably wondering what the hell got into me that I could have such a strong finishing kick.  But, honestly, my legs felt strong and I was just unstoppable at that point.  I crossed the line and moved out of the way.  Colleen was just behind me…and when she crossed that finish line, she burst into tears.  Not tears of sadness for not hitting that sub-4 goal.  You see…she accomplished something far better.  She finished her second marathon.  She finished strong.  She fought through moments of wanting to stop and quit.  She proved she was stronger than the course.  And…she now had a 17 minute PR for the marathon distance.  I pulled her into a hug and we both celebrated our finish.

Afterwards, we made our way through the path, getting handed the Mylar blanket to wrap around us.  Kat spotted us from the fence and said that Aaron and Andrea and Silvia were waiting in the recovery area.  Colleen and I walked that way, getting our finisher’s medals, some chocolate milk, and desperately seeking out some kind of food.  Near where our group had assembled was a table full of bananas.  We grabbed one and went to join everyone.

Natalie was there.  My sole sister…Natalie.  We hugged and just talked and talked and talked.  I put my feet up and just joined into the race talk with my friends.  I drank down the rest of my Nuun and then started in on my Smart Water.  We knew that people had planes to catch and cars to climb back into to head back home…so we didn’t linger for too long.  We gave Kat, Adam, and Colleen hugs and wished them safe journeys.  They had hotels to return to downtown.  The rest of us hiked back to where Cathy parked the car and all climbed in.  The drive didn’t take long and soon Andrea, Aaron and Silvia were being dropped off at the hotel.  We gave each other hugs and wished safe travels.

And then…that was it.  I returned to my apartment to shower.  I went out for good gluten-free pizza at Annie May’s Sweet Café.  I did some grocery shopping.  I kept moving and felt really good all day.  But I really missed having everyone around.

I loved acting as Colleen’s pacer.  And while she didn’t meet her initial goal, she fought through every bit of pain, self-doubt, and sickness to get herself across that finish line.  I am so damn proud of her.  And I hope I get the chance to pace her again another time.  She’s one tough lady for sure.

Very proud of everyone and how they did in their races.  PRs were set.  Deeper friendships were forged.  And this…was an event I’ll never forget.

So…my official results for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon are that I finished in a time of 4:13:01 (for 26.42 miles).  While Colleen didn’t get her sub-4…she did cut 17 minutes off her last marathon, setting a new PR.  I am so happy for her.  I was 859/2029 finishers overall.  I was the 226/807 women to cross the finish line.  And I was 49/160 in my age division.  I felt so good after this and I enjoyed helping my friend through this distance and getting her to the finish line.  This wasn’t the race she hoped for, but she battled it out and conquered it in the end.  I learned a lot from her…and I know she’ll meet her sub-4 goal very soon.

Taper For A Cause 5K – Louisville, KY (April 12, 2014)

Me with Wesley Korir after the Taper For A Cause 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

Race: Taper For A Cause 5K

Place: Iroquois Park, Louisville, Kentucky

Date: April 12, 2014

Time: 23:52

First of all…FINALLY!!

Finally I had a 5K race this year that was the correct length.

Second of all…UGH!!  Coming back from injury sucks.  It was so disheartening to see my finishing time, compared to where I was last year.  I try not to focus on it.  I honestly do.  But it’s hard…when you know you are capable of doing better…your body just can’t get there.  I want to feel strong and fast again.  And it isn’t coming back quickly.

Thirdly…

I had no idea that Louisville was even holding this race up until Thursday afternoon.  Seriously.  It came over an e-mail or on Facebook.  Somewhere.  And I had my friend, Indy, in town.  Before heading this way from California, we were hoping  to find a 5K race to run.  The only one I could find was a trail run.  And I do not do trails.  So, we were content to just meet up with my running group on Saturday and do some miles and then head out for the day.

But things changed when I heard about this race.

This was the first annual Taper for a Cause 5K, which is a race that was set up by 2012 Boston Marathon winner, Wesley Korir, to benefit the Kenyan Kinds Foundation.  The race also boasted the perfect opportunity for Louisville’s running community the opportunity to “taper” for some of Louisville’s finest spring races with a 5K for a great cause.  All of the proceeds, in fact, went to the Kenyan Kids Foundation.

Even more exciting, Wesley Korir was going to lead the race.  And yes…he was on hand on race day.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  While sitting in Game, a local Louisville restaurant, both Indy and I used our cell phones to get registered for the race on Saturday.  We were thrilled that it was a 9 a.m. start time…meaning the morning wouldn’t be too early.  Remember, she flew in from California…so her clock was a bit off.  We were both stupid excited about the race and I was glad that she was going to get to race while here in Kentucky.

Time got away from us on Friday…so we didn’t make it to packet pick-up on Friday over at Swags.  That was okay, though…because it was fine to pick it up on race morning.  We had a late evening though…with a delicious food and wine pairing at the chef’s counter at Rye so we didn’t get in until late.  After unwinding…we finally went to bed.

And I was supposed to run 8 miles this Saturday.  Since the race was offering 3.1 miles, I got up earlier than both Cathy and Indy and knocked out five easy miles before breakfast and heading to the race.  The drive out to the park was easy…no traffic issues at all.  We parked at Iroquois Park and got out of the car, making our way over to the table that had packet pick-up.  We got our numbers and our t-shirts.  Cathy pinned me up while Indy went ahead and did up her number herself.  I ate my banana and then went to use the bathroom really quick.  After I returned, I noticed Wesley Korir walking toward the table.  I let him take care of his stuff and pick up his race number (he was Bib #1) before I asked if I could get a picture with him.  He was very kind and totally was more than happy to fulfill my request.  He thanked me for coming out to the race and I thanked him for arranging it and setting it up for people to run for a great cause.  He noticed the donkey sign that Cathy has at all races and asked if I ran Chicago.  I told him I did and had such a great race.  He congratulated me and then I let him move on to the other stuff he needed to do for the race.

We went to put the t-shirts in the car and get some stretching in.  Indy had some stretches I hadn’t seen before.  I remembered to do some dynamic stretching, which was good because I hadn’t been doing well with my PT stretches with Indy in town.  Just ran out of time and was busy enjoying time with my friend.  I had a few twinges on the 5 miles I did that morning, so I wanted to be sure to be good about stretching before the run.  I kept it dynamic instead of static.  I think that was smart.

We saw crowds were beginning to form up near the finish line chute.  The owner of Swags began to speak into a bullhorn.  He was hard to hear, but he thanked us for coming out and then turned it over to Wesley.  Wesley asked how the bullhorn worked and then very graciously filled us in on his reasons for hosting this race and mentioned that the first two males and females would receive awards in the form of bracelets created by the kids in Kenya.  Too cool.  But I was aiming more on rebuilding my strength rather than finishing near the front.

We were told to move up toward the start line, just a short distance up the way.  I lined up near the front  It was a small race…as it wasn’t really advertised much…but it did have a bigger turn out than I anticipated.  Dennis found me at the start line and I knew he would bust this race out of the park.  He did, by the way, after asking what pace I was running and I had to (regretfully) inform him that I wasn’t focusing on pace as I’m still recovering from my ankle injury.

The owner of Swags announced that we would hear a two announcement start.  Runners set…then the horn.  No runners set was given.  Just the horn.  So, we sort of faltered at the front…but we took off.

Dennis was gone.  He’s so fast.  As for me…I just fought my way up the path heading for the first hill to climb in Iroquois Park.  I feel so weak these days when it comes to running.  My speed is totally gone.  So, I was just trying to push just beyond my comfort zone without doing too much to hurt myself.  So, I kept it challenging, but comfortable.  I had some runners pass me…but I did my best to block out that feeling of total worthlessness…and just focus on breathing and constant forward motion.

As I was coming into around the mile and a half mark, Wesley Korir jogged (no…seriously…jogged) past me and shouted encouragement at me, saying that I looked good out there.  And then…he moved on.  Apparently, he started at the pack and would say something to the runners he would pass along the way, offering uplifting encouragement and the like.  I think that’s amazing.

He was gone, despite just this easy run he was carrying on with as he passed.  Amazing!

I moved into Mile 2 and was hitting up more of the hills on the loop that wraps Iroquois Park.  I focused on just doing my best to get up them without feeling like I was dying.  It was working.  Yes…I wasn’t moving as fast as last year.  Yes…I feel out of shape and like I’ve lost fitness…and I have…but I’m a fighter and this was part of me proving to myself that I am fighting to get back to where I want to be.  It was the perfect race to do that.

I battled up the final hill I was to face and Mile 3 beeped on my watch as the parking lot at the amphitheater came into view.  I could just make out the clock at the finish line.  I didn’t care about the numbers…or the fact that I was passed by 4 other females.  I surprisingly didn’t care about any of that.  All I cared about was the fact that I crossed that finish line feeling like I left it all out on that course and performed to the best of my ability.  Even after knocking out 5 miles prior to even showing up at the start line.

Wesley Korir greeted me in the chute and handed me a cup of water.  He looked right at me and said, “Nice job, Karen!”  That was so awesome to hear coming from this amazing runner and man.  I thanked him and moved out of the way, finding Cathy.  Dennis came over to ask how I did.  I said I felt good about the finishing.  And he said he was happy with his run.  And then he had to get going due to an appointment he had at 10 a.m.

Indy and I at the finish of the Taper For A Cause 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

Cathy and I went to go stand at the finish to wait for Indy and cheer people on to the finish line.  I love this part.  And, not soon after, around the bend came Indy, looking so strong and amazing.  She was all smiles as she crossed that finish line, setting a new 5K PR for herself.  I went to give her a hug and congratulate her on her run.

We were making some plans to grab some breakfast before heading out for the day for some caving and other adventures.  So, she said she’d go ahead and change at the park while I was going to wait until we got to Annie May’s for breakfast to change.  It worked out well.  While she and Cathy went to the car to get her stuff and Cathy stood sentinel outside the bathroom door that wouldn’t lock, I wandered around the finish line.  Wesley Korir had gone out on a shakeout run with some of his friends and returned after making a second loop of the park.  He was gracious enough to take pictures with people at the finish line, so I asked if I could get another one.  He was so gracious once again.  And as he looped his arm around me as a stranger, and very kind runner, took my phone to snap a picture, he said, “You looked strong out there!”  What an ego boost.  Just what I needed.

I admire and love this man so much.  He is such a champion…both in races and in life.  Such a kind, generous man.

After that, I wandered back over to the bathrooms just as Indy was coming out.  And it was off to breakfast we went, before spending the rest of the day going through Marengo Cave and then hiking around for a little while.

So, my official results of the Taper For A Cause 5K are that I finished in 23:52.  I was 20/77 finishers overall.  I was 5/42 women finishers.  Not bad at all.  I’m actually quite okay with this.  This is still not the run I know I can bust out…and that will eventually return (I HOPE!), but I am trusting my training and my physical therapists.  I’m healing.  I keep telling myself that.  I…AM…HEALING.  It was so awesome to run a local race with my friend visiting from California.  We had such a great time.  And I am glad the opportunity arose to make this happen while she was in town.

I totally intend to run this one again next year.

Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K – Birmingham, AL (April 5, 2014)

My mom and me at the Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K – Birmingham, Alabama

Race: Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K

Place: Birmingham, Alabama

Date: April 5, 2014

Time: 21:52*

Please note that once again I am putting an asterisk at the end of an official time for a race.  Please note why.  According to my Garmin, this race was not the 3.1 miles a 5K runs, but actually 2.92 miles.  I don’t hold the Making Tracks for Celiacs people completely at fault for this.  Let me explain why.

I found out on the morning of the race during the announcements prior to the start that due to the soccer tournament that was going on, the course we were to run had to be changed.  So…they very little time to come up with a new course.  But they did.  Albeit…a little short.

But, you know…whatever.  This stuff happens.

I won’t let it completely dull what turned out to be an amazing experience for me.

Why?

Because I did this race with…my mom!

Yep.  My mom!!  Both my mom and I are Celiacs.  So, I try to make it a point to get down to Birmingham, Alabama for this event each year.  Last year, I had to miss it as it was on a weekend I had another event already going on.  But not this year.  And, as a special bonus, I was going to run the race and my mom was going to walk it.  We made plans via phone conversations and text messages…both got signed up…and both eagerly anticipated the arrival of the big day.

On Friday, my mom went to the Birmingham Earth Fare store to pick up our packets.  The t-shirts for the event were still in transit, so they gave her t-shirts from the previous year and told her that both she and I (she was also picking up my packet) could get this year’s shirt on race morning.  Where was I?  I was on the road, driving down to Birmingham directly after work.  I didn’t arrive until around 10:00 p.m.  Then had to have some social time and catching up with my parents, as well as see what has been done to the house (they just got moved back in after a pipe burst while they were on vacation in Mexico in January).  This made for a later-than-usual night before a race, but it was worth it.  I loved getting to talk to them and catch up some…but we all knew we had an early morning ahead of us, so we decided to turn in for the night.

I woke up very early the next morning because I had to get dressed for the race as well as do my PT stretches.  So, after checking the weather…which was supposedly warmer than what the Weather Channel predicted the night before…a balmy 52 degrees with some winds making it feel 50 degrees, I got out my shorts and my t-shirt and got myself put together with the colored hair and the BondiBand and compression sleeves like always.  No skirt today.  I was rocking the shorts.  I went downstairs to do my stretches before anyone else got up.  And managed to finish them up just as my mom came out of the bedroom.  We hugged and I said I was going to go knock on Cathy’s door to wake her up, but as I got to the top of the stairs, she was already moving about.  Sweet.  Good start to the day.

The four of us (my mom, dad, Cathy and myself) all had breakfast that day (consisting of some cereal and a gluten-free blueberry muffin from Udi’s Gluten Free).  My mom and dad split a banana and I got one to take with me to eat about 30 minutes prior to the race.  Then, I went upstairs to brush my teeth, throw on some yoga pants and a hoodie, and grab my running bag with a change of clothes inside and a different pair of shoes.   My dad was (im)patiently waiting at the door for all of us (well…just me…everyone else was ready to go as I came down the stairs).  So, we headed out through the garage to get in the car and make the 25 minute drive from their house to the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the new site of the race and the Gluten-Free Expo that was happening afterwards.

We pulled into a nearly empty parking lot, but saw the banner for the Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K hanging above the door.  So, we were in the right place.  My mom and I hopped out of the car, and I was glad that I had on my yoga pants for the time being because that wind was COLD!  We went over to packet pickup and registration to get our t-shirts for this year’s race then went to meet up with my dad and Cathy.  We decided it was too chilly to stand outside in the wind, so all got back into the car.  I ate my half of the banana.   Cathy got out to get rid of the peel from her half then proceeded to stand around outside, staring at the car as if willing all of us to join her in the chilly morning air.  I refused for about 5 minutes.  But, I knew I needed to take off the hoodie and yoga pants and get acclimated…so that’s what I did.  I stepped outside of the car and immediately broke out into goosebumps.  Damn that cold air.

I did a few dynamic stretches to warm up before the race.  As I was finishing those up, I heard the race organizer get on the horn and start to talk about the event and the change in the course.  I figured I could just follow the people in front of me…which is how I do every race.  So, I vaguely paid attention and heard things like…run through the RV park…go behind the dumpster…be careful of the giant puddle…run around a pole…

These are the things race organizers go through when they very suddenly have to change their race course, which has been plotted for months, mind you!  Before the soccer tournament was even scheduled to be plaid.  Frustrating.  They were not happy.  We were told to head out to the start line…so we did.  I stood near the front.  It looked like we had a good turnout, which is always a good thing.  And before I could get my Garmin ready to record…the air horn was blown and we were off.

I punched the button on my Garmin, it started, and off I went with the group, following a group of kids, a couple of guys (one of which was the race organizer’s husband), and a few other people.  The kids petered out almost immediately, deciding they had run enough…so I passed them after the first turn.  Then, I passed one of the ladies in front of me…only to get passed up by a super-speedy woman (Allison Hoover), who I couldn’t catch up to or pass up again to save my life.  She was flying.  We were sent over a bridge and up an incline…then made a turn to go up another incline…then turned around in a cul-de-sac…and sent back down the hills.  It was as I was nearing the bridge to head out into the parking lot that I passed my mom and dad.  They both cheered for me…shouting “Go Girl!” and clapping.  It made me smile.

So, then we hit the parking lot and were sent through the RV park.  This was about the time we hit Mile 1.  So, one down…just a couple to go.  We ran through the RV park and then made this crazy loop thing and were sent up another part of the parking lot and around to where there was a bit of a trail leading to a path that was behind a dumpster.  They weren’t kidding.  Upon making the turn onto the path and rounding the corner, you encounter one of the steepest downhills of your life.  Seriously.  I pulled up so as not to tear up my quads and maneuvered it safely and effectively.  There was a little dip at the bottom before you were sent up a climb on the other side.  For every downhill there is an uphill.  I pushed up that and ran on that path until it dropped me off in a new section of parking lot.  I followed the volunteers, keeping cones to my right or left, or whatever I was instructed to do at the time.  I found Mile 2 (which was marked)…but my Garmin didn’t beep.  I normally don’t check but I was curious…

My Garmin said 1.78 miles.  Yikes!

Me crossing the finish line of the Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K – Birmingham, Alabama

Into the final part of the race, I just attempted to keep my pace as best I could.  I came back into the main parking lot and was sent down to where some walkers and runners were coming around to head toward the dumpster.  I remained on my side of the cone, avoided a huge lake (er…puddle…) and pressed on the path volunteers directed me on.  The guy in front of me made a turn then headed toward a pole near the end of the lot.  He ran around it and I followed, then we hit the straight-away toward the finish line.  I passed him up and kept on moving as fast as I could.  I crossed the finish line, paused my Garmin and made my way through the chute.  The race organizer tore off the bottom of my bib and I moved on to get some water.  Super-speedy Allison Hoover made a comment about my shoes (I was in my new Newton’s) as she was wearing Newton’s herself.  We bonded a little.  Then I went to get water and she went to talk to friends.

I finally checked my Garmin and saw that it read only 2.92 miles.  That wouldn’t do.  So, I handed Cathy my cup of water and did an easy shakeout for .20 miles to get me up to 3.1 miles.  That was what I intended to run that day and that was what I managed to get in.  I could see my parents again, heading toward the dumpster line…and they were leading all the walkers.  Honestly, my dad wasn’t registered.  But my mom encouraged him to walk it with her.  He kept telling her to keep moving without him, but she stuck with him.  And I think that’s super awesome.

I cheered for them when they emerged and headed back through the lot and made the turn to head toward the turn that would take them to the pole and then, eventually, to the finish line.  I stood near the finish to cheer and when they emerged, I was shouting and just clapping and jumping up and down.  As he wasn’t registered, my dad dropped off and came to my side and let my mom finish her walk by passing through the finish line.  Cathy took a picture.  It was awesome.  I went over to give her a hug.  We then went to go get bottles of water and some clementines that the race organizers put out for everyone.

Clementines are my favorite post-race thing to eat.  Seriously!  That or watermelon.  For real.

The kids 1 mile fun run would be starting soon, and awards were said to be at 10 a.m. with the expo at 10:30 a.m.  My mom and I said we would hang out at the race if Cathy and dad wanted to make the mandatory coffee run.  Turns out awards weren’t being done before the expo and now the expo was open at 10:00 a.m.   My mom and I went over to the doors leading to the banquet hall and stepped inside to get out of the wind.  She called my dad to find out if they were close to returning.  They were.  And about five minutes later, they pulled in, coffees in hand.  Now properly armed with caffeine, we hiked up the stairs to the expo (I mean, why take the elevator, right?) and went to see what was offered.

The expo was much smaller this year than it was two years prior.  MUCH smaller.  But the vendors were all super nice and there was a lot of delicious products and treats to try out.  Cathy and I split any large portion of something while my mom and dad would split theirs.  It made it so we weren’t too full for lunch shortly after (which we were meeting up with my sister and my youngest nephew).  As we were making our way around the floor, the race organizer started to call participants over for the awards.

While I was the second female overall, they weren’t giving that award away.  This did mean, however, that I placed first in my division.  And when my name was called for the 30-39 age division, Cathy, mom and dad all cheered.  They almost ran out of medals at this point…having not ordered enough it seemed.  I got the last first place age division award though…so they wouldn’t have to mail mine to me all the way in Indiana.

We finished up at the expo, went shopping at Organic Harvest, and then met up with my sister for lunch.  It made for a great day.

So, my official results of the Making Tracks for Celiacs 5K are that I finished in 21:52 (but remember…the course was short).  I was 9/79 finishers overall.  I was 2/54 women finishers.  And I was the 1/18 in my division.  Not too shabby, I think.  Granted, it’s still not the run I know I am capable of, but I’m still just being cautious on this ankle.  I get nervous about pushing too hard…and reinjuring it.  I know I am capable of better…but I was proud of my results.  And, even more, I was proud of my mom for coming out and doing the race with me.  She can’t run, as her ankle is permanently fused, but she loves to walk.  And this was for a cause that effects both of us…and we had a blast being a part of it.  In fact, we’ve decided to make it an annual event.

I’m already excited about next year!

The Chocolate 5K – Louisville, KY (March 30, 2014)

Sean Astin and me after finishing the Chocolate 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

Race: The Chocolate 5K

Place: Louisville, Kentucky

Date: March 30, 2014

Time: 21:02* (UNTIMED EVENT)

There is nothing better than a race that combines three things that I love: chocolate, puppies, and running!  And thanks to No Kill Louisville, there was a fun, untimed event held on Sunday that involved all three of those things.  Yep.  All three of them.  No Kill Louisville helped put on The Chocolate 5K, which involved a 3.1 mile run/walk, Ghrirardelli chocolate (provided on the course and at the finish…not to mention two squares in your packet at packet pick-up), and…lots of animal rescue leagues.

The morning was cold.  I knew it was cold because I had to go outside and do my heel drops off the stairs of my apartment complex (and the only stairs available are outside!).  So, I dressed accordingly…in a long sleeve top, a pair of capris, and my compression sleeves.  I was actually running as part of a team.  My friend, and running compatriot, Dawn, was running with a team of co-workers and invited me to join their team (for the team discount price).  I was totally about that, so I did sign up.  I’m just getting back into racing and my speed is not back yet, so I intended just to see what I could manage.  After all, this event was not timed.  Sort of like the Glo Run and The Color Run.  Go out…get some chocolate…have a good time.  Worked for me!

Cathy and I headed out just about the time we wanted to, after each downing a bowl of cereal and having some coffee.  I brought along some Lärabars to eat as the race time crept closer (I had no bananas on hand…which is NOT good on race morning).  We piled into the car and off we went to Waterfront Park, the new venue for the race.  It was originally scheduled to take place at E.P. Tom Sawyer…but due to muddy trails and the like…it was moved to the paved Waterfront Park area.  I was more than happy about that.  Trust me.

We made good time down to Waterfront and even managed to find a parking spot under the bridge.  A short stroll through the little booths set up (for places like Earth Fare and all the animal rescue leagues that came out!), I made my way to the registration line.  Recent e-mails said that the turnout for the race was not good and there weren’t that many participants.  But there was a line by the time I got there for people picking up their packets.  And the line only continued to grow from there.  So…either people were trying to decided at the last minute whether to run or walk or not…this was actually a really, really big turn out!  I managed to get up to the table and told the volunteer my name.  She kept looking under BA, so finally I had to spell out my last name…”B-R-A…”  But she found me after I pointed my name out on the list.  She handed me a green bag that contained two different varieties of Ghirardelli Chocolate and my race bib and then sent me over to pick up my t-shirt.  After that, I was standing around for a second when Dawn and a co-worker of hers arrived.  They were going to get in line, so I went to go put my chocolate and t-shirt in the car so Cathy wouldn’t have to try to juggle it on top of the sign and my jacket I was going to shed before the race start.

As we were heading back toward the registration line, I was opening up my Lärabar (Jŏcalat Chocolate Mint…in case you were curious) and taking a big bite when a small group ran past.  They were in race numbers (not unusual at a race) and just doing this slow little warm-up run together, talking and smiling.  I eyed the guy in the middle in the yellow running jacket and the shorts as he went by.  After I swallowed my bite of bar, I turned to Cathy, who was having an epic struggle with the wrapper of her bar (she didn’t want to take off her gloves), and said, “That guy looked like Sean Astin.”  She heard me but didn’t respond.  I think she was really focused on eating the rest of her breakfast, but first she had to get to it.  I eventually helped her out and went to toss the wrappers away.  Dawn said her boyfriend, Matthew (I train with him a LOT), was going to run from his house to the race, do the race, and then finish up the remaining miles of his scheduled 20 mile training run.  Whew.  That made me tired just thinking about it.  Her other two co-workers arrived around that time and got in line to get their bibs and packets.  And they all consumed their chocolate as a pre-race sugar rush.  Or so I joked.  But…chocolate consumed…we were just waiting on the start.  Matthew arrived with a few minutes to spare and we helped him get his blinkie lights turned off.

A quick picture in front of the start line and some announcements were being made.  And then…I hear it…”And now a quick word from Sean Astin…who you might know from the Lord of the Rings Movies and the Goonies…as well as many others…”  And then he took the mic.  You better believe that I moved up to see if I had heard that right.  I had.  It was him.

Cathy still wasn’t paying attention, but rather getting artistic photos of the start line when I found her and said, “That guy I said looked like Sean Astin WAS Sean Astin.”

So…I do have this running (see what I did there?) joke about how Sean Astin is stalking me on my races.  He has run every Disney race I have ever been a part of and he also ran the Chicago Marathon last year when I did.  So…this was just further proof that the man is following me.  To come out to an untimed event for charity to run 3.1 miles just speaks so highly of his character.  He didn’t have to do it.  But he did.  And it made me love him even more than I already did.  He spoke briefly, and commented that the weather, for him, was perfect for running.  We all laughed because we locals were all in compression gear and there he was in shorts just soaking it all in.  God love him!

After he wished us all luck on the race, we were told to line up at the starting line.  The announcer began to give us the route, then simply said…”There are yellow arrows on the ground.  Just follow the yellow arrows.”  And with that…we were sent off with a whistle.

I found my stride early and was out with the first five in the pack, with others right behind me.  I didn’t want to push too hard.  Not on an untimed race.  I get frustrated with my lack of speed these days, and that is understandable, but my friend Andrea always reminds me…I’m healing.  I need to heal up and the speed will return.  So, for now, I can’t set time goals…I just have to run smart and run safe.  And that was my ultimate goal.  I followed the yellow arrows…and the people in front of me…for the first mile before I passed up the one female that was ahead of me.  My strides felt good.  No ankle twinges…so I kept on, just doing what I could to maintain.  It also didn’t help that I woke up that morning with some chest congestion and an intermittent cough.  No good.  This is what happened during the Triple Crown of Running last year and I did not want to relive that.  So, for the sake of being able to breathe without dying…I made sure I maintained a challenging, but even pace.

I passed up the table where they were offering Ghirardelli chocolate squares because…I was running.  I can’t run and eat chocolate.  So, I kept on going, rounding the corner up ahead and getting sent up a bit of an incline.  I pushed up the hill, not feeling any discomfort in the ankle, rounded the corner again, and then started on the gentle slope back down toward the race course.

Now this is where it got messy.  We had runners and walkers making their way up to the incline ahead, but were taking chocolate from the Ghirardelli stop as well, which was located on the side of the path where people running back toward the finish were now running.  Oh well…it was a fun event…you just go with it.  As I’m trucking along, I see Sean Astin running toward me and he starts applauding those of us in the front of the pack and telling us we were doing great.  I held up my hand and he high-fived it.  Awesome.  A moment later, my co-worker’s husband was running by and we high-fived as well.  It was a high-five kind of race and I was loving it.  A little ways down my co-workers, Laura and Kayla, were walking past and Laura told me to go catch up to the guy in front of me (it was her son…who was banditing the race).  I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do that, but as I was coming into one of the final turns, I did pass the kid in the orange sweatshirt that had outpaced me for much of the first part of the race.  I managed to keep ahead of him, and came back into the familiar Great Lawn area of Waterfront Park.  One final turn and I booked it to the finish line, pausing my Garmin a moment after.  I was the 4th registered finisher across the finish line.

I was all smiles!!  Seriously…all smiles.  It has been hard for me to not focus so much on time, but what I’m discovering is why I love doing this sport in the first place.  Yes…PRs are awesome and should be celebrated and should be fought for…but sometimes you have to work back into that.  I have rediscovered the joy that comes with just being able to get outside and get that run in.  I have found so much positivity from the people who saw me struggle with my sprained ankle and who have seen my will and determination to come back.  It’s a slow process…but I’m making strides in the right direction.

Me crossing the finish line of the Chocolate 5K – Louisville, Kentucky

After crossing the finish, I went to get some water and a couple pieces of chocolate.  Cathy and I each ate a square…and we waited for the rest of my team to come in.  But…about four minutes after my finish…here comes Sean Astin.  Seriously.  I cheered as he crossed the finish line and then went down the ways a little to catch his breath.  His companion (and sort of body guard) went to go get him some water and after a moment, I walked over to say “Hi.”  And he was very gracious and very welcoming.  We took a picture together and I told him the story about how I believe he’s stalking me.  I told him the races we had run “together” and when I mentioned Chicago…he said, “You ran in Chicago…with your hair like this and everything!”  He pointed to my pigtails.  I laughed and nodded.  We talked about our finishing times and he said his goal is to eventually, one day, run a sub-4 marathon.  I told him I had every belief that he could do it.  He told me that I was going to win the Boston Marathon.  Seriously…can I keep him?

I knew he was busy and had a schedule to maintain (he was in town for the Wizard World Comic Con Louisville) so I said goodbye.  He gave me a hug and told me to have a good day.  I thanked him for coming out to run.  And that was that.  A few moments later…my team came in and I cheered for them all the way to the finish!  It was an amazing day.

So…my official time for this untimed event, according to my Garmin was 21:02.  I want to note, however, that the course was only 2.78 miles.  So…I am not little miss speedy!  Trust me.  I didn’t even feel all that speedy.  And at that pace, I wouldn’t have come close to my 5K PR.  I was okay with that, but I wanted at least 3 miles for the day.  So I went and did a slow, steady shake-out for the remaining mileage before returning to talk with my friends a bit longer.  We were wrapping things up, and I had grocery shopping, laundry, and an apartment to clean…so I said goodbye to everyone and Cathy and I departed, stopping by the Earth Fare booth to say hi.  I might have forgotten to mention (and will blog about it maybe next month) that I am, once again, an Earth Fare Athlete Ambassador.  And I’m loving it.  So, we had a short talk with the person at the booth, who recognized me immediately.  And, after snagging some chocolate dipped banana chips, we headed out for the day.

I had so much fun at this little race.  I smiled the entire time.  I managed to not die from a rattly chest.  I pushed a little harder than I normally would.  I want my speed back.  It will come.  I keep telling myself…it will come.  But for now…strengthening that ankle and getting myself back on track is way more important.  I’m just thankful that I had the opportunity to take part in such a fun event for a great cause.  And I can’t wait to do my next one.