Rock & Roll Seattle - State #20

Well, we made it to 20! My only goal in Seattle was to BQ. I feel like this should be a given. I went up an age group so my qualifying time went up by 5 minutes. For a time in my life, every race was a BQ if I wanted it... not so much anymore.

I did not research this race. A few people told me they heard it was hilly. I blew it off. I'm not scared of hills. I'd also been dealing with some lingering calf issues and a fun new injury to my hip. Getting older has not been as graceful as I'd hoped.

So I lined up on race day with the 3:30 pacer. We started running and immediately hit the hills. No worries. I held the pace and felt good. On the uphills, I slowed my pace and worked to make up time on the downhills. This seems like a good strategy, right?

The sun was out, even though the forecast called for rain. It was getting warm so I poured water on my head at every aid station. I lost the pace group around mile 10. This was discouraging, but my mile splits were still around 8 minutes per mile... perfect. 

As the miles went on my pace slowed... the hills continued but nothing terrible. I was still in a good place when I passed Drew heading into the final out-and-back. 

So here's where things took a turn. I was loving the out-and-back because I was able to see the lead runners coming in. This was so much fun! And I told myself that they even though I was going up hill right now, look at them going downhill! I'd be flying by the finish!

This did a couple of things to me mentally... first, it made the finish seem closer than it was. In truth, I was only at mile 19. As I crested that hill I realized that I had another insanely huge hill ahead of me. It was a doozy. I kept my spirits up and pushed hard on the downhill.

As I was going up the next giant hill, I kept telling myself that I just had to make it up and then I'd get to turn around and go down. About halfway up I crossed the 20-mile marker and I realized my math was way off. I was not going to turn around at the top. This was a total mind-f*ck. I reached the top and realized there was so much more to come... and that I'd be climbing this hill again. 

Again, I pushed hard on the downhill... still fighting for that 3:40 BQ. The course turned into a park and suddenly we were running on trails... hilly gravel trails. I kept battling mentally. I kept telling myself "I can do hard things". 

Once out of the park, I was finally on my way back toward the finish line. I was hurting so bad. Even the downhills were killer. It was on a big downhill that I wanted so badly to stop and walk. I kept telling myself I could not walk on the downhill. I could walk on an uphill or at an aid station but NOT on the downhill. 

Then at mile 23 the 3:40 pacer passed me. 

I started walking... on the downhill. And I let every physical and emotional pain wash over me. 

I was defeated.

I walked a lot, tried to run, walked some more. The 3:50 pacers passed me. I told myself not to cry until the finish. 

The last 3 miles were slow and painful. I was miserable. As I approached the finish line I felt emotion wash over me... but I did not cry. I crossed the finish line with no sign of Drew. Apparently when the 3:50 pacers came in he thought for sure he'd missed my finish and went to look for me. He had no idea I had slowed down so much.

As soon as I finished the clouds came, the temp dropped, and it started to rain. Of course it did. In the confusion at the finish, we had a hard time finding each other and I ended up sitting in the cold rain for about 20 minutes. I finally used a stranger's phone to get a hold of Drew and at that point I lost it. I just sat there in the rain crying. It was awful. Not my best moment.

But then we found each other and made it back to our Air B&B. Drew got me coffee and I showered and warmed up and took a tiny nap and everything was fine. In the moment it was the worst. The worst. But I guess this too shall pass.

That afternoon we made our way to Washington University where we filled up on Thai food... my favorite post-race meal. Then we went to the Oiselle Flagship Store! I'd been dying to go and Drew is such a trooper for spending an afternoon shopping for running clothes after he just spent a morning watching a road race. Can we agree he's the best?

And that was the race. We had planned on staying until Thursday but on Monday we received a phone call from our vet that Ari's health had declined significantly. We made arrangements and made it home that night. Our amazing vet brought Ari to meet us at our home. The next day we said goodbye.

This blog is nothing but a way for me to record my races anymore... but it used to be so much more. And I'm so happy I captured such sweet stories about my puppy dog. He has defined our lives for so long and we are having a tough time figuring out who the Gibsons are without him. Our story is so much fuller because he was in it.

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.

Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon

State 17 was possibly my most proud marathon. I ran the Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon as a St. Jude Hero and raised close to $2000 for St. Jude Research Hospital. Running for kids with cancer made running feel even more important.

This race fell on MLK weekend so it worked out perfectly for a quick weekend trip. We escaped the "Icepocaplypse" happening (or not happening) in KC and spent the weekend in sunny (or not so sunny) Scottsdale.

We arrived on Friday and spent the day familiarizing ourselves with Old Town Scottsdale... which means we ate. all. the. things. We decided we really like Scottsdale. That evening we drove out to Carefree to have dinner with my aunt and uncle. 

Saturday morning had us out in search of carbs. We received so many recommendations for where to eat in Scottsdale, but my favorite by far was the Daily Dose Diner. The breakfast was amazing and I had what was seriously the best pancake of my life. Every pancake I have will try to live up to that pancake and probably fail. Sorry pancakes.

Off to the expo:

Let's rock this!

This was my first R&R marathon. I've heard mixed reviews but they are supposed to be well-planned and very efficient when it comes to the expo, start, finish... yada yada. It was fine. I didn't have any complaints, but it wasn't as flashy as I thought it would be. It was pretty similar to other bigger races I've done. 

After the expo we headed to Tempe to check out the ASU campus and find a spot to watch the KSU basketball game. ASU has a fun bar-district right off campus where we made ourselves at home. The best part was climbing "A" Mountain! It's a tiny little hike but such a cool thing to find right in the middle of civilization. My favorite part of visiting different states is seeing all of the unique parts of each city/town/state. An on-campus mountain seems pretty crazy when you come from Kansas.

Everyday an adventure.

Race Day: Let's do this.

Racing was not actually in the plan for this race. Checking off a state and getting in a good long training run was. I'm training for my first ultra-marathon and this race fit perfectly into my training schedule. 

Drew dropped me off at the start an hour early so I could warm up and get in a few extra miles before the actual race started. It sounds a little crazy, but doing a 30 mile training run is so much easier if you have a crowd and aid stations for 26 of it!

The race started in downtown Pheonix and ran through Scottsdale and then ended in Tempe. The weather could not have been more perfect. It was cool and overcast and excellent for running. 

Run Run Run.

The views made this race. Everywhere we ran, we were running toward mountains. Even though we never left the city, we were surrounded by the beauty of nature. I felt such a sense of calm just gazing at those mountains as I ran. 

My goal was to stick with the 3:45 pace group, but I started to feel a bit claustrophobic in the crowd. I pulled ahead and seriously enjoyed running my own race. I was in the zone.

The only mishap came around mile 8 when I started to feel some serious chaffing in my left underarm. I've never experienced this but I guess it came from wearing a tank top in the middle of January. My armpits were not ready for it! I pulled into an aid station where they saved me with copious amounts of vaseline and I was off on my merry way.

Around mile 16 I stopped for a potty break. When I returned to running I could feel my pace slow. I wasn't upset about it though. I just kept moving forward, enjoying every moment of the run. We hit an out-and-back portion and it was fun to pass others in their St. Jude shirts. We shared cheers and high-fives.

Feeling amazing!

The final miles flew by, even at my slower pace. Around mile 24 I realized the race was almost over and I literally became sad about it. I have never in all of my marathons felt like I didn't want the race to end! I was having such a great time and even though my body was ridiculously tired, I wanted it to keep going! 

I finished strong and happy. I felt accomplished, and most importantly I felt like my body was capable of more! 

I collected my medal and my banana and then picked up my sweet finishers jacket! It was by far the best perk of the race. Drew waited paitiently while I had my legs massaged and then found me an almond-milk latte to warm me up. Have I mentioned what a great support he is???

30 miles total! Earned that medal!!!

After a quick shower and re-fueling, Drew and I set off to experience more of the famous in-town hiking. Driving 10 minutes to a mountain seems like a dream. We Kansans are easily impressed!  We arrived at Piestewa Peak late in the afternoon. We chose a relatively easy hike that didn't seem too populated. The climbing felt so good as it stretched my legs!

Feeling on top of the world.

Monday morning had us up early to make the most of our last morning in Arizona. We had one goal: Camelback Mountain. After pulling into the parking lot on one side of the mountain and reading multiple signs warning us of the difficulty of this climb and the need for mountain-climbing experience, we made the decision to drive to the other side of the mountain. Good idea.

We beat the crowds and had a really great time climbing up the mountain. The hike was a great workout, but we felt safe and only slightly out of our element. The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect.

This guy...

My motto for the year has been "Be Brave". I've been trying to override my initial "no" response to things that are out of my comfort zone. As we ascended the mountain I realized it was much higher than I first thought. We kept getting higher and higher and I kept trying to turn off my fear of heights. Once we came to a spot where the trail stopped and rock climbing began we took a time-out to evaluate. We had to catch our plane and continuing the rest of the way up the mountain would put us in a realy time-crunch. Plus I was really f-ing scared of going and further.

I'd like to think if we'd had more time I would have made it to the top, but who can say? We took some pics and then headed back down the mountain. I hope that someday I can make it back to Camelback and get all the way to the top. For now, these views were the best part of this trip for me.

Always reppin' KC.

Trips like these are the reason I set a goal of running a marathon in every state. Exploring this country and experiencing all that each state has to offer (especially with Drew!) is the best part of this journey. 

Now we just have to figure out where to go for state 18...