Bells Bend 6-Miler Race Recap

   The Bells Bend 6-mile trail race was yesterday. As you may know, I'm a recent convert to trail running and this race was the first for the year in the Nashville Running Company's Trail Race Series. This would be my first race coming off of my 2.5 week running hiatus after healing from a small tear in my calf muscle. How would it go? I had no idea, but there was only one way to find out.

   The race weekend started on Saturday with the Bells Bend Outdoor Expo as this was where you picked up your race packet. There were all sorts of vendors who were trying to lure you to explore the great outdoors: kayakers, bird-watchers, cyclists, stand-up paddlers - they were all there. It was pretty fun and I got a lot of info about sports that I had always wanted to try but didn't really know anything about. I probably should have set up a table for the Nashville Tri Club, now that I think about it. Oops. Maybe next year.
   Anyway, after picking up my packet I headed out to the Natchez Trace for a 3-hour bike ride. (Yes, this is relevant to the race recap - just stick with me.) The entire day had been pretty windy, but the winds were "REALLY" supposed to pick up in the afternoon. Did I pay any attention to that? Nope. Should I have? Absolutely. Why? Because the winds were a consistent 20 mph in all directions with gusts of 120 mph. OK - not really, but it felt like it at some points. The 20 mph was true though. And it was terrible. I held on to my bike so tightly that my shoulders and biceps still hurt two days later. Though I've ridden on the Trace countless times, I honestly felt like I was going to have to get off of my bike and walk up some of the hills because of the headwind. And I'm generally not afraid of heights and bridges, but I was TERRIFIED riding over the Trace bridge. There is nothing like feeling like you're going to lose complete control of your bike while riding over one of the scariest bridges in Nashville.

Because that wouldn't get windy at all.

   When I woke up on Sunday morning for the race, the muscles in my body were still really tense from the ride. EVERYTHING hurt. Granted, this could have also been that 3-hours was the longest bike ride I had done this season and my body didn't like that very much, but I think it was more from being battered by the wind. 

   But I got up, did a bit of yoga to stretch out a bit, and headed over to Bells Bend. Since I had already picked up my race packet, I caught up with some friends while waiting for the race to start. It was a little chilly - in the 40's, but you knew it was going to get warm when you were running because it was really sunny out. I wore a long-sleeved shirt and capris and hoped I wouldn't get too hot.

   After a few announcements from the RD Beth about the course and how not to get lost (a legitimate fear on my part), we were off. The race course was more cross-country than trail. Of course, I had to be told this because I have no actual idea as to what a cross-country course looks like (I stayed as far away from running in high school as possible). But apparently, a CC course is more on grass while a trail run is on dirt and rocks. With the exception of a small creek and a lot of mud from recent rains, Bells Bend is all grass. It's flat too, for a trail race anyway. When compared to a road race, not so flat, but it's definitely flat for a trail race. However, I would like to know who put the finish line at the top of a hill. That was just cruel.

   While the race itself was great (fun course, well-organized, awesome people), my race was terrible. Still hurting from the previous day's ride, my legs felt like lead. It was one of those races that just hurt the entire time. Admittedly, I went out way too fast (as I am prone to do), but then I burned out quickly. By mile three, I was spent and ready for the race to be OVER. And yes, I got a little warm. Unfortunately, I still had three more miles to go. Sigh. The good news was that, other than when running uphill, my calf didn't bother me and it didn't hurt at all post-race. HAZZAH! I AM HEALED! 

Me at the finish. Don't I look happy? (Photo credit: Jacob Carrigan)

   I finished the race a bit under an hour. Not great, but I felt like crap so I'm not beating myself too much. I need to get used to running with bike fatigue if I'm going to survive Raleigh 70.3 in June. I have two months to prepare. Better get busy!

I'm running the NYC marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Help me save a life today! Donate here!  http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/nyc16/KMylls

NYC Marathon

    A few months back, Dudley and I entered the lottery for the New York Marathon. Knowing that this is the hardest marathon (other than Boston) to gain access to, I didn't have a lot of hope that we would get in - especially after both of us got into the Peachtree Road Race, the Chicago Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon last year. The chances of us getting into NYC this year had to be pretty slim. And they were. For me.
   I was excited on lottery day at first because I could tell that one of us had made it into the race. The big clue? Our bank account had been charged a registration fee...but just one. The question remained as to who because neither Dudley or I had received any official notification from the actual race yet. Then about mid-day, I remembered that I could log into the NYC marathon website and check my race status. And, as you should have already guessed, Dudley got the golden ticket.
   However, I was not deterred in any way about not getting in. I had already decided that if this happened, I would try for a charity bib into the race. I ran as a charity bib as part of Team in Training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society a few years ago at the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC, and it's been one of the highlights of my running career. I had no hesitation in signing up and running for LLS again.
   Why LLS?  Because cancer sucks. I have had friends and family lose children, parents, spouses and other family members to leukemia and lymphoma. We all have. And it sucks. My mother currently struggles with a blood disorder that is in the leukemia family and takes daily medication to fight it. Since I'm not a doctor or researcher who knows how to find a cure for these diseases, the best I can do is raise money to help fund those doctors and researchers who DO know how.
   What's also wonderful about the LLS is that the research they do for leukemia and lymphoma benefits patients suffering from other kinds of cancer. In fact, and this comes directly from the LLS website, "nearly half of all cancer drugs newly approved by the FDA since 2000 were first developed for blood cancer patients." Y'all - in the past two weeks, I've lost a friend to colon cancer and another one announced a diagnosis of neck cancer. My own father was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year (he is doing well currently). All three of those types of cancers, among with many others, have benefitted from the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
   So, over the next few weeks, I'll be bugging all of you to help me raise money for Team in Training as I train for the New York Marathon. I've committed to raising $3,500, but I'd like to hit $5,000. Go big or go home, right? Please know that none of my funds raised will go to my travel or hotel. I'm funding that on my own. My fundraising allows me to run the race - that's it. I would really appreciate your support.  Please click here to donate:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/nyc16/KMylls
 
THANK YOU!!

Injured and Angry*

   Yes, I'm injured. Ugh. Just when I started to really ramp up training for the season, I developed a small tear in my calf. I didn't think it was a huge thing at first. I felt a little pain when running an easy three about a week and a half ago. Nothing really to worry about though - or so I thought.
   The issue continued during a nine-mile run two days later. Again, it didn't really "hurt" when I first started, but as the miles went on the pain became more noticeable. I stopped at seven miles to get a drink of water and my calf seized up. In hindsight, it would have been really smart to stop running then. But did I? No. Because I'm stubborn and I wanted my stupid nine miles.
   I finished the run with my calf really hurting, but I still didn't think I was injured. Denial, mostly, I'm sure. I figured I'd give it a day or two off and it would be fine. Nope! Now it's almost two weeks later and I still haven't been able to run.  I tried as recently as Monday and I got about seven minutes in before I could barely walk from the pain.
   I since have gone from denial to full-panic mode because I have races coming up and I need to be healthy. So yesterday I went to see my friend Leah Sawyer, who is a Physical Therapist. I think I should go buy her a car or something because one session with her and my calf feels SO much better. I'm not healed yet - that will still take time - but it definitely doesn't hurt as much as it did and I have hope that my recovery isn't going to take six weeks as I had feared. One of the biggest mistakes I was making while I was "resting" last week was that I was stretching too much and incorrectly. Every chance I got, I was doing the foam roller, the stick and the lacrosse ball. Leah basically told me to chill out and only do one torture device twice a day, and she showed me the proper form for my specific injury. And it helped! Imagine that. Let that be a lesson for all of you stubborn athletes out there: if you're hurt - don't wait it out. Go get help.
   I'm trying to stay positive and stay active with other workouts (swimming has to be adapted, but biking is OK), but I'm still really frustrated. I was just starting to gain some speed after last season's marathons and was training to PR at the Flying Pig Half Marathon in May. Now I'll just be happy if I'll be able to participate in the race at all. I'm taking the remainder of this week off and will revaluate over the weekend. Maybe I can start running again next week, maybe not. We'll see.

*Thank you to Daniel Hudgins for the title "Injured and Angry."  I thought it was cute, so I stole it from him.  :-)

Dry Creek 10K Race Recap - My First Trail Race!

   As previously mentioned, I've been running trails recently. And, with the exception of a recent fall down a gravel hill, I've enjoyed it. So I signed up for the Dry Creek Trail 10k to see what trail racing was all about.

   I pretty much went into this race blind. I asked a few people about the course in the days leading up to the race, but all I could really find out was that 1) it's longer than a 10k (which I already knew because the website clearly states it as such and 2) it's not as technical as Percy Warner, which is where I have been running.
   The race started at 8:00 am, and I arrived at the Cheatham Wildlife Management Area about an hour prior. I had picked up my bib the day before, but I have a thing about being early for races. It was a little chilly at first because I was in short sleeves, but not bad. It'd been raining on and off overnight though, so it was humid. Ugh - I hate humidity.
   The race pretty much started on time. Might have been a few minutes late, but no one really cared if so. Trail racers are notoriously laid-back. Dry Creek was hosting three distances: a marathon, a half-marathon and the 10k, and we all started at the same time. I was told there were over 300 racers, which is a pretty large for a trail race (I think). Fortunately, the race director did a great job with the route so it wasn't confusing as to who went where.
   The course itself was mainly a gravel path with some true off-road trails in the middle. It started off with a slight downhill for the first couple of miles until we turned off of the main road when we hit a steep descent that was covered in leaves. I just tried to put my feet where the person in front of me did because I was scared I was going to break my ankle (I'm always afraid I'm going to break my ankle when trail running).  Of course, some guy came FLYING down the hill and blew past us. Seriously - I have no idea how people do that. #nofear
   After a small distance of flat, we hit a GIANT HILL around mile four. And this was where I started walking. I didn't feel bad though - most people I saw were walking. The bad thing about not knowing anything about the course is that I had no clue when this hill was going to end. And guess what? It didn't! FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE RACE! Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit here, but not too much. The actual hill was probably a mile and a half before we hit the top, and then we had rollers until the finish... but they were the kind of rollers that always had more going up than going down. And no, I didn't walk the entire time. Just mainly up that first ascent. It was killer.
   And then - we were done!  Just like that. Considering my last two races were marathons, running at 10K (even an extended one) seemed really short. And, I have to admit, running on the trails makes the race go by faster than ones on the road. I was too busy worrying about where to put my feet to care about where I was on the course, or what pace I was going. As a result- this race just flew by.
    Being that trail races are low-key, they had people writing down your bib numbers as you crossed the line. One of the volunteers asked my name at the time, and I saw him write it down on a separate piece of paper... Hmmm.... Might I have won something?  Sure enough!  BOOM - Third Place Masters!

I got swag!  

   I should probably give up my trail running career now so I can say I've placed in every trail race I've done - but I won't. NRC has a series of 6-mile trail races and I'm signing up for it. They did a great job with putting on this race, and I'm looking forward to the others. Trails have been a nice change of pace, but I also think they have made a stronger runner overall.  Plus, I love the laid-back vibe of the entire scene. It seems more of a giant group run than a race. We even had a cookout afterwards and people brought food like a pot-luck. While this is probably standard for trail races, it was my first race so I didn't know. The only negative was (and this has nothing to do with the race itself) that people need to learn how to park. If you arrive to a race late and there is a great parking spot in the lot up close to the start - you might want to stop and think about WHY that spot exists. Because it might be the only clearing for people in the back of the lot to get out. Yes, I was stuck for a few minutes, but then someone in the front row left and I was free.  

   Great job to NCR and their RD Beth. Looking forward my next time on the trails!  

   

A Tribute to my Bad-Ass Friends

   Athletes find inspiration from different things. Training for a specific goal - whether it be a new distance or lower race time - is tough and really not that enjoyable while you're going through it. Especially when it's really cold, or too hot, or even perfect weather when you just want to do anything other than go train. Sometimes we need a little something to get our butts out the door to go for a run. And for me - that's where my friends come in.
   My friends are the reason why I get up early every Saturday morning to ride my bike trainer. My friends are why I run when it's so cold and sleety that my eyelashes freeze. And when I'm feeling tired and just don't want to go any further, my friends are the ones who push me to finish that extra mile.
   You might think I'm out there every day training with a big group of friends for every workout. And some days I am. But frequently, I'm out there slogging out the miles alone. However, I know I'm never truly alone. I know my friends are also out there, somewhere, hurting in the same way that I am. And that inspires me to push myself further and harder than I thought I could ever go.
   I'm especially inspired today because one of my favorite training partners achieved a long-held dream today and qualified for Boston. I know I've mentioned Kathy several times in the past. We're FTP teammates and were frequent training partners until I moved across town. Being that we were neighbors, we would ride to races together and just laugh the entire trip. Technically, we're competitors, as we're in the same age-group, but she's way faster than me and has beaten me in every race in which we've competed together. That would probably annoy me if it were anyone else, however, Kathy happens to be one of the nicest people I have ever met. She also works her ass off to achieve her goals. Which, in turn, makes me want to work my ass off to achieve my goals. Which hopefully, inspires you to work your ass off. Which, again, inspires me...  You get the idea.
   So, I'd like to take a moment to say Thank You to all of my Bad-Ass friends. I don't care if you're training for an Ironman or your first 5k. You're out there, pushing yourself everyday. I see you reach your goals, and you make me want to work harder to reach mine. Which makes all of the freezing runs and bikes rides in 100 degree weather worth it.

Me (left) and Kathy immediately after IMCHOO.  Friends are the best.

Training Runs - The Supernatural Edition

   OK, would someone please tell me what is going on here? I had an easy three-mile run on the schedule last night and decided to do a quick buzz around the neighborhood. Though I've only lived in this neighborhood for a little over a year, I've run this route many, many, many times in varying weather. I'm very familiar with it.
   It was about 50 degrees when I left my house with a cool breeze. Good running weather.  But after I ran about a half-mile, the temperature changed by about 20 degrees for 5 seconds. It like a blast of warm air enveloped my body. You know when you're swimming in open water and you swim into an area that is significantly warmer than where you just were, and then you start to wonder what just peed there? It was like that. Well, except for the peeing part - because it was the air and I don't even want to think about running through vaporized pee.
   Anyway, as I stated, the sensation didn't last very long, really just a few steps, and then it went back to 50 degrees again. "Well, that was weird," I thought and continued with my run. Then it happened again about a quarter-mile away. And then again. By this time, I've started looking around trying to figure out what's going on, but I really can't find a cause. As I said, I'm very familiar with this route, and this has never happened before. The houses are all on one-acre lots and none of them are close enough to the road to cause the temperature change. I wasn't running over any man-holes or grates at the time - just regular old asphalt. And it was dark out, so it's not like I was running in and out of sunshine. This happened a total of five times during my three-mile run, both out and back, but on different places in the route.
   Can someone please tell me what happened here? Some sort of weather phenomenon? Aliens trying to beam me up to their spaceship (but I was too fast, obviously...)? At one point I toyed with the idea that I was running through ghosts who were trying to warn me about some evil that lurked ahead. You think of weird things while you're running. Of course, I made it home safely, so there goes that theory.
   Any thoughts? Anyone?

   Oh - and I bailed on the 12S Winter Warmup on Saturday, in case anyone was wondering. After coughing all night and only getting two hours sleep, I figured it wasn't a very good idea. Stupid cold.

2015 Riverside Screw Race Report

   OK - this isn't so much of a race report, as the Riverside Screw isn't exactly a race. It's more of a race / fun run hybrid where everyone gets a prize. And it's awesome.
   This was the 2nd Annual Riverside Screw and it took place on Thanksgiving (we missed last year's race because we were in DC). It was created by fellow East Nasty Zach as an alternative to other Thanksgiving Day runs because East Nashvillians REALLY don't like to leave their 'hood. Well, it could also be for other reasons, but I thinking that's the main one. The basic idea for the Screw was this - meet at Shelby Park, run down Riverside Drive for 2.5 miles, turn-around and come back.
   While this could have been the end of the planning, Zach had other things in mind. What's a race without bib numbers, right? Since the race was free, and bib numbers cost money, we all got Uno cards as bib numbers. Also, when you checked in, you received a number for a drawing at the end of the race. Fun!
   We met up around 8:00 am, and started running soon after. The first thing we hit on this course was "The Nasty," which is one of the worst hills in Nashville. I didn't even try to run up the thing. I ran and chatted for about two miles (I only had four miles on the schedule) then turned around back to the park. Dudley was there too, but he had our foster Big Henry, so he just walked a bit. Big H isn't much of a runner. He's more of a loper.
   When we all returned, the lottery began. Zach had his car full of t-shirts, socks and other random items people had donated to the Screw.  Some of the items were legit prizes - shirts, running belts, a Nashville Running Company beer growler...while others? Not so much. My friend Ashley won a baggie full of dental floss and another person one cocktail napkins from one of Zach's weddings. I won a CD case and a pair of Injinji toe socks that I'm pretty sure were previously used as sample socks at NRC. It was hysterical and a lot of fun seeing what everyone won. The Riverside Screw is definitely going to be our new Thanksgiving Day tradition. Thanks Zach, for a great run!

   

The 2015 Riverside Screw crew! (Photo by Alicia Hunker)

   I pretty much ate the rest of Thanksgiving weekend (I mean, who doesn't?), and was all ready to hit December head-on fitness-wise. I had my diet ready, and my workouts scheduled. I was set. And then I woke up on December 1st with a sore throat. I was so annoyed. I pushed through for a few days, but admitted to myself yesterday that I need to take a few days to get better. I cancelled last night's swim and will do the same for today's run. I'm supposed to run the 12 South Winter Warmup 12k tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes. I don't have great hopes for it.
   Happy running, everyone!

Marine Corps Marathon - Race Recap

   Dudley and I rolled into the DC area the Wednesday prior to Sunday's race. My parents still live in the DC area, and the race gave us an excuse to have a quick family visit and to catch up with some long-time friends. Plus, was nice that we didn't have to rush around the day prior to the marathon like we did in Chicago.
   The expo was on Friday. We had plans to meet up with our friend Ron, his friend Amanda and several of her friends, who were also running the race. Amanda ran MCM last year and told us we needed to be there right when it opened to avoid the lines. I was kind of confused about this, but then remembered that the MCM has higher security than most races - even for the expo. Fortunately, the security line wasn't too bad and after a few minutes we were in.

Hello, Expo!

   We picked up our shirts and bib numbers. I was happily surprised because rather than regular shirts, we got long-sleeve fleeces! Very nice.  I'm generally happy with any shirt I get, but it's fun to get something different every once in a while.

   I'd love to give you a rundown of what was at the expo, but I really don't have any idea. Why? Because the line in the merch area was so long that it took us almost an hour to buy a shirt and a visor. It was crazy. There were a lot people, but apparently the registers went down for a while, too.  By the time we bought our swag, we only had about 10 minutes before we had to leave for the Pentagon where we were meeting people for lunch and a tour. I did a quick lap around the expo, got some free ice cream and left. I'm sure it was quite nice though. Any expo with free ice cream gets a big thumb's up from me.

   We then all headed down to the Metro and went to the Pentagon where we met up with Darrin and Shane for the aforementioned lunch and VIP tour. (Thanks, guys!)  Though I grew up in the DC area, I had never been to the Pentagon. It's a pretty amazing place. Really fascinating, especially for a history buff like I am. I'd love to show you a bunch a photos but, as you can imagine, they don't allow cameras in there. But if you're ever in the DC area, I highly recommend taking a tour. Wear some comfortable shoes though. We walked about four miles - that place is huge.

USA! USA! USA!

   Sunday morning, Dudley and I got up around 4:30am. We had plans to meet Ron at the Pentagon (where the race started and finished) at 6:00am. This was a little early, but as with the expo, there was security we had to go through and we wanted to miss the lines. I'm REALLY glad we did. While we waited about 20 minutes, other people who arrived later actually missed the start of the race because the lines were so long. This wasn't a regular bag check either. We had to go through metal detectors. That was a first for me. 

The Marines don't slack on security.

   Once through security, we had a while to hang out. It started to sprinkle a little bit, but nothing too bad. We were under a giant tent and we also all brought trash bags so we didn't get wet. 

Who can rock a trash bag?  We can rock a trash bag!  

   I want to take a minute here to talk about the organization we ran for: wear blue to remember.  This organization "is a national nonprofit running community that honors the service and sacrifice of the American Military." We learned about this group through Amanda, who I connected with a few months ago on Facebook but hadn't met until this weekend. She's the wife of an Army man, and has run with wear blue for several years. When I heard about the group, I knew I wanted to run with them during the MCM. What an amazing organization.  Founded by the spouses and friends of the 5-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which suffered a large amount of casualties in Afghanistan, the group got together to run as a way of supporting each other. The organization then grew throughout the country and now has official wear blue events, with the MCM being one of them. 

   Prior to the race, all of the wear blue runners got together for the Circle of Remembrance, where the runners called out the names of the fallen service members they were running for that day. This was the first time I cried that day.  

   After the Circle, we headed to the start line. As with Chicago, it was crazy crowded. But unlike Chicago, the MCM didn't have corrals. They had self-seeding areas based on time, but they weren't separated by ropes or anything. We were just kind of crammed in there. But we were all so excited about the race that we didn't really care. 

   The MCM doesn't slack on the opening ceremonies. You know how some sporting events has military fly-overs? Well, so does the MCM. With V-22 Ospreys. 

Bad. Ass.

   At 7:55 am, the howitzer fired and we were off! And yes, you read that correctly. Not a starting pistol - a howitzer.  As I said, the MCM doesn't mess around.

   The first few miles were really congested. REALLY congested. With Chicago only two weeks behind me, I was OK with starting slow. In fact, I was OK with running slow the entire race. I had felt really good the two weeks in-between Chicago and MCM, but as the race went on, the fatigue set in. Setting it on cruise-control for this marathon was good with me. 

   The MCM course is fantastic. As I mentioned, it starts at the Pentagon and continues into Virginia for a bit.  This section was really pretty, as we ran down George Washington Parkway which has a lot of trees and the leaves were all turning. From there we ran into Georgetown, where I had flashbacks from when I used to go down there in high school and college. It was kind of rainy at this point, so there weren't many spectators on this part of the course, but it was so fun going down memory lane that I didn't miss them too much. We wound our way through DC, running along the Potomac River and passing landmarks like the Kennedy Center. Around the half-way mark, we hit Hains Point and the wear blue mile. And this was the second time I cried. 

   The wear blue mile honors fallen service members by posting their photos on both sides of the course with their name, date of birth and date of death. I swear, even though there were thousands of runners on the course with me, you could have heard a pin drop while we were running through this section. It was very emotional. After we passed the photos, we ran through 300 (I think) American flags held by wear blue volunteers who lined the course. Again, this was just awe-inspiring. They were cheering, clapping and thanking all of us for running. It was, by far, my favorite part of the course. 

   We then headed back into the city where we passed most of the monuments and the Capitol. I can't tell you how much I love this city. I've been fortunate to have participated in several runs through the DC and every time I do, I'm floored by how beautiful this city is. I'm so lucky to have grown up there.

   But back to the race... After we passed the Capitol, we headed down towards the 14th Street Bridge at mile 20. This bridge is infamous during for this race because it's the time check. You have to "Beat the Bridge" by a certain time (1:30 maybe?) in order to finish the race. Fortunately, we made it to the bridge with plenty of time.  It was right before the bridge that I saw a pony on the course. That's right - a pony. A Marine Corps Pony to be exact. 

Of COURSE, there's a pony on the course.  And I just noticed the expletives on the signs behind the pony.  Oops.  

   We then headed back to the Pentagon for the finish line.  Let me say for the record - two marathons in a month was tough! Fortunately, I didn't have any of the problems here that I had in Chicago, but it still hurt. Unfortunately, Dudley DID have issues and had a hard time running, but I stuck with him like he did with me in Chicago. We were both really relieved when we saw that 25 mile marker. I kept hearing about a hill at the end of the race, and we finally hit it....at mile 26.1. Are you kidding me? The LAST thing we do before crossing a finish line is climb a hill? Yep. That's exactly what we did. It was brutal. But as my husband said, "If you go deep enough into the pain cave, there is a Marine there waiting to give you a medal." Which is exactly what happened.

Boom. 

  

God Bless America.

   I loved this race so much. I can see why people run it every year. It's a beautiful, scenic course that is well-supported by both the race organizers and the crowd (who came out in force once the weather cleared up). The only thing I would have changed about it is that I would have worn something to honor my dad, who was a Marine. A lot of people did that and I wish I would have had the foresight to think of something to honor him during the race. If I run it again, I'll definitely do that. 

   I have no idea what's next. As of this moment, I don't have anything official on the calendar other than a Thanksgiving Day Fun Run. I've been recovering over the past few weeks, and it's been great. I'll start planning things soon enough though. If anyone has any suggestions for 2016, let me know!

   

Chicago Marathon Race Recap - Day 2 RACE DAY

   The day started at 5:30 AM. The race wasn't until 8:00, but I wanted to start heading down to the start line at 6:30.  Considering how crazy the expo was, I didn't know what chaos would lie ahead at the start line, and I wanted to get down there with a ton of time. The last thing I wanted to do was get lost wandering around Chicago and not make it to our corral before it closed (about 20 minutes before the race start). I knew the hotel was a little less than a mile from the start line and it was a straight shot down Michigan Avenue, but knowing me, I'd still get us lost.

   Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. The race start truly was a straight shot down Michigan and we got there around 6:45. Like the expo, it was huge. Runners and spectators were everywhere. We had to go into a pre-determined gate (based on your bib number) to get to our corral, and we had to go through security at the gate. That was a new one for me. I guess I should have expected it after the Boston Marathon bombings, but it kind of shocked me...and made me sad. 

   After a few photos and an obligatory stop at the porta-potty, Dudley and I headed to our corral. The Chicago Marathon actually had two starting times.  The first wave started around 7:30.  This one was for the elites and corrals A-E.  Dudley and I were in corral F, so we were in front of the second wave. We got into our corral just as the National Anthem started. It was about then when I started getting emotional. The National Anthem gets me emotional anyway, however, there was something about being surrounded by 45,000 people who were all about to do something (dare I say) epic. And I was going to be a part of it!  How amazing was that? I actually got a little teary while waiting for the race to start.
   The Elites started right on time, and the earlier corrals soon after. Since my corral wasn't scheduled to start until 8:00, we had a few minutes to hang out and wait, but it didn't seem like "that" long. We moved through slowly through the streets of Chicago moving closer and closer to the starting line, until we heard "CORRAL F!  GO!"  And we were off.
  We ran through the skyscrapers of Chicago for the first few miles. This really threw me off because you know what doesn't work when surrounded by skyscrapers? My Garmin. I didn't even think about that! Of course, you're not going to get reception in downtown Chicago! I got a little more frustrated / stressed by this than I really should have been, but I was worried about getting caught up in the race and running too fast! That's the #1 mistake of first-time marathoners! And now I had no way of knowing how fast I was going! We tried to go off of Dudley's Garmin, which had better reception than mine did, but his was still wonky. Finally, we just forgot about our Garmins and tried to deduce our times by the clocks that were set up at every mile marker. While running a marathon and doing math at the same time is a little difficult, we were able to figure out we averaging about a 9:45-10:00 mile. Which actually was a little fast pace-wise for us in a marathon, but not too bad.
   This might be a good time to mention that I did actually have a plan for this race. This wasn't just a "go out and run for 26.2 miles and see how you do." No. I had a pace for every mile, which was why I was so freaked out when I couldn't get any reception for my Garmin. I can't work the plan if I didn't know my pace! I'm not going to break down every mile here (you're welcome), but the gist of the race plan was to start at a 10:00 /mile and speed up throughout the race and hopefully finish around 4:10-4:15.  Everything in my training supported this plan, and it was actually pretty conservative - so I thought.
   So, we were running through Chicago and things seem to be going OK, but I noticed that my legs weren't really waking up around mile 3 like they usually do. They still sort of felt heavy. They didn't hurt, but they definitely didn't feel as good as they have in recent training runs. Everything else felt good though, so I didn't really think too much about it.
   However, mile 6 came along, and the thought of how my legs felt popped up in my mind again. They still felt more tired than they should have at this point in the race. Again, I tried not to focus too much on this, because if I did, I'd start to panic and it was WAY too early to panic. Unfortunately, this is about when it started getting hot as well. Not crazy hot - it was perfect if you were a spectator (mid to upper 70's with bright blue sky) - but definitely hotter than I like as a runner.
   Mile 8 was the first time that I really felt like I might be in trouble with the race. We were still keeping the pace OK, but it was a lot harder than it should have been. I tried to distract myself by paying attention to the spectators. They were AMAZING and so enthusiastic. In some places they were 3-4 people deep. How crazy is that? Such a huge crowd to watch strangers run by! It was fantastic! They were a great distraction until about Mile 13, when I officially knew I was in deep s**t because I was only half-way there and I wanted to die. I had no idea how I was going to run another 13 miles. (Sidebar: When we crossed the 13.1 mile marker, the runner behind me yelled "WHOA!! WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!!" To which I responded "WHOA! LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!" This exchange made me chuckle because you KNOW that the guy was waiting his entire race to yell that. I was also surprised because I pretty much was the only person who responded to him. I mean, isn't that the automatic response to someone yelling that? How was I the only one?)
   Without going into detail - miles 14-20 were just awful. Miles 16-17 were the worst, but they all sucked pretty bad. Everything was starting to hurt, and I couldn't keep my pace. I was also getting really hot. I wasn't cramping, Thank God, but I was really having a hard time picking up my feet. The worst part was that Dudley was having a GREAT race, but he wouldn't leave me. Though I'm glad he didn't, I wanted him to just go on because I felt like I was holding him up.  He was trying to do that tough love of "I know you can do this! I've trained with you!  You can do this!" But that only upset me more because I KNEW I could do it! I'm trained! I was better than this!! But my body just didn't want to run anymore. Though I didn't actually start to cry, I wanted to. Then some nice runner came by and gave me gummy bears and I felt better. I love gummy bears. Thank you nice stranger!!
   Finally around mile 23, things turned a corner.  I still hurt, but I knew I would finish. Granted, it was way past my expected time, but I would finish. We slowly jogged, as there was no "running" now - it was a jog, past the mile markers.  Mile 23.... Mile 24... Mile 25...  I had promised myself that I wasn't going to walk at all after mile 25, even for water stops. I was kind of regretting that decision because right when you hit the 800 meter mark there is a hill. Granted, it's the ONLY hill on the course, but it's still a hill. Kind of mean for the race organizers to throw a hill in right there after 24 miles of flat, but they did. But we made it up and then hit the turn for home. The finish line. We did it! Final time: 4:41:16.
   Yes, this post would be much more effective if I actually had the photo of Dudley and I crossing the finish together hand-in-hand, however MarathonFoto somehow didn't get a photo of us together. What is up with that?!! There are 20 photographers at the finish and not one of them got a photo of the couple holding hands?!  REALLY?  So I didn't buy them. Oh well. We did see a proposal at the finish line. That was kind of neat.
   After the race, Dudley and I made a beeline to the post-race massage tables. Well, we sat down for about 15 minutes THEN we went to the massage tables. I generally don't even visit these tables because the lines always seem too long, however, the line here wasn't that long. With good reason - Chicago had 275 massage therapists working!! CRAZY! They were like a machine! They got the runners in there FAST. Thank you Chicago for providing this service and doing it so well. The massage felt great and was exactly what we needed post-race. We then went and hung out in Grant Park with the 45,000 other runners and their families. Everyone was so happy and it was a perfect day to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere. After a while, we headed back to the hotel, cleaned up and went back to the park to take a photo at the Bean. Because that's what you do in Chicago. Additionally, the medal had the Bean on it! We HAD to get a photo at the Bean!

My first marathon medal!!  

With our Bean medals at the Bean!

   To wrap up - the race was amazing. If you only want to do one marathon in your life, Chicago is a good one to do. Everything it BIG. The expo, the crowd, the participants...it's all a huge deal and quite the experience. The only thing I would change about the weekend would be to have flown in on Thursday, hit the expo early on Friday and then rested all day Saturday before running on Sunday. Looking back, I think the main issue my run suffered was just because I was tired from work and travel. That and the weather, but mostly exhaustion. But even though I wasn't happy with my time, I still had a wonderful experience. Thank you, Chicago! I'll be back...maybe even to race again.
   Oh - just in case anyone was wondering- I'm racing the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. As in two days. We went to the expo today. I'll write more on that next week if I can still function!

Chicago Marathon - Race Recap Day 1

   Last Sunday, Dudley and I ran the Chicago Marathon. It was truly one of the most amazing things I've ever done.  For those of you with a short attention span, here's the end result: a disappointing 4:41.  For the details: read on.
   We arrived in Chicago Saturday morning. We took the first flight out of Nashville (6:00 am), so we had to get up at 3:30 am. This was really stupid looking back on it, but it seemed like a good idea when I booked the flight back in May. Anyway, we arrived in Chicago around 7:30 am, caught the train and were at the hotel around 9:00 am. It was immediately obvious that Chicago LOOOOVES their marathon. I mean, duh - it's the Chicago Marathon, but it's still a huge city and lots of BIG things go on in a huge city. But Chicago was all about the marathon this weekend.

My ticket for the L.

Free pocket-sized spectator guides were everywhere.

   Since we were too early for the hotel check in, we dropped off our bags with the bellman and caught the shuttle to the expo. Funny story about the expo - I hadn't really paid that much attention to the logistics of race weekend before we got there. I mean, I knew when the race was, and what time it started, but I figured everything else could be sorted out once we got there. One of the nice things about a running race is that there aren't a ton of details. It's not like a triathlon that has a crazy amount of gear and transition areas to set up. For a running race, even a large one, you generally just check in, show up and run. Easy, peasy. So, Dudley and I were in the hotel lobby and were looking up the location of the expo. I had assumed that the expo was somewhere downtown near the race hotels because that's what is standard. Surely, the expo would be within walking distance from the hotel, right? Umm- no. It was 12 minutes away - BY CAR. Oops. Fortunately, while we were debating on whether to take a cab or the train down there, one of the hotel employees pointed out a free shuttle that was literally outside of our hotel that would take us down to the expo. Maybe I should have read the participant's guide, huh?

WELCOME TO THE CHICAGO MARATHON!

The Expo:
   Holy Mother of Expos. This thing was HUGE and, honestly, a little overwhelming. Looking back, we probably should have eaten something before we went down there because we were both starving and you needed your energy to check out this expo.

Obligatory photo in front of a giant sign.

   The first thing you do when you get to the expo, other than take 900 photos with giant signs, is check in. That's how the expo is set up. They had these check in kiosks that reminded me of airport security. There you had your participant's e-mail scanned and your ID checked. My check in person legitimately looked at me too. It wasn't just a "I trust who you are and this is a formality" kind of thing. She was making SURE I was the person on the ID and that it matched the participant e-mail information. 

   After I was approved, I was sent further back in the building where another row of check in people were waiting. Not that I could go to any of them...No, I had to go to one specific person that check in person #1 told me to go to. Why? Because check in person #2 already had my participant packet ready for me when I got to her. I didn't even have to tell her my name. I just walked up and she said "Kristine?" and gave me my packet (after checking my ID again, of course). These Chicago Marathon people don't mess around. 

   Then Dudley and I went on the quest to find the t-shirt and goodie bag pickup. All we were told was that it was on the other side of the wall. Little did we know what chaos was behind the wall. Just look at this madness:

Just a random shot of the expo floor.

Goose Island Beer brought their BUS.

The Brooks display.

I don't even know what this thing is.  

   Because Nike was the official clothing sponsor, they had a huge presence at the expo. They had a separate section for the official Chicago merchandise and it was surrounded by signs like the one below.

   But on one of the walls, they had giant letters that spelt out #ownchicago. People could write good luck (or whatever) on them. This must be a thing for Nike at large races because they did a similar thing at the Nike Women's Half I did in DC a few years ago.

There was a line to write on the letters.

\

Seriously big letters.

And again, I have no idea what this is, but I think it's Nike's.

   And y'all - this was a minor part of the expo.  I'm not even scratching the surface with this. All of the major running retailers were there, as well as representatives from major races world-wide. Even retailers that you don't really think of as being running oriented, such as The North Face, were there with special Chicago Marathon merchandise. It was insane. As I stated, the expo was kind of overwhelming and, due to how hungry we were, also kind of annoying. There were just so many people and vendors and lights and noise... We were there for probably two hours and we didn't even see all of the expo. (And for the record - we were very good. We only bought some Swiftwick socks. Because we love them and want to support our Nashville retailers.)  

   Though we knew we missed a good part of the expo, we caught the shuttle back to the hotel because we HAD to eat something other than free vendor samples. Though when we pulled up to the hotel, I was REALLY glad we went to the expo first thing rather than waiting until after we ate. The line for the shuttle back to the expo was about a half a block long. Apparently, Dudley and I had hit the expo at the right time. It had to have been crazy crowded later in the day.

   After getting some food, Dudley and I were finally able to check into our hotel and relax for a bit. I was a little bummed because it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY in Chicago, and we couldn't take advantage of it because we needed to get off of our feet for the rest of the day. But, I guess there are worse things in life than to hang out and watch Texas beat Oklahoma!! Hook 'em!

Next up: Race day!  

   

Next Stop - Chicago Marathon

   It's officially Chicago Marathon Week!  Just a few more days anxiously counting down the hours until we head off to Chi-Town! I'm ready to get up there, buy a bunch of overpriced swag and get my run on!

   I'm actually a little nervous about this race. Yes, I've completed a marathon before, but that was a IMCHOO and that's a completely different kind of marathon. Well, so I've been told. I've only done one Ironman and I've never done a stand-alone marathon, so what do I know? But, in theory, it makes sense. I was SO happy to get off of the bike at IMCHOO that the thought of running 26.2 miles afterwards was almost a relief. "Woo Hoo! Only a marathon to go!" The elation wasn't only because I didn't have to ride my bike anymore, but because I knew the remainder of the race was completely up to me. I didn't have to worry about water currents, or flat tires. I only had to worry about putting one foot in front of the other until I covered the distance. I didn't have any pressure on time. I didn't care if I walked. I just wanted to finish. (But for the record, I only walked at the water stations. I'm pretty proud of that.)
   I don't have kind of luxury for the Chicago marathon. I've been training to run the entire thing. And my training runs have been pretty solid. I "should" finish almost an hour faster than my Ironman marathon time. But here's the rub - I'm torn on how to approach the race. I want to run and push myself and see how I can do. But I also want to bring my phone and take pictures and make this into an event. I'm probably only running Chicago once. May as well enjoy the experience, right? And, of course, I still have the Marine Corps Marathon on the 25th I need to think about! If anyone has experience running almost back-to-back marathons, please let me know! I need your advice! And if you're going to Chicago, let me know! I'd love to see you!

23 days...

   The countdown has begun! 23 days until the Chicago Marathon!! Woo Hoo! I'm not exactly sure how I'm feeling right now. I'm excited, because I think it'll be a really fun experience. But I'm not nervous. At all. And I feel like I should be.

   I think I'm not nervous now because I was so nervous before I did Ironman Chattanooga and I survived it. After IMCHOO, it's kind of hard to faze me race-wise. However, I also know better than to disrespect any long-distance race. Running 26.2 miles is going to be hard and hurt no matter what the speed.

   Of course, I get to look forward to the Marine Corps Marathon two weeks after Chicago. That's right. Rather than being logical and dropping out of one race, or deferring to next year, Dudley and I are going to race both Chicago and MCM back-to-back. Because that's what we do. 

    I hate to say this as to jinx myself, but training has been going pretty well.  In fact, I had my longest training run to date (even for IMCHOO) last Sunday and it rocked. 18 miles at a 9:36 pace. If I could keep that up for Chicago, I'd be thrilled. However, I know many, many things can go wrong on race day so I'm not really thinking about a goal finishing time right now. The plan for now is to go and have fun. Maybe if my final few long runs go well, I'll allow myself to set a goal finishing time. But for now, it's just to show up and finish with a smile on my face. 

   Of course, my goal for MCM is just to survive.  We'll see how that goes!    

Peachtree Road Race - Race Recap

   The weekend started Friday morning when Dudley and I headed down to Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race (PRR). Unfortunately, the trip took a bit longer than expected because it was the Fourth of July weekend and I think everyone in the Southeast was also heading to Atlanta - traffic was terrible. And so was the weather. Nothing is more fun than traveling over Monteagle in a blinding rainstorm with tractor-trailers speeding around you.
   Fortunately, we made to Atlanta a little late, but safely. We decided to go directly to the expo because traffic was a insane and we wanted to make sure we got there before it closed. The expo was held in the Georgia World Congress Center, which I guess is their Convention Center. It's a huge complex next to the Georgia Dome and very near to Olympic Park, The Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. All of this is great if you're a tourist and have the entire day to spend in downtown Atlanta, but it's a logistical nightmare if you just want to pop in and out of the expo. Sure, we could have gone to the hotel and taken the MARTA (subway) down there, but we were naive and didn't know how bad traffic and parking would be. And it's BAD. Furture Peachtree runners, learn from our mistake - take the MARTA down to the expo.

Expo - this way! 

   However, once you got into the expo, it was pretty cool.  I mean, it's the "World's Largest 10k." It should be cool. It had the same stuff as most expos and a ton of PRR Swag, but you generally don't see an expo this big for a 10k.  It was well-laid out and never got too congested. Packet pickup was really easy too, and I expected a cluster with so many participants. Well done, Peachtree!

One of the many shirts I didn't buy.

   

The route. Probably should have really looked at this before the race.

   After the expo, we headed to the hotel which was located near the race start in Buckhead. Generally, I'm really detailed about the logistics for out-of-town races, but I've been so busy that I really haven't had time to do anything other than book the hotel. For me being totally clueless about Atlanta, we really lucked out. I was really happy with our hotel (Doubltetree). It was really convenient, especially for the Fourth of July. It was right at the race start and about two blocks from MARTA station. I recommend staying there if you go down for the race.

I was in Corral C.  I saw people with Corral X.  That's insane.

   As mentioned, I didn't do a lot of planning for the race. Not only was I crazy busy, but it's also just a 10k. Yes, that can be far if you're not running a lot, but both Dudley and I are in the middle of marathon training, so six miles is a short run for us. Nothing to really stress about. And I have to say - it's FUN to not stress about a race. Triathlons have SO MUCH STUFF and I have about 10 lists of everything I need. It was fun to just throw on my running shoes, walk out the door and be ready to go. And that's exactly what we did.

Good Morning!!

   Our plan was to get to the corrals about an hour before the 7:30 am start, so we could soak up all of the PRR atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was raining when we started to head out, so we stayed in the hotel for a bit until it passed. Being that we were so close, we still made it to the start with plenty of time to spare, even with the delay.

Me, D and a GIANT flag.  GO USA!

   PRR started something new this year - the Peachtree Cup. They invited six elites from varying continents / countries to make up four teams: USA, Africa, Asia and Europe. The team with the lowest cumulative time would win the cup. Shalane Flannigan was the captain of Team USA. Not that I saw her, but it was cool knowing she was there. (Team Africa won, BTW - USA came in second, but Shalane won for overall female.)

   The elites went off right on time. I was a little concerned about how long it was going to take for us to reach the starting line because there were so many people. Even with us being in one of the earlier corrals, there were still a ton of people in front of us. However, this isn't PRR's first rodeo. They were ON it. I think they let a corral go every two minutes. They were very efficient and we were running within 10 minutes of the starting gun.

   I was a little claustrophobic for the first mile or so. Big races are always congested during this period, but this seemed worse. It was also really steamy, as the rain had stopped and we were wrapped in a blanket of humidity. Dudley seemed OK with everything, but there was about a five minute period where I was about to lose my mind. It passed before I had a total freakout though, which was nice. Because that wouldn't have been embarrassing AT ALL.

   I should have really looked at the elevation map I took a photo of at the expo, because I was surprised at how hilly the course was. I knew about Cardiac Hill (never a good thing when there is something called Cardiac Hill on the course), but I thought the race flattened out after that. It didn't. I had been nursing a minor calf injury for the past week, but, thankfully, the hills didn't anger it too much. 

   I tried to really look around, have fun, and take in the race. Probably 30% of the people there were decked out in Red, White and Blue. There was a guy running in a patriotic, blow-up sumo thing. I have no idea how he was running in that. I also saw three guys dressed as Founding Fathers, complete with the white, powdered wigs. Way to commit to the theme, guys! And I went a little out of my way to run under the Holy Water provided by a local Catholic Church and was blessed by their priest, who was cheering along side the race course. Every little bit helps, right? 

   The rain returned around mile two and didn't let up until the after our race was over. It was pretty bad for a bit. Apparently, the race organizers delayed the start of the later corrals due to lightning. Though I heard thunder, I didn't see any lightning, which was good because we had no place to go for shelter. The big bummer about the rain was that we didn't get to hang out and enjoy the post-race festivities. We pretty much got a bit of food and our finishers shirt and left.

   

We're drenched. 

   Speaking of the finishers shirt...this is a big thing for the PRR. It's the only shirt you get with your entry, so if you don't finish, no shirt for you. For people who have been doing the race for 40 years, these things are a true badge of honor. Considering the shirts are SUCH a big deal, you would think that they would want as many people as possible to wear them. Apparently not, because they only had unisex shirts and they ran WAY too big. Seriously. I have a men's small and it can only be used as a sleep shirt because it just swamps me. PRR won't let you exchange the shirts at the race either. (They do have an exchange in ATL the week after the race, but that doesn't do out-of-towners any good.) PRR was so on point for everything else, I was surprised and kind of bummed about the shirt. 

The shirt I will never wear.

   Medals are not part of the package for the race, but you could buy one if you wanted. I figured since this was a bucket list race for us, I'd pony up the $20 and buy medals for the two of us. I'm glad I did.

Because medals are fun.

   Even with the shirt situation, I'd absolutely do this race again. There were only two other things that irked me about this race, which had nothing to do with the PRR itself: 1) the girl who ran with the selfie stick. NO! Stop it! You're running with 60,000 other people! It's dangerous. Put the stupid selfie stick DOWN! 2) the kid at one of the water stations who decided that pelting runners with fruit would be a good idea. I'm not sure if he was mad that no one was taking his orange slices or what, but I really didn't appreciate being hit with a piece of citrus.

   Other that those little things, the race was pretty much perfect. Running with 60,000 other people wasn't bad because we were so staggered around the course. The water stations and food areas were fully stocked, at least when we were there. The food vendors at the end of the race were almost begging us to take more food with us. That never happens! The race organizers even had dry towels for us at the finish. Granted, they were probably originally intended to be for sweat, but they work after a storm, too. It was really nice to have something to dry off with after running in the rain for four miles. 

   Here is where I geek out a little bit - the stats from the race:

• Accepted participants: 60,000
• Finishers: 54,553  (Men: 27,004 / Women: 27,549)
• Our finishing time: 59:41 (9:13 average)
• My placement: 13,383 overall / 379 out of 3,179 AG / 4,188 overall female
• D's placement: 13,396 overall / 991 out of 3,096 AG / 9,203 overall male

  Is this not hysterical? So many people!! The overall (non-elite) male won in something like 29:00 and the overall female (non-elite) was 32:00. Crazy fast. This race should also serve as a warning to those speedy runners who win races. The man who was winning the non-elite race thought he had it in the bag, and he slowed down to cross the finish line...only to be passed. He lost by 9/100s of a second. Check out the video. It's heartbreaking. 

   If you have the chance, you should do this race. It was extremely well-organized and additionally, everyone in Atlanta was just so nice. I think Dudley and I had to have said that about 10 times throughout the weekend. "Everyone is SO nice!" It kind of became a running joke between us, but they were. The volunteers, the other participants, random strangers we asked for directions - everyone. And as a bonus - Buckhead has one of the best Fourth of July Fireworks celebrations in Atlanta (who knew?). We just had to walk out of our hotel and BAM - fireworks. 

BOOM! 

   If you're interested in the PRR, remember - it's a lottery, so plan ahead for when it opens in 2016. It's an easy drive from Nashville and a fun weekend away. I don't know if we'll be back next year, but I'd love to do this race again in dryer conditions. Thanks PRR and Atlanta for a great race!