Lauren's 1st 5k

Lauren completed her 1st 5k this past weekend.  It was a race to benefit the Lee's Summit Schools Education Fund.  Her school had a fitness club the past 6 weeks to prepare the kids for the race.  It ended up being a run/walk for Lauren and I, but either way, we did it...together! 

Addison totally photo bombed our picture.  She's lucky she's cute like that.  

Addison's BFF Jenna was there cheering on her Dad who was running as well.  Mark and Addison and Denise and Jenna were along the course cheering us on.  

Lauren was pretty darn excited when she crossed the finish line.  

Here we are at the beginning just getting started.  It was a cold morning.  

Then we saw Mark, Addison, Jenna and Denise again and Lauren started running fast.  I was running, although it looks like I am speed walking! 

If you look real close, you can see the smile on her face crossing the finish line.  

I love that Mark captured this moment between the two of us.

One of the biggest things Lauren was looking forward to was all the food at the end of the race.  Donuts, bagels, water, yogurt, bananas, and more.  It was all there for her since she ran the race!  We are very proud of her and cant' wait to do it again.  Way to go Lauren!

KC Half Marathon

Mark ran a fantastic race this weekend.  Mark PR'd by 3 minutes finishing at 1:55.  Mark ran with a buddy.  Not with me.  I was supposed to be running beside Mark.  This was my first DNS (did not start.) We signed up for this race back in May and decided we would train together (well both train for a half marathon at the same time) and do our first race together.  This is not something we can easily arrange with the girls and all, so we have to count on the grandparents to step up and help out.  Turns out, we did not need them.  If you recall, back in August I injured my hip and have not been running for the last month.  I tried very hard to rest and heal so I could run with Mark, but it just did not work.  

So, Mark trained for this race and ran it hard and fast.  This is not an easy course and I am so impressed with how he did.  

We arrived to the first spot early and ready to cheer him on at Mile 4.  We actually arrived when the first marathoners were speeding past with the police escort.  The girls loved it.  

It was very cold at 7:20 in the morning, waiting, waiting, waiting for Mark and Shannon.  But, finally we saw him and gave him a high 5 and a kiss and they kept on running.  

Then we headed down near the Plaza, around mile 7, to look for them again.  We saw several of my friends running past as we waited.  We both knew several people running on Saturday. 

We made another quick stop at mile 9 where Mark almost missed us. I was about 1/2 earlier on the route than he was expecting, so he ran right by us.  We jumped, yelled and screamed, but he never saw us.  A couple of other runners caught up to him and told him he passed us, and he looked back and saw us.  Crazy Mark came running back (a pretty short distance) to give hugs and high 5's and kisses again, and kept on running.  He probably added 30-45 seconds to his time doing that, but he said it didn't matter.  

Then it was time to race to the finish line, which was crazy.  We had to park pretty far away and walk, or run at times, to the finish line.  

I snapped a few pictures of this adorable little one with her scarf.  

Then Lauren hopped on this wall to strike a pose.  

Then we barely saw him cross the finish line.  He was looking for us, but we were standing pretty far back, up on a wall.  That was the only way we were going to be able to see him.  It was crazy packed at the finish line.  It was so much fun.  

There he is.  Looking great, feeling great, breaking his old 1/2 marathon record on a much tougher course.  Way to go Mark!  

and running buddy Shannon.  He rocked this race also.  

Then we went inside, up to the tunnels to warm up.  

We saw this view while we were up there.  Thousands of runners.  Tons of excitement and exhaustion all at the same time.  It was an incredible race that I missed, but still enjoyed watching Mark and cheering him on.  The girls totally love it and we would not miss it for the world.  

Running...or Not

I am supposed to run my 5th half marathon on Saturday October 19th.  I am supposed to run 5 miles tomorrow morning.  I am supposed to run this half marathon with Mark.  However....I am not running, and I hate it.  I have grown to love running (to some degree.)  I love to train.  I love to push myself.  I love to accomplish things I never thought possible. 

Last Monday I was doing speed work (run a 400 as fast as you can and then walk to jog.)  I did 5x400 and felt great when I was running.  I was running fast (6:05-6:15.)  It felt good.  I felt strong.  I was sweating like crazy.  I would have done more if it was not getting dark outside. 

 

The next morning I seemed a little sore and Wednesday I could tell that something was wrong with my hip, but I ran 3 miles anyway.  Thursday I worked out too, and felt worse.  So I took Friday off, but got up and ran 4 miles Saturday morning.  It hurt the whole entire time.  Sunday morning when I woke up (after camping in a tent) I could hardly walk. 

 

So, I took Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and most of the day Wednesday off.  I ran, or tried to run, 3 miles Wednesday night.  I was in pain the second I started running. 

 

So here I am.  Trying to train from my 5th half marathon and I can't get my hip to stop hurting.  So, for now (and since it is almost 100 degrees outside) I am not running.  I am going to take a full week off from running and see how I feel next Saturday morning.  If I feel good then I will see if I can get myself ready in 7 weeks for a half marathon.  That will be tough.  

Hospital Hill Race Recap

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.  

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!  

Heat, Hills, Humidity = Hospital Hill

It is finally here.  Hospital Hill.  It is race week.  I love all the e-mails I am getting from the race director.  I love seeing people at work who ask "are you still running a lot?" and I respond with "Yes, Hospital Hill is this Saturday!" Then I find out they are running too...and so are several other friends from work!

But, I am not going to lie...I am very nervous for this race.  My pace has slowed down the last few weeks.  I have trained hard on hills.  Every run I have done over the last 4-6 weeks has been a hilly run.  That is not easy.  Almost every run I have done it has been hot and/or humid.  Hills, heat, and humidity = Hospital Hill.  I can only hope that these hot, hilly runs will prepare me for the race on Saturday.  I know it will, but it has been frustrating seeing my pace slow down...but, that is the reality of Hospital Hill for me.  

The weather looks perfect.  I hope the forecast does not change.  That will make me super happy if it is in the 50's at starting time and 60's when I finish.  Near perfect running weather.

I will have fun at this race.  I will try not to worry about my pace as it will be slower than I would like.  When I decided to do the half marathon, I decided to do it for fun.  Not to PR, not to race, just to run.  Just to run and remember the victims of the Boston Marathon.  To run in honor of them and all the runners that did not get to finish their race.  

I am so excited for the Expo, the VIP dinner, the atmosphere surrounding all the events, and especially the starting line.  All the fun and all the excitement is finally here.  

Good luck to everyone running this Saturday.  I can't wait to see you at the finish line! 

Hospital Hill Training Weeks 3 & 4

Sunday May 5th- Video- After a quick weekend in Lincoln I squeezed some Plyo in before bed.  25 minutes of Plyo and 7 minutes of abs.  

Monday May 6th - Run 4-5 miles- I ran 5 hilly miles without my Garmin watch, so I had to carry my I-Phone and use the Map My Run app...which resulted in my dropping my phone and shattering it- ugh.  But, I had a good 5 mile hilly run on a hot afternoon.

Tuesday May 7th- Video- Did a quick Tabata workout late at night. Not the best workout, but it was better than nothing, and so ab work too.

Wednesday May 8th-  Video- This did not happen.  It was another late night with events with the girls.  By the time I got home from Religion class I had no energy.

Thursday May 9th Run- Since I skipped the Wednesday night workout I decided to go to bed early and get up Thursday morning.  I did 45 minutes of Shredding and Loading (which is a mix of interval workouts and weights.)  It is always very hard for me to have an intense work out so early in the morning.  (I got up at 4:30) but I figured it was better than nothing.  Then my plan was to run 4-5 miles after work.  Well I am super glad I got a work out done int the morning because it was pouring and hailing after work.  I got home, changed clothes, then noticed it was hailing.  So I decided to pick up my girls from daycare and try again when Mark got home.  It had cleared up enough that I figured I was good.  1/2 mile into my run it started pouring.  I told Mark the route I was taking and if it started to rain to come and find me. Well I turned around and headed back towards home and Mark and the girls found me.  I went 0.8 miles.  I was supposed to run 4-5 miles.  I hope I can do 9 miles on Saturday morning!

Friday May 10th- Video- Decided to skip this and let my legs rest up before my long run in the morning.  Did some stretching instead.  Stretching is definitely something that I need to make more of a priority.

Saturday May 11th- 9 mile run- This was not my best long run at all.  My legs felt heavy from the beginning, but I pushed on and kept on running.  I walked a lot, but still did 9 miles total.  Glad it was over.

Sunday May 12th- off.  Enjoyed a nice Mother's Day with a very huge brunch from Tom Fooleries.  I ended up doing some lower body weights tonight.

Monday May 13th- Run- I did 5 hot miles.  I did some speed work and hill work.  It was slow and not pretty, but done.

Tuesday- Video.  Did not feel good, do went to bed early.  No workout today.

Wednesday May 15th- 5-6 mile run.  Done! Since it was 90+ degrees outside I grabbed my water bottle and did a very easy 5 mile run, stopping at every mile and walking for 1 minute.  It was hard.  It was hilly.  There was no need to push myself too much in the heat.

Thursday- May 16th- upper body work- did a quick triceps and biceps workout and some abs.

Friday May 17th- off.  Prepare for my final long run before Hospital Hill.  Stretch

Saturday May 18th- 10 mile run.  Well I ran 10 miles today.  I was up at 5:30 and out the door before 6:00.  My legs felt great when I started and I was so thankful for that since last week for my 9 mile run they felt awful from the beginning.  It was 65 degrees at 6 A.M. this morning and about 85% humidity.  The heat and humidity definitely took a toll on me today.  As I was running I was very slow, and was very discouraged.  As I was running I began wondering why I decided to do the hospital hill half marathon.  Am I crazy?  I am not even excited at this point, and a little nervous.  I know I will not PR, but I am beginning to wonder if I will even beat my first half marathon time (2:17, a 10:30 pace) after today's run.  Since Rock the Parkway things have been so crazy.  My long runs have not been great.  I have missed some runs during the week due to rain and the weather.  The past few weeks my runs during the week have been slow due to the heat as well.  85-90 degrees.  Since I can't do anything about the weather conditions, I just push on...running, running, running.  As I was loosing steam today and questioning my ability to complete Hospital Hill I thought about all the runners at the Boston Marathon.  25.5 miles into the race and stopped in their tracks...with not a clue why for several minutes.  I thought about the blog post I just read of a runner in the medical tent, dehydrated, confused, weak, and then seeing the horror of the bombs and the victims coming into the medical tent.  She was so delirious from the race, she thought she was dreaming.  Then I remembered why I made this decision to run the half at Hospital Hill.

I will run.  I will walk.  My pace will be slow.  I will do my best given the weather conditions (usually hot) and I will just relax and try to enjoy the run and have fun.  I will think about the victims of the Boston Marathon and remind my self that I chose to run the half to honor those individuals.

It is time to taper now, although I really don't feel like I deserve too since my training has been so sporadic.  I will look at the next 2 weeks and figure out what I need to do to be as successful as I can come race day.  13 days and counting!  

Lincoln Half Marathon (#4 for Mark)

This past weekend we traveled up to Lincoln, Nebraska for Mark to run in the Lincoln Marathon/Half Marathon.  This race had 10,000 runners and sold out the day registration opened up!  

Mark rocked this race with a 10 minute PR and a sub 2 hour finish at 1:57:55.  He trained so hard and I had no doubt in my mind he would finish sub 2 hours.  

We arrived on Saturday and hit the expo first to pick up his race packet.  We checked into the hotel and had this great view of the stadium.  

Then it was off to the pool!  

I did not get any pictures down at the pool, but we swam twice.  We went swimming as soon as we arrived, and then again after dinner.  Mark's Mom and Sister came down to cheer him on, with our 2 nieces.  The girls were so excited to see everyone. 

The stadium was lit up all night and looked awesome.  

The next morning the girls were up early ready to cheer on Mark.  Addison was watching all the cars coming in.  Runners getting ready for the race.  We were up shortly after 6 and out the door before 7 to go find Mark.  

I waited in line at the coffee shop for over 20 minutes (ugh) and I was so afraid we had missed Mark at our first stop.  It was a great morning for a race, but cold if you were standing there waiting and watching.  

and waiting, and waiting...

But, finally we saw him.  At the start of the race they ended up doing a wave start, so Mark started almost 20 minutes late.  Well, I did not know this so it was close to 8:00 before we saw him at the 4 mile mark.  I was so glad we did not miss him.  I saw a friend from work running, and I knew she was faster than Mark, so he was likely behind her.  Then I saw the 1:55 pacers and I knew Mark would be around the 2:00 pacers...

Finally there he was ready for hugs, kisses and high 5's and then he was off again.  (BTW- I love it when I capture the people watching us give the girls hugs and kisses...the guy in the brown coat and woman in the gray coat...they are always smiling)  

We hopped in the car and got down to mile 6 quickly for another high 5, hug and kiss.  After mile 6 the race was on a paved trail for a while and we did not think there would be any place to stop and cheer Mark on...but actually we saw him several more times.  I did not drag the camera out because we just pulled over on the busy road and parked in the grass (along with several other cars.)  We yelled and jumped up and down to get his attention at mile 7 (as we drove along the street we saw him running and decided to pull over if I found a break along the street of cars.)  He was not expecting to see us, so we had to work hard to get his attention.  He was making great time, but mentioned that his hamstring was cramping up...my salt tabs were in the car, so I could not help him...So we drove on, but decided to stop again.  This time I pulled over, gave Lauren 2 salt tabs and told her to run and give them to Daddy and come back to the car.  At first she said "I don't want to.  I am scared."  But, then she did and Mark told her she saved the day.  She loved it!  

After that we headed back to the hotel to park and then walk up to the stadium to see Mark finish on the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium.  

His family was already there saving seats and when he ran in he saw and heard us yelling for him.  

He took off, passing the ones right in from of him and finished in a 1:57:55 time.  

The screens in the stadium were filled with the runners.  (That time is gun time, not chip time...remember he started ~ 20 minutes late.)  

After that he went through the finish line chute and got water, milk, Gatorade and food.  We finally spotted him among the sea of runners. 

The football stadium was awesome.  Full of runners and the National Guard.  

We caught up with Mark outside the stadium.  He looked great and ran an incredible race!  

The whole crew...minus the photographer!  

Here I am!  

Then we headed back to the hotel for an all you could eat breakfast buffet with the family before heading back home.  

This race was packed with spectators all over the route.  Mark said that was awesome.  He loves Husker football and the whole atmosphere was a lot of fun....It might be my turn next year!  

Mark quickly showered, and we got packed up and headed home.  The girls (and Mark too) fell asleep almost immediately.  I stayed awake enjoying my second round of Scooter's coffee while everyone slept!  The ride home was pretty fast and we were glad to get back home.  It was a great weekend in Lincoln.