Marshall University Marathon

West Virginia was State #16 in my 50 states marathon quest. Slowly but surely, we're checking them off!

#16 was a good one. Not only did I set a new PR, but I took second place in the whole dang thing. This will probably never happen again in the next 34 states, so I'm going to take a moment and let it soak in. 

We road tripped to West Virginia, which turned out to be a much longer drive than we anticipated. But never fear, we made it fun. After school on Friday we drove to St. Louis and stayed in an Air B&B... which happened to be double-booked. We enjoyed a tiny bit of time in St. Louis and then headed out the next morning for Huntington WV. 

Our travels took us through Louisville Kentucky where we stopped for lunch. While eating at the bar, we learned from a fellow one seat over that we were on the "meth trail" and it probably wasn't a good idea to stop at any rest areas. Good information. #dangerahead

We barely made it to Huntington before the expo & packet pick-up was over. Thank goodness we did! The Marshall University Marathon gives the best SWAG! Seriously, I have never received so many useful goodies from a race.

I look like I actually went to Marshall!

Race morning was cold, but the day promised perfect racing conditions. I'd worked my ass off during training and I was ready to run. The course was a loop, so the half marathoners ran the loop once, and the full marathoners ran it twice. My goal was a 3:20, so I found the 1:40 half-marathon pacer and stuck with him for the first loop. He was an awesome pacer. I felt comfortable and strong throughout the first half of the race. I was so sad to say goodbye and worried about holding the pace on my own.

Once I was on to the second loop, I was pretty alone for a bit. It was a mental struggle trying to keep up the pace without anyone around. However, once I reached more populated areas where there were spectators, I heard people start yelling to me, "Your the second female!" Holy cow, I cannot tell you how energizing that was! My pace and motivation were instantly back on track!

I kept hoping/wishing/praying that I could catch the girl in front of me... thinking I could win this thing! However... I also needed a porta-potty. I didn't want to stop, fearing I'd lose my chance to win, or be passed by the girl in third. Finally, around mile 18 when a lady shouted that I was the second female, I shouted back, "How far ahead is she?!?!" When the response was, "about 10 minutes", I decided it was okay to take a bathroom break.

Once I was back on the road, I again wavered with my motivation. I was tired. But I think this is the most mentally strong I've ever been in a race. I kept telling myself that it was okay to be tired, but that didn't mean I had to slow down. Around mile 22 I was passed by two guys who made a comment about how they'd been chasing me for miles. I decided to latch on to them and try to keep up with the quicker pace. I followed them and stayed right behind for another 3 miles. I was tired and hurting and couldn't keep up the pace. Again, I wasn't feeling defeated. I just kept up the positive self-talk and pushed the pace as hard as I could.

The final mile of the race runs through Marshall University. Students lined the course and handed out green and white carnations to runners to drop on the memorial of the plane crash that killed their entire football team. It was an extremely emotional and unique aspect of the race. This is why I love small races, they always have a way of putting a stamp on the course.

As I neared the football stadium, I looked down at my watch and realized I was so close to my goal. I hit the accelerator and gave everything I had in those last yards. We entered the stadium and I was handed a football to carry across the finish line. Again, such a unique experience.

I heard my name called, and looked down at my watch. 3:20:35. I damn near cried.

I accepted my medal, grabbed a water, and made my way for the finish line shoot to wait for Britt to come in. It isn't very often that I get to be the one cheering her on at the finish. All it took was two bowel obstruction surgeries in the last 6 months to slow her down enough so I could come in ahead. Have I mentioned how tough Britt is? :)

Watching her finish that marathon was one of the greatest moments! Her smile and joy as she ran toward the finish-line was amazing. The girl's love for running is infectious!

When I told Britt that I took second place, she immediately suggested we go find my prize. I hadn't even thought about a prize! We found the race director who gave me this vase! I was so excited. Then he suggested I go to the beer tent and have them fill it with beer. OMG. That would be amazing. It never actually happened, but I like the thought of it still.

Holy crap I won a vase!

Since I've never won anything at a race before, I was pretty jazzed about this vase that I assumed came from the dollar store. It turns out though, the vases are hand-blown glass made in West Virginia. Even cooler, I guess.

Race bling.

Can you tell I'm excited???

I just love this lady.:)

The rest of the day was spent doing what we do... eating, drinking, and making friends. The following day we drove all the way back to Kansas City. I am insanely grateful for this sport, for my friend, and for the many memories we make along the way.

In thinking about my race preparation, I credit the mental prep just as much as I do the physical part. I continuously coached myself on the fact that to reach my goal, I was going to have to suffer a bit. At some point I found this quote from the ever-inspiring Kara Goucher. Every time I look at this picture, I get goosebumps. 

I actually made it the wallpaper on my phone. In the weeks leading up to the race, every time I would turn on my phone, I'd give myself a tiny pep talk. I printed the photo, not intending to do anything with it. But I ended up carrying it with me throughout the entire race. The words "you will not fail" rang so strong in my head. I am so grateful for the spirit of Kara Goucher guiding me through what was my greatest race.

Hey Bear!

I own a pint glass that says something to the effect of, "I'm outdoorsy in the fact that I like to drink on patios". I think that gives you a clue as to my experience and enthusiasm for the outdoors.

But I read Wild and I saw the movie.  And if anyone can make hiking through the mountains with all of your belongings on your back look like a good time, it's Reese Witherspoon.

So back in October a group of gals from work was talking about going on a backpacking trip.  Never wanting to be left out of anything, I volunteered to tag along. Fast forward to the actual trip, and somehow there were just 3 of us left.

So Rachelle, Sue, and I set off for the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas to do some backpacking.

Rather than tell the whole ridiculous story, I will leave the photos as evidence that I actually did this. I hiked many many miles. I slept in a tent. I narrowly avoided a rattlesnake and a bear. I bathed in a creek. I filtered water from a creek. I ate food from a bag, cooked on a tiny portable stove. I hitchhiked home when the trail was too much to take. I was brave.

Rachelle, our fearless leader.

Waterfall.

Trail register, in case you disappear.

My partner in crime!

Creek-crossing.

I credit Rachelle with teaching me how real selfies are taken.

Off we go!

Me & Sue, loving life.

Someone should have checked Sue's bag. She packed it all.

Bath tub, drinking water, cooking water, place I fell into.

Which way do we go???

Wilderness Women!

Expertly crossing a creek.

Googling "what to do if a rattlesnake is in your path".

Post hike beers!

Camping is cool.

Waterfall / Shower

Keep on going!

Filtering Water.

We lost Sue after day 1, and Rachell and I hiked on together. At one point when we were setting up our tent at night, she looked at me and said, "You've never pitched a tent before, have you?" And I said, "Aren't you lucky that out of all the people who signed up for this trip, you get stuck with me?" This was the most out-of-my-comfort-zone I have really ever been. Ever. And I loved every minute of it. 

Maybe not the ticks...

The Carmel Marathon

Indiana!  State #15!!! Can you believe it?  I feel like 15 is a stellar number.  Like, maybe I will actually be able to complete this 50 States Challenge... I mean, I'm already to 15, right?

Right...

This was a road trip marathon with Britt. Always a fun time, especially the drive there!  And this was kind of a big deal because our rockstar friend Brittney had just had major (unexpected) surgery 8 weeks prior.  But when Britt commits to something, she follows through.  So Carmel Indiana, here we come!

According to our road trip tradition, we found the cutest road side diner.  This one claimed to specialize in foot-high pies. Score.

Very excited for chicken & dumplings.

I always order grilled cheese.

Does it look a foot high?  It tasted amazing.

And, can you believe our luck? Not only was the world's biggest golf tee on our route...

World's Largest Golf Tee!

But so was the World's largest rocking chair!  Same city and everything!

Britt struggles with selfies.

We made it into Carmel, picked up our packets, checked into our hotel, and found a hoppin' pizza joint in Carmel's adorable downtown.  We always eat pizza the night before.  I don't have pictures for some reason. I believe there may have been lots of driving around looking for bagels.  Who forgets a bagel?

The next morning was race day.  The Carmel Marathon was a decent size, not huge but definitely not small. We went in with no other goal than to finish and check off another state. Did I mention that Britt just had major surgery?

The race was fun, the day was hot.  It was very much like any small town race.  I hadn't trained specifically for this race as I'd been focusing on the Rock the Parkway Half the week before.  So my long runs were not nearly long enough, but long enough to allow me to finish... but not without a struggle.

Around mile 22 I started fading... Britt stuck with me and we took some extra walk breaks... did I mention that she just had major surgery and was slowing down for me?  We ended up finishing just under 4 hours.  

Britt asked if she could hold my hand as we finished.  Kind of a big deal.

What's that time say?  3:54?  Not sure our actual time.

We went through the snack line (they had donuts!!!) and got a post-race adjustment by some chiropractors.  Then we went in search of the beer garden.

I'm wearing flip flops... and might be half-drunk.

We love post-race beer!  And matching.

I'm pretty sure our intent was to walk the mile and a half back to the hotel, shower, rest up, and then hit the town.  But then we realized that downtown (and all it's bars) were way closer than that.  So we headed that way.

Carmel has a trail system that goes straight through it's downtown and along various other parts of town. It runs by all kinds of fun restaurants and coffee shops.  They call it the caffeine trail because there are so many places along it to stop for coffee.  Obvs we were excited to do this the day after the race.  But it turns out that if you follow the caffeine trail during a sunny afternoon, it makes for an excellent pub crawl.

Cheers!  This was our best idea ever. EVER!

Here are some silly roller-bladers on the beer caffeine trail.

Stopped for lunch... and more beer.  Still haven't showered.

Carmel also has these adorable statues of old-timey people throughout the downtown area.  We met several.

What's in those bags ma'am?

More beer... more patios... still no showers.

After we'd had our fill of beer, we walked back to our hotel. It was a couple of miles away which may sound like torture, but the more walking you do after a marathon, the quicker your legs recover.  It's science.

Me and another statue... this may have been Friday night based on my attire.

We had dinner at a ho-hum place that was not downtown and were so sad we didn't go back to our old stomping grounds. If you are ever in Carmel, please just go downtown and stay there.  Say hello to the statues for me.

Sunday morning and we were up and ready for coffee!  Seriously, this town has a caffeine trail.  How do we not live there?!?!

First stop was a cute little coffee shop that doubles as a bar at night.

We love coffee!

Then I think we went somewhere named Big Billy's... that's not the name, but I can't remember it.  The food was delish and they gave us a seat on the patio!

Coffee and sunshine!!!

Before leaving we stopped at the famous Square Donut Shop.  From what I can tell they were just regular donuts in a square shape.  But we bought em!

Donuts aren't square!  They are round!

This race was so special.  I love love love when we get to road-trip and be goofy and just see where the weekend takes us.  I'm so so proud of Britt for completing this race, and for pushing me at the end!  I'm incredibly lucky to have found a friend who will drive 9 hours to run a marathon with me and also insist we stop to see the world's largest golf tee. :)