Category Archives: adventures.

2015.

becoming

if 2013 was a year of wildness (starting new jobs, buying a house, moving), and 2014 was a year of settledness (building stability in our work and home lives), then 2015 was most definitely a year of becoming.

2015 was a year of growth. growing into some beautiful new friendships and out of some others. the year where I finally embraced the value of quality over quantity in relationships, and the year where I experienced the freedom, but also heartbreak, that reality can sometimes bring. it was a year that required me to be a real grown-up in new ways – really hard ways – but ways that taught me a lot about myself.

2015 was the year of the marathon. in a time where running a marathon has seemingly become the new 5k, it’s sometimes hard to talk about running our first marathon as if it’s any kind of big deal. but the truth is, it’s a huge deal. more than anything else in 2015, training for and running my first marathon defined this year of my life. the marathon experience challenged me in every way – physically, mentally – and in the process, helped me fall in love with running all over again, and reaffirm my affinity for distance running. it’s an accomplishment I’m so proud of, and will remember always…and I can’t wait to do it all over again.

2015 was the year of the second car. (okay, in reality, it was only a few days of 2015…). if you’ve known us for a long time, then you probably know that with the exception of my senior year in college when we lived apart, kevin and i have shared a single car for the entirety of our relationship. what started as two broke grad students not being able to afford a second car eventually turned into just normal life, and save for a few #transitproblems here and there, we’ve learned to make it work, and figured we’d tackle the second car situation if/when it ever became a real issue. my time riding the bus (and occasionally bumming rides from friends) was incredibly humbling, and i’m thankful to have had that experience. due to a weird series of events over the past few months, coupled with the generosity of my parents, my family’s honda civic is now here in nebraska to stay. having a car (especially here in omaha) is such a ubiquitous thing, that it can be easy to take for granted, but the value of having another car isn’t lost on us one bit, and we’re grateful beyond words.

2015 was the year of the bar. last spring Kevin and I started meeting up at scriptown, a new brewery in the blackstone district. it was a short walk from my bus stop and the perfect place to grab a drink before heading home together. and somewhere in between the after-work beers and the weekend growler fills and bringing all of our friends in to try it out, too, it soon became our favorite place – our second home, a place where (nearly) everyone knows our name. this year, scriptown has been a place for us to celebrate good days and birthdays and anniversaries, and a place to wind down on the not-so-good days, too. we’ve always wanted a place like this – a place where we can be regulars at, and have real relationships with the bartenders and owners, and I’m happy to report we’ve definitely found it.

2015 was the year of the royals. alright, this one was probably more exciting and year-defining for Kevin than it was for me, but I have to admit, I had my fair share of fun cheering on this team to their first World Series since 1985. in 2015, I watched and listened to more baseball than I ever have in my entire life, and – yes, it shocks me, too – I didn’t even hate it. okay, so maybe having a giant crush on Eric Hosmer made the experience slightly more enjoyable :)

2015, like every year, was full of moments that I don’t want to forget. new half marathon, 10k, and 5k PRs for both Kevin and myself. seeing our amazing niece turn two. trips to California, Arizona, and Chicago, and the opportunity to visit with so many old friends. the four months we got to spend with my sister, while she lived with us here in Omaha this semester. and all the other everyday moments in between that make our life what it is right now – messy, beautiful, real. this year and every year, we have so much to be thankful for.

so cheers to a new year, to 2016 — I can’t wait to see what kind of year you’ll be.

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beer & bagel squatchy challenge

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Last weekend we participated in our first multi-race weekend: the Beer & Bagel Squatchy Challenge at Quarry Oaks Golf Course in Ashland, NE. This challenge consisted of a half(ish) marathon on Saturday followed by a 4-ish miler on Sunday. On hilly trails.

Having heard great things about Beer & Bagel in the past, we had started looking into doing the 4-miler a couple of weeks before the Chicago Marathon. We figured it would be a fun way to close out racing season, and even though trail races are more challenging than road races, 4 miles is a manageable distance. When we went to register, however, we discovered that they were also offering a halfish marathon distance, and that doing both races, or the “Squatchy Challenge,” qualified you for a special finisher’s medal. That was an easy choice. We like medals.

After Chicago I thought that I might have to skip out on these races thinking that they might be a bit too risky for my leg, but I’ve continued to take it fairly easy since the marathon and things seem to be healing up well (going purely off of feel here) so just as with Chicago and the Good Life Halfsy, I felt confident towing the starting line, taking it easy, and backing off if and when I felt necessary. I’m so happy that I was healthy enough to participate because this weekend of races turned out to be SO MUCH FUN.

SATURDAY (HALFISH MARATHON)
Ashland is about a 30-minute drive from our house, so we left around 7:15 for a 9:00am race time. Since this was the inaugural year of the halfish, the race field was pretty small (just over 200 runners), so we were able to park quickly and fairly close to the start line. We stayed in our car for a few extra minutes (it was chilly – just under 40 degrees), had our breakfast (mini bagel with peanut butter, and a banana), put on our arm warmers (old socks with the ends cut off), and then headed up to the start line area to hang out at around 8:20. One thing that I love about smaller races is that it’s usually a much calmer atmosphere. They had a few sets of corn hole/bags set up so we did that for a while, stretched a bit, and made our way over the start line a few minutes before 9:00am. We lined up near the front since the race was not chip timed (not that either of us were super concerned with time). And then we were off!

The course was 3 loops of about 4.3 miles, alternating directions every loop. We ran together for most of the first loop, and then I split off to complete the rest of the race by myself. (I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that I do not run well with others – at least in races). The course was really beautiful with lots of different terrain that kept it interesting (and challenging) – part paved road, part golf course/grass, part dirt trail, plus three creek crossings of varying difficulty including one that you needed a rope to get across. There weren’t many flat areas which meant you were either going uphill or downhill at pretty much all times – both really hard in different ways. I thought I would hate having to do three loops of the same thing, but since this wasn’t an area where I normally run, I never got bored and the alternating directions made it interesting (and Kevin and I got to pass and see each other a couple times). I didn’t really have a time goal in mind for two reasons: (1) even though I always want to put out a good effort during a race, I was mostly running this for fun, and (2) trails are a whole different ball game and I have no concept of what a “good” trail pace would be for myself. I tried to view these races as a way to celebrate the end of our racing season, break in our new trail shoes, and start getting more comfortable running on trails (we want to do more of it this winter). I finished in 2:19 and then waited for Kevin to come in (at 2:55) – instant PRs since this was our first trail half!

This was the Beer & Bagel run, after all, so after finishing we headed to the beer tent and were pleased to find several local craft beer options awaiting us! There were bagels, of course, but they were also grilling up burgers, so we opted for those instead. The post-race atmosphere was so fun – everyone brought chairs and blankets and set up camp to enjoy beers, food, and the awards ceremony. (Note to self to come more prepared next year). We hung out for awhile afterwards, took some photobooth pics, and headed home – after all, we had to do this all over again the next morning!

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SUNDAY (4-ISH MILER)

Sunday we left our house a bit earlier – around 6:45 for the 9:00 start – since we knew Sunday’s race was larger and didn’t want to have to park far away. We got a good parking spot and once again hung out in our car for a bit, ate breakfast, and then headed to the start area. We forgot chairs, but happened to have a blanket in our trunk so we found a sunny spot and set our blanket up so we’d have a place to hang out post-race. We found our friend Teresa just before the race and of course had to take a pre-race group selfie!

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Doing this course for the second time was much easier, since it was only one loop and because we knew what to expect. The course was almost identical to Saturday’s, with the exception of the last 1/3 of a mile where they slightly modified the finish. It was also A LOT more crowded and there were several bottleneck areas. Even though I wasn’t trying to sprint through this, I did want to try to run the whole time, but it was pretty much impossible because there were so many groups of walkers spread across the entire width of the trail. I don’t mind when people walk in races – I do, too – but race etiquette and common sense would tell you to stay single file and move to the right if you are going to go slower. It was a bit frustrating but I tried to run in the areas where I could remind myself this was just for fun, and now I know what to expect for next year. On Sunday, I also ran through the creek crossings instead of using the ropes/stones to get across – that was fun (and I definitely, literally got cold feet)! I finished the 4.2 (ish) mile course in just under 43 minutes, grabbed a beer, and stayed near the finish line to wait for Kevin and Teresa, who came in together at just under an hour. They grabbed beers and we took a post-race pic!

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We hung out after the race for quite a while – had more beers (when I went up for the second time, the guy insisted on giving me two – YOLO!), food (chili and bagels – totally hit the spot), and got our special Squatchy medals! For early November, the weather was amazing – chilly at the start both days, but warmed up to about 60 by the end of the races and was super sunny – perfect for being outside! Both races were very well organized, with simple packet pickup, a great t-shirt (“drinker with a running problem”), and an amazing race director, who personally thanked us for participating in both days of the race. I’m so glad it worked out for us to do these races, and I think they’ll definitely be a regular installment for us moving forward. I don’t think I could ever give up traditional road running and races, but we definitely want to incorporate more trails into our training to build strength and mix things up a bit. We’ve got some exciting stuff planned for 2016!

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2015 good life halfsy race recap

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetThis past weekend we both ran half marathon #9: the Good Life Halfsy in Lincoln, NE. This was the second year for the Halfsy and after hearing from others how fun this race was last year, we decided to sign up waaaay back in March. Although we were really looking forward to this race and a weekend in Lincoln, it became kind of easy to forget about since we were so focused on marathon training throughout the summer and fall. So, it sort of snuck up on us and going into it we hadn’t done much running since our marathons two (Kevin) and three (Hollyanne) weeks ago.

SATURDAY/EXPO

Even though we only live about an hour from Lincoln, we decided to make a weekend out of it and head down early on Saturday morning and stay the night at the race hotel, the Holiday Inn Downtown. We arrived at the hotel right at noon, just as the expo (also in the hotel) was kicking off. We were able to check in early (always nice!) and head back downstairs to the expo. Packet pickup was simple and quick. They had an area for you to look up your bib number with sticky notes for you to write it down and give to the volunteers, who then gave you your race bag (which included a free Bulu Box)! There were a few other vendors set up, but overall a fairly small expo. In a second, attached room was a large booth selling official race gear. We went back to this booth a couple times throughout the day (and after the race on Sunday) because we couldn’t decide what we wanted. We both ended up getting a fun t-shirt and a hoodie (so comfy). We also grabbed a 13.1 Nebraska sticker for our car. They also had pint glasses for $10 that came with a drink ticket for the hotel bar or post-race party, so of course we couldn’t pass those up.

storyboard001storyboard004After stopping by the race gear booth we proceeded to a downstairs area to pick up our t-shirts – a long, sleeve tech shirt (purple for women, neon green for men) with thumb holes! Three cheers for a race shirt that I might actually wear!

There was a fun photo opp area so of course we stopped for a few selfies.

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetOnce we finished up at the expo, we had an uneventful lunch while we watched the Huskers lose again. We then decided to stop by one of the local running stores in town, Lincoln Running Company; our race packet came with a Good Life Halfsy bracelet that got us discounts around town at local restaurants and shops, one of which was 20% a single item at LRC. We were in the market for some trail shoes so we thought we’d see if we could find some here. LRC had about 5 different trail shoe models for each of us to try on, and we both ended up with a new pair – I got the Mizuno Wave Hayate 2, and Kevin ended up with Nike Air Zoom Terra Kiger 3 – we’re all set for our trail races coming up this weekend!

We dropped our new shoes off at the hotel, and then walked a few blocks to a nearby Lincoln brewery that we hadn’t been to yet, Ploughshare Brewing Co. The place didn’t look like much from the outside but inside is a huge taproom with lots of fun different seating options, including a staircase to some upper-level seating! Having never been here before, we both decided to do a flight to taste several of their beers. We each got four different beers, and actually liked all eight that we tried, but especially liked the Oktoberfest and the Dandelion Saison!

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetAfter our flights, we headed back to the hotel to hang out and rest for a couple of hours before partaking in the hotel’s pre-race pasta dinner later in the evening. It was quite a spread – salad, breadsticks, steamed veggies, and a pasta bar with several kinds of noodles, sauces, and toppings! It wasn’t free, but we did get a discount (15% off) with our race bracelets, and the selection/taste was much better than a lot of the free pasta dinners that other races have.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the Royals game, and of course had to lay out our flatties for the morning! We were in bed by about 11:00pm.

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SUNDAY (Race Day!)

Thanks to daylight savings time and a 9:00AM race start, we didn’t have to get up too early. We woke up around 6:30, got ready, packed up our car, checked out of our room, and headed to the hotel breakfast buffet. We typically have a bagel with peanut butter and a banana for a pre-race breakfast, but we took advantage of the options and had bacon, eggs, potatoes, yogurt, and coffee.

The Good Life Halfsy is a point-to-point course, with shuttles offered from the finish area back to the start area after the race, so we had to get ourselves to the starting line. Since our hotel (and car) were near the finish area, we intended to get an Uber to the start so we wouldn’t have to deal with the shuttles afterwards. However, there were no Ubers to be found, so we decided to just drive ourselves. It was about a 15-20 minute drive to Seacrest Field from the hotel, and we were there by around 7:45.

For the next hour, we hung out with some other friends who were running as well, stretched, used the bathroom (the runner : port-a-potty ratio was great!), ate a banana, etc. It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm morning for November in Nebraska — it warmed up to about 75 degrees by the afternoon! At around 8:45, we started lining up by pace group, the national anthem played, and the race kicked off just after 9:00AM.

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Here’s a short race recap from each of us: 

K: As you all may know by now, I’ve spent nine half marathons chasing a time of sub-2:30. While I’ve set some PRs on a few of those attempts, I still could not seem to put together a race that would get me under 2:30. Coming into this race, since I was so focused on the Des Moines Marathon, I really had no expectations. It wasn’t until last week that I decided I would run around a 2:30 pace and just see what happened. I started off running with our friend Courtney, who was also attempting to run a 2:30 race. Here’s how it went down.  I ran a 9:59 pace for three miles. There was no need to run that fast, but it felt good. At about the 4 and a half point, Courtney told me to go ahead and she would run her own pace. I decided I would keep pushing to the halfway mark and see what happened. I knew if I could keep my pace under 11:00 minute miles I would have a shot at doing it. I came in to the halfway point at a 10:45 pace. I was pretty convinced at that point that, unless something went terribly wrong, I would be able to make it, but that I would still need to push it a little. As the race went on, the weather started heating up. I saw our friend Jeremy just past mile 7, and stopped for a Energy Singer. I started to chat for a minute and he made me keep running. It provided for a nice boost as I felt the energy zapping out of me. Every few miles there would also be cheer zones with lots of spectators, so that also helped. Just past mile 9, I saw our friend Vanessa who was coming back from a turn-around point, and then once I crossed the turn-around I saw Courtney was only a minute or so behind me, still looking strong. The last couple of miles got harder and harder, as my legs started to get more tired. During the last mile, I knew I had it in the bag, but my legs didn’t want to cooperate. I just kept pushing until we got to the final bridge, which was a killer! I slogged up the bridge (slow-jogged) and ran as fast as I could down into the finish! Final time of 2:26:32, beating my previous PR by SIX minutes!

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetH: Going into this race, I was still somewhat in recovery from my pre-marathon stress reaction “injury,” so I was planning to take it easy for this race and possibly run with Kevin. I’m not competitive with very many things, but I am competitive with myself when it comes to running. I was feeling good and knew I could run a semi-fast race, so when we started lining up, I stood by the 1:50 pace group. I wasn’t necessarily trying to PR (current PR is 1:49:31), but thought I’d try to stay with/near the 1:50 group as long as possible. Being a pacer is a tough job, and I’m grateful to the runners who volunteer to do it, but I was a little frustrated because our group started out way too fast. The first two miles were supposed to be 8:48 and 8:33, and they were both closer to 8:20, so by the time the 8:15/8:20 miles came in the middle of the race, I was already starting to feel burnt out. I hung with the group until about mile 10.5, and then slowly started to drop back a bit, but was still able to see them ahead of me for most of the rest of the race. My Garmin had been spot on the whole way, but somehow ended up about 0.2 miles ahead at around mile 11, which was a little disheartening. The last mile was pretty tough for me – I didn’t get that second wind that I often do at the end of races, and I had to stop several times for walk breaks. I knew I wasn’t going to break 1:50, or even beat my second best time (1:50:20), so made a new goal of beating my Des Moines Half Marathon time from around this time last year (1:51:50). I tried to muster a bit of a sprint to the finish line (downhill = ouch), and crossed in 1:51:09, for my third best half marathon time! It’s easy for me to be disappointed in myself, but I have to remember that I can’t PR at every race and for being injured and not running and eating like crap for the last three weeks, I ran a really strong and respectable race.

POST-RACE

In the finisher chute area, we received our medal (that doubles as a bottle opener – I like this trend), and then had plenty of food/drink options available to us: water, gatorade, chocolate milk (favorite), granola bars, oranges, bananas, and Runza sandwiches (regional chain). A couple blocks away was the official post-race party in the Railyard area, where we could watch others finish, redeem our free beer, purchase race gear, hang out. We got our free beer, plus a donut from a shop in the Railyard, and rested our legs for awhile before heading over to catch a shuttle back to our car.

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Overall, a super fun race that I’m happy we participated in! Our only complaints were that there weren’t enough aid stations in the first half of the course, and that the post-race beer was hard to find (important!), so there wasn’t much to complain about. The race t-shirt, extra gear available for purchase, pre-race communication, and race day organization were all excellent, so we will definitely be back in 2016 to run our halfsies off!

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2015 des moines marathon race recap

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I still can’t believe I actually ran a marathon.  Me.  The guy who is NOT an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, ran 26.2 miles through the streets of Des Moines, IA, and actually ENJOYED it.  Well, most of it.  Luckily, I did not have any sort of injury that I had to work through.  My biggest obstacle was just tackling six point two miles more than I had ever run before.

Pre-Trip:

Having come back from Chicago on Monday night, we only had three and a half days to prepare for our trip to Des Moines.  How I like to pack for trips that involve running is that essentially I will pack a ton of running clothes, and maybe one other outfit.  There is nothing I love mroe than getitng to hang out in running/workout clothes for an entire weekend, especially in the Fall where I get to wear one of my bazillion (that’s a number) 1/4 zips.  What’s that?  The Des Moines Marathon gives a 1/4 zip top to all participants?  I knew this race was for me.

Friday:

I was able to leave work a little early on Friday (thanks, James), and Hollyanne was able to work from home, so I swung by home and picked her up and we were on the road.  Initially we thought that we might get to Des Moines in time for packet pick-up on Friday night, giving us one less thing to do on Saturday.  Unfortunately, traffic had other ideas.  There were two different accidents on the interstate, so it took us quite a bit longer than usual to get to Des Moines.  We decided to forego the race expo Friday night and, instead, we got dinner from this little wine, meat, and cheese place in Des Moines, called The Cheese Shop.  It was delicious, and I had probably one of the best mac and cheese dishes of my life.  We also got a meat and cheese plate, and I had two beers.  I might be a slow runner, but I’m definitely an elite carb-loader.  Trust me, you will sense a theme going on.  After dinner, we headed to my cousin Cindy’s house, where we were staying with her and her family (THANK YOU!!!), and we called it a night.

Saturday:

We got up Saturday morning and Holl and I jogged about two and a half miles around the high school in Waukee.  We nearly got trampled by a marching band that was coming straight at us on the sidewalk, but we decided to get out of their way, since there seemed to be about 100 of them, and they weren’t about to move for us. :)  After getting back to the house, we showered, got ready and headed back out the door.  We wanted to both drive the course and get to the expo early so we could have lunch and watch my little cousin’s soccer game.

We had done the half marathon last year, so I remember that course being extremely flat.  That was definitely not the case with the full marathon course.  The half and full courses split at about the 2.5 mile point, and the full goes on a long, gradual, up-hill for nearly a mile.  It then turned, and there were rolling hills for the next FOUR miles.  Luckily with rolling hills, there’s also a lot of downhill, so I knew I could make up some time in those spots.  We continued to drive up towards Drake University, where the course finally flattened out about mile 12, and the course then went downhill or was flat the rest of the way.  It was also nice to drive the course so that Hollyanne and I could see where some good places would be for her to see me during the race.

After driving the course, we went to the Expo Center to pick up my race packet and shop around.  Since it is a smaller race, the expo is a little small, but there was still a good amount of different booths.  I got a new stocking cap, mug, and a wall display for all of our finisher medals and race bibs.  We probably spent about an hour at the expo, and not wanting to get too tired from walking around, we headed back to Waukee to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousins for lunch.

Much to my surprise, when we got back to Waukee, my parents were there!  Hollyanne had sneakily arranged for them to come up for the weekend as well, which was awesome!  We got lunch at Jimmy Johns, where I consumed more carbs.  In case you haven’t caught on, I’m REALLY good at consuming carbs.

After lunch, we had a little time to kill before the soccer game, so Holl and I hopped in the car with Cindy and Craig, and did a little wine tasting before Izzy’s soccer game.  Penoach Winery in Adel was beautiful, and the wine was delicious!  I can’t wait wait to go back there at some point.  The soccer game was fun and Izzy did great, and even scored a goal!  A good time was had by all!

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After the soccer game, we all went back and changed before dinner.  I was able to lay out my “Flat Kevin” for the next morning, so I didn’t have to be running around like a mad-man in the dark trying to find some last-minute item.   We then headed to dinner, where, once again, I excelled.  The typical pre-race dinner for me involves pizza and beer, which is what I went with.  The key is not over-indulging in either of those, which I like to think I’ve mastered.  I am pretty sure I PR’d in carb-loading for this race. :)  After dinner, we went back, watched the Cub lose (sad), and I headed off to bed for an early wake-up.

Sunday

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I got up about 5:45 on Sunday morning, so I could start my pre-race fueling.  I opted for a bagel with peanut butter before we left, and brought a banana to eat about 7:15, since the race started at 8am.  The early morning crew consisted of me, Holl, Cindy, Katie (Cindy and Craig’s oldest), and my mom!  We headed out of Waukee about 6:30 and got downtown to the YMCA by about 7am.  We had plenty of time to relax, use the restrooms (MUCH nicer than porta-potties), and soak up some heat before heading out into the 40 degree temperatures.  We walked down to the starting area about 7:40 and said our goodbyes, as they headed off to the meeting spot at mile 3.5.

With only about 7000 people doing both the half and the full marathons, there was no wave start.  Once the gun went off, everyone just worked their way up to the front.  I tried to start about in the middle, since I didn’t quite know exactly how long it was going to take me to finish, and I needed to make sure to finish before the cutoff time.  I also didn’t want to be the last person on the course with no spectators around for miles.  My plan was to try and not start out too fast, and save as much energy as possible for the back half of the course.

The first couple of miles felt good.  The pace I was at felt good, and I was passing some folks as we made it to the half/full marathon split.  This is the point where the marathoners do 16 miles on their own before reuniting with the half marathoners.  Once we hit the split, we spent the next mile going up hill.  It was one of those slow, gradual uphills that make you question why on Earth you chose to run the hill.  My pace slowed a little, but I got through it.  I hit mile 3.5 and saw my family for the first time, which was a good boost for what was about to happen over the next four miles.  I ditched my gloves and switched out my stocking cap for a hat, and Holl reminded me to slow down, then I was on my way.

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The next four miles consisted of me going up and down rolling hills.  I knew this section would be tough, but I also knew that the downhill portion would be helpful with my pace.  I tried to just focus on my surroundings (BEAUTIFUL homes) and keep my pace as steady as possible.  I came out of the hills just past mile 7, and saw my family again.  Knowing where they would be along the course helped keep me focused. as well as helped break up the distance.  I was sitting at a 10:40 pace and, once again, Holl reminded me to slow down and that I had 19 miles to go.  I’m kind of the worst when it comes to pacing.

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Over the course of the next four miles, I just tried to stay in a rhythm, and focused on fueling, every 5 miles like I had planned.  There were plenty of aid stations, so I never felt like water was too far away.  At mile 9, someone was handing out small cups of beer (probably like 3 ounces?).  Being the elite carb-loader that I am, of course I had one.  I had to make sure I had enough in the tank to go all the way to the finish line!

Once I got to mile 11.5, I saw my family again when we did a lap around the Drake track (home of the Drake Relays).  This time, my aunt and uncle had joined in on the fun as well!  Knowing I wouldn’t see my family again until mile 18, I knew I had to try and stay mentally strong during the middle miles.  I decided to stop and make a pit stop before continuing out of Drake Stadium.  I hit the halfway point at 2:30: 53, which, honestly, was entirely too fast.  YOLO, right?

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Miles 14-16 were pretty steadily downhill.  Between the 15 and 16 mile markers, I started to feel a shooting pain through the back of my calf.  It was a little un-nerving for me, as I’d never really felt that before.  Looking back, I think that with so much downhill during that portion, my legs just weren’t happy after 15 miles of up and down.  Once the course flattened out again, it pretty much went away.   The next couple of miles were rough, to say the least, as we went onto a trail where there were no spectators, so you are pretty much alone with yourself.

I came in to Waterworks Park at mile 18 in rough shape.  I had slowed considerably, but still felt pretty good, though was starting to get sore.  I saw the family again, which was a huge boost before taking a lap around the lake.  As I was running around the lake, I met a woman who was running her 100th marathon, which was pretty cool!  She looked like she was doing much better than I was at that point!

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I saw the family again at mile 21 when I came back around the lake.  I knew I would see them again at 23, before the finish line.  The next two miles were also pretty lonely, as it was down another trail where it was difficult to have spectators.  I was also getting to the point where I was starting to think I could make 5:30:00, which is what I was really hoping for (besides just finishing).  I saw three people drinking and spectating at mile 22, and I jokingly said that it wasn’t fair as I passed them.  One guy offered me a drink of his beer, and I gladly accepted!  Why not?  It tasted incredible!

Photo Oct 18, 12 18 16 PM

I saw the family one last time at 23, where I tried to veer off-course, so I could finish my race at Confluence Brewing Company, but they all made me stay on track. :)  Looking at my watch and my pace temporary tattoo (I would highly recommend getting one of these for a marathon), I knew 5:30:00 was looking more and more possible, so that kept me moving as fast as I could at that point.  Once I got to the mile 24 marker, I knew I had banked enough time that I was going to make 5:30:00 pretty easily, even if I had to walk the rest of the way (I was not about to walk the rest of the way, have no fear!).  I then began to realize that if I pushed it more (it’s hard to think of 13 minute miles as pushing it, but there was nothing left in the tank at this point), I could break 5:25!

The last couple of miles flew by as I kept trying to do the math in my head about the paces I needed to hit (math is hard).  I then saw Hollyanne’s cousin Anita at mile 25, which I didn’t fully realize until after the race.  I then powered through the last 1.2 miles and up the Locust Street Bridge to finish in 5:24:41!  I really had a great time and cannot thank Hollyanne and my family enough for all of the support they gave me along the way!  I never thought I would become a marathoner, but now I can’t wait to do it again!

Photo Oct 18, 1 30 11 PM

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