If you have not heard...I PR'd at this race by 4 minutes! I still don't know how. The beautiful weather had a lot to do with it.
The Expo:
I went over to the Expo Thursday after work to pick up my race packet and jacket. After I was at the expo, my excitement for the race definitely grew. Being around runners, walking through the expo, and the general feeling of excitement got me more motivated and ready for this race. Packet pickup was very easy and quick, then it was off to the jackets. I love that every person who ran Hospital Hill (5k, 10k and Half Marathon) got a jacket...and a medal. There were several vendors and it was a great Expo.
As an official Hospital Hill Blogger I was invited to a VIP dinner at the Milano Restaurant at Crown Center. It was a great event with the race director, board members, sponsors and fellow bloggers in attendance. Thanks again for the opportunity to be a blogger. I hope that someone out there enjoyed my writing and benefited from some of my topics!
The Race:
There is plenty of parking near the starting line. But, arrive early as it fills up fast. I don't mind parking a few blocks away. I consider it a nice warm up. There were plenty of bathrooms at the starting line and the lines moved fast. We were put in corrals to start and there was about 2 minutes in between each corral. I really like having corrals and a break between starting runners. It really seems to help ease the congestion at the beginning of a race.
When I took off my legs felt great. This race begins going uphill to the Sprint Center and then taking a right and heading back downhill. I noticed about 1/2 mile into the race the 2:05 pacers. I decided to tag along with them as long as I could. I was wearing the 2:10 pacer band, but decided to see if I could keep up. Remember, this was supposed to be a fun race..not a PR. No pressure. Just fun. Running to honor the people of Boston.
I started out way too fast...I always do...but it is so hard to hold back and not go too fast!
Mile 1: 9:20
Mile 2: 9:53.
Mile 2 is the first big hill- Hospital Hill. It in up Oak and Gillham. Right in front of Children's Mercy Hospital. It tricks you because you think you are done with the hill when the road flattens out, but you turn a little corner and realize there is more climbing.
Once I got to the top of that hill I knew I had a few miles of down hill flat running along Gillham.
Mile 3: 9:33
Mile 4: 9:22.
I was still keeping up with the 2:05 pacers at this point. They pulled away from me a little but, but were still very close!
Mile 4 was the first time I saw Mark and the girls. It was awesome! It was a great location for them as there was a park right there for the girls to play on. Mark said they arrived plenty early and the girls enjoyed the park. Hugs, kisses and high 5's and I was off again.
There is plenty of parking near the starting line. But, arrive early as it fills up fast. I don't mind parking a few blocks away. I consider it a nice warm up. There were plenty of bathrooms at the starting line and the lines moved fast. We were put in corrals to start and there was about 2 minutes in between each corral. I really like having corrals and a break between starting runners. It really seems to help ease the congestion at the beginning of a race.
When I took off my legs felt great. This race begins going uphill to the Sprint Center and then taking a right and heading back downhill. I noticed about 1/2 mile into the race the 2:05 pacers. I decided to tag along with them as long as I could. I was wearing the 2:10 pacer band, but decided to see if I could keep up. Remember, this was supposed to be a fun race..not a PR. No pressure. Just fun. Running to honor the people of Boston.
I started out way too fast...I always do...but it is so hard to hold back and not go too fast!
Mile 1: 9:20
Mile 2: 9:53.
Mile 2 is the first big hill- Hospital Hill. It in up Oak and Gillham. Right in front of Children's Mercy Hospital. It tricks you because you think you are done with the hill when the road flattens out, but you turn a little corner and realize there is more climbing.
Once I got to the top of that hill I knew I had a few miles of down hill flat running along Gillham.
Mile 3: 9:33
Mile 4: 9:22.
I was still keeping up with the 2:05 pacers at this point. They pulled away from me a little but, but were still very close!
Mile 4 was the first time I saw Mark and the girls. It was awesome! It was a great location for them as there was a park right there for the girls to play on. Mark said they arrived plenty early and the girls enjoyed the park. Hugs, kisses and high 5's and I was off again.
The next big hill was Rockhill. It was up near the Nelson Art Gallery. Pretty steep, not too long. Somehow I managed to hit...
Mile 5: 9:11.
I have no idea how I did that. I climbed Rockhill from mile 4-5. Go figure. Once I got to the top of that hill I flew downhill. I am sure I made up a lot of time going downhill.
But, I started to hit a wall right about now. Started to realize I really needed to pull back. Started to realize there was no way I could maintain this speed the whole race. I decided to take my GU before hitting the next big hill, Cherry Hill.
At this point I was running along the UMKC campus and it was beautiful. Rockhill road has some beautiful houses and it was a part of town I had never run in. But, the GU did not agree with me and kind of made my tummy upset (even though I have trained with GU.) So I took half of the pack and threw the rest away.
Mile 6: 9:45
Mile 7: 9:20.
Mark and the girls were at Mile 7 again, cheering me on. I told Mark then that I would PR this race. I knew at mile 3 that I would PR this race...the question was by how much? I know once I hit mile 7 I had 3 miles downhill and flat through Brookside. This is the Trolley run route that I have ran a few times. I know once I hit mile 7 I could possibly PR by 5 minutes. WOW!
Mile 8: 9:43
( I think I stopped too long with Mark and the girls)
Mile 9: 9:19
Mile 10: 9:28
I was thrilled to see my family again right before starting the long Broadway Hill. A little burst of energy is what I needed to finish this race. I decided to restart my play list and get all my favorite songs playing again and I knew I had just a 5k left! But, to spare you the details while messing with my I-Pod I managed to erase my whole play list, tried to run without music for a while (that only lasted about 3 minutes) then decided to listen to one of Mark's play lists. But, the I-Pod was messing up, skipping from song to song, etc...so my last 3 miles I did with messed up, crazy, barley playing I-Pod, music. Bummer. That made it hard.
Mile 11: 10:32
I walked some some this mile (from 10-11) jacking with my I-Pod, trying to get my music figured out.
Mile 12: 9:58.
Still climbing at this point. One big, short hill left and then it was downhill to the finish line.
Trinity Hill. There were several motivating posters up this hill. Elvis was even standing at the top, holding a boom box (I kid you now!) Half way up the hill I was running so slow I decided to walk the rest of the hill. I decided to walk to the top and then give it my all to the finish line. Downhill for ~ 3/4 of a mile.
Mile 13: 9:17
My parents were at the finish line with Mark and the girls. I heard my Mom yelling and found them quickly.
I did this crazy fly through the air jump thing that Mark missed on camera. I did it twice (since the couple behind me yelled "do it again!") Mark did not capture the jump but he did capture the landing....and hello quad muscles. Do you see the size of my quads in this picture? If you know me, you know I have had soccer legs for years...Plus, I added a lot of strength training over the last several months.
Final time by my watch was 2:05:35. Amazing, thrilled, shocked, still in disbelief. Final time by the official HH chip time was 2:06:50 with a distance of 13.25. More than a half marathon. My Garmin watch beeped off with mile markers early throughout the whole race.
It took a little while, but I finally found Mark and the girls. When I finished I got water, a banana, a protein bar and some chocolate milk. Gatorade was also available at the finish line. They also handed out wet/cold sponges, which felt good, even though it was no too terribly hot this year. The beer garden was not too crowded, but the line for BBQ was pretty long. So, we skipped all of that and just hung out and talked. I ran into several people I knew. The setting down at Crown Center is perfect for a finish line area. There is plenty of room for runners and friends and family to meet up.
The medals were amazing and the race jackets are even better. I wore my jacket proudly Saturday night to Sporting KC game and saw several runners out there cheering on Sporting.
My biggest fan and support system. Without the support Mark and I provide to each other, training for these races would never happen. We make running a priority and work it into our weekly schedule, just like all the other activities we have to juggle with the girls.
My parents came down to the finish line to cheer me on! That was great to have them there. Thanks again Mom and Dad.
And one of my favorite pictures from the day that my Dad took.
Hospital Hill is a very organized race, offering a 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon distance. I have ran all three distances now and all of them create a challenge and an amazing sense of accomplishment when you are done. I PR'd last year on the 5k, ran so slow the year before that on the 10k that I ran out of music on my play list...seriously..., and now I can say my half marathon PR is on Hospital Hill. That is a good feeling.
It was a great opportunity to blog for Hospital Hill as I juggled working full time as a RN at Children's Mercy. Being busy with 2 girls and their activities, and working around my Husband's training schedule as well. It has been a great Spring season of running and now it is time to take some time off. Time for some easy runs, no pressure, no training, no goals. Just run this summer 3 times a week, 3-4 miles a time. Nothing big, but enough to keep me in shape and get me ready for the KC Half Marathon on October 19th. Right now that is the only thing on my race calendar. Right now that is the only thing I have time for!
No comments:
Post a Comment