Hospital Hill Half Marathon Recap

      I finally was able to run a race in my hometown area. It was unbelievably awesome. I don't think my words can describe all my feelings and emotions.

      A few months ago, after realizing we'd be in town during this amazing race, I text my friends Katie and Stuart. I *somehow* persuaded them to train for their first ever half marathon(s). Runner's World declared it the 11th most outstanding half marathon to run. It is quite hilly. Six of the hills are even named. I told Katie and Stuart that they may as well run one of the hardest 13.1's first so that all the others would seem easy. (they believed me...suckers. haha!)

      All the weeks leading up to this we kept in contact via text about their training. They both did amazing at sticking to it. I could not be more proud of them. Then when I arrived in Kansas City I was able to go on a training run or two with each of them. The night before the race we went out for a big pasta dinner with the three of us and some of our sideline supporters.

Me, Stuart, and Katie - Ready to take on Hospital Hill

 

Pasta dinner with some of our supporters

    We decided we would carpool to the start line. I had worked packet pickup and we had all the stuff and information that we needed. I was so excited to finally be able to share this part of my life with my family.

    RACE MORNING

    I think Katie and Stuart were wondering why the heck I wanted to leave so early. I assured them that we would need time to walk to start, check bags, stretch, have potty breaks, and get in place. Joe and Matt- Katie's fiance (they just got engaged a few days earlier. WOOHOO CONGRATS!!!)-dropped us at the start and went to find a place to cheer for us around mile 8.

 

At the start with Katie, Stuart, and Sarah (Katie's running partner and our new friend) Isn't the chick in the background hilarious? She was not impressed.

      My plan was to stick with Katie and Sarah during the race and help keep them at around a 9:40-10:00 pace. Stuart said he would probably run with us the first 2 miles just so that he wouldn't go all crazy fast out of the gate. I wanted to enjoy this race with my friends, in a city that I love, being supported by family.

THE RACE

    I loved this race. It seemed surreal to be running down the streets of Kansas City. I smiled for a lot of the race. I liked that they started each corral a few minutes apart. When we started running it wasn't cramped and we had an easy time staying together. Everyone was wearing headphones (except me of course, I never listen to anything.) so I just ran along mouthing words of encouragement now and again. I also became quite good at hand signals. I told them there would be a nice downhill shortly after the 2.5 mile mark. Stuart took off around mile 2. He was hoping to come in under 2:10. We girls stuck together. It was a beautiful morning. Some of the best racing weather we could have ordered up, especially for KC in June. 

    We stayed right on pace for the first 5 miles. The hills were beginning to take their toll. I told Katie that she'd be seeing Matt soon so to just focus on that. Around this time Sarah and Katie kept saying,"Go on. Please go on." "We're fine. You can leave us." They said it so many times that I decided to leave and let them run their own race. 

     So I ran, smiled, and thanked the few spectators that were along the course. I was surprised by how few people were along the route. I knew that my family would be along mile 6 somewhere. I kept scanning the sidewalks. I spotted them rather quickly and started waving my arms as I ran towards them. 

    They said they had seen Stuart. 

Stuart about to hi-five my mom and dad

I was just going to run through but decided,"Why not stop and chat?"

Hi-fiving my moms hand before I decided to stop and talk.

It seemed like the perfect time to snack too.

I never get to stop and pose for photos during races so this was fun.

 

      I asked how Stuart looked and they said he was doing great. They were concerned since Katie wasn't with me. I assured them that she was doing great and would be along in a couple minutes. My sister Alisha said,"You look like you haven't even been running at all. Holy cow." That made me feel good. They told me how awesome it was to cheer on everyone. They couldn't believe how inspiring it was. It made me overjoyed to see them all smiling, laughing, and cheering.

     It was time to keep on running so I bounded off as they continued to scream and shout words of encouragement.

    I knew that I would be seeing Joe and Matt a few miles later. I knew this wouldn't be a PR so since the pressure was off I just ran, smiled, and took in the sights. I came upon a water stop that was already out of water. They had a ton of Gatorade but I never drink that and I didn't want to throw my body off.

 

     I stopped and chatted with Joe and Matt for around 45 seconds. I told them Katie looked good and would be coming up soon. I asked how Stuart was and they told me that he had passed through about a minute before me. So I made another snap decision and took off after Stuart. As I ran off Matt yelled,"You can catch him!!"   

    I was trying to do the math on how quickly I would need to run to close the gap. We all know that I suck at math while running though. So I gave up on that and spent my energy on running faster. 

    As I was chasing after Stuart, Katie passed by Joe and Matt.

Looking good around mile 7 or 8

    Pretty soon I saw Stuart in the distance. I was surprised it had only taken me about 2 miles to catch him. I ran up and slapped him REALLY hard on the butt. Somehow he didn't seem that surprised...apparently this happens to him often. ??? ha!

    

I was able to run the final 3.5ish miles with Stuart. We knew that miles 10-12 would be mostly uphill. We just kept on running. I was so surprised when someone yelled out my name around mile 11. I wasn't expecting to see anyone else that I knew.

Joe's nephew towards the front and you can see me and Stuart in the background

   I didn't immediately react to someone shouting my name just because it was so unexpected. Finally I caught on and looked over to see Joe's Mom running along the crowd of runners trying to snap this photo of me.

I was so excited and surprised to see them there. It completely energized me to keep charging up the hills. It was so wonderful of them to show up and support us.

   Stuart had his headphones on so he pretty much had no clue what was going on. My knee was aching a little bit but I otherwise felt great. I was happy to have Stuart running beside me. We kept pushing each others pace up the inclines. I knew he would be making it in well under his 2:10 goal and I wanted to try to push it to under 2:05.

   As we crested what I *thought* was the final hill there were amazing spectators with Twizzlers and orange slices. I grabbed an orange slice, thanked the lady, and chomped down. Mmm...just what I needed.

    We both thought it was flat and then downhill. I don't know why we didn't realize there was one final  steep hill. Stuart had cranked up his speed while I was grabbing the orange slice. So when we rounded the corner and saw the actual last hill he looked up and shouted a profanity so loudly that everyone within earshot cracked up laughing. I laughed the whole way up that darn hill. At the top there was a fully costumed Elvis impersonator hi-fiving everyone. There was also a beautiful view of the WWI Liberty Memorial. Now we were certain it was all downhill.

   I couldn't stop smiling as I heard the crowds in the distance. I generally do well at 'riding the downhills' so I picked up some speed and just enjoyed the ride. As I saw the crowds I was overcome with emotion. It's hard to describe everything that I was feeling. I had just been able to run in Kansas City...FINALLY. I had ran with two of my oldest and closet friends. My family was at a race supporting me for the first time ever. It was an amazing, beautiful day. I didn't feel wiped out at all. I felt like I could have crossed the finish, grabbed my medal, and started on another lap. I just wanted to savor that moment of absolute bliss.

My family snapped this of me as I ran to the finish. They were there screaming their hearts out for me.
Stuart running toward the finish (below)

    I floated over the finish line and turned to see Stuart cross. We both smiled excitedly at each other and high-five'd. No way was I hugging his sweaty self.

    On our way to the race Stuart had asked,"Do they put the medal around your neck like at the Olympics?"
    I replied," I've only had one person do that; usually they just hand you the medal."
    He said,"Well, I'm just going to bow down so they have to put it on me."

  So I walked up to the person handing out the medals, grabbed mine, and said I was grabbing one for him. Then I turned and placed the medal around his neck and said,"Congrats!! You're now a half marathoner!!" We both chatted about the race while grabbing water and snacks.

 We waved at Matt and Joe as they hurried to the finish to try to catch Katie crossing. 

 

Random man in hat + Katie almost to the finish

FINISH

WE DID IT!!!
Official Time: 2:04:47

 My sister Alisha, her husband Allan, and some of the kids.
As you can see the baby is very tuckered out from all of her cheering. Haha!

 Me and Joe -displaying his Boston pride. Go B's!

 My brother Cody and his wife Katie

*Fun Fact: Katie is Stuart's sister. I set Cody and Katie up on a date and the rest is history*
**Double Fun Fact: Katie bought that coffee on the way to the race that morning and didn't finish it until about 20 minutes after this photo was taken. I don't know why....that just amuses me.**

Stuart and Katie

 My parents and me. Yes, my dad is that tall. Yes, my mom is that small.
Who do you think I look like?

 

Katie and her handsome fiance Matt.

 We conquered the hills!

Our medals were so heavy that we didn't want to break them off.
(that may or may not have already happened to me during my individual jump photo....ahem)

It was a totally epic experience. 

    I loved the race itself. It was well organized from packet pickup to the post-race festivities. The course was hilly and tough but there was a lot to look at and enjoy along the way. I'm already trying to figure out how I can run it again next year. I am so proud of Katie and Stuart. They totally rocked out their first 13.1's. I think I may have even convinced Stuart into traveling here and running the Cape Cod Marathon this fall. He said he won't feel satisfied now until he runs a 26.2.  Woot!

one more thing

    I've now got 3 of my siblings running, plus 2 of their spouses. How amazing it that?? Plus my mom has decided to step it up and start increasing her walking distance. I am so thrilled that I could be a tiny bit of inspiration to them. Who knows, maybe some of them will run this race with me next year.

Giveaway Winner

I'm sorry for the delay. I'm having issues embedding rafflecopter from my phone. The winner is Rachel Rusticus. Please PM me @KCtoCapeCod

Thirty-One Thermal Tote Giveaway

My wonderful friend Annie and I are teaming up for this giveaway.

This is us playing Laser Tag last weekend. 

I own one of these thermal totes and I use it almost daily. 

I absolutely adore it and love how it fits my lunch and various snacks. 

The winner will receive this bag and I may even toss in some running snacks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We can only ship within the U.S.

 

Ragnar Relay Cape Cod Race Recap Pt 3

PART ONE 

PART TWO

I know. I know. I am a terrible blogger. I have waited FOR-EV-ER to post part three. Forgive me. Life gets crazy. Plus, I just didn't want to post this because then it would mean that Ragnar is for sure over. (le sigh) 

-----------------------------------------

   (bright light)

    I half woke up from my not so power nap. Why was there a light on? Where was I? What time was it? Oh my goodness I think I'm going to hurl. Then I heard Stefanie talking and saying something about us needing to get to the next checkpoint. I was so confused. Nothing was making sense. 

    I sat up and tried to figure out what the heck was going on. I groggily reached around for my shoes and started putting them on. As I was lacing them up I freaked out thinking my feet had swollen up because my shoes were so tight. NOPE. I was just trying to stuff my hobbit feet into Jillian's shoes. Oops. 

    Stefanie started briefing us on how her and Jenn hadn't wanted to wake us and so they quietly went to the exchange together. How sweet are they? 

    To say I felt like hell would be an understatement. I had slept for around 45 minutes. I kept trying to shake it off. I didn't have the brain power to fight off the self doubt. I was so tired during this part that things are pretty hazy. I remember we stopped by a gas station and they ran inside to get coffee but the line was too long. I also remember getting to the exchange and being oh so thankful for our toilet paper supply. I was probably quieter than usual. 

    Brent was smilin' and ready to run. This dude is my hero. 

Brent and Chris goofin' off before our last legs.

The sun was starting to rise which seemed to perk me up a little bit. Soon we spotted Jenn's bright shirt as she came running in from her 5 miles. I remember I said to her,"You're done! Can you believe it?" It was a small relief but mostly just sad.

Jenn coming in, handing off to Brent, and then being sad that her part of the race is done.

    We had received word from Ragnar that the leg distances were messed up. Runner 2's leg was a mile shorter -making it 3.7 miles. However Runner 3 would be taking on that extra mile making their distance 8.9 miles. That'll wake ya up in the morning. 

    You already know by now how quick of a runner Brent is. We all ran to the van to speed on to the next exchange. Chris is a trooper. He was not phased (or was really good at pretending) by the extra mile. He seemed like he was ready to tackle his final leg. 

   On a more serious note (not really) I was freaking out because my final outfit "Patriotic Ivy" was not going to be warm enough. I was going to have to ruin my theme and wear something else. Boo. 

   

I'm really good at taking blurry photos.

    Brent finished his leg and Chris took off on his long final leg. I was still feeling terrible but prepping for my run. I was more awake now and trying to convince myself that I could do it. Everyone else in my van was also convincing me that I could do it. Brent even saved the day by providing me with a navy blue top that would work with my "Patriotic Ivy" outfit theme. CRISIS AVERTED!

    As we drove on to the next exchange we honked and hollered as we passed Chris. Then we all were making all sorts of "OH NO" "AHHHHHHH MAN" as we drove the route and saw all the hills Chris would be running. 

    I think the only reason I was able to get my act together was because of my friend Janell. I knew that she was up and prepping for her 1st marathon in Pennsylvania. I knew her race started at 7 a.m. I knew that I would be running 'with' her. I needed to be thinking and feeling positive for her. So I geared up and got ready for my 5.6 mile final leg.

"PATRIOTIC IVY"

   This portion of the race was on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. It was such beautiful weather. I kept thinking of Janell and praying for her to be mentally and physically strong. I kept praying for great weather for her. I just kept praying for those 26.2 miles to seem easy. 

   Pretty soon I saw Chris haulin' a$$ towards me. I didn't know if I had it in me but I sure was going to try my hardest. I started running my third leg at 7:01 a.m. according to my Garmin. It was serendipitous- I started my final leg only 1 minute after Janell started her marathon. That thought alone made my body surge forward. 

   This is when I discovered just how mental this sport is. An hour before I was hobbling and feeling terribly sick to my stomach....now I was cruising and ran the first mile in 9:17. I promise you I was smiling the entire time. My best friend was on her way to her dream. 

I was passing people. 

My stomach stopped hurting. 

My knee pain didn't bother me much. 

    I saw a man a ways up ahead and just focused on getting to him. Finally at about 3.5 miles in I was running by his side. He asked my pace and then said he wanted to try to tag along. Someone on his team was hurt and he was running straight through the exchange and running her leg too. He wanted to stay under a 9:30 pace. I didn't mind the company. We talked some and ran in silence also. He would fall behind a few steps and then surge ahead a bit. I felt amazing. The views were serene. The wind picked up on the second part of the leg but it didn't bother me that much. 

    At the end of the leg was a big hill. I turned to the guy and said," I'm eating this hill for breakfast." He laughed and said,"ENJOY!" I sprinted up the hill and tried to pass one more chick. Then rounded the corner to come down to the exchange. 

Finishing out my part of Ragnar

Passing off to Jillian

    As soon as I stopped running my knees became stiff and achy. I didn't care...I was done. I immediately checked my phone to see if I had an update on Janell. 

    I remember feeling so happy that I had overcome everything and ran my final leg. It taught me a lot about myself. It showed me that I am stronger than I think. 

Stefanie, Me, and Jenn
I was freezing cold after I ran. 

    I found out during this time that Van 2 had an injury and needed help. Brent graciously offered to run a leg for them- a 6.3 mile leg. He's a beast. Jillian was running her 3.1 (final) leg and cruised in pretty quickly.

Jillian exchanging with Stefanie. 

      Stefanie sped off to run her 6.1 miles. It was hard to digest that we were almost done with this long anticipated race. We were no longer strangers, but good friends. We drove on ahead to the next major exchange, except that we wouldn't be passing off to Van 2. Instead Brent would be running that leg and we would pass off to them at the next exchange. That way after Brent's additional leg we could go on ahead to the finish. 

      I got out and went into the grass and stretched. There was a guy that was doing yoga and I joined in. We talked quite a bit. He used to live on Cape but recently moved to L.A. He was a personal trainer. All the stretching and yoga really helped my aching body and mentally I felt fantastic. I couldn't believe how energetic I was for only about an hour of sleep in 30+ hours. 

Brent getting ready to run his 4th leg of Ragnar. 

    I saw Stefanie's bright shirt from afar and we all started jumping around and cheering.

Brent took off and we all knew that it was officially our van's final run for this race. 

The next exchange was absolutely beautiful so we were kind of glad we had a chance to see it. 

    It was insanely windy and chilly. It was nice to talk to the folks in van 2. I had all sorts of energy for some unknown reason. By this point in Ragnar you could tell your runner was approaching by how they ran from afar. We were all tired and therefore speaking jibberish. It was kind of a weird phenomenon. Even though we were all speaking this new Ragnarian language, we all understood one another. 

Our final exchange to Van 2

Now all we had to do was go to the finish line and await their arrival. 

    Even though we were exhausted, sore, and mostly fully speaking Ragnarian we were all pretty blissful. We had done it. We had pulled our weight in the race. We knew Van 2 was strong and would bring it home. 

    We all went out to lunch together. It kind of felt like high school and as if we were having our one last get together before it was time to part ways. It was so incredibly bittersweet. We laughed a lot. We retold stories. We enjoyed the fact that all six of us were together. We ate food. We laughed more. These people were 5 of my new closest friends. We celebrated and savored the moment. 

We grabbed coffee. I met Batman. No big deal. 

We stopped to get a Van 1 photo. 

Then we all sat at the finish area and relaxed. 

I was in shock that it was over; I didn't want it to be. 

Who knew that you could feel such a bond with people in just a couple of days? 

     I don't know if I just got exceptionally lucky or what. All I know is that Van 1 ROCKED! We all got along so well. It was, as Barney Stinson would say, LEGENDARY. 

    A few hours later Van 2 arrived and we all congregated, waiting for our final runner to come in. 

It was awesome. It was sad. It was amazing.

Eventually "There's a Faster Way to P-Town" finished in 30:21:46.

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Since Ragnar people have asked me if I liked doing a relay and would I recommend it.
YES! YES! YES! 

This rates in my top life experiences. 

    It's hard to describe the feeling of community in an event like this. You can strike up conversations with anyone. All the usual social norms are out the window. It's completely acceptable to ask a stranger if you can borrow something. You stand around with your teams and multiple other teams and everyone cheers for everyone. We all laugh with one another. We all cringe when we see someone hobbling in pain. If someone shouts out they need water we all extend our water bottles for them to take. It's the craziest and most wonderful thing. I wish real life were more like a relay environment. Even though we were all technically racing one another....we all wanted to encourage one another. We all wanted to cheer one another on. We all wanted to be sure that everyone had food in their stomach and was properly hydrated. We all kept each others spirits high. 

   I don't want to post this because then I know that this incredible experience is really over. However, it's been two weeks and it's time. I guess I can start counting down the days until next years relay when the girls in my van maybe just crazy enough to run this as an ultra.