Me after finishing the Fast Freddie Five Mile Foot Feast – New Albany, IN
Race: Fast Freddie Five Mile Foot Feast
Place: New Albany, Indiana
Date: November 24, 2016
Time:37:03
*twirls around*
It happened this year!! After having to miss out on my most convenient and least stressful face of the year last year…this year I was registered and ready to run. That’s right, my friends. It was time for New Albany’s very own Fast Freddie Five Mile Foot Feast. It is held every Thanksgiving morning (for 28 years now!) and it happens…literally…right outside my door. The start and finish area is at the fairgrounds located directly across the street from my apartment complex. How’s that for an easy race morning?
As you might recall, last year I was still on the recovery list after dealing with my nemesis, my hip labrum tear, and then…my stress fracture in my leg. The hip is going to be a constant thing, but when my leg started to bother me again, my orthopedic doctor decided it would be best to take the rest of November off from running and to send me to physical therapy. I had been registered for the Fast Freddie Five Miler already…because I knew my boot would be off and I figured I’d be good to go. But, sadly, I wasn’t. And for the first time in the years I have been running…I had to miss out on the challenging race before my Thanksgiving feast. I was, however, a brief spectator last year, rushing down to the start line in just enough time to see everyone off.
It wasn’t the same.
And this year…in the true tradition of Thanksgiving…I was hungry for this one.
When you think your coach is on drugs for the pace she wants you to try to hit…and then this is the bib number you are assigned!
The Sunday prior to Thursday, I met up with my friend Jack and his friend Heather (who recognized me from the YMCA) to run the course. It was 23 degrees out that morning, but I hadn’t run the course in a long time (and I know I need to because it does have some hills to challenge me), so I really wanted to do this test run on the course. Or…a course preview…as we referred to it. I ran it at an easy pace…my Garmin saying I did it in about 39 minutes. Happy with that.
After getting home, I went to check my training calendar that my coach, Linda, throws together for me each week. Fast Freddie was listed…and she set my goal time for 38 minutes. I had run just slightly over 38 minutes when I ran this last, in 2014, so I thought this was an achievable goal time for my first year back to this event. But, later that night, she texted me and said that she changed my time goal for the race. I went to check and she changed it to 36 minutes. I texted her back and said that I had never run this course that fast (my fastest race time is 36:54 in 2013…when I was in my best racing shape), but I would try. She told me not to kill myself doing it, but she thought I was capable, being that I was just barely over 36 minutes on a 5 mile speed work run I did a few weeks before.
For the rest of the week, I fretted over that race time. I did my training runs, hit the paces, tried to run easy on the easy days (which isn’t easy for me…unless I run with other people), and just not try to obsess over it. I would do my best on race morning…and that’s all I could do.
Me after 4 hours of cooking and baking on Wednesday night.
To top it all off, though, I was hosting Thanksgiving this year. I hosted last year, but I wasn’t racing, so I decided that I needed to do as much as humanly possible the night before. This meant, I made a conscious decision to not rest my legs or feet…but to stand in the kitchen and cook up all of the side dishes I was serving. Leaving, simply, the sweet potato fries, the BBQ pulled turkey, and the apple cinnamon slow-cooker apples for the morning. It took almost 4 hours to get it all done, but I did. I even had to set an alarm on my phone to wake me up so that I could put the food that was cooling on racks into the fridge. I went back to bed, having my alarm set for to give me time to do all my stretches and PT exercises before the race…as well as chop up a lot of apples for both the slow cooker that had the turkey and the slow cooker with the apples as well. It was a hectic morning, but I managed to get everything going before Cathy taped up my right foot (still having some issues with it) and pinned me up. Time to go.
It was actually earlier than I usually head over to the fairgrounds for this race, but I was meeting up with three other #KDFMarathon Ambassadors who were running this particular race: Jack, Melissa (and her husband), and Leah (who also has Linda as a coach!). When I showed up, I found Jack and Leah standing near the stage inside…and Melissa was just parking and heading our way. We wanted to get a picture together before the race. Melissa showed up, looked at me and said, “Where are your clothes?”
So…race morning was the type of weather where I get really confused as to how to properly dress. It was around 50 degrees at the start, but there was a cold 9 mph wind. According to the Weather Channel, it felt more like 46 degrees out. That being said, I had opted for a t-shirt and a pair of short (rainbow) shorts…and my usual compression sleeves and BondiBand with pigtails and all that good stuff. Melissa and Jack were in leggings and long sleeves. Leah was in shorts and a t-shirt too (and was wearing a pie hat on her head).
Leah, Me, Jack & Melissa…the #KDFMarathon Ambassadors representing!
We gathered outside for the photo…my peeps wearing their KDF Ambassador shirts (I like to be bright, so I didn’t wear mine…but I did hold it up!). Not going to lie…it was cold. So, after the photo, Jack and my warm friends helped walk me to the start line while keeping me warm. And it was here that I ran into my friend, Harry, who was walking the course. So…I was just finding everyone today.
I went toward the front of the race group, taking up my usual position about 3 rows back from the start. The front row is reserved for the people with the low bib numbers. My bib number was, hilariously, #420. I was so amused when I picked up my bib Wednesday night because I had joked that Linda was on drugs when she set my goal pace…and then I get #420. HA! The crazy bib number things that happen to me. Anyway, I like to be close to the start, without getting in the way of the people who actually deserve to be right up there. You know…the people who run strides ahead of the race. Those crazies in the singlets and shorty-shorts. *glances down at rainbow shorty-shorts*
Fast Freddie’s Five Mile Foot Feast starts promptly at 9 am. Fred came out to give the usual information about the start. He would tell have runners get ready and then blow the whistle. And that…is what he did. And at the whistle blow…we were off.
I saw Cathy immediately, holding up my sign, gave a wave, and pushed on. After all, I was chasing down a fast time.
Fast times used to be a lot easier for me. Especially when a course has hills. You see, one problem I am finding with my hip labrum tear is that I lose power and speed on my uphills. I can’t easily burst up them like I used to. Nope. I actually struggle at times on hills. But I wasn’t going to worry about that. I didn’t have time. You pretty much get hit with a hill right away on this race. Not a big one, but it send you up and over the highway…but there is a nice downhill that awaits on the other side. I revel in those downhills. What I lack in hill climbing, I made up for on those downhills. Up ahead was the light, and we all blazed our path onto Mt. Tabor road, hitting that first mile marker. I looked to be just slightly behind on the 7:12 pace I would need to average in order to hit 36 minutes.
Mt. Tabor Road is a series of rolling ups and downs. By now, the body is warmed up and I can take these in stride, for sure. I actually handled these better than I anticipated. I was pushing that pace, hoping to, maybe, surprise myself in the end. We crossed the railroad tracks, went up another hill and then down, turning onto Grant Line Road. Mile 2…done. And I was still just a smidge under the 7:12 time.
But this third mile…this is the killer. As you head into Sam Peden Community Park, we get hammered with our first long climb. This hill isn’t steep…but it is continuous. Pretty much for the entire half a mile that you run toward that third mile mark. There is a water stop as you enter the park, but I always bypass it and keep running. My focus at this point was on pushing myself up that hill. This was not easy for me…and I could feel myself really fall back on my pace. And when this hill does level off (nope…no downhill…darn it), you’ve gotten through that third mile. I was set back now on my time, but I was going to see if I could make it up. I rounded the corner and started to make my way out of the park. There was a guy near the apartment complex at the park exit cheering on people. He saw my number and said, “What you got for me, 420?” HA!
Honestly, I used to dread Schell Lane. It is the hilliest part of the race. But, this past summer as I was training for the Kauai Marathon, I made a point to do hill runs in the mornings up Daisy Lane (opposite the way we run it in this race) and then through Schell Lane and back…just so I was getting in various climbs on the hills. They slowed me down slightly, but the downhills gave me some momentum to make up some time. The last hill is the hardest, but you get rewarded with the best downhill ever…all the way down Daisy Lane. I made the turn, and pushed my pace on that downhill hoping to catch some of my time. This is my favorite part of this race. I feel so fast and free and alive. Four miles…done.
The last mile was all that I had left…but I was starting to run out of gas in my legs. Seriously. Daisy Lane levels out pretty fast and it’s a huge shift when you’re coming down that hill to suddenly just have…flat. I proceeded as fast as I could force these legs to move, but I knew I was starting to struggle. I also knew that I was close to having a time in the 36 minute zone…so maybe…maybe I could at least get a new PR. I made it my goal to, as always, do my best to make this last mile count.
Me, crossing the finish line at Fast Freddie’s Five Mile Foot Feast – New Albany, IN
At the traffic light, I made the turn and began the last stretch of road back to the Fairgrounds. I actually do run this stretch a lot and am familiar with the rolling hills. All that being said…my legs were pretty much done. But I wasn’t having it. I was half a mile away, and I was going to press on and see what happened. As we neared the Fairgrounds, I could hear the crowds of people who were there to cheer, or were waiting on their family members. That’s the best part, coming into that finish where people line the street and send you down that finishing shoot. I made the turn to run it into the finish and could hear Cathy screaming at me to run faster. I managed, my Garmin telling me that as I crossed the finish line, I was hitting a pace around 5:42. Usually I have no finishing kick, but I could now see the clock and my 36+ minute zone was close to closing. I gave it all I had…
…and managed no new PR…and missed 36 minutes by well over a minute. But I was done. I had beat my 2014 time by well over a minute, so given that last year I wasn’t able to run at all…this was a total and complete win. I think, as I train more this coming year, I’ll find my stride again. My running has been a struggle as of late, but I’m getting it figured out, little by little.
After crossing the finish line, I went and met up with Cathy and we went to find a spot near the road to cheer on the rest of my #KDF Ambassador team!! Jack came in first…then Leah…and then Melissa and Paul. I was there for all of them. And, afterwards, we even got a picture with Santa, who was at the finish.
Me, Santa, Jack, and Melissa after we finished the Fast Freddie Five Mile Foot Feast – New Albany, IN
You never know what to expect from this race.
The awards were going to be handed out and the raffle drawings were going to be done, so we headed into Newlin Hall, where it was warm, and we all just sort of conversed as prizes were handed out.
And then…as they got to the Female 35-29 age division…I heard my friend Amber Korte get announced as third…I hadn’t even seen Amber. I wasn’t sure if she was still there, but I cheered loudly. And the second place was announced. And then…my name was called for first in my age division. I was…amazed, to be honest. In 2013, when I ran my fastest time on this course, I didn’t even place. When I ran in 2014, I was third in my age division. So, yeah, I was surprised. I went over to the table and got my Fast Freddie Mug (they were yellow this year!)…and went back to hang with my friends. Except…I had some more stuff that needed to be done for Thanksgiving dinner…so we hugged and I said goodbye and headed back home to shower and cook up the remainder of the meal before everyone started arriving.
The infamous Fast Freddie Five Mile Foot Feast mug as age division awards. LOVE IT! First in my age group this year!
The official results of this year’s Fast Freddie Festive Five Mile Foot Feast was that I finished with an official time of 37:03…only 9 seconds off my PR on this course, and a full minute and three seconds slower than my coach was hoping for. I was 112/866 finishers this year. I was the 21st female to cross the finish line. And I was 1st in my age division. I was disappointed that I didn’t manage the fast time Linda hoped I could run, but I ran really well and really hard…and I still ran better than the last time I ran this race. I’ll take any small victory at this point. Maybe, with a little practice, and some hip strengthening, I’ll hit that sub-36.
I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I am very thankful for all of you who return to my blog and read about my adventures in running and in travel and food. I leave you with this Thanksgiving-ish thought:
Whatever feeds your desire, your hunger, and your fire…chase it down this year.
Me crossing the finish line of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon – Louisville, KY
Race: Urban Bourbon Half Marathon
Place: Louisville, Kentucky
Date: October 22, 2016
Time: 1:44:47
It was the weekend before Halloween…and after a few long runs with my running partner, Matthew, he and I had come up with some fun ideas should he choose to run the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon with me. Like…at one point we were going to dress as Batman & Robin…and then, at the halfway point, we were going to switch out so the other person was Batman and the other was Robin. When we couldn’t find Robin outfits, it changed to Superman & Wonder Woman. I had the Wonder Woman running costume…but as I said…this race was the weekend before Halloween. Superman was a bit difficult to come by. What he did end up with was a great brown cotton shirt. YES! We were SO ready for this!
My biggest concern that morning was the chilly air. My body doesn’t do well in cooler temperatures. Once it gets under the 60s…it’s iffy. When it hits the 40s, like it did that morning, my body sometimes doesn’t want to function at all. So, I had to decide if I was going to do a singlet with arm warmers…or just short sleeves. I went back and forth on it, but totally ended up going with the arm warmers and singlet. It was a decision I immediately began questioning my decision.
I headed downstairs at my apartment that morning in my outfit choice to see if I could take the cold air. I did all my physical therapy stretches, warmup moves, and plyometrics and figured…I’d probably warm up when running the half…I’d stick with it. I’d just wear warm things before the race. I also donned my KDF Marathon Ambassador shirt for the group picture prior to the race start. My foot was NOT loving the cold air though, so I knew that this race was going to be about feeling that out and seeing how it did as the miles began to wrack up! I’ve learned to really listen to my body…so I knew I’d be hyper aware of it as the morning went on. That being said, I headed back upstairs to eat some cereal and finish up pre-race prep.
Kat and I the morning of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon. Next time she’s in town, we are so racing together!
My good friend, Kat, who ran the KDF Half Marathon in 2014 with me…and who I paced the Buffalo Marathon with the same spring, was in town and staying with me. Poor thing probably had to get up way earlier than she intended that morning, but she was a good sport. I wished she could have run it too…but another time, for sure! My roomie, Cathy, and I saw her off (with a vegan and gluten-free breakfast from Annie May’s…and some additional road eats) and then hopped into the car for the dash over the river to Louisville. Parking wasn’t too much of a problem. And…to keep me warm on the hike from the car to the photo op, I donned the warm poncho I got at the NYC Marathon in 2014.
I had messaged the other Ambassadors to warn them that I was running a little late, and, I was the last one to show up, but a couple of others had just gotten there as well. I shed the poncho and set up for the photo op. I love my Ambassador family and love these little photo op moments together. Seriously, I want to hang out with them for the rest of my life. After the photo, I put the poncho back on and texted my running partner, Matthew, to see if he was there yet. He was…and I told him to stay put…because I was incoming.
My KDF Marathon Ambassador team!! We all ran really good races that day!
Just as I spotted him, my friend, Katie, spotted me. There were hugs…and photos…and some chatting. Katie and I have been trying to meet up at races for awhile now. It finally happened. YAY!! Now to find a time to have her over for a run and dinner. That also must happen. Maybe sometime during the holidays. I love hosting people for the holidays. What do you think, Katie?
Matthew was in the best outfit for running. A brown cotton shirt and shorts. He also had a white long sleeve shirt under it because, as I mentioned, it was freakin’ cold that morning. His girlfriend, Dawn, made sure she got some pictures before wishing him luck. She and Cathy went to find a good spot at the start line while he and I started to walk down the line to the corrals. The opening to get into them was a good ways down. We were back with some over 2 hour pacers, so we did our best to work our way up a bit more. We were treating this as a fun training run…but we wanted to be somewhere near our normal pace, for sure. We got as far as we could before the National Anthem…and then…the gun to send us off.
Me and Matt (and Creepy Cathy, HAHA) before the start of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon (photo courtesy of Dawn Johnson)
We gave a wave to Dawn & Cathy as we crossed the start line and passed them. We ran down West Main and made the turn onto 2nd Street and then onto E Muhammad Ali Blvd. The first mile clicked over and we were off to the training (races). In fact, Matthew and I just settled in and sort of just started talking. It was great. In fact, we actually paced the first 4 miles rather quickly and then, slowed it down on the hills of Cherokee Park. In doing so, we were able to take on the hills and still feel strong at the top. Of course, once we climbed to the top at Hogan’s Fountain, I told Matthew that we were hitting my favorite speed…DOWNHILL!!
The next three miles were back up in pace as we came out of Cherokee Park and made our way down Cherokee Parkway to Cherokee Road to Baxter Avenue. I got a lot…and I mean a lot of Wonder Woman shout-outs. It made me smile. I’d wave and smile and pump my fist at anyone who shouted out at me. But my favorite, I think, came around Mile 9, when a woman shouted, “IT’S WONDER WOMAN!” She turned to her companion and said, “She was always my favorite superhero.” It’s little things like that, people!!
Matthew and I just after finishing the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon – Louisville, KY
The sun was out and while the air was still cold, the runners were definitely warm at this point. Matthew said he was glad he wasn’t running a marathon, because we were 10 miles in and he was struggling a bit. He took in some fuel and we moved into our final three miles. As we got into the last mile, my legs were ready to move, so I settled into a bit of a faster pace and began to make the dash back down East Main toward the finish line. I could hear a crowd and an announcer, so I knew it was close.
And then I saw Dawn and Cathy…and they were yelling and shouting. And I crossed the finish line, foot twinging, but not hurting bad, hip feeling good, and just…glad to be done. It was a good run. Matthew came across momentarily after me!
Ron Steve and Me in the After Party area after the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon
We received our medal (hey…a training run with bling…LOVE that!), and it made my race to have Chris from the KDF Ambassadors put my medal around my neck. Seriously, that meant so much to me. Then, Matthew and I went to do the photo ops. Afterwards, I spotted a good friend, Ron Steve, who had a brilliant race that day, beating his goal by 2 minutes!! THAT was very good news. I wanted him to have a good race and he certainly did!! We all moved through the chute, getting our water, snacks, bananas, and chocolate milks…and went to the after party setting. Runners got to have like 8 bourbon shots if they wanted…and got soup and pizza as well. Because of my food allergies, I didn’t partake, but Cathy did eat my slice of pizza. It was, apparently, really good pizza. Dawn and Matthew came to sit with us in the sun and I did get up to do a few leg swings to keep the hip loose.
Me being serenaded by the lead singer of The Louisville Crashers…HAHA!
After getting serenaded by the lead singer of The Louisville Crashers…it was time to get going. Lots to do that day…and some brunch and grocery shopping was going to start it off. I said goodbye to Ron, Matthew and Dawn, and went to accomplish the rest of the tasks that needed to be done that day, before heading to the Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular later that night with my friend Amanda!
It was quite a day.
So, my official results of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon is that I finished in 1:44:47, which is a 3 minute improvement from the Indy Women’s Half Marathon. No rain…just cold. And I wasn’t even pushing it. I’ll take that! I was the 249/2508 finishers overall. I was 52/1406 women to finish this race. And in the 45-59 age division, I came in 5/154. Not bad at all. I was very happy with the way I ran this race, given some aches and pains, and the cold weather, which never helps. Yep…definitely a worthwhile training run (race).
Ah, Disney. My dear, sweet, Disney. I wanted to hate you for not deferring my Dopey Challenge entry after I was told by my doctor, I physically could not run. I was angry…because that was a lot of money to be out…despite having doctors notes and all. I wanted to swear you off for life.
But I couldn’t.
Especially since I had to cancel my trip in January due to the injury and I opted, instead, to sign up for your latest challenge…Lumiere’s Challenge…which is a 2-race challenge (not the 4 races you do in January)…a 10K on Sunday and a half marathon on Sunday. I had the date marked on my calendar to sign up…and was so busy at work that I totally missed it…by a day. I figured it would be okay…but it wasn’t. The races were sold out.
I was sad, but then I recalled I wanted to do some more running for charity. So, I chose a cause near and dear to my heart…Alliance For A Healthier Generation. I blogged on this during my fundraising effort…and I totally raised a little bit more than the $1000 required for the charity.
THANK YOU to anyone who donated.
So, this was the weekend it all went down. And it has been a bit of a struggle getting here. Not physically…well…not here to Disney World. Physically, my foot ligament has been twinging every now and again, and sometimes is just painful. Also, just under a week before leaving for Disney, my sinuses suddenly decided that they wanted to just get all cloggy. I wasn’t sneezing or coughing, but I was definitely congested and lost my voice. This also meant my training runs were a mess of stops and breathing issues. Which didn’t make me feel confident heading into this weekend. While some of it has cleared up, I’m not 100%, but I was definitely ready for some running for sure.
Two days…two races…19.3 miles.
Let’s do this thing…
Disney Wine & Dine Inaugural 10K – Orlando, FL
Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine 10K
Race: Disney Wine & Dine 10K
Place: Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Date: November 5, 2016
Time:48:19
It is my long-term goal for the coming year to set a PR in a distance race. Short or long. With my return to running from injury, I’m having a hard time, mentally, dealing with the pitfalls of this hip labrum tear and the other aches and pains that have cropped up. So, after getting back with my running coach, we’re setting a few goals to aim for.
This was not one of the races I was using to hit a new PR. In fact, I was a little under 4 minutes from doing so. But I didn’t care…because this race was so freakin’ fun!
This is the first year that the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend included a 10K distance as well. I love doing inaugural races. I really do. And then I love returning to them. Disney puts on fantastic races, as I have mentioned before. And I do love these challenge race weekends that are popping up…EVERYWHERE now. But Disney…Disney has always done it best.
I actually got to Disney World on Thursday, giving me time to hit up the expo and have an entire day of exploring the parks before needing to worry about running. It also gave me time to recover well and be ready to run. We all know that race mornings come very, very, very, early at Disney World. And while Wine & Dine is usually a night race…this year they changed it to morning. So…I set three alarms on my phone…the first 2 for me and the final one for my entourage (aka: Jenn & Cathy).
Officer Judy Hopps – Costume #1 for the Disney Wine & Dine Race Challenge
I always do Disney races in costume, and I had originally intended to break out Vanellope Von Schweetz again (I was Vanellope when I did Wine & Dine in 2014), but my hip labrum injury had me not running for close to a year. Despite keeping a clean and healthy diet, I’ve put on some weight. So, the costume wasn’t flattering on me…at all. So…in the span of 2 days, my roomie and I managed to piece together an Officer Judy Hopps costume (from Zootopia). And that took a little while for me to get on (as it involved hair extensions and accessories), but I managed to get it on and get out the door in time to catch the shuttle over to the start.
I was supposed to meet up with my friend (and fellow #KDFMarathon Ambassador, Stephanie) at the shuttle bus from our resort (she was also staying at Port Orleans Riverside), but it turns out she turned off her alarm and slept through the start of the race. But, I did manage to meet up with another #KDFMarathon Ambassador, Melissa, at the start line. She and her husband were running the 10K as Disgust and Fear from Inside Out. Their costumes were totally cute! So, it was nice to converse with them before we were heading into the race. Melissa is a Run Disney pro…for real! And her costumes are AMAZING. So when she complimented me on my Hopps costume, that meant a lot to me.
#KDFMarathon Ambassadors collide…Melissa as Disgust (Inside Out) and me as Officer Judy Hopps (Zootopia) at the start of the Disney Wine & Dine Inaugural 10K
We took some photos and then headed toward the start line. She and her husband were in a different corral, so I went to get into mine. It was pretty crowded in Corral A, but I found a spot to sit (even with my pinned on bunny tail) and let myself relax a little before being moved to the start line. I wasn’t there for too long before the group began to move. We passed by the other corrals and I heard a few people calling out to Corral A and wishing us luck. Love that.
Once at the start line, there were some announcements made and the National Anthem was sung. And the wheel chair racers were sent on their way. At this point, I was drawing a deep breath as the corral moved forward and we waited a couple of minutes before our fireworks and start time. And soon, Remy from Ratatouille was sending us off for the start of our run. I was hoping for the best. Continuous running was a mere impossibility leading into this race due to some sinus issues. I still had the lingering effects, so I just hoped I could get through it.
I was less than enthusiastic about the first three (and then some) miles of the 10K race. As with most Disney races, a majority of your time is spent out on the highway. They sort of curb your boredom with character stations and areas with jumbo television screens and fast, fun music. Still, by the first mile, I was already not loving my costume. The long hair extensions were hot…and annoying. I honestly don’t know how women with long hair can run with it down. I was so DONE with it. It just kept getting in my way. I can’t count the number of times I flung a extra-long pigtail back behind my shoulder.
Also…wearing three layers on your top half in humid Florida…not my best idea. HA!! Yep…three (3) layers. My sports bra, my t-shirt (which was originally long sleeve, but I thought better of it), and my other sports bra that I made into Judy Hopps vest. Yep…it got hot pretty fast for me. But, you know, you just keep trekking. I mean, it was 68 degrees with 88% humidity (it is Florida, after all) at the start of the race. I knew the layers were going to be hot when I threw this costume together at the last minute.
Regardless…I felt a little better about life (even if all the race photos are unflattering and tell a different story), once we entered Epcot for the last part of the race. At about 3.5 miles, we take to the park, starting around the World Showcase, cutting down across the boardwalk (and I love the people staying at those resorts along the boardwalk who come out and cheer that early in the morning!), and then cutting back into the World Showcase to round out the run by running past the big Epcot ball. From there, it’s down a stretch into the parking lot and across the finish line. I could tell I was slowing down once I hit Epcot. The hills inside the World Showcase aren’t bad…but my legs had been going on a full day of parks and I was tired. Seriously. I was tired…and a little grumpy. That 2:30 am wakeup call came too early and I was doing my best to not fall asleep in the corral at the start of the race. So, finishing was a relief. I didn’t even care about my time. And after crossing, I saw Cathy and Jenn waiting up in the bleachers, waiving the sign that was made the night before…and cheering.
None of us were really firing on all cylinders. But I do love having my peeps at the end of a race. I walked through the finisher’s chute, getting my 10K medal (this thing was HUGE and HEAVY) and continuing down for the water, snack box, banana, and then the official photos near the end. Cathy and Jenn were going to meet me outside of bag claim…so I went through after that and there they were, heading my way.
Mama Melrose’s did away with their flatbreads (gluten free and otherwise) it seems, so I went with pasta. This was gluten-free penne with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and onion. Perfect pre-half marathon eats, even if it wasn’t my standard pizza.
I gave them sweaty hugs and Cathy helped me change out of my race shoes (I raced in my Altras for the first time!) and into my recovery flip flops. My feet thanked me for that. I had wanted to take some photos with the Disney characters in the finish area, but the lines were super long. I told them we could head back to the resort as long as I got to get pictures after the half marathon. I think they were all relieved. We got on the bus after a few pictures and headed back to Port Orleans – Riverside, where I showered, ate some real food, and got ready to spend the rest of the day out in Hollywood Studios. Yep…at Disney, I don’t rest these legs. I get on rides, chase down characters, and have a blast. It’s Disney. And even though lacking mega caffeine and oomph, I had a brilliant time. Spent the day on my feet, and ended with a traditional (gluten free) pasta dinner at Mama Melrose’s. I even got to indulge in more carby goodness with the gluten free dinner rolls. I only ate one. And I ate only about 2/3 or my huge pasta dish. I was full. And tired. It was back to the resort after that. I climbed into bed, setting three alarms for the following morning…when I would run the half marathon!
Oh…so my official results of the Disney Wine & Dine Inaugural 10K are that I finished in 48:19. Not too bad given the circumstances!! I was 164/9260 finishers overall. I was the 42/6556 female to cross the finish line. And I was 6/1102 runners in my age division. Considering I am still not 100% physically (damn ligament in my foot) and was dealing with the last of a sinus…thing…I’ll take it. It was a fantastic race and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Me after finishing the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon and completing the Lumiere’s Challenge – Disney World – Orlando, FL
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Race: Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Place: Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Date: November 6, 2016
Time:1:44:30
What a difference an extra hour of sleep makes!!
Seriously, THANK YOU TIME CHANGE!! It was a lot easier to get up at 2:30 am when we had to fall back on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I’ll take that extra hour. I could tell we all needed it regardless.
Especially Jenn. Jenn was not feeling the early morning love all day on Saturday as we trudged around Hollywood Studios. I kept offering coffee and/or caffeine in the form of soda, but I think she was determined to just be tired and (a little cranky) ride it out on her own. NOT ME!! I downed a Iced Soy Caramel Apple Latte from Joffrey’s just after riding Tower of Terror on Saturday and that was the kick I needed, honestly, to help with the rest of the day. I don’t play around. If I’m tired…I get my caffeine. Lessons learned along the way. Definitely helped make the day easier to navigate through. And it was another long day…this time at Hollywood Studios…still undergoing renovations.
We did take in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show, which meant we were sitting for awhile. So, I think she liked that part. Be that as it may, she was not loving much of life all day Sunday, and after hearing, “I’m so tired I could cry” more than once, I told her that it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if she stayed at the resort on half marathon morning and slept. In fact, I’d prefer it so that we could avoid another adventure like Saturday.
She ignored all three alarms, and slept through my hurried dash back into the room after forgetting my sunglasses (sunrise was now earlier…I didn’t have time for the sunscreen I didn’t put on thinking it would be like the day before and still be dark when I finished). The one other race weekend she came to Disney with us, I was doing Wine & Dine in 2014…and it was still a night race. Note to self: Jenn doesn’t handle Disney wake-up race times well. LOL!! Hey…those schedules on Disney weekends are brutal…I admit it. But I’m sort of used to the early mornings, and the on-the-go days, to the semi-late. And I’m pretty much a Disney race veteran. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone for sure. I think Saturday was the breaking point for Jenn. And that’s fine. The extra sleep and down time meant that she was ready to go at Epcot that afternoon. So, YAY! And that was a long day, as we had the after party that night as well. So, this was probably the best option for her…so I’m glad she did what was best for her.
Now, Cathy and I were up at the ass-crack of dawn and out the door to the shuttle to take us to the ESPN Wide World of Sports where the race was to start. For the half marathon, I was running as the Disney Princess that my niece, Kaytlynn, requested this time around…Ariel. Yep…I was The Little Mermaid. Simple costume (and much cooler too, although this race morning was a bit cooler (64 degrees) and windy…but the humidity was higher…pretty much at 100%. UGH. That being said, I had a throw-away shirt on over my purple sports bra and it helped keep me warm up until I shed it for the #KDFMarathon Ambassador photo before the start of the race. Anyway, the big shuttle left the resort pick-up spot just as we were getting to the front of the line…so, when the next bus showed up, it was WAY smaller. I said, “And they sent us the short bus!” It made everyone laugh. That being said, we boarded, settled, and let the bus carry us to the start of Sunday’s adventure.
Me, Richie, Stephanie, and Melissa…representing the #KDFMarathon Race Ambassadors at Disney!!
The plan was for all of the #KDFMarathon Race Ambassadors (Stephanie, Richie, Melissa and me) to meet up at Bag Check before the race. This time, all four (4) of us made it. And we all looked amazing in our cute outfits. We got our pictures (which meant I ditched the shirt and then just never got it back) together and chatted a bit about the 10K, upcoming races, and just other stuff…that general stuff. Richie and I were in Corral A together so, after we all broke to get to our corrals, he and I stuck together and made our way into ours. I stood with him until the wheel chair racers kicked off. Then I gave him a hug and said I was going to move up and attempt to meet the goal that my coach had set for me for this race.
That goal…run it in 1:45:00.
As I had run (not raced) the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon two weeks prior to this (that race blog is incoming, life has been a busy, frantic, hectic mess) in less than this time (but barely), I figured this was an acceptable goal and one that I could accomplish.
But it wasn’t a walk in the (Disney) park either.
Once again, we had the fanfare of fireworks for Corral A to start off to. We also had Olympian Jenny Simpson running with the first corral. She was using this as an easy training run, you know…only running 6:15 min miles and all. She came in second, overall, btw…after a back and forth to the finish with the eventual winner. Her husband, Jason Simpson, won the Wine & Dine Half Marathon and set a new course record. So, that’s kind of cool to run in the footsteps of Simpson running greatness.
It was also in this first mile that I noticed a familiar running stride ahead of me. I pushed a little to catch up and was able to say “HI” to another Louisville runner, Lynn Riedling. That was about all I got to say before she pulled ahead and then was gone in the darkness. Probably about halfway through the first mile we heard the fireworks go off to send off Corral B…and one of the guys just ahead of me goes, “Run faster…they’re coming for us!”
Once again, this Disney race was mostly highway miles. But they did make a point to have character stops and some scenic stops along the way. There were also the music and television monitor stations throughout the course, to sort of shake up the monotony. The first three miles of this race…I felt like I ran well. I was comfortable in the moist air, as my layers today consisted of a purple sports bra and a green sparkle skirt. MUCH better in the Orlando humidity.
My first noticeable pace slow-down came between Mile 4 and Mile 5. Surprisingly, or maybe not, this was while I was inside Animal Kingdom (THANK GOD, they let us run completely through a park, because when the course maps were first released, it looked like we were running to the middle of nowhere and coming back). The course did narrow in some areas, and I do get distracted by the photo stops that are set up with characters. But I pressed on through to the 10K mark, my pace picking back up. I told myself that I would take in nutrition at the 10K line, and I did, downing a Hammer Gel (giving these a try…despite the rule to never try something new on race day). This and my Nuun I was hauling in one of my bottles on my fuel belt both had caffeine, which I hoped would wake me up when I was feeling tired and ready to stop.
I completed the Lumiere’s Challenge for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend…I was NOT missing my chance to take a photo with Lumiere at the end.
It worked its magic. I managed to pick the pace up a little again for Mile 7 through Mile 11. These were all on the highway, and despite being Florida, we actually had a few hills to navigate over. Two of them came in a row. My favorite one though had to be the first hill we hit. Disney stationed a character out there…one of the Green Army Men from Toy Story. He was calling out to runners to push hard up the hill. If anyone slowed down they would have to do pushups. He noticed one runner just ahead of me.
“You…you in the blue shorts…get over here. Give me one pushup.” To my surprise, the runner did just that. And then the army man said, “Now…run fast and make up the 3 seconds you just wasted.”
I LOVE DISNEY!
Mile 12 had us entering the Epcot area. Like most of the races at this point, we just sort of duck into Epcot. It isn’t like the 10K where we get to run around the World Showcase and see it all. At this point, I spotted one of those inflatable T-Rex Costumes and the wearer was holding a sign that said, “Free Hugs.” LOVE IT. I was in my last mile…and really cutting it close on time. I hated that I felt like I ran this race better and was still coming in so close to what I did Urban Bourbon in without even trying. Returning from injury is frustrating at times…but you just end up being thankful for the gift of running that day in the end. I did the weird jog around the Food & Wine Festival centerpiece and headed up past the Epcot ball. And with that said, I made the turn and heard the gospel choir that is always at Mile 13 (or 26 if it’s the full marathon) at the Disney races. This is always uplifting…and I picked up my pace. I rounded a corner…got nailed by all the Disney photographers taking pictures of the runners coming toward the finish…and just pushed with every ounce of strength I had left in my hip and (sore) foot…and crossed that finish line…before it hit 1:45:00.
Goal…achieved.
I saw Cathy up in the stands cheering and gave a wave as I made my way down the finisher’s chute. Here I received my medal for the half marathon, then proceeded on to get water, my snack box, and eventually go through the tent to get my medal for completing the 10K and the Half Marathon. This was “Lumiere’s Challenge”. As I was about to grab my water bottle, I hear my name being called over the fence. It was Cathy, sticking her camera over to get a photo. She said, “Want to know your time?” I said I did. And she said…”You did 1:44:30…BOOM!” She even texted it to my coach for me. HAHA! The volunteers at the table found this entire conversation amusing being as it was done over a covered fence. I got to the Challenge Medal tent, had them look up my name, and they sent me through to receive the medal. Afterwards, I exited through Bag Check and met up with Cathy on the other side. Sweaty hugs were given, and my race shoes (today I was in my Brooks), were changed out for the flip flops again. I was lingering a little, hoping to catch Richie again as he came through, but Cathy noticed that the lines of the characters were super short, and didn’t want me to miss the opportunity to get photos with them, since I passed it up due to lines on Saturday. I was able to get photos (rather quickly) with Lumiere and with Remy (from Ratatouille). And after that…I went back to see if I could catch Richie, but he had already finished and left for Port Orleans French Quarter. I had just missed him.
We arrived back at Port Orleans Riverside and trekked back to the manor house we were staying in. Jenn was up, and she was rested. So this was good. I went to shower, change, and eat some real food before we got our stuff together and headed out to Epcot for the day. We finished up around 4-ish with everything and decided to go back to the resort for a little while to unwind before returning to check in and then enjoy the After Party. This also meant that everyone else was kicked out of Epcot and we got to stay and eat at all the countries, drink at all the countries, and ride any of the rides that were open. This was, in fact, how we got on the new Soarin’. We had fast passed the Frozen Ever After ride.
Michelle just FOUND ME (for the second time in a row) in all the chaos at Epcot. She’s awesome!!
I did manage to meet up with Stephanie and Richie while walking the showcase that night. I didn’t ever find Melissa. Ironically, my friend Michelle, for the second time in a row, managed to find me in the huge crowd of people at the After Party. We took a picture to commemorate her awesome GPS honing skills. HAHA!
I was able to enjoy a few stops at the After Party as well. I started my night off with Dole Whip…then went on to Brazil where I devoured two large rolls of Pão de Queijo, and then finished off the night with a Dark Chocolate Red Wine Truffle.
It was close to 1 am when we got back to our room at the resort. And we had to get up early (but not race morning early) for a character breakfast the next morning. BUT…that involved gluten-free Mickey waffles…so I was okay with this.
Disney Food & Wine Festival After Party Eats!! All gluten free. All super delicious.
Oh…and I guess I should give you the official race results. The official race results of the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon are that I finished in 1:44:30. So, yay…I managed to hit my coach’s goal time with 30 seconds to spare. Whew. I was 208/12651 finishers overall. I was 56/8749 women to cross the finish line. And, I was 11/1513 in my age division. Not too bad.
Now…if I can get this whole endurance with speed (and no pains or issues breathing) thing down, I might be well on my way to a way better race year next year. But this was Half Marathon #23…and the final one for the year. No better way to finish it up than at Disney!
I will say…I still miss running this race at night. But it wasn’t a bad way to start a Sunday off either.
OH…and before I forget…a big THANK YOU to all of you who donated funds to the charity I was raising money for by doing this race. Alliance For A Healthier Generation is a fantastic charity doing great things for the future of our country and the children that are to be our future. I went slightly over my fundraising goal, never a bad thing…and I have many of you to thank for that. So…THANK YOU…from the bottom of my heart!
I have never been shy about my love of the products that Schar Gluten Free puts out on the market. I have never had a complaint about any version of their gluten free take on a bread, cookie, candy, cracker, etc. But one of my most favorite things that have introduced has to be their Gluten Free Honeygrams.
Gluten free graham crackers, my friends.
SO GOOD!
Well, with the weather cooling down…bon fires and s’mores are in season!! And thanks to these amazing Honeygrams, the gluten-free community will never lack for the perfect vehicle for marshmallows and chocolate bars.
Are you drooling yet?
I was sent a fantastic Smores kit from Schar and got to work on a recipe. Immediately, I knew I wanted to do something that I have great passion for…
Yep.
Breakfast. And yes…SCONES!! Although bagels were my second choice. I might do that in the very near future!
Below is the recipe…but before you check that out, be sure you head over to http://www.smoreschar.com/ for a free sample pack and a coupon for $1.00 off!
And then come back and check out my recipe for these S’mores Scones, made with the help of Schar’s Honeygrams!
Recipe: Gluten Free S’mores Scones
Ingredients:
For the Scones
1 cup gluten free bread mix (I used Mina’s Purely Divine)
1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (I used Cup4Cup)
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 6 Schar Honeygram crackers put through a food processor or blender)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used So Delicious)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon milk (I used Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk)
1/2 cup chocolate chunks/chocolate chips
2/3 cup mini marshmallows
For the Glazes
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chocolate bars
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Cut in butter with pastry blender, two forks, or your hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add in yogurt, egg, vanilla, and milk. Mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks and marshmallows.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead about 5-6 times until dough just comes together. Shape dough into an eight inch circle. Cut into 8 pieces and place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until just starting to turn light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While scones are cooling, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and salt. Melt butter and water together over medium low heat. Add in marshmallows and stir until melted. Add to sugar mixture and whisk until combined and smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones.
Melt chocolate according to package instructions. Drizzle over scones. Allow to cool and harden before serving.
Serve.
Devour.
~*~*~
These are fantastic. And they do bring that entire Smores experience and taste to your breakfast table. Scones are fluffy and crumbly and these have an extra benefit of a sweet twist as well.
Remember to head over to Schar and get your sample pack of Honeygrams. Trust me…no other gluten-free graham crackers taste like these. Even better than the real thing!
Ever feel like you just don’t have enough hours in the day? Because I thought that after I got through The Kauai Marathon and home from the rest of the vacation in Hawaii and San Francisco. When in fact…I’m pretty much spending every day like this…
Complete calm…and then panic. Yep. That pretty much sums it up. I have promised a few blogs on products and places, but I just haven’t had the opportunity to really sit down and give the blog the attention that it deserves.
Let’s start with training these days…
I’m really not training for anything as of late. I’m focusing a lot on my form and just making myself a better runner overall. Slowing down is not easy for me, but I’m really, really, really trying. That being said…speed work is back on the training plan. And I did the same training run 2 weeks in a row, and failed to hit the pace my running coach assigned the first week…but nailed it this past Tuesday morning. That was a good feeling.
I’m continuing with my spin classes…because it’s fantastic cross-training. Eventually, I’d love to get up the nerve to clip back into my road bike and give that a go. I’m just still working on getting over my vehicle-induced fall back in the summer. So, for now…it’s a whole lot of this:
And, I’ve finally gotten around to incorporating the strength training into my weekly gym routine. It’s only been…almost a year…since my physical therapist insisted I start doing this. So…yeah…weights are slowly working themselves into my routine. It’s not easy, because strength training doesn’t excite me. I’m a cardio girl…and weights tend to not even make me crack a sweat, even while lifting heavy. So…there is that…
AND…to top all of this off…my running has been pretty much shit since running the Kauai Marathon. Hawaii sort of…killed me. The hip has stopped hurting, but the ligament in my foot is still troubling me. And…a friend of mine noted the limp-run I was doing back when I got my stress fracture last year was back. Note that is why I am focusing more on form rather than speed (except on speed work days). But, I find that while I physically feel okay (aside from the extra weight I wish I wasn’t carrying around right now…but it just won’t go away!) and capable, mentally I am struggling. I find myself stopping more…crying more…and just having to talk myself through each run. This is where I really miss running with people. It helps me. It does. It’s a big, big work in progress for sure. I know this all takes time but…I’m so tired of it.
And…work has pretty much been insane since I got back from my trip. Non-stop. There are days I don’t get to take a full break because I have so much to do. And there are days that work has had to come home…or that I’ve had to put in overtime just to make sure things that needed to get done. Honestly, I would love to have a moment to just have some breathing space. You know…where you can just sit for a moment and do something non-work related at work…
It’s good for the soul.
But these days, I feel like my workload should be decreasing, but it’s getting bigger. I’m not really complaining. The job security is great, but I feel that so much of my day is spent doing this…
…non-stop…at the office…sometimes at home…
…while certain other person(s) are basically spending their day like this:
All that being said…I’m going to make a point to commit a bit more to this blog. Because I love writing and I love writing here. And I love all of you who read this and tune in…whether it’s a rant, a post on running, a recipe, a product, a restaurant…you guys are loyal and I love you.
For now, I do have a free evening free of…stressful stuff…so I’m off to watch Hell’s Kitchen!!
Because Gordon Ramsay makes everything better. For realsies!!
I know…I’ve been neglecting the blog…especially product reviews as of late. Life has been a bit crazy. But with my first marathon back from injury now in the books (even though it did not go well at all)…I feel like things are settling back down and I can get right back on track.
YAY!!
So…let me start off by reminding you that I am a Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini Marathon Race Ambassador!!! It’s true!
What is it they say? Pictures or it didn’t happen? Well…it happened:
What a great team to be working with!! Seriously…I met them at the big kick-off meeting last week and, seriously, we all bring something different and unique to the group. And I love all of them already. And I’ve only just met most of them.
So…now to the entire purpose of this post.
Do you know how amazing the NUMBER FIVE (5) is? Well…let me tell you a few ways…
1. Cinco de Mayo
Runners LOVE to eat and drink, am I right? And while these days we have important things like…Taco Tuesday…and the like, the ultimate Mexican-themed holiday has to go to Cinco de Mayo. While this is not even a federal holiday in Mexico, this doesn’t stop me (and the rest of the USA) from breaking out the chips, salsa, guacamole, tequila, sombreros, etc…and celebrating the 5th day of the 5th month. Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s Independence day…but the day actually commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. There you have it. The more you know.
Now, pass me the guacamole!
2. The Five Second Rule
HA!! We’ve all done it. Eating a tasty treat and then…WHOOPS…you drop it and it hits the floor. This is the little unwritten rule that says…hey…that delicious food item is still safe to eat. I mean…we’d hate to let it go to waste, right?
3. High Fives
We, collectively, as runners…LOVE a good high five. I mean, you’re running the later miles of a distance race and there is a child/adult/spouse/friend/complete stranger with that infamous sign…
Whether it’s up high, down low…ooops…too slow (see what I did there?), there is nothing more uplifting than a mid-race high five. For real!! This little hand clap makes victories sweeter, the low times a bit more tolerable, and…they sure do make you think that you are getting that power up promised, as you run your way through the streets, when you slap your hand together with a stranger.
4. The ever-popular 5K race
It is the perfect distance for some…and torture for others. But if you are looking to get better, faster, stronger…the 5K race is the race for you. And, in addition, you aren’t out for hours on end on a weekend. Anywhere between 15-45 minutes…and BOOM…you’re done!! Is it any wonder the 5K race is where most runners start? It’s a warm-up…it’s a challenge…it it easy…it hurts…it is hard. It’s all these things…and that’s why we love to hate and continue to run…those 5K races.
5. $5 OFF #KDFMARATHON RACE REGISTRATION
As I mentioned above, I am one of the Race Ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini Marathon! And this is a great opportunity to get a discount on your race registration, whether you choose to go 13.1 miles (Mini Marathon) or 26.2 (Marathon). Here’s the deal…all you need to do is head over to the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini Marathon Registration Page and click on the button to begin your registration. Enter the following code between September 15 – September 29, 2016 and recieve $5 OFF your registration:
AMB5OFF1
And, remember, when you see the question:
Were you referred by a race ambassador?
Choose my name – Karen Brady!!
See…the number 5 is a wonderful thing!! Now, stop procrastinating and hesitating and get registering. Come seek out a finish line with us!!
Me heading into the finishing line of the Indy Women’s Half Marathon (completely soaked) – Indianapolis, IN
Race: Indy Women’s Half Marathon
Place: Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: September 17, 2016
Time: 1:47:02
Okay…I admit it…running a half marathon only 2 weeks after dying in a brutal (both with hills (aka: mountains), heat and humidity) in Hawaii…and on the week you are back from a 10 day vacation where you crossed ALL THE TIME ZONES at some point…well…it definitely wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve made.
But…you know…this one was for me. Last year, my 35th birthday (you know…when you move up an age division) fell on a Saturday and there were so many races running that day…but I was in a boot…and not running. So this year, I felt like I needed something for me. Something that I could do to celebrate. And I knew when I signed up for it that it wouldn’t be a PR due to the marathon I was running 2 weeks prior…but I still wanted to do this one.
So, at the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon…I signed up (and got a free wineglass for doing so!)…and…Cathy was kind enough to kick in the additional $25 for the VIP status for the race. So…there was that.
I was seriously hurting after the full marathon in Hawaii. The hip and the foot were both problems, and despite taking a whole week off before even starting up any sort of activity…my body was not feeling the love. Since I had this half marathon, though, I did go out for a couple of slow, steady, easy, shorter runs in the early mornings this past week. Nothing over 6 miles…and it was a slow build and then a cut back. And I said…that would work. Half marathon…here we come!
And so, Friday rolled around. And after a highly stressful day at the office where I was just all over the place trying to get stuff done, only to have my baskets overflowing every time I started to clear them out…I was trying to stay calm and relaxed. But it wasn’t happening. My roomie and I cleared it with the boss to leave early, so when 3 p.m. rolled around, we were heading out the door to make the 2 hour drive up to Indianapolis. And, thankfully, the traffic gods were with us. Not too many slowdowns, so, that was nice. That takes a bit of the stress off.
We were staying at the host hotel, The Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre, so it was a matter of getting to the door for valet parking (stress-free parking, yep, we’ll pay for that!) and getting checked in. This would normally be a super-easy task, except…some jackass pulled in sideways ahead of us, blocking the lane and any parking area behind him, and sent his wife in to check in while he piddled around with luggage and ordered the valet around a bit…and then said he was going to self-park not valet…and then decided (I guess) that his wife couldn’t check-in without his help so he LEFT HIS CAR like that and totally jacked up that lane of traffic and any incoming traffic (it was the host hotel, there was a ton of incoming traffic to the hotel). He didn’t care. And then…he took his time getting back to his car and in his car to go and pull out of that spot so we could pull up and in and let the flow of traffic start again. BOO!! People suck.
Anyway, we were actually quick to park and grab our bags and get the valet ticket. I headed inside to get checked in. Which, didn’t take too long at all. The people in front of me simply had questions. I loved that the Sheraton front desk people were sporting the bright, fluorescent pink Indy Women’s Half Marathon & 5K t-shirts. I think all host hotels should do this. It really gets you excited.
The view from my room at The Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre
The expo was just downstairs, but I needed to drop my bags first. So, up to room 1425 we went…got inside, dropped our stuff…and had to check the view. For the first time in FOREVER…room with a freakin’ view. LOVED it. Beautiful. Especially with the daylight sort of…easing out. So, that was good.
So, now it was expo time. YAY expo. The expo for the Indy Women’s Half Marathon is bigger than it used to be, but still a small event. I went to get my packet and t-shirt first. That part was easy. I had been e-mailed my bib number (1398) earlier that week…so I went up to the table and gave the nice lady (with a nice accent) my number and…boom…easy. Fantastic race bag with gorgeous race shirt handed over to me. And now…time to explore.
Back of the official merchandise t-shirt…my name is on there twice. HA! Twinning with myself. If only they had this in my size (or close to my size)…
Like I said, there wasn’t too much going on here, but I got a foot massage ball and ended up purchasing a foam roller (which I am now keeping in the car, because I forget to bring mine all the time). So that happened for $25…but definitely worth it in the end. I stopped by the BondiBand table (of course…since I am a #BondiBandAmbassador) and purchased one…yes…just one…new band. I didn’t wear it during the race though. I did wear a BondiBand, but you couldn’t tell which one…because…it was going to rain…and I had a visor to wear. As we were leaving, we spotted the official merchandise, but nothing was still there in the smaller sizes and an XL would swim on me…but I did find my name (twice!) on the back of the shirt. So…that was awesome. If the shirt had been any smaller, I might have bought it. But…no bueno. After that, we trekked back up to the room to drop stuff off, adjusted the dinner reservations to an early time slot and headed down toward the Monument Circle to walk over to the restaurant.
I had found Napolese, an Artisan Pizzeria in downtown Indianapolis, via Find Me Gluten Free. They had gluten free foccacia bread and gluten free pizzas. And, as I can’t do dairy, they have a “freestyle” option, where you can select 3 toppings…so that is what we did. Our waiter, was amazing. He realized that the foccacia bread came with goat cheese on it, and had the chef’s remake it without the cheese so I could have it. And the pizza…wow. It was a standard cracker crust, but that oven…that oven crisped up the crust so that you could hold it up (and mine was topped with marinara, mushrooms, summer squash, and roasted peppers)…and it wasn’t soggy or falling apart. So, total WIN! Dinner was devoured (not all the foccacia…Cathy took that to have as breakfast)…and we strolled over to Rocket Fizz for some gluten-free candy as a dessert. I was craving sorbet, but there wasn’t anything close enough that was both dairy-free and gluten-free…so…dark chocolate it was. After that…we strolled through the Oktoberfest celebrations on Monument Circle…got back to the room…and relaxed by watching Big Bang Theory before turning in just after 9:30 p.m. One last check of the weather…rain. All the rain. Possible thunderstorms. I tell you…the Indy Women’s Half Marathon just can’t catch a break on the weather.
Gluten Free Foccacia Bread from Napolese in Indianapolis, IN
Gluten Free Freestyle Pizza (topped with marinara, summer squash, roasted peppers and mushrooms) from Napolese in Indianapolis, IN
Woke up at 4:00 a.m. to start my pre-race rituals. I climbed back into bed for another 45 minutes before alarm #2 went off. This was my “GET UP” alarm…so, I shut it off, climbed out of bed…for the second time…but this time to stay…and went over to the window. It had stormed earlier in the morning, but it wasn’t currently raining. It was wet out there though. Very wet. I staggered in the dark to the bathroom to get changed into my race gear and put some sunscreen on (guaranteeing that it would rain, HA!) I put my hair up in my signature pigtails, then went out to the room and, in the dark, did all my PT stretches. I have been trying to be good about working these in. If it hadn’t been raining prior to the race, all the dynamic warmup stuff would have happened too…but…eh…I wasn’t going to get wet if I didn’t have to. Once 6:00 a.m. rolled around, I turned on the light and flopped on the bed with my gluten-free cereal and made Cathy get up from her bed and start getting ready. She went to retrieve the foccacia, which needed to be reheated as it just got hard overnight…but…eh…she made it work. As she was getting ready, I was busy checking weather on the news and on my phone. Rain was coming. Rain was definitely coming. Possible thunderstorms. But the Facebook page for the Indy Women’s said it was still a-go…so…I got her to pin me up…I threw on my visor…put my sunglasses on my visor (in case)…also guaranteeing we’d get poured on…and filled up my fuel belt with my Hammer Nutrition and some Essentia Water. Then, we were out the door and heading down to the lobby to stand around until we had to start the race. It was time for me to eat my pre-race banana…it was a little under-ripe still, but I ate it. So, as I watched people dart in from the light sprinkle from being dropped off…and then we meandered down toward the Starbucks, as the other set of doors were down there. Start line…BOOM…right outside. I love staying at the host hotel. The rain had tapered off at this point…so Cathy and I ventured out. We took a picture of me in front of the starting line and as we were walking away, we were asked by two ladies who were doing the 5K if we had any extra safety pins. Cathy travels with a case of safety pins…so we hooked them up. Cathy even pinned one of them up. Good deed of the morning…done.
Goofiness in front of the start line at the Indy Women’s Half Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
It was nearing start time, so I shed the jacket I had thrown on in case there was rain before the start and handed it off to Cathy. Then, after she told me to have fun (this race was all a finish line not a finish time!) and went to get a spot for the start of the race, I wandered around the circle looking for my friend Katie…but never found her. They were telling people to get into the start corrals, so I lined up between the 1:50 and 2:00 pacers…because I figured I could at least pull that off with the hip…the foot…the marathon fatigue…and travel fatigue…at least…I hoped. They had someone come out to sing the National Anthem…and all the runners started turning circles looking for a flag. We finally found one on a building. But it was like…everyone all at once started to turn circles. It brought about a good laugh from the participants.
Me running toward Mile 1 in the Indy Women’s Half Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
At 7:30 am…SHARP…they sent off the wheelchair racers. This was the first year that the Indy Women’s Half Marathon had a wheelchair division. These racers are inspiring. Seriously. They always amaze me. A moment or so later…the corrals were moved up and we helped count down from 10 to start the race. And…we were off! So, for the first 2+ miles, the 5K runners were with us. Cathy came down and saw me just before Mile 1 ticked off, which was awesome. The first 2 miles had us rounding parts of downtown, running a bit of Monument Circle…heading out into the city and turning onto a road. Before the turn…about Mile 2…I saw the leader of the 5K coming the other way…and she had no one behind her. In fact, Cathy said she finished a good 2 minutes before the second finisher came in. FAST! So…there was a sign that had the 5K runners turn right down a road while the half marathon runners continued on. There was a light, misting rain at this point…but that was going to be short lived.
Miles 3-5 were a bit uneventful. There wasn’t anyone out to cheer, save for the volunteers and this random guy who had a wife/girlfriend/friends running so he was there around Mile 4-ish and was sending out some encouragement. So, that was nice. As I neared Mile 6, I saw the leader of the half marathon coming the other way. And as soon as she passed…the skies opened up. HELLO RAIN!! It was a freakin’ downpour. I mean…deluge. Seriously…hard rain. Just hard rain. I was nearing the halfway point here and I knew my friend Julia was working that water stop. We did get a brief break from the rain (but not the horrible roads) as we ran under an overpass. Back out into the rain and I was prepared to make the turn. Right on the other side of the hairpin turn was the water stop. I immediately spotted Julia and gave her a wave and a shout-out. She did the same to me.
Now…running in the rain is not only badass, but quite fun. BUT…that being said…I am so overly cautious when I run in the rain. I slow down my pace, because road surfaces are now wet and slick. And that’s exactly what happened here. I bitch a lot about running in the rain because it ruins your shoes. I mean…kills shoes. And I had just got these shoes. UGH. And there was no avoiding the standing water and puddle-filled pot holes and cracks in the Indianapolis pavement. So, the shoes were soaked…sometimes I was plodding through some deceivingly deep standing water…and doing my best to not aggravate an already unhappy hip (the hip HATES weather) and twingy foot (which my podiatrist thankfully taped for me 2 days before the race…but the amount of water I was running through meant…it was coming off!). As I said, I knew this wasn’t going to be a fast race for me…so I just took it one step at a time…one mile at a time. Just after Mile 7, we branched off onto a sidewalk thingy to run down White River Parkway…and at some point in this we actually had to hop down off the sidewalk and back down onto the road…but…you do what you gotta do. This is where we continued the lull in any support. I think the rain kept people in…but not sure how much support would have been out there even without the rain. The rain lightened up at one point, but not for long…it was back with a vengeance.
Just before Mile 11, there was a water stop…and some of the quietest volunteers I had ever seen. At this point, with no crowd support through a bulk of this race, some uplifting cheers and excitement was needed. But, I guess they weren’t ecstatic about standing out in the pouring rain. Because they didn’t even shout about the water or Gatorade…just sort of…mentioned it as you neared them. One guy might have said…”Good job.” But…let’s get loud, people!
After that, we made the turn onto Michigan Road, which is familiar from the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon…and Mile 12 ticked off. Rain…so much rain…my shoes were heavy and soaked through…my pigtails were pretty much plastered to my neck. And as I headed into the last mile…the rain started to lighten up again. Nice. I passed a couple of people on the way to the finish…not really able to pick up the pace. This hip…this damn freakin’ (I would use another word…but…I’m being polite) hip wasn’t loving the damp weather at all. Thank God it wasn’t also cold. Soon, the crowd ahead near the finish could be heard and that’s where I got excited again. Time to bring it in!! So, I smiled…pushed as much as I could…passed Cathy and a stranger shouting my name…HA!…and crossed the finish line. So happy to be done. The rain was no longer pouring…but more of a drizzle. I received my medal, some water, a bag of snacks and stuff, and a rose. At the end of the chute, Cathy came down to give me a wet hug and congratulate me. We were both soaked. Kudos to the people who waited at the finish line for their friends and family to finish.
Finisher Photo at the Indy Women’s Half Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
We made our way over to the backdrop to take an official finish photo (no photographer was stationed there)…and then went into the recovery area. As I was a VIP…I thought I would skip the massage table and head into the area. Signs about how to get inside were confusing, but we finally figured it out. Family was not allowed into the VIP area, but could be in the beer garden. I stepped inside…hoping for amazing things…and realized that this was SO NOT worth the extra $25. The fruit they had out was oranges and apples (whereas in years before it was melon, berries, and the like). They had flavored sparkling water in cans. And then donuts (which I couldn’t eat)…as well as beer and mimosas (not ready to drink that close to a race finish). So, I grabbed a can of the sparkling water and an orange…and that was that. No separate massage area…nothing really worth that extra $25. I was really, really disappointed. I thought there would be more to it. And, maybe if the weather had been better…it might have been…but I felt cheated out of money for what was there. So…I highly recommend skipping the VIP upgrade…unless they really ramp it up and make it worth your while next time.
Heading into the very underwhelming VIP section of the Indy Women’s Half Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
Anyway…this was my 21st Half Marathon…and my official birthday race (2 days early)…so I was happy to be able to do it. I enjoyed the rain…but not the wet pavement. And I just took my time and ran my own race, listening to my body as it is still in recovery mode.
So, my official results of the Indy Women’s Half Marathon is that I finished in 1:47:02, which is a slower half marathon for me, but I am proud of finishing with that time. I have put my body through a lot in recent weeks, and this was a good run to just go and do and focus on a finish line, not a finish time. This race also ran long, my Garmin having it at 13. 23 miles…but I’d rather have a course run long than short, honestly. In fact, around Mile 4, a lot of the runners I was with commented that the mile markers were a bit off. Not sure if the markers were off or that no one was running the tangents as we were all not wanting to go into deep puddles on the side of the road. The world may never know. Anyway…I was 44/946 finishers overall. And I was 10/175 people in the 35-39 division! Not too shabby. I’ll take it!!
Honestly, it felt so good to climb into a hot shower afterwards…and I had to wring the hell out of my running shorts and BondiBand. Craziness. Cathy brought me up some coffee from Starbucks, which I drank while organizing some items to pack up and also checking my phone for updates on the Air Force Marathon (which was delayed due to weather)…as my running partner, Matt, was doing that one. After I changed, we packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel…and went to get a crazy-good gluten-free and vegan (in my case) lunch at Hops & Fire in Greenwood. Then round #2 of coffee at Strange Brew (a required stop when I’m in the Indianapolis area). I even picked up some local gluten-free granola that they had on sale there. YAY!
Every woman receives a finisher’s medal and a rose at the finish line of the Indy Women’s Half Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
I believe, with the exception of the first year that the Indy Women’s Half Marathon & 5K ran (I did the 5K that year)…the weather for this race has been horrible. Every. Single. Time. At least this year the race went off…despite the torrential rainfalls. So, we were already ahead of last year. The year I did the half marathon in this race for the first time…a hurricane was rolling in and humidity was at 90%…so the entire race was like breathing through a wet towel…and no one felt good at the end. So…I hope a few years of perfect weather are headed this way. I love this race. There is something so amazing about a race that only women are doing. We all lift each other up. There were so many runners who would shout out support to the others…it was awesome. So, I do recommend this race…just pray for good weather. And maybe…just maybe…Indianapolis will repave some of those roads. Wow. Horrible roads.
All that being said, I intend to come back to this one again. Maybe with a body that loves me more and weather that is a little less…wet. We shall see. Ladies…keep this one on your radar for sure! We are all badass, rockstar runners at this one.
Me after finishing the Kauai Marathon – Kauai – Poipu, HI
Race: Kauai Marathon
Place: Poipu, HI (Island of Kauai)
Date: September 4, 2016
Time: 4:52:18
“That’s what a comeback is. You have a starting point and you build strength and momentum from there. Stay the course…remain patient. Focus on small steps that are constantly forward.”
~Kara Goucher
Comebacks are hard.
Comebacks are very hard. And I have been building up to this one for a long, long time now. A very long time. Over a year kind of time. SO…much time. Sometimes…it has gone very well. Sometimes…it has gone all sorts of wrong. The winter months were painful. Rainy days are painful. Humidity has been soul-crushing and run-ruining. And, believe it or not, I discovered trying to stay safe during speed work by running on a treadmill…wasn’t so safe and actually ended up causing a bit of damage to my foot…right before this marathon.
You want to talk about a freak-out, panic-inducing, last few days before taking off for Hawaii. All sorts of visions of last year’s Hawaiian adventure with Bootsie…my boot I was put in for 8 weeks thanks to a stress fracture in my leg…that all started flashing through my mind. You want to talk about some physical and mental breakdowns…the whole build-up to this race has been one big emotional roller coaster. One I really, really needed to get off…and the sooner the better.
Thankfully, I have a fantastic podiatrist…and very understanding and encouraging friends in my life.
And despite all of the anxiety and problems…I made it. First to San Francisco. Then…to Hawaii. And Hurricane Lester took a turn back out to sea.
The race was on.
The pressure was on.
And I can’t even count how many times I had minor to major anxiety attacks in the days (despite being in Hawaii!) leading up to the race.
Like I said…comebacks are hard.
Sunset on Waikiki Beach, O’ahu, Honolulu, Hawaii
My adventure started, as it always does, with good friends and good support (non sports bra division). For the first few days I was in Hawaii, my friends and I were exploring O’ahu. We were stationed out of Honolulu, but we doing some serious exploring and shopping there. From the Dole Plantation to Waikiki Beach…we pretty much did it all. Oh, and we ate amazing food. I had pineapple, pretty much, at every meal. Fresh cut, amazing, pineapple. One from a roadside stand where a woman sliced it up while I waited. I was having a blast. We were on O’ahu until Saturday morning, when we caught an early flight over to Kauai.
Upon landing, we literally hit the ground running. After getting our luggage and our rental car, we piled in and began our adventure on Kauai. We had a few things to do before hitting up the expo. This involved coffee at my favorite coffee spot on Kauai (Ha Coffee…where I ate half a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie and downed my favorite of their specialty signature drinks…The Bee Sting. SO good. Then we went to find Sweet Marie’s…a dedicated gluten free bakery because…we needed a gluten free cake of some sort to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday that night. The set-up was strange, and the fact that she is open only 2 days of the week (Saturday & Sunday) made this challenging…but we finally figured it all out and, after she was a little rude and snippy to us…we picked up one of her Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel Topping. She got a little huffy at us for paying with cash (who does that??!!)…but we got our cake (it was about the size of a large muffin) and left to go check out the race expo.
Me at Bart Yasso at the Kauai Marathon Race Expo
Getting there was fun. We got to drive part of the course backwards and I made note of just how damn hilly it was going to be. That sort of kicked up the anxiety again. But as we got to the resort where the expo was being held, I had calmed down a little. A little.
The first thing I did at the expo was go to check out the list to get my bib number. One problem…
MY NAME WAS NOT ON THE LIST!!!
And this was even after I contacted the race prior to the trip to make sure that my deferral from last year was on their records and I was on the list to run. They told me I was. Apparently…I wasn’t. Frustrating…and did nothing to help calm the anxiety and nerves at this race. It took…awhile…but after talking to about 4 different people, they simply had me fill out a form and turn it in. They got me a blank bib, added me to the list…and I was ready to run.
After that…I was ready to shop. I had my Kauai Marathon reusable bag, which my friend Tanya really wanted. She even went to ask if she could purchase one, but they wouldn’t let her. As I have more than enough reusable grocery bags, I told her she could have mine. YAY! There was much happiness. What there wasn’t a lot of…was size small merchandise for the race itself. I had wanted a few of the rainbow race shirts…but they were out of the smaller sizes…at the start of the expo on Saturday morning. REALLY??!! I was starting to think I wasn’t going to purchase anything…but then I spotted this amazing backpack. And…it had to be mine. So…despite being way more than the shirts, that’s what I left with. And I was quite okay with that. Afterwards, I spotted Bart Yasso at a table at the expo and went over to say hello to him. Cathy told him to reassure me that I was going to be okay…and he did…quite a few times, and gave me numerous high fives and words of encouragement. I love Bart Yasso.
Lunch on the day before the race – Molokai Potato Salad from the Live Foods Market on Kauai
Soon after that…we left. We had to buy a few groceries and get a few more important things done…like checking into the resort and all that. We first stopped off at The Spouting Horn, where I thought I needed to put on some sunscreen…but we were ready to go check out the water. So, I said I would do it when we got back into the car. We spent a bit of time on the lookout, watching a blowhole spout a plume of sea water into the air. This waterspout occurs whenever waves are forced under the lava shelf and up through an opening in the rocky coast. The spout, sometimes, can shoot water as high as 50 feet into the air. It’s always amazing. We did need to grab some lunch, so we swung by the Living Foods Market. On the short journey there, I put on some sunscreen because I am prone to sunburn easily. And I finished up just as we hit the market. What I didn’t realize until later was…I forgot I had taken my Claddagh ring off and put it in my lap, so when I climbed out of the car to go into the market…it dropped. Deciding on a light lunch was not as easy as I thought as so much sounded so good. And…we were at the time where it could be breakfast or lunch and we were all having a hard time deciding on which way to go. After waiting a bit too long for breakfast, we settled on lunch. I got a small bowl of their Molokai Potato Salad, which is purple potatoes, coconut milk, green onion, and coconut flakes. And it was fantastic. Tawn got a poke bowl, Cathy got a BLT Sandwich, and Jennifer got the fish tacos. After lunch, we were off to check into the resort, hit up a couple of shops, and then buy some groceries. I was, after all, making something new (I know…nothing new on race day…but…I felt better about this than a pizza place)…Pizza Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. And we hit up the grocery stores hard. We got the tomato sauce, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, cheese, and even pepperoni (the other 3 are meat eaters) for the potatoes that night…along with waters and a few snacks to have on hand. And my banana for race morning. That is super important. And a bonus kabocha squash that we found so I could roast it up.
Oven roasted Kabocha Squash…cooked up by me…as part of the pre-race dinner.
That night, after settling in at the resort, I started immediately in on roasting up the kabocha squash. Cutting it wasn’t too much of a hassle, but I realized we had no aluminum foil or any olive oil at the resort. I thought they might have that on hand…but I was wrong. So, I cooked without it. The squash cooked for about 30
minutes…and as it was cooking, I prepped the sweet potatoes. No olive oil meant seasoning the skins was a bit harder, but I did what I could. The moment the squash was out and plated, I turned up the oven and began to bake the potatoes. They were a bit larger…so I knew they would take about an hour to cook. In the meantime, we through in our trip playlist, danced around the resort, talked, and looked at photos from O’ahu and earlier in the day. It actually took a bit longer, but soon we were slicing them open, laying out the tomato sauce, the mushrooms, the cheese, and for the other three…pepperoni. Back into the oven for 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Pizza Stuffed Sweet Potatoes – my pre-race dinner…something new. And delicious.
And, finally, dinner was served. And it was delicious…and filling. But…there was still room for cake. And we had picked up candles and everything to make it special for Jenn. We were glad that the “cake” was actually more of a muffin because it was perfect once we split it 4 ways between us. And it was pretty good. Lighter than I expected though, so there is that. And it was good. It was. But Annie May’s Gluten Free Coffee Cake is WAY better. WAY! We were happy to have this though. And after staying up a little longer for showers and some talking, we turned in. We all knew an early, early morning awaited us.
Jennifer with the Gluten Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Pecan Struesel that we picked up from Sweet Marie’s that morning. It was her birthday after all.
Sleep didn’t come easy…but I managed a little.
Race morning arrived. Early. I had my first alarm set for 3 am so that I could get up and do my first round of preparations. I went back to sleep for another 45 minutes before getting up for the second time. This time it was to actually get dressed. I used the bathroom, got into my race gear, and nervously began milling about the room, not quite ready to duck out into the main room, where Tawn was milling about getting ready for the day. Cathy was up and moving, slowly, because it was 4 am. While she was changing and in the bathroom, I began the very, very, very tedious (but important) task of getting myself coated in sunscreen.
When in Hawaii…and a super fair-skinned, Irish girl…you lather up. You take a dip and swim in that stuff. You do whatever you can to keep your skin protected. Especially when you are already a skin cancer survivor, like me.
Cathy emerged eventually and helped me with the hard to reach areas on my back (after all…I was going to die in clothes, so it was a bra top race for me). She also had me sit down so she could actually attempt to get some sunscreen on my scalp. This was sort of awkward and left me looking, at first, a bit like a skunk, but at the end of the day…no sunburn on the scalp. And that, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing.
I threw a shirt on over my top after the sunscreen had had time to soak in…and then headed into the main room. Tawn and Jennifer were both there, in various states of readiness. I grabbed my water from the fridge and sought out my normal morning routine.
Thankfully, Cathy thought ahead while we were out hitting up grocery stores the night before…picking up a banana and a little individual serving of Cheerios for me to eat. I had my cheerios at the resort, standing in the kitchen, talking to Tawn as she put on her makeup. That was actually calming, because in my mind, I was about to have another anxiety attack. My heart was racing, my mind was racing faster, and my entire chest just wanted to explode. I wanted to burst out into tears.
But I didn’t.
Thanks to my friends.
I filled up my water bottles…2 with regular water and then 2 with my fuel (I am using Hammer at the moment…something I only had time to test out on an 8 mile run the weekend before…so I can’t report back on it quite yet). And then…after getting pinned up, we gathered up our stuff and we were, literally, off to the races.
I look nervous in this picture because I was…and I had just stopped crying…before I said goodbye to my friends at the start line…
It was just over a 30 minute drive from the resort in Kapa’a to Poipu (?) where the race started and ended. We didn’t really encounter much traffic, so this drive went very smoothly. In fact, we arrived with some time that Cathy actually pulled into the parking lot where I figured I had lost my Claddagh ring the day before…and all three of my friends got out with the flashlights on their iPhones and began searching. They came up empty handed though. Everyone got back into the car and we set out to find some parking…following cars to an area on the side of the road, just a short stroll from the start and finish line areas. We watched a truck next to us totally pull up far enough to block the sidewalk and spent some time ridiculing them from the comfort of our car. But…it was time.
And as much as I wanted to delay…I couldn’t. It was go-time.
I think I was shaking as I opened up the door and stepped out into the humid morning. It was already moist, the air heavy and wet. Ugh. I took in a shaky, but deep breath, and told myself, once again, to not freak out or panic. It was easier said than done, because I was falling apart on the inside. The last memory I have of a marathon was Boston 2015…and it did not go well for me. And it was replaying…every painful, horrible step…every moment that I had to walk…all of it…right there…fresh in my mind. And it was MESSING with me.
Torches and Conch Shells sent off the Kauai Marathon & Half Marathon. It was amazing.
The four of us began the trek toward the starting area. Which, we found very easily, following not just the announcement sounds, but also the other runners heading in that direction. We crossed the road right where the start line was corralled off and took a couple of quick photos. And…just like that…it was time for me to get to the staging area and them to go find a spot for the start of the race. They all gave me hugs. I cried…wiped my eyes…handed over my shirt…and walked away…nervously…into the staging area. It was already 5:30 am…so I had to get my banana eaten so I wouldn’t be regretting putting it off until later. So, as I walked, I noshed, slowly, on the banana. I noticed very few marathon bibs…much of the over 2000 people who run these races do the half marathon option.
These…are the smart people.
These people are brilliant. These people must have looked at the elevation chart before signing up. I had an extra year…and I still didn’t do this up until it became clear that…yes…I could run. And yes…I would run.
I tossed my banana peel in the garbage and went to get in line for the bathroom. I had already used it 3 times at the resort…but I was nervous…and needed to pee. Again. I’m like an excitable puppy in that regard. It’s a curse. The lines moved relatively quickly though, and I managed to get one where the person coming out didn’t start with…”Just warning you…this one is pretty full.” Since I hate using port-o-potties anyway, this was a blessing in disguise.
Afterward…I saw everyone moving away from this staging area, so I grabbed a small tray of watermelon (I know…nothing new on race day, but it was humid enough that I was feeling the dehydrating effects already) and ate it. Then…I stepped up to the crowd waiting to enter the start area.
The announcer, Ron Wiley, from the local (and best) radio station there in Kauai, KONG, was doing some schmoozing and talking at the start. He mentioned the heat we were having…and the humidity…and said that no one was going to PR today. As that was never my intention in the first place, I was okay with that. It was hot and it was humid. Bart Yasso was brought up and, despite a couple of microphone malfunctions, wished everyone a good race. He was doing the half…his girlfriend…the full. And then, the national anthem was sung by a local woman…and, we were counted down and sent off to the sound of conch shells blowing. It was fantastic. I mean, seriously…the sun wasn’t up yet…tiki torches are lit…and conch shells are being blown by locals as the starting gun. I was taking it all in, and waving at the drone…just telling myself to take it easy, breathe, and to have fun.
Me crossing the start line of the Kauai Marathon
As I crossed the starting line, I spotted Cathy, Tawn, and Indy…and they cheered and screamed and I waved…and that adrenaline took me through the slow-moving packed start of the race. I was thankful for the much easier pace of the start because I tend to just go all out in the first mile and tire quicker. With the humidity already pretty intense, I was already soaking wet within the first half mile. My pigtails were plastered to my neck. This humidity was NO JOKE. And with the first 7 miles being a steady uphill climb, I wanted to really pace myself and save something for the second part of the race. Mile 1 ticked off, and I was moving without breathing hard. And then…a light, misting rain started up. We’re in the gorgeous Hawaiian countryside…and here comes this light mist. I can see gorgeous mountains ahead, hear roosters crowing, and see the lightening of the sky, with the promise of a sunrise coming. I focused on my surroundings more than how I was feeling. Which was good…because with the steady incline going…by Mile 3 I was already feeling this race in my hip adductor. Not good. Not what I wanted at all.
I had hoped that my hip would hold out longer and do better…but the long climb was not something I could practice. Not for that long or that distance. Which…was now getting into my head. I focused on my form at that point, and as I came into Mile 4…was moving a bit better. My foot, however, was still an issue in and of itself. Even taped up, it would flare up with every few steps, reminding me that it was not 100%…and that I needed to keep that in mind as the race continued. Thankfully, some beautiful hula dancers were on the side of the road and that made me focus on something else for the moment. Distractions are a beautiful thing.
At Mile 5, way earlier than anticipated or hoped for…I took my first walk break. I had ever intention of at least powering through the first half of this race without needing to walk, ideally getting to Mile 15…but that didn’t happen. And I actually cried a little when I had to take this break. But the elevation was wreaking havoc on both my hip and my foot…so I took it. And once I got to a designated spot ahead (I think it was a road sign), I started back to a jog…and then an easy paced run.
Tunnel of Trees around Mile 6 of the Kauai Marathon
Ahead was the part of the race I had been looking forward to the most…the Tunnel of Trees. Just before Mile 6, you run into this gorgeous area canopied by old Eucalyptus trees, creating a natural gateway to Kauai’s South Shore. Just inside the Mile 6 marker was placed. A woman runner from Kauai, just ahead of me, went…”Alright…6 down, 20 to go!” She pumped her hands and two runners from Honolulu began talking to here. The two from Honolulu were doing the half marathon. And, as we were running, it came out that our excitable Kauai native was also doing the half. She said she knew the course and wanted a beer after 2 hours of running. Not 4 or more. Another runner, a guy in floral shorts, stopped here and there to take amazing shots within the tunnel of trees. It really was amazing. And, as we left, we rounded into our 7th mile…and finally…FINALLY…got some downhill time. The lady from Kauai went, “Downhill…time to make up all that time we lost on that climb.” She was adorable and so excited…it was rather uplifting, actually. If she had been doing the full, I’d have wanted to have her along to keep me going. I sort of stayed with this group…having a nice back and forth with them for a few miles. They were talking about how running for over 4 hours didn’t sound appealing to them. I told them about how I was supposed to do this race last year, but couldn’t due to a stress fracture. And this was great. This got me through to Mile 10…when I pulled ahead and soon was at the point where the half marathon runners went left to run the last 2.5 miles into the finish line…and the marathon runners went right…at the rooster sign…and continued for the next 15.5 miles. This is where it really thinned out.
Half Marathon & Marathon Split signs at the Kauai Marathon
I made the turn, and immediately, another steep hill was waiting. I managed to run a few more feet before I stopped to take another walk break. I didn’t cuss myself out or cry this time…I just told myself to not worry too much about it. This race wasn’t for time anyway. And…at this point a beautiful rainbow was arching over the roadway. So, who needs to run when you can really drink in a Hawaiian rainbow for a moment. I did start up again as I neared the crest of the hill…and took on the downhill.
My foot was now starting to bother me more. As far as long runs went after seeing my podiatrist…I had done 8 miles. So, I was already over the distance I tested this foot out on. And it was screaming at me. I took a deep breath…turned my focus back to my form again, and kept on going. Miles 11-12 were relatively flat, but I soon found myself walking again as the hills returned near the halfway point. I picked it up to run across the half marathon mark which translated to anyone following me via tracking that I was at least halfway done. This was just under 2 hours into the race…and I was now hitting the hardest part of the course. The volunteer they had at the halfway mark though was awesome. And I am so glad he was there, cheering and encouraging people. He told me I was halfway there…and doing well. And he said it that I believed him. I was hitting my unspoken goal…to finish around 4 hours…at this point…on target. I knew I’d be slowing down though with the course being harder on the other side. But…making it this far was good…even if I was really starting to feel the effects of the humidity and heat of the day. After all, the sun was up and blazing now…and there wasn’t a lot of tree cover on these roads. You run the day…so I was running (and walking) to my abilities now.
I ran through Mile 14 before having to slow again. I drank in some water and poured some over my head to keep my body temperature cool. That was not an easy thing for me to do…but it was necessary. Also…Mile 15-17 was the huge climb that I had heard and read stories about. And I knew…I knew I would have to walk some of it.
Truth was…I walked the entire hill. I just couldn’t get my mind to tell my feet and legs to go. I probably could have run some of it, but my mind was not in a good place at this point and the word “can’t” was probably running around more than it should have been. But, once I got to the top…I started to run again. This part of the race went through a very rurual area, with broken down houses. But this…this part had my race moment. I was running along a road that looked like it was made of red clay. And this little girl, also in pigtails, come running up alongside me…just smiling. I told her that I loved her hair and we ran together…the two of us…pigtails bouncing at our shoulders. It was amazing. And even when she hit the chalk finish line she had etched into the road…she kept going with me. When she dropped back, I shouted a thank you to her and continued on my way. Seriously…highlight.
After that is where things sort of spiraled out of control. It’s hard to remember much because it got a little bit…scary. Despite taking in water (my own and that along the course) and fueling the way I have always fueled for races…by Mile 18…I was starting to feel sick. My stomach was not happy with me, probably due to taking in more water than I am accustomed to. Or, maybe it was the new fuel. I can’t say since I didn’t test it out, but I took the fuel in at my usual spots ahead of this and had no issues at all. But the heat was really starting to lay into me. And, needless to say, I started to succumb to it.
I jogged with a Marathon Maniac from Mile 17…and we walked a hill through Mile 18. He took off after that and I told myself I would start to run again. But, my body wasn’t feeling it. My stomach hurt. My head was foggy. And I was aching. Foot and hip. Just…no desire to start up again. I tried…and my foot rebelled. So, I decided to walk a little more. I walked through the next couple of miles, taking offered cold water despite feeling like I really just wanted to throw up. As I crested a hill around Mile 21…I was seeing dark spots in my vision and my lips were tingling. I was in a bad way. But I didn’t want to call it quits. I have never DNF’d a race and I wasn’t ready, after traveling this far, and having had to give upon this race last year, to give up now. I slowed it down. Breathed deeply, and kept putting one foot in front of the other. If I hit a water stop, I would drink half the water, even though I really just wanted to throw up more…then pour the rest over my head to cool down. We had rounded back and had to go over the timing mat I had gone over at the halfway point. The same enthusiastic volunteer was there as I walked…WALKED…over it. He said…”It’s only 5 more miles and mostly down hill from here.”
It was niceto hear. But I knew my pace wasn’t going to be picking up any time soon. And it wasn’t just me. I’d have people run by me who were stopping to walk. They didn’t have the added fun of an injured foot and hip to contend with and eventually would start up again. It was frustrating, to me, and I was trying hard to not worry about the time ticking away with each slow, walking step I had to take. I cussed at myself when I had to walk the downhills. I felt horrible…and the few times I talked myself into jogging, I had to stop almost immediately. I held tears back, because I didn’t want to break down and not be able to breathe. It was already hard enough in the humidity. The heat of the day was upon us now and I just wanted to get to the finish line and find some shade. When I was at Mile 23, I saw two of the volunteers on mopeds. One of them asked about some medical thing at Mile 18. The other guy said it was just a runner who was done. The heat and humidity and hills had done him in. I overheard this and said…I know how he feels, but I just decided to walk it in. And one of them said, “You’ve looked strong all day. Keep going!”
Hearing that made me feel a little better, and despite the runners catching up and passing me, I just kept that steady mantra of just putting one foot in front of the other. Keep going. 2 miles…I could walk 2 miles. I was walking 2 miles. Around Mile 25, the resort near the finish line was handing out cold, wet towels. I took one and draped it over my neck, then my head. I touched it to my shoulders and face. I kept it with me until it was no longer cold. And by then…I was near the finish line. So close.
But my legs still weren’t ready to go. And I was getting so mad at myself and the entire situation. As I was nearing a bend in the road, and seeing the ocean again, a guy was walking up to the runners heading our way, a medal around his neck, giving us high fives. He saw me and said, “You turn that corner and you will see the finish. You’re almost there, girl.” And with that, I came around the bend, and started to jog.
Hugs from friends. And they gave me a lei! I have amazing people in my life. I think this is where I said, “That was so fucking hard.” And cried. A lot.
It took every bit of my willpower to keep going. I pushed. I pushed more. And I ran toward that finish line, hearing Ron Wiley (the DJ of KONG radio) say, “And here comes Karen Brady of The Brady Bunch”…and I tossed up my hands and crossed the finish line.
I could hear Cathy, Tawn, and Jenn. I could see them. I slowed to a walk and tried to catch my breath. Tears just flowed. Those ugly cry tears. And I walked up to them, Cathy reaching over to give me a hug, and all I could say was, “That was so fucking hard.” And then I melted down.
After a few moments of sweaty hugs, and getting a lei put around my neck, I slowly walked down the chute to receive my medal. Cathy had me pose with the cute Hawaiian man handing out medals before I made my way to the reunion area to meet them. Cathy went to grab a bag of ice to lay me down on and I went to get into the shade and put my feet up. Jennifer and Tawn went to get me some iced coffee and I was content to lay there, feet up, recovering…and trying hard not to cry. My friends were awesome. They told me how good I did and how proud they were of me. And I focused on that instead of the fact that, while my only true goal was to finish the race, I had hoped for a little bit better time. But, this was a brutal course and brutal weather. I did what I could. I left everything I had out there. And while I was disappointed in myself, no one else was.
After I felt recovered enough to move, I called my mom to talk to her. She and my dad had been tracking me, which I had no idea they would be doing. It almost made me cry…especially when they both started telling me how proud they were of me. I talked to my mom as we were getting to the car and hung up as we climbed in. Cathy asked if I needed water…and as my stomach was still off, I requested a cold Sprite Zero. She said we could swing by the Long’s Drugs that was near the finish line. So…we did. And I didn’t realize she didn’t enter with me. I had gone right over to the cold beverages and grabbed a Sprite Zero. Then…couldn’t find her. Tawn had me help her look for some travel size products, and as I was ready to leave and sit down again, Cathy comes in, grabs my hand, and drops my Claddagh ring into my hand. Turns out, a customer at the Living Foods Market found it in the parking lot and turned it in. My amazing friends had called to inquire about it as they ate breakfast while I was out running. And the market had it. And now…I had it back. I purchased that ring in 2007 in Ireland…I was so upset it was gone. And now…thanks to the amazing people in my life…and a special and honest person who found it and turned it in…I have it back. I ugly cried for the 4th time that day.
After that, we went back to the resort so I could shower off and get changed. Once I was clean…and in the process…noticed that the date was wrong on the medal…I was dressed and we headed out to lunch and to explore Kauai for the rest of the day.
Lunch, by the way, was Gluten Free Vegan Tacos at Verdes. It was amazing. Just what I needed. Lunch with friends…and good food.
Me with a handsome Hawaiian at the finish of the Kauai Marathon – Kauai – Poipu, HI
So…the official results of the Kauai Marathon are that I finished in 4:52:18. I was 97/258 finishers overall. I was 31/101 female finishers. And I was 6/13 finishers in my age division.
Was this the race I had hoped for? No. Nowhere close. Unfortunately, this race was the race I needed, but didn’t need. The outcome wasn’t the one I wanted. There was way more walking than I had anticipated. The hills, the heat, the humidity…they crushed me and I am still battling this mental block of mine. A part of me wonders if I can honestly take on 26.2 anymore. This race defeated me…but I was not defeated. Despite feeling horrible…despite the brutal heat and course…I finished. I found that little boost at the end to run it in and cross that finish line. And in the end…all that matters is that I crossed that line…my friends were there to hug me…and I survived. I made it.
Was this the comeback I dreamed of? Nowhere close. But there will be other races. Just not anytime soon.
I am proud of myself though…despite pain and nagging injuries…and the weather conditions (possible hurricanes up until the day before!)…I finished. I FINISHED! Marathon #11…done!
From here…I focus on getting stronger.
Aloha, Kauai. Thanks for the memories…even if my race date is wrong on the medal (which…by the way…has yet to be acknowledged by the race peeps…despite it being mentioned numerous times to them via social media).
There’s a Tropical Storm brewing in the pacific and heading straight for Hawaii. Um? Yay?
So, while this is almost what happened last year…when three…YES…THREE…hurricanes were spinning the the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and bringing unseasonable humidity and general muckiness…this year…there is one. One.
Her name is Madeleine.
What does this mean? Well, as of right now…the storm’s track is heading north and is supposed to turn west. They’re predicting it turns west early, so Madeleine will primarily impact the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai are farther north, so unless she grows substantially, all they’re calling for is 20% for rain and some wind (about 20mph) on Thursday in Honolulu. Do I really have to run in really windy weather? AGAIN??!!
Damn you Mother Nature…AGAIN!!
Needless to say…the forecasts for while I am island hopping around Hawaii looks rather wet, windy and rainy. Um? YAY?! Seriously…I have some adorable bathing suits I’d like to wear…on sunny beaches…poolside…wherever. So…let’s not take that away from me shall we?
Aside from that, as of now, I physically am as ready as I can be for this trip. Mentally, I’m struggling. It’s not easy, sometimes, putting those demons inside your head to rest. And these past few weeks have definitely brought them out more than I’d like. But, the advice given to me by a good friend, Derek, was simple…
RUN THE DAY.
And as I have one goal for this race…TO LIVE THROUGH IT…
Okay…maybe two goals…TO FINISH…
…then I say to simply run the day is some great advice. Humid…hot…windy…rainy…whatever the case…I’m going to enjoy the fact that I can be out there…going the distance again. It might get hard. I might struggle. I might even cry. But, once I start, one thing is for certain…I won’t give up.
Now, to get packing because I’m pretty certain the rest of this week is going to be crazy! I think everyone going with me is ready…and I’m not ready. So they are all…
…and I’m all…
I leave in 3 days. I’m more than a little broke. And…stressing. A little. Maybe a lot. But…this time…this time it’s actually happening.
It was the best news I had received in a long time. I found out, as I was making my way to Minnesota, that I was chosen to be one of the 2017 Race Ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini Marathon.
I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to take on this role. I absolutely love being an encourager and this opportunity gives me the chance to help people take steps to meet their goals at the Kentucky Derby Marathon or Mini Marathon.
Seriously…EXCITED!!
All that being said…if you register within the next two (2) weeks, you can take 10% off your registration by using the code:
KDFR4R08
When you register (see, I said when not if)…be sure to select my name – Karen Brady – from the “Ambassador Referral” on the application.
Just go here and register. Simple. Easy. Motivational.
It was the best news I had received in a long time. I found out, as I was making my way to Minnesota, that I was chosen to be one of the 2017 Race Ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini Marathon.
The Celiathlete 