Eisenhower Marathon

After the expo, with President Eisenhower.

Ahhh… it’s finally here! My first full marathon! I was excited, but also very nervous. I flew into Kansas City the day before the race, and my mom and sister picked me up from the airport. We headed to Abilene to go to the (small) race expo. I knew it would be small, as this race was also my first half marathon a year ago! You can read about that race here. Then we all headed to dinner (my in-laws, grandparents in-law, husband, sister and her husband, and my parents) before hitting the hay.

My mom and sister were both doing their first half marathon this weekend too! Last year, I ran the half, my sister the 10k and my mom the 5k. You could say this family runs!

Race morning… zero dark thirty! You guys… spring marathons are tough. You train all winter long in cool/ cold conditions and then race morning shows up and it’s already 75 degrees and crazy high humidity… oh and 30ish mph wind gusts. WHY?! Alas… that was the situation today. Nothing I could do about it but adjust my goals a bit. My only REAL goal was to finish the darn thing. but secretly I’d love to break 4 hours! That’s a tall order for a first marathon, or ANY marathon but let’s see what happens!

Getting ready to run!

I knew the course, and knew there was really only one hill, that we went through a nice park both on the out and back in… and that the marathon course was just a double loop of the half marathon course.

Knowing this info, our families stationed themselves in the entrance/exit to the park area so they’d be able to see my sister and mom four times, and me eight times! Not bad spectating for them and easy since they didn’t have to move until after we started (and they’d have about 4 miles to get there) and until the last time I passed (around mile 22). I’m not sure there’s an easier race to spectate!

We took off and headed straight into the headwind for the first 3 or so miles… awesome. I felt pretty good and just tried to keep my pace nice and easy. I just recently got my Garmin watch, and I must say it’s nice to be able to see what pace you’re running! I headed out around 8:45 pace and tried to tuck behind a few taller people to use them as a wind block.

Mile 4 or so.. feeling good!

We climbed the hill and headed into our first loop of the park. Luckily the trees blocked the wind and the rising sun for a few miles too.

I decided to carry my own bottle this race with my Tailwind I’d been using for training. The course did have a few aid stations but I figured I should use what I trained with for months on end… even if I was totally tired of the flavor!

I kept cruising along pretty well, and remember hitting the first turn around point (about 6.5 miles) feeling really good! I knew I’d see the family in about a mile and a half, and once again before heading to the finish line for the first time.

Once down the hill, I got to run WITH the wind! Boy… I felt like I was flying!

But then… I crossed the finish line and there were cheers in the crowd! Until they realized I was turning around and heading back out… and the entire crowd let out a collective groan, as if to say “oh, yeah, she’s not done yet.” Right then and there, I feel like I lost all my mojo. Poof. Gone, like their collective sigh, blown away by the 30 mph winds I now had 3.5 miles to run straight into again.

Really, the only “good” part that came out of the next miles (13-17ish) was seeing both my sister and my mom bringing it home for their first half marathon. I was so proud of them! Even though I knew I wouldn't see them actually finish the race I could feel their joy and excitement building (all while mine continued to dwindle).

Around mile 18 I found a gentleman to run with (in the picture he has the red/ white/ blue shirt on). This marathon was his 129th. ONE HUNDRED AND 29 marathons. I couldn’t believe it! He was working his way through the 50 states for a third time. He just loved running in races, even if they weren’t his fastest. I ended up running with him until about mile 24 when my energy was pretty much gone and all I could think about was sitting down and eating pancakes.

No more smiles… lets finish this up!

I was thankful for the tail wind the last few miles, because if it weren’t for those big wind gusts I’m pretty sure I would have walked it the entire way back in. The wind pretty much blew me to the finish line. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but it was a big learning experience on needing a bit more marathon preparation for the next one for sure!

Finish line!

Yeah, I’m just gonna sit here awhile.

In the end, I finished in 4:10 and change, right about 9:30 pace. I did end up walking some. I let my mind get the better of me starting around 16 miles. I was very thankful to be able to finish, but I really feel like even though I “finished” a marathon I haven’t “ran” a marathon. I definitely want to do what I can to see if I can run an entire marathon, and maybe even try to qualify for Boston. Who knows how long it will take… but dreams worth doing don’t come overnight.

This race sparked a new dream, and I ended up getting second in my age group. Found that out while shoveling pancakes into my mouth. No one needs to know that there were only two of us in that age group…. :)

The cheer squad and runners, post race!

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Ice Age 50k

I’m a firm believer of doing something that’s a little bit scary every year. In 2018, the “scary thing” came in the form of signing up for my first Ultra Marathon. I knew I didn’t want to travel too far, and if I could find one late spring that would be perfect since I was already training for Boston in April. Insert: Ice Age 50.

Start line! 50k runners are off!

This race opens up in early December and typically sells out in less than 24 hours. So I had my laptop geared up, credit card in hand, ready to register the MINUTE the race opened! The Ice Age 50 has three options: Half Marathon, 50k and 50 mile. I opted for 50k, thinking it would be a good stretch to add 5 more miles after Boston.

On race day I rode down to La Grange with some friends who were running the half. Thayne and Parker would arrive later on, closer to the finish time. It was due to be chilly and wet and we didn’t want Parker outside the entire time. And my friends knew others running the 50m and 50k events too so were good sports about showing up early.

I had no real goals for this race other than to have fun and just finish it! It was a trail race, so I knew it would be slower than running on trails. I also knew the first 13 miles were the most technical and were an out and back, with the following 18 miles being two 9 mile loops on Nordic ski trails. I seemed to have found my “group” of people to run with for the first half marathon distance and we enjoyed chatting with each other about our running histories.

Let’s get this race started!

The first part was pretty much all single track trails on the out and back. It had rained fairly had the day before, but the trails were nice and hard packed with only one spot that was a bit hairy with the mud. Around 4 miles in a spectator told me I was the third female. I kind of scoffed and said “Oh, good to know I guess…” thinking there’s no way it’s going to stay that way. I don’t run trail races… or super long races, and I had no idea what I’d be able to bring today.

At the turn around point for the first 13 miles was an aid station, but I was good to go with my pack, chomps and water bottle. So instead I turned right around and kept going! I tried to kind of count and see how far back 4th place was from me (because 1st and 2nd were already about 8-10 minutes ahead at this point). She wasn’t too far behind and there were more ladies right behind her. Strong women!

I came through the first half marathon right around 2:05 (9:30ish pace). I was thrilled that I hadn’t had to walk yet… some of those trails were steep! I was happy with this pace so far and hoped I could keep it going on the loops.

Through 13 miles… now two 9 mile loops to go!

Thayne had texted me at this point and said he had left our home and would be to the race in about 45 minutes. I knew I wouldn’t see him until I was about 22 miles in then, starting my second (and last) loop of the race.

The Nordic ski loops were much wider trails, a lot of it grass covered with narrow foot paths from other runners (or skiiers). I had lost my running buddies at this point but it was kind of nice to just follow the orange flags and be alone for a little bit. Most of this loop I was completely alone, doing my own thing. So I thought the elevation was fairly steep at times during the first 13 miles… but THIS elevation!! Wow! It’s not that the hills were long, but they were steep. Straight up. Right back down. Right back up! You almost had to sprint the down to get enough momentum to get as far up the other side as you could before needing to hike up (Go Go Gadget Glute Activation!)

I finished the first loop (22 total miles) and saw Thayne and Parker and my friends! I quickly gave them hugs and kisses and took off. I had been texting Thayne a little bit throughout the race telling him my average pace and that I was still (what?!) in third place! He texted me about 5 minutes after I left saying the 4th woman just came through mile 22. I had kind of been running in fear, if that makes sense. More so running with a sense of urgency. Not wanting to fall about and really push the pace, but wanting to make a big effort to run hard enough to stay in third.

Finish line feelings! Yess!

On this loop I at least knew what to expect in terms of the elevation changes and kept my sprint down, run as far up, hike the rest method going. It seemed to be working so far, so why not! I hadn’t had to stop at any aid stations yet and I was so thankful that I packed as many snacks as I did. I started to pass quite a few more people on this last loop and some were 50k runners but quite a few of them were half marathoners. It was so great to cheer them on and have them do the same for me! I kept counting down the miles and realized at the 27 mile aid station that my watch was off by a mile… one less to go right away?! Heck yes! This also meant my average pace was faster than I originally thought!

I finished the race in 5:03 and change, meaning I ran 9:45 ish pace. I was THRILLED with keeping that pace through 31 miles! I only walked on a few of the up hills in the loops, I stopped once for a sweaty (for Thayne and Parker) kiss. Other than that I RAN 31 miles! And I finished as the third overall female! WHAAAAT?! Maybe this trail running thing is for me?

Garmin stats!

Bib, 50k key chain, plaque and a gift card!

Right now, I have no more plans for any ultra marathons or even any more trail races. But this was a pretty good first mother’s day weekend for me. I got to do what I love to do, had a great result and then got to relax with my boys. Up next for me is a half in Idaho!

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Nebraska

Before the race!

This race will always be so special to me. It was half marathon number 22, state number 18, but most importantly… my second half marathon pushing my cousin Martilee. (Our first race together was in Iowa!) I signed up for this race months ago (as usual) and asked my aunt Vanessa if it would be okay if Martilee could also race. She loved the idea, of course assuming Martilee stayed healthy enough. Martilee has Rett Syndrome, which has stolen so many things from her, including her ability to walk. There have been many races that I’ve ran for her and raised money to fight against Rett Syndrome, and I plan to continue to do so until there is a cure.

Race morning showed up a little warmer than I’d hoped at close to 70 degrees before the start, plus fairly decent humidity levels. This race wasn’t about me though, so I didn’t have any specific time goals going into it. I also knew that Martilee and her jogger were close to 130 pounds… but luckily this race in Omaha was fairly flat, unlike Des Moines!

Waiting to start the race!

Martilee and I lined up in the corral right around the 1:50 pacers. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to dodge around too many people in the beginning of the race. We headed out on the run and found one of the few hills of the race right away! The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, so the race was still a nice temperature. My training had been going really well leading up to the race (I hired a coach in mid July) and I was feeling good about starting the race in the mid to upper 8 minute range. When running on any of the flats, Martilee and I could keep a nice pace without feeling like I had to put too much extra effort into the run.

The course was an out and back, along a nice wide road. About half the race we were only allowed in one lane, and the other half of the race we had the entire road blocked off just for us. I was really grateful for this as it was a little more crowded in the beginning than I expected and Martilee and I had to navigate around other runners quite a few times. We tried to be as respectful as we could and not get too close to anyone’s heels. But it can be really hard to navigate a heavy stroller!

After the first hill right at the beginning of the race, it stayed fairly flat for awhile. Even though the course was mostly flat, it had a few false flats which were almost worse than the hills because you could never seen when they were ending! I’m sure I felt them more with the stroller than I would have without. Around mile 5 we went by this beautiful little park before entering a northern suburb of Omaha. There weren’t too many race spectators so far, but this is where most of them were, including our family! It was so nice to see everyone and hear them all cheer for Martilee. She was off to a great start and running really well for the first 5 or so miles!

Martilee and I around mile 5 of the race. Feeling good!

At the turn around for the half marathon, the full marathon runners kept going straight. The nice thing is this narrowed down the amount of runners by about half! It was also really neat to see everyone else still heading out to the turn around point and how many of them cheered for Martilee and told her how awesome she was doing!

Flying by around mile 7.5-8! Heading back to the finish line!

After we saw our family the last time (until the finish) around mile 7.5-8ish the race started to get a little rough for me. The sun was up, the temperature was warming up, and Martilee was starting to get heavy. I was getting tired… and needed to dig deep to finish the race. This is when I started talking to Martilee. On the uphills, when I was walking, I talked to her. I told her how many miles we’ve ran, how many we had left to go, and what an awesome job she was doing. So many people passed us on these hills and offered help or amazing words of encouragement.

Entering the baseball stadium for our last lap around the park before the finish line.

The race continued on, back the way we came. The police were amazing at blocking all the intersections and keeping us safe the entire race. The volunteers were also amazing with offering water and heed. I had my own bottle of Gatorade, so only took water to help keep me hydrated through the race.

We made it through the last few miles, running when we could (on the flats), sprinting when the opportunity arose (hello, downhills and giggles!), and walking when we needed to (up hills… ugh!) We continued to pass people and have people pass us. Spectators cheered for Martilee and she continued to be my motivation while I continued to be her legs.

The last part of the race was a lap inside the baseball stadium at TD Ameritrade park. Once we entered the park to make our last loop we could hear so many cheers for us to finish strong. It felt amazing to hear everyone cheering for her and us! Rett Syndrome… you're going down!

We did it!! Love you, sweet girl.

We were interviewed by channel 7 news in Omaha!

We finished the race, got our medals, and then someone from Channel 7 news in Omaha asked if she could interview us! I called down Martilee’s parents so they could give approval and then also assist with the interview and give more information than I may be able to give. I often feel like I need be doing more for Rett Syndrome awareness and feel so blessed when an opportunity to share Martilee’s and my story with so many people comes along. You can watch the clip here.

Once the race was over we waited for the awards ceremony. Martilee ended up taking first in her age group and came away with about a minute PR over our last race together! We finished in 1:57:52 (8:55 pace). I’m hoping we can run another race together again soon. I’ll continue to be Martilee’s legs for as long as needed… but I have so much hope that there will be a cure for Rett Syndrome soon. I’ll keep running for her and with her because I know someday she will get to run with me. I’ll keep going #untilshecan.

Nebraska is now finished, and Maryland is coming up next!

Hanging out after the race!

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