One down.....

I can now say that I have completed the Lawrence 1/2 marathon. Now as my good friend Trail Zombie would say....grab a cup of coffee (or whatever your drink of choice is), sit back, and happy reading. First things first I have to tell the "story" of the Lawrence 1/2 marathon, now known as the Kansas Marathon (because in 2010 they are adding a full to this event).

Back in July of 2005, I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate in a Weight Management study through KU. I was way more overweight than now (hard to believe I know, but....). Well part of the requirements for participation in the study was to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 times a week. Now take in mind that "exercise" was never really defined, so me being me started walking at a speed that would make me sweat. As, the study progressed I was starting to do the run/walk thing. Well the study ended the last week of March 2007 (I lost 56 pounds and have maintained that loss, and even lost about 10 more since then...). In February I began to panic about the study ending, so I decided to sign up for my first 5K. There was a montessori school called "Rain Tree" literally right next door to my apartment complex. They had a 5K and 1/2 marathon called the Rain Tree Run (pretty clever I know...). I had some of my colleagues doing the 1/2 marathon and I was just in awe. At that time, one of my graduate students at KU was also training for the 1/2. Now you should also know that she competed in swim at University of Texas, and even competed in the olympic trials....so she was asked just casually, what do you hope to finish in....Her response...."I hope to win" she wasn't kidding...she came in 3rd female. I was so pumped when I did indeed finish the 5K (in 56 min...at the time was so excited it was less than an hour).

So, that was Rain Tree Run take 1 for me. Fairly successful I thought. So I kept up with my walk/run routine. Granted not as diligently, but I did. I did a 5K here and there. Well in March 2007, I did the Shamrock Shuffle in Lawrence. At the end of the run, I was handed a pamphlet about EZ8 a running camp for women. I thought...what a great idea. It was then April and time for the Rain Tree Run, but the benefactor of the run changed and so did the name...it became the "Lawrence Half Marathon" (and there was still a 5K). I did the 5K again (different course of course) and thought this is the last "slow" run because I'm going to do this running camp. So I did 2 sessions of the 8 week running camp, and was getting quicker and doing more running and less walking during my outings. I had made some good friends that were doing the Kansas City 1/2 marathon and told me I should train with them and do it. I figured why not, I was at a pretty good running streak. I did the Kansas City 1/2 marathon in October 2007, was not a very positive experience for me for many many reasons, but I won't go into that for this post.

Well, because the Kansas City 1/2 was not a great experience, I decided to go back to 5K's for a bit (actually I stopped running altogether for about 4 months because I was frustrated). Well then the materials started to come out regarding the Lawrence 1/2 marathon & 5K. I figured, well it's been my tradition so why not. Of course the entire time I did the 5K I felt frustrated because that 1/2 marathon had been my goal since the first year I did it.

Well, I moved to Tulsa...and meet the great Runners World crew. Training has been a blast, now there are ups and downs, as can be seen through my previous posts, but what a positive and wonderful crew to be around. I decided in November, after doing the Route 66 quarter marathon, that I really wanted to go to Lawrence and do the 1/2 marathon because that was my goal. Well I looked up information, and found that the main sponsors had pulled funding so the website said that it was canceled for 2009. I felt so sad, but figured oh well, I will just start a new tradition of doing the Oklahoma City 1/2. Well at work, I listen to the Lawrence Radio station Lazer 105.9 (lazer.com) streaming via the web and one day they were talking about how the people that run the IronMan in Lawrence in June were taking over the Lawrence Half marathon and changing the name to the Kansas Marathon and were offering a half, 10K and 5K for 2009 and would be adding a full in 2010. So I hopped right online and signed up.

Well in February as can be read, I messed up the good ol' hip, and well haven't been able to build up the endurance like I had hoped. And Lawrence is a very fast running community, so I was feeling extremely nervous, but knew that I wanted to get this Lawrence run off my "to do" list. So, I headed up to Lawrence, KS on Friday to meet with doctoral advisor, it went alright, Saturday I went to a conference...which was actually loads of fun. Then, the down time started and I started to play the mental game about the run. Then I decided to look at it from the point of view from a training run, just go..take in the sights...say some odd comments to people and get the miles in.

Race Day:
It was a gloomy and damp day.


But I showed up and took in the people and the puddles...

Well, I ran into my old running coach, was a little bit awkward, but I kept it short and sweet and decided to hang out closer to the street and the start line. I wound up chatting with a very nice woman named Donna who had come over from Kansas City to do the 1/2 marathon. She shared that she would be race-walking and hoping to maintain a 15-min mile pace, this made me feel much better about the whole race because i knew if I was hanging toward the end of the group I might not be there alone.

Well before I knew it 7:30 had arrived and off we all went....

During the first mile and a half, I had some pack issues in that hte clip came undone. This actually turned out to be quite a blessing, I was running along retying everything not really thinking about the crowd, my pace, or anything else other than making sure I didn't lose my pack cuz it had everythign in it. Well once I got everything situated, I turned the corner and voila....

Some old brick streets of Lawrence. If you've never been to Lawrence, KS, it really is quite historic and beautiful. But...I have to say I'd rather run trails than this brick again. You want to talk about uneven/unstable surfaces..you're looking at it. Now to also give you an idea of the run atmosphere...This photo was at about 1.25 miles in...notice how many runners are around me...now I know you will be shocked...my first mile was 12:03 and when this picture is taken I was doing an 11:47 pace....From this point the route ventured to campus. Again KU is a very beautiful campus on a hill. I felt pretty good. I was in my happy place throughout the run until about mile 8 then the thoughts about hurting and tired legs and all that came into play. I have to share this though, because I thought it was so funny. I had my "illegal" ipod and there were songs that played that made me think about and reflect on the Runners World crew and so I searched the crowd for look-a-likes. Here are some of the songs and who I thought of (please no one take offense):
Cranberries: Zombie (yup made me think of TZ)
Pink: So What (Rockstar Ed)
Dixie Chicks: Ready to Run (Susan)
Blue Oyster Cult: Don't fear the Reaper (TATUR Dave)
Scorpions: Rock You Like a Hurricane (Michael)
Baha Men: Who Let the Dogs Out (Boca (yeah the dog))
Boston: Peace of Mind (Bobby)
Miley Cyrus: The Climb (Me and my Journey...I know you can make fun if you want, but truly is lyrics of my running life)

Well like I said...I was in a running happy place until about mile 7-8ish, then I lost it. Part of the running path went on a semi-secluded running trail, well there was a giant puddle, me being me thought what would my friends do...so I just ran through it. Got my shoes and socks soaking wet...oh well. At about mile 8 1/2 I saw a woman in a black jacket ahead of me...she seemed to be slowing down, so I kept saying in my head catch black jacket catch black jacket. Well I did...I wound up passing here just after the 9 mile marker. Then I felt like I was going up and down the hills all alone. It was a pretty isolated course with not a lot of crowd and fanfare. Well at about mile 10 I saw a younger girl (college student probably) and she was slowign down...so of course me being me set the goal and mental focus to catch her. Well I did that at about mile 10 1/2 then was on my own. Once I hit mile 11, I decided to walk til I could see the finish. Why....well think I just lack endurance. The ending of the whole thing kind stunk..couldn't see the finsih until you saw the 13 mile marker sign...I would have liked to see it at about mile 12 1/2, but oh well. So as I am climbing the hill (think Denver of the Tulsa run) there is a man in front of me running (although you could tell he was very tired and fatigued much more of a shuffle) and I told myself I would pass him too....well once I saw the finish sign...I sprinted to it, passing the man feeling a little bad about that....finishing with a race clock time of 2:52:10. I was okay with my finishing time. I actually had a much more enjoyable time doing this 1/2 than my last. I am really looking forward to OKC, and having friends there with me to help with the spirit and atmosphere.

I wish I could have taken a few more pictures but the camera charge died. I also just want to send out a thanks for all the well wishes from everyone. If you want to check out the elevation from my run today here is the link:

www.kansasmarathon.com