CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Nov 3, 2018

I wasn’t expecting miracles… but I didn’t expect the issues I had, given the fact that I was doing an average 13:45 minute pace, as the Pace Team leader for the 6 hour finish. I purposely asked for this slot due to the fact that I was not able to train faithfully because of my knee injury from September. I was feeling good, and have been having good training runs up to 6 miles each (I didn’t want to take a chance on resurfacing knee pain right before this race). I felt like I had enough of a base to make the 6 hour pace time doable.

I figured that the slower pace would be perfect for me. I did good, and was right on par for pace, until the 19 mile mark. I was beginning with mild calf cramps. I suspected as much, so I was carrying my BioFreeze in my Camel-bak. It was a LIFEsaver!! Really helped to keep the cramping to a minimum. When I was about to run out I saw a Medic cyclist, and asked her for some.

I slowed my pace, to avoid full blown cramp attacks. But, my watch battery died around 18 miles in, so I have NO CLUE of how I was doing on pace. I ended up finishing late – at 6:03, vs the 6:00 I was supposed to pace. But, my Pace Team Leader was very encouraging. He said I did an “Excellent” job pacing. He looked like he really meant what he was saying. So, I was encouraged, and didn’t feel “quite” as bad. But still, a disappointing race.

I wonder if I would not have cramped, had I been wearing my knee brace. I tend to think the favoring of my knee caused the calf stress I was having. Maybe, maybe not… no since trying to second guess the past. I’m still proud of the job I did pacing. I’m proud that I soldiered on, and did my best to get to the finish on time for my team.

BONUS: My knee did not flare up post-race!! #Winning!! 👍🏾👍🏾. I was stiff and sore a couple days… just normal marathon issues. I felt fine after 3 days! And, I still feel good!

I’m ready to finish up the Run the 502 5K series, and get my series finisher medal!!❤️

Happy Trails Friends!!😘

Run The 502 Races Series

I decided back in April to take time off from running. This series, which goes from July to October, is mostly 5Ks – perfect for coming back from a hiatus.

I hate “summer running”. Seriously. But i figured 5Ks would be just enough to keep my body from stressing in the Louisville heat. 😪

It’s been a great time! I have never heard of this series, but apparently it’s been going on for about 20 years!! How did I not know this??? 😱 I’ve been running since 2009!!

River City Races is a locally managed race company, and I must say, these races are WELL managed and FUN! And, I have met SO many lovely runners, walkers, and now I have LOTS of new friends!!

The series was so popular, that they have added more races tot he schedule starting in December. For now, I have finished the original series.

Here are the races. So far:

Race #1: The Dr Ed Morgan Grand Slam 4 Miler, July 28, 2018 – sponsored by the Kiwanis Club

I decided to play my music for this series too. I asked permission first though. With so many locals doing these races, I wanted to make sure that management was of with it. They loved the idea!! And, again, folks loved having music on the course. I heard people singing and having a good time!! That makes me VERY happy!! I am now known as the Music Lady in Louisville. It’s pretty much required that I show up to races with my Bluetooth speaker, lol.

This was a great race day for me!! My first time back to running, and all systems were a go! I took it nice and easy, so no spectacular finish times, LOL!!

Race #2: The St Matthews Street Festival 5K, Aug 4, 2018:

Another FUN race, with a bonus: I won 3rd Place in my Age Group!!! YAY!! Needless to say, I was so happy and excited to be doing so well – especially after the running year I have had!! #FeelingBlessed ❤️

Race #3: The Kicking Butt 5K, Aug 25, 2018:

This was a HUGE race, benefitting Colorectal Cancer Research. There had to be over 600 racers there… I no chance for an AG award today, LOL.. #Note: There are some FAST old people in Louisville!!! 😂😂😂😂. Still, a fun race!! I met new friends again, yay!! Two ladies that I met are now my Facebook friends!!❤️

Race #4: The Middletown Chamber of Commerce 5K, Sept 6, 2018:

This was a HILLY race!! OMG😲😳😳😳. I was NOT expecting this. I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace. I took 4 months off from running… I had no recent hill training under my belt. This race, though fun, was a total ride on the #StruggleBus! Apparently, others in my AG were struggling more than me, because somehow, I won 2nd place in my AG!! WHAT???!! For sure, I was not expecting this, lol. I mean, my finish time was nothing to brag about – averaging about 12:40 minute miles🙄🙄🙄… but hey, A WIN IS A WIN!!! I’ll take it!!👍🏾👍🏾

Race #5: The Downtown Doubler 30K, Sept 30, 2018:

So… yeah, it’s kind of a HUGE ass leap from a 5K to a 30K… But #Stupid is how I roll, #smdh. My last long run was the Derby Marathon – which sucked above all sucks, and here I am doing 18.9 miles, in the summer heat, after only running 5Ks for the past 2 months… I mean, it was a hell of a great idea… until it wasn’t. 🤔😳🤦🏽‍♀️. My body gave me the thumbs up for the first half of the race. Then for some reason it began to get indignant. Besides the fact that I was critically undertrained, I have no clue why this race went south.🧐🧐🧐. I finished before the official cutoff, but barely. The cutoff was 4 hours, and I finished in 3:57 and change. My body was understandably weary, and I started with calf cramps at about the 14 mile mark. Until then I was keeping an average 12:15 pace, then my pace greatly deteriorated. Besides the lady in front of me, I was the last runner on the course. The race had bike marshals, and one of them stayed with me, while another stayed with the lady about a quarter mile in front of me – maybe less. My bike marshal was fabulous!! He encouraged me, and gave me water and a power bar to help energize me. I was so demoralized, because I was really hoping for a good race finish. But it was my own fault: You really do reap what you sow… You can’t expect what you didn’t work for. Ironically, I was the last to cross the finish line, but I STILL won 3rd place in my AG, lol. Wow!! Undeserved, but I will certainly take it, and be THANKFUL!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 My stupidity cost me dearly though. I blew up my knee during this race. Requiring me to take more time off to heal, and I missed Race #6, the Bowman Field 4 Miler. 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞

Race#7: The Pumpkin Spice 5K, Oct 7, 2018:

My knee is better, but not “great”… I wisely decided not to do a half marathon, that I was supposed to be a pace leader for, a couple weeks back. Anyway, I used this race to test my knee. I ran without my knee brace, and I felt good, and strong. This race was in Cherokee Park – a very hilly race. So, it was a good test of my knee. Hills always feel hard to me, so perceived that I was running slow. I wasn’t mad though, because I was feeling strong otherwise!! My official finish time was 38:08. Not my ideal, but I was happy just to be able to run this hilly course. Turns out, the course was “long”. My watch said that the course was 3.6 miles, not 3.1 – which makes a HUGE difference in finishing pace. I took it with a grain of salt because most of the time the watch doesn’t match the course. But, SEVERAL other runners that did the same race also said their watches had the course at 3.6. So, this makes me very happy because it means that I was running stronger than I perceived. It’s possible that my perceived slowness was because hills feel hard to me. Of course it doesn’t change the official results, but I feel good knowing that I actually ran that course at a 10:36 mile pace. We all think they turn around was out further than it was supposed to be. Still I was happy to be back out running, and had a GREAT time with my friends that I have made over the course of this race series!! BONUS: I ran this race in a Hot Dog 🌭 costume!! They had a costume contest as part of the race, since it was Halloween season. I lost to the T-Rex, lol. That’s ok, it was huge fun to race in costume!! My first time doing that!!!😊😊😊

That’s it for this “original” scheduled race series… the race management has added 4 more winter races to the Run the 502 series!! YAY!! Starting Dec 1st, the winter races will start, and in Feb 2019, I will do a “Run the 502, Part Two” blog to finish my post on this amazing race series… AND, I will have my series MEDAL to show off!!! 👍🏾👍🏾😊❤️.

Stay Awesome Friends, Happy Trails!!

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon, April 2018

So much for hoping for a better race experience. I’m not sure what’s going on, but maybe a few months a rest from running is due. I have to admit that my training was “sub-par”, but I never have imagined that a race could go so bad. 😞😞😞

I may not have done all my weekday runs, but I never, ever missed a long run. I did a 20 and a 21 mile run during training… no issues. In the freaking marathon, I f’ing cramp at MILE 13!!!😡

I was the 5:30 pace leader for this race. Needless to say, that went to hell in a hand basket. I was doing well – no problems whatsoever, then, BAM cramping took over my entire body. My hopes for leading my team to victory… died a horrible death. I was cramping, nauseous, felt like I was going to pass out… I was in bad shape. All marathons are hard, but this was the worst I have ever felt. (Even considering my post of the Chevron Houston Marathon back in January.) And it just didn’t make sense. I was doing everything right… I was fueling and hydrating at 30 minute intervals – just like I did in training. I never missed an aid station stop. Considering I was running at a very comfortable pace, I’m dumbfounded at my body’s complete breakdown very early in the race. I realize that “every race is different”… but, DAMN…

Anyway… this is a pre-race pic with my pacing partner, Marion. He was SO nice, and a great partner. I feel bad that he had to go on without me.

And, of course, I always seem to run into my friend Jennifer at every race I do, lol.

My very good friend Mahamed was doing his first KDF Half Marathon – his bucket list race!!

I am very happy that my friends did well!! It’s always a joy to see your friends doing well!!😊😊😊❤️

This race was the very 1st time I experimented with playing music for the Runners! I carried a Team 530 Race Party sign, lol. I was concerned that people would be annoyed at my music, but people LOVED it. Many took out they earbuds and enjoyed my music along the course. I played 70’s and 80’s Disco hits!! 🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶. Many commented that the music was a big motivation during the late miles in the race. That made me very happy, and was the only good thing that came out of the race for me.

I ended up finishing at 5:42. Disappointing, but good considering the bad shape I was in. I guess I would say the highlight of this race was the 4 hours I spent in the ER after I finished. I had severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. It’s amazing that I was able to finish at all.

Oh well. Sometimes you just have to be grateful for your blessings and not let things ruin your joy. They’ll be other races.

This is my last race for a few months, as I am taking some needed time off from endurance races.

Happy Trails Friends!!

Run The Bluegrass Half Marathon 3/31/18

You know it’s gonna be a “good race day” when you get to the start line, and realize that you forgot a crucial piece of running gear..the tubing for my Camel-bak😕😒🙄😠

This meant that the only hydration I would get was what was offered on the course… and that’s NOT much. 😠. I’ve learned that you must be “self sufficient” in training and racing. Every couple of miles, they “may” give you about 4 ounces of something, if that. This doesn’t work for me – I am a very heavy sweater, and a heavy salt secreter… and I need MUCH more hydration than that. It was abnormally hot today. My race all but died on the course somewhere.

I had a HARD time out there today. My body cramped up by mile 5. I was trying to help my training partner earn a PR, but that went south fast. He was feeling great, and I tried to get him to go ahead without me, but he refused to leave me. It was really sweet, but I felt awful because he could have made his goals but for hanging back with me. 😞😞😞

This was about mile 11? Frank is in the red shirt running beside me.

We ran into some friends at the start line. ALWAYS good to see Shirley and Brooke – Mom and Daughter team… By the way, Shirley is 74 years old, and can TOTALLY kick my ass on any race course – on my BEST day!! Lol. She is what you call:

A. W. E. S. O. M. E. 😍😍😍❤️

This start line pic… yeah it was the only good part of race day for me. This is me coming up to the finish line. I WAS “SO DONE” with this day!!

SO DONE.

Frank, his friend John, and me resting on the grass after the race. Well, actually, I was on the brink of passing out… So, I plopped down the first place I found and Frank and John sat down with me until I was ok to drive home. Again, sweet.

We finished in 2:38. Our goal was 2:30 😒. Still, a finish is a finish. Happy to finish at all.

Next up: The Kentucky Derby Marathon, April. Hopefully it goes better.

Happy Trails Friends!

St Pattys Day Half Marathon 2018

This race was at the beautiful Beckley Creek Park. It was my 2nd time volunteering as a Pacer! I was given the 2:45 time slot. This required me to maintain about a 12:35 mile pace – which was good because my body was in desperate need of rest from training and races, and this is a HILLY race course.

I had a surprisingly good race. I felt good all the way through – even through the monster hill at mile 10. I didn’t have very many followers… no one wants to run with the 2:45 pacer. Everyone wants the 2:30 or earlier pacer. I even came up next to runner who was apparently struggling and walking. I guess she didn’t realize that she had slowed so much, because she saw me and said: “No offense, but you’re the LAST person I wan to run with”. Then, she took off running, lol.

I took it in good humor, I knew what she meant. Ironically, I ended up passing her anyway, and finishing the race before her. So… maybe she should have run with me??? 🤔🤔🤔

I tend to be a huge sweat secreter… so, Every. Single. Race. I look like this, or worse:

And, I must say, the best part of this race was the “Finish Line Cookie”!! I finished in 2:43 – Perfect for pacing! If anyone was trying to catch up to me, they would have easily met a goal of 2:45.

Goal met. Cookies. #WINNING!

Pic of my Team: #WeRock! ❤️

Thankful for a good race day… Finally!! So far, 2018 has not been a good running year.

Next up: Run The Bluegrass, March 31, 2018 👍🏾

Happy Trails Friends!!

Chevron Houston Marathon Jan 14, 2018

One word: #Clusterfuck. 😐

Excuse my French… but, that’s just the only way to describe this race. I knew when I sat on the airport runway for 4 hours waiting to take off from Louisville that this was not going to be a good weekend. I joked that I should have got off the plane and went back home. As it turns out, I really should have. 😏 It was an omen.

FINALLY made it to Houston at 3:30pm. Should’ve been there at 11:15am… but I digress… Anyway, I met up at the hotel with my friend Julie – we were gonna share the room, hang out for the weekend and run the race together. I was actually supposed to be her pacer and help her try to get a 5:30 finish time. We caught up, went to dinner, then set out to find the race expo. Turns out we got bum directions and got lost. By the time we got to the expo, they had JUST closed for the night!! 😠 My bad luck continues…

This is my good friend Julie! Lung cancer survivor, and all around GREAT woman!❤️

On Saturday, luck changed for the better, lol. We found the Expo!! YAY! Walked around got our race stuff, and spent WAY too much money, lol. I even bought a new pair of running shoes!😳 smh 🤦🏽‍♀️ But WAIT. We saw MEB!!!! 😲😲😲

I couldn’t resist a #photobomb, lol. The line to get an autograph was LOOOOOOONNNNGG!! I didn’t want to stand in the line. We had been there all day and I was hungry 😂😂😂😂 Besides, I get too star struck. I would’ve just made a fool out of myself if I had met Meb, LOL!

So, we left the Expo and to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Had some SnapChat fun while waiting for our food lol.

We be CRAZY. 😂😂😂😂

Moving on to Sunday Morning… Race day… This is pretty much where everything went to hell. 😏. I mean the day “started” pretty good. Got up, ate breakfast, walked to the start area. We even made a new friend! I mean, that’s pretty good, right???

Well, then we had to, ya know, start running. We were in corral D, so we stood there for 45 minutes waiting to finally make it to the timing mat and start the race. Well, it was COLD that morning. 30 degrees cold. I didn’t want to “overdress” for the race, so I wore minimal clothing. I was FROZEN by the time I got to start my race. I knew that once I started running, I would be fine – and I was. Except for my feet. My feet would NOT move and bend right for me to run well. They never got better. 😔

I was doing “ok” until about the 10 mile mark – when I could sense oncoming cramping issues stirring up.

I had some precautionary cramping remedies on hand, and I used them to keep the cramps at bay. It worked up until about the 14 mile mark. Julie was having cramping too, but she appeared to be running well, so she ran on ahead of me. She didn’t even realize that I wasn’t with her anymore, Lol. Then slowly but surely the cramps began to get out of control. I even grabbed a beer from the Beer Stop at mile 16 or so. And, I don’t even drink!! 🍺 I just needed “something” to help me forget how much I was hurting. I knew that, sooner or later, running would turn me into an alcoholic 😳😳😳😳😳

I stopped at the next medical station that I saw and asked if they had anything that would help ease cramping. They DID!! The gave me some BioFreeze to rub on my legs and ankles. By this time, I was in full blown charley horses from my feet all the way up to my hamstrings. On both legs. 😢😢😢😢. I’ll tell you what, the BioFreeze was A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. 😁. Thank the Good Lord, because I swear that stuff is the only thing that kept me moving to the finish line – when I REALLY wanted to just throw in the towel.

So… on I went. I stopped at EVERY medical tent I saw and grabbed more BioFreeze until I finished the race. At the last medical station, I had just finished rubbing the stuff on my legs when I saw the police cars coming!!! 😱😱😱😱😱 BAD NEWS!! They were opening the closed streets. So WOW. I had no idea that I was lagging THAT far behind. This was just past mile 23.5 or so. NOW, the pressure was seriously on. My new goal was to stay ahead of the police cars. They passed me at one point, but I dug down deep and found some strength to push through and increase my pace enough to past the police cars again. The police officers were shouting: “Great job Ma’am”!!, LOL. I was like: THANK YOU… as I ran past them as fast as I could muster.

Soon, I began to pass other people who were struggling along with me. I suppose there were about 30, maybe, still out on the course struggling to get to the finish. Not sure if they too were cramping? Anyway, I ran my little heart out for those last 2 miles to the finish. Somehow, my watch didn’t save my run stats 😔😔😔 I would have been interested to see how fast those last 2 miles were. It felt like I was flying… but I couldn’t have been doing much more than a 12 min mile pace, LOL. But, it felt like I was FLYING!😂😂😂😂😂😂

I MADE IT to the finish!! Ummmm, only there was no finish line. 🤔🤔🤔😳😳. As I was running to the finish, a volunteer was pointing for everyone to go to the left, onto the sidewalk. Well, the side walk was FILLED with crowds of pedestrians. I had NO IDEA what to do or where to go when they directed me there. There was no one else telling us what to do, or where to go. There were some off chutes, but I just running straight, weaving around people, and hoping I was going the right way. 😕

Then all of a sudden a lady said: “Stop” “This is the finish line” – pointing to the ground. I mean, I saw nothing, but you know, #whatever. 😒. So, there I was. At the finish line??? Standing there. Lost in a crowd of people. Nobody handed me a medal. There was no race clock. No timing mat to cross. Nothing. I started thinking: “I struggled to keep running ALL this way, and, NOTHING.” Nothing. It looked like everyone from the race had packed up and left me there. I felt abandoned. And hurt that they didn’t wait for us.

I just stood there and started crying. Hysterically. Some lady came over to me, and just hugged me. She was saying something in Spanish, I think, but I had no clue what she was saying. She just kept hugging me, to comfort me. She was SO very sweet. I tell you, no matter how bad this world seems at times, there are STILL some very good people out there! She was definitely one of them❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

After I stood there for a while, I noticed a line of people. They all had medals on, so I figured they were going in the building to get food. So, I got in the line to go get food to take back to the hotel. Well, when I went in the building, there was a guy there who scanned my race bib, then he sent me to a table where they gave me my MEDAL!!! That’s all I wanted – my medal to show how hard I worked to finish this race. It’s SO pretty too!☺️ (See pic at the top of post) To my surprise, they gave me a nice glass and a finisher shirt too!!

I was still really bummed out that they officially listed me as a DNF, and I don’t have an official finish time. There’s not a whole lot of races out there that stick to a STRICT cutoff time – just my friggin luck to find the one that does. 😕 My watch said I finished in 6:21:20. The official cutoff was 6:00:00. Sucks. But, whatever.

Worst. Race. Ever. Btw. No matter what the race, there’s never been a “road” marathon that I couldn’t finish in 5:30 or under. 😠

Now, I don’t even have my watch stats. I don’t know what happened, I “thought” I saved it when I stopped the watch. Guess I didn’t. Perfect. I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t want to go back and see my race stats anything. I’m depressed enough already.😫

NOTE: My friend Julie did well for herself. She finished in 6:11. The finish line was still in tact, and she actually crossed the timing mat… But, again, 6:00:00 cutoff… She was also listed as DNF in the official record. Again, sucks. 😠. But she is very happy with her time – it marks a 20 minute PR in the marathon for her!!! SO PROUD of her!!! She overcame her cramps to achieve a huge PR!!! Way to GO Jules!!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

So, that’s my race recap. I would love to take a much needed break from running for a while… but, I’ve obligated myself to lead the 5:30 pace group for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon in April 2018. So, it’s back to training for this weary girl.

My self confidence is at an ALL TIME LOW right now. So, if, halfway through training, I don’t feel as though it’s coming together, I’m calling it off, so they can find someone else. I’m not gonna visit another bad race on the runners depending on me to help them finish on time. 😠

Some random race pics: I saw met my FB buddy Cleve!! First time meeting in person.😊. Also, there was this guy in a diaper costume trying to hand us glasses of margaritas, LOL!!

Well…. stay tuned, I guess… Nextup: KDF Marathon, April 28, 2018. Or not. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Happy Trails Friends!

The Louisville Marathon Nov 12, 2017

My FIRST ever Pace Leader job!!! #Humbled.

I have stressed over this race for 6 months! Worried about my summer injuries and cramping spells and fall sickness… I truly didn’t know what to expect going in to this race. I was just PRAYING to GOD that I could successfully lead this group to the finish line. On time.

The day didn’t start off very well… got LOST on the way to the friggin race. I just LOVE it when the GPS says “You have arrived”… and you’re in the middle of NOWHERE!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 It’s a damn good thing I left my house early. Evidently, I was not alone with my GPS issues. I saw a few cars circling around and around. Their GPS’s brought them to same place as me. We stopped and chatted with each other and eventually figured out where to go. I had planned to do some training runs on the race course, but it just never happened. I HATE not knowing where to go on race day. But, we got there, so…

There was a LOT of confusion about where to go amongst the racers. They really needed signage to direct folks to the right place. The park is huge, no one knew where to park or how to get to the start area. Hopefully this will be corrected for next year.

Took a few pics of us pacers getting ready!!

Of course, I found a few friends too!! LOVE my friends!!

I was told this race was “flat”. 😏 I know better to believe race fables. So WHY I believed this one, I’ll never know. I’m blaming the fever. Lol. This race STARTED out uphill. And, the climbs just kept on coming! Ummm, yay? From my last several posts, I’m sure you’ve gathered that my training has been “minimal”, and my hill training has been “nill”. 😐

God must have been in my corner today, because my legs held up very well throughout the entire race. So, THANK YOU Lord!🙏🏾. Nutrition and hydration was on point, as was my pacing strategy. I was in last place the better portion of the race – which was expected since I was the sweeper pacer, 6 hours. So, this meant I was very lonely running by myself most of the race. Someone on the turnaround side told me to just abandon my pace since no one was running with me. But, I didn’t want to do that. I was the 6 hour pacer, and I felt a responsibility to be there for those runners who, inevitably go out too fast and struggle the last several miles. And, I glad I stuck to plan, because around the 17 mile mark I started picking up runners who were struggling and wanted to stay with me and finish in 6 hours if they could.

Alas, they were hurting so bad that they could not sustain even the slow pace I was keeping. But there was one lady who stayed with me for several miles. She was trying SO HARD to keep up the pace. She was determined to finish with me! But, the last two miles there was a MONSTER hill, and I lost her. 😢😢😢 She fell further and further behind me, until I looked back and could not see her anymore. 😦

I finally crossed the finish line, and about 10 minutes later, here she comes!! I didn’t even see her, but she saw me and came over and gave me a HUGE hug!!! She thanked me for helping her keep her pace and motivation to finish her 1st marathon! She did AWESOME!!!! I am SO proud of her!! At the time,my mind was gone, lol, so I didn’t think to get a pic with her. 😔😔

I felt great throughout the race… but wow, soon as I crossed the finish EVERYTHING caught up with me LOL. I could barely make it to my car, only a few feet from the finish. I didn’t even have the strength to go get and post race food, lol. Know, you KNOW it’s bad when I can’t make it over to the food table LOLOL! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

But, my first pacing job went GREAT! I crossed in finish in 5:56:07!! Perfect!! I’m so very happy for the strength and health to be able to finish the race and help others along the way!! They even asked me to come back and pace some of their other races!! ☺️ #GodIsGood ❤️

As an inaugural race things went well. The only thing I’d like to see for next year is more water stations along the course. Once The marathoners split from the Half marathoners there was too many miles between water stations. I went 4 miles before seeing one at one point. I was glad I had my camelbak. I always bring my own hydration for this reason. Other marathoners were not so fortunate. Which, I think, is one of the reasons the runners I passed were struggling so bad towards the end.

All in all, it was a BEAUTIFUL course!! Can’t wait until next year! ❤️

Oh, and here I am practically passed out in my car, lol.

#FunTimes ❤️ Next up: The Houston Marathon Jan 14, 2018

Happy Running Friends!😘

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Nov 4, 2017

Going in to this race, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. The last two months have been a mix of half-assed training and good & bad races, along with sickness that I just CANNOT shake off… So… 🤷🏽‍♀️

My pacing gig is NEXT week. I was hoping to use this race as a “test race”. I am slated to lead the 6 hour pace group, so my goal this race was to do a run/walk averaging 13:30 min miles. TWO full marathons back-to-back is NEVER a good idea, but I felt compelled to do this race as a practice run. I NEEDED this to go well for me, my psychie could not handle another blow. (Previously, I had been seriously considering just skipping this race, even though I had paid for it, because I didn’t want to be “spent” for next week’s race. ~ which, to me, is the more important race)

This is a HUGE city race, but somehow, I still managed to run into this sweet lady!! What are the odds of finding ANYONE in a crowd of 15,000???

I forgot to get a selfie at the race – so this is a different pic of her at a different race, lol.

Long story short, this rent went VERY well. I followed my nutrition and pacing plan perfectly!! You know you’re having a great race when you’re tempted to push the pace because you’re feeling “that” good! I had no cramping issues, and I felt good throughout. I was practicing my pace for next week’s pace duties, so I strove to maintain a 13:30 pace. I was aiming to finish in about 5:57:00 or so… I finished in 5:50:07. I was a bit under pace because I was feeling so good. So, I just need to tone it down next week, lol. I don’t want to push people “too” much. Those extra seconds take their toll over the long haul, I need to keep it closer. Other than that, WOW, I. Am. A. Happy. Camper. 😊😊😊😊😊

Took some pics along the way… I was going slow enough to enjoy the scenery, lol. I LOVED this home!! And, then there was this artsy tree thingy, cute!

This sign made me LOL:

The spectators were AWESOME!! It’s one of the reasons I love this race so much!! They were handing us oranges and bananas, and cookies, and leftover Halloween candy!!! ❤️

There’s always a point in EVERY Marathon that you begin to question your “life choices”, lol.

Seriously though, this was one of the only races this year that went smooth from start to finish, and I really enjoyed the journey!

I always take pre-race pics 😊😊😊

And, Medals!!! It’s why I do this, LOL!! Because I finished the Fort Ben Half, I received and extra medal when I finished this race!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈 AND, the hat was a nice surprise too!!

On the way back to my hotel there was this: A street trolley pedaled by drunk riders. Singing. LOLOL 😳😳😂

#JustWhenIThoughtIdSeenItAll 🤔 smh.

OK, so I’m PSYCHED for next week!!! Ready to go! Confidence level topped off!!

This week, the name of the game is resting up for the inaugural race of #TheLouisvilleMarathon ❤️

Til next week y’all!

Be Safe! Happy Trails! 🏃🏾‍♀️

Urban Bourbon Half Marathon Oct 21, 2017

I pretty much knew the wheels were gonna fall off sooner or later… 😏

I was actually doing well until I got to the hills. At mile 4. 😕 I’d been sick and injured and plagued with cramps ALL summer long. So, needless to say, I did NO hill training. None. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I’m sure you get the picture. Well, the hills KILLED me during this race. I can’t say that I’m surprised at all. It’s just that the “little” bit of confidence that I was getting back… well, there it went. My last bit of confidence died at mile 8. ⚰️ #RIP

My pace to to “pathetic”, and by mile 11, my old friend Mr Charley Horse showed up to run my final two miles with me. He’s thoughtful like that.

The only good thing that came out of this race was seeing SO many of my friends along the course. They were looking good, and that made me very happy!! 🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️❤️ I love when my friends do well!!

And, of course, the PERFECT pic to summarize this race recap: #FinishLine

Well, there’s always next time…

Next up: Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Nov 4, 2017

Happy Trails Friends!!

Fort Ben Half Marathon. Oct 7, 2017

This was my 2nd time doing this race. In a prior post, I shared about last year when I ran this with my ex-husband for his very first Half. I ran his pace last year, so I could be there for him. This year, I was gonna run it for myself. Again, I am in training to lead a pace group in November, so I had a goal pace of 11:30 min miles. Things were going well for me, then I ran into some friends at bout the 3.5 mile mark. I love sharing runs and races with friends so I decided to give up race goals and hang with them for the remainder of the race. They were struggling. She was running on a broken foot 😱, and her hubby was running with a bum knee 😢. So needless to say, we spent a LOT of time walking and slow jogs in between – especially so as the later miles came. That was OK with me though. I got to spend time with friends that I really didn’t know very well “outside of training”. What I learned: They are THE SWEETEST people you ever want to meet!! AND, they live practically around the corner from me!! WHO KNEW! 😂😂😂

We finished the race, and sat down to a GREAT BBQ meal provided by the race!!! YUM! 😍

Wait. After we finished eating, I left to drive back home… THEY went to run THREE MORE MILES!!! WHAT???😲 But, I suppose that’s how them #Superstars roll 😎😎😎. They were ultimately training for the Dopey race series in Disney World in Jan 2018. TOO Legit!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Another great time at a great race!! Took some more stray pics, and of course, a #Selfie ☺️.

I “had” to take a pic of this shirt, it was awesome!! Lol😂😂😂

Next up: Urban Bourbon Half Marathon Oct 21, 2017

Happy Trails!😘