The Kensington Marathon

Michigan! State 18! It was one of the slowest marathons I've run in a really long time. But it still counts. And I don't have to go back to Michigan ever again if I don't want to... and after this weekend, I'm not sure I do. Kidding... kind of.

From the get-go this race was kind of a mess. We knew it was a small one, but we repeatedly tried to contact the race director to get info about the race and where to stay and they never got back to us. Heading there, we just really hoped the race was still going to happen.

We left KC early Friday morning to get to Chicago, where we would stay Friday night. Our roadtrips typically include a few stops to see local attractions. When we found out there was an Abe Lincoln totem pole in Springfield Illinois, we naturally made a stop. 

He's so cute!

We timed our arrival perfectly to sit in Chicago rush hour for at least an hour... ouch! Not gonna lie, when we agreed to stay in Chi-town, I didn't realize I'd be the one getting us there. But we made it to our downtown hotel in one piece. Now on to more important things...

All the deep dish!

 And even more important things... we were finishing our last slice at Lou Malnati's while anticipating the delicious ice cream joint we'd already chosen. It was about 9:55 when we looked up directions and realized it closed at 10:00. You've never seen endurance runners pay a check so quickly! We booked it to Gordo's for ice cream bars!

Pick a bar, a chocolate dip, toppings, and a finishing drizzle. OMG!

The next morning we relived all of our Chicago running glory as we hit the streets for a shake-out run. I'll tell you, sightseeing in Chicago is amazing when everyone is still in bed!

Running under the bean!

Running along the riverfront.

Can't imagine what it's like to wake up and run this every day!

We were on a mission to recreate a pic we had taken after the Chicago Marathon in 2013 at the Buckingham Fountain. We were so sad when we arrived and it wasn't on. While we were pouting I checked my phone and had received some urgent-sounding messages from our Air B&B host for that night. We paused our run to respond to her and while I was messaging her the fountain came on! It was fate! That crazy lady did one good thing for us that weekend...

Always reppin' KC!

We had a lovely breakfast at Wildberries, and then went in search of this adorable coffee shop we'd seen all over Insta.

How cute is this?!?

Back on the road toward Michigan! It was a 4 hour drive to Ann Arbor, where we would be staying that night. Race tomorrow!

We arrived at our Air B&B apartment, knowing the host would not be there. She left us a key to let ourselves in. We chose this place because it was a 2-bedroom, listed as having 3 beds. And let me tell you, sharing a bed with your running partner is not fun the night after running 26 miles. It's just not.

The apartment was small and cluttered, but fine upon first inspection. When we tried to open the dooor to the second bedroom, we were met with some resistance. That's because our host is a hoader. A mother-fucking hoarder.

Bedroom Number 2.

She acted surprised when I texted her about the hoarding situation and said she didn't realize we wanted to use the second bedroom and if we had simply told her, she would have made it up for us. I guess by "made it up" she meant she would have rented a storage unit, sought counseling for her problem, and called Hoarders to clean that shit up.

We contacted Air B&B who happily cancelled our reservation and then disappeared off the face of the Earth while we tried to find a new place to stay. Stressed does not begin to describe my feelings. We finally just vacated the apartment in search of food because we had a race to run the next day and despite not know where we would be sleeping or having picked up our race packets, we still had to eat dinner.

Pizza and beer to calm my nerves.

In the end we gave up on Air B&B and found a room at the America Extended Suites. Still no race packets, but at least we ate and aren't sleeping in the car!

Race Day. So I had never intended to race this marathon. I just wanted to check off a state and enjoy a road trip with my friend. On my second-to-last 20 mile training run, my body decided it had other plans. I had been recovering from a calf-strain in my right calf which happened in March while I was training to run Brew-to-Brew. I felt like my calf was pretty much all better and I was on track to being a normal runner again! However, 17 miles into my 20-miler, my left calf snapped. I hobbled the 2 miles home and cried like a baby.

I took the next couple of weeks off from running (mostly) and worked tirelessly to rehab my old-lady legs. I wasn't able to do my final long runs so I knew I wasn't trained for this race. But my calf was feeling better so I knew I could at least attempt the race.

With a plan to go as slow as I needed and a goal of just finishing the damn thing, I headed to the start line. Britt was kind enough to run the first couple of miles with me before running her own race.

I planned to walk at all of the aid stations, despite how my calf was feeling. This was tough at first! I was feeling good and my ego did not want to let others pass me. But I knew that going easy from the start would make the final miles easier and give my calf a better chance of making it all 26.2 miles.

The course was a double loop around Kensington Lake Park. It was a beautiful trail with lots of other runners, walkers, bikers, and lake-goers. At one point I passed signs that said "Ospreys Nesting!" I had absolutely no idea what this meant, but looking out on the lake you could see huge nests built above the water, resting on a tripod of sticks. I stopped to ask an older woman who was taking photos with a fancy camera and she confirmed that those were the Osprey babies. She asked if I had time to hear the whole history, but that sounded like a huge-undertaking and not something I should do mid-race. So I thanked her and went on my way.

My body felt good most of the way, but around mile 17 I became insanely thirsty. I stopped at an aid station and stood there while I drank 2 full cups of water and another of gateraid. After that my walk breaks became much longer.

At mile 20 I was passed by 2 older gentlemen. As they passed, they shouted that I couldn't let two old guys pass me and I needed to join them. So I did. They were Paul and Mel and for several miles they entertained me with stories of running and racing. I was so grateful for their company!

Finally, the race ended. I was so insanely tired and my body was spent. But I finished with a smile on my face. It was a beautiful day, along a beautiful course, and my body didn't let me down. I have honestly never felt so much gratitude for such a slow race!

Finished!

Slow and steady finishes the race.

We've gained some experience over the years and knew that it was important to come to this race prepared... so we packed a cooler of beer. We prob should have packed food, since the only thing available post-race were Cheetos and Rice Crispy Treats. But beer works too. We hung out at the beach, sipped some brews, and let our legs recover in the lake water. It was actually a really fantastic way to celebrate!

That post-marathon glow... or that post-beer glow... one of the two.

Back at the Extended Stay, we showered and continued drinking. Then we called an Uber to take us to The Big House. Ya'll know we like to break into stadiums on our road trips, and this was by far our biggest challenge. Thankfully we were emboldened by a few brewskis.

Everyone told us that it was impossible to break into the Michigan stadium, that it was on "Lock Down" and we'd never get in. They were wrong.

We circled the stadium, trying all the doors and assessing which trees were climbable. And then we stumbled onto an unlocked door with direct access to the guest locker room. There's always an unlocked door.

We did it!!!

Post-race nap on the field.

Oops!

Now you're just showing off.

Ta-Da!

We tried to get out the way we came in but realized we forgot to prop the door to the locker room open and it had locked behind us! Never fear, we found our way out through some revolving doors and headed to downtown Ann Arbor for a big night of eating and drinking.

South American food, French Fries, Batidos, and beers... we finished the night with ice cream, the ultimate recovery food.

Double scoops!

So, even though the weekend had some stressful moments, it was still an amazing experience and a special piece to this 50 state puzzle. Glad it's over, ready to get my old-lady-legs back in working order.