Pennsylvania

About a month after coming back from Massachusetts, we headed right back to the east coast to race in Pennsylvania at the Runner's World Half and Festival in Bethlehem, PA!

Tarah and her beautiful daughters! So honored to meet Julia.

We headed into New Jersey one evening to have dinner with and meet a Rett family. I had met Tarah at both Disney races that I ran with Girl Power 2 Cure, and I had ran for her daughter Julia during Ragnar SoCal as part of Team Sparkle where we ran for GP2C and raised about $50,000 for Rett research! I couldn't pass up the chance to see her again and meet her daughters!

After dinner, Thayne and I went to a nearby movie theatre to catch a flick. We had spent the day seeing the sights in Philly, so it was nice to rest the legs for the evening before driving to Bethleman the next day. 

Once we arrived in Bethlehem we headed to the expo, which was at an old steel mill. This was really neat! There were tours we could have taken, but we opted to stay off our feet. I knew this was a really challenging race in regards to hills (because we drove the course) so I wanted to stay off my feet as much as possible! The expo was fairly small, but was multiple stories in one of the buildings at the steel mill. I did try out some new Altra running shoes (which I had been running in on and off for about two years already) and ended up purchasing the newest version of the shoe.

I wrote the girls names on my legs so I could see them when I looked down.

Before the race I decided to keep the running for Rett Syndrome going. Most races since Florida I've worn a tank having to do with GP2C or Rett Syndrome. In Pennsylvania I decided to dedicate each mile to a girl with Rett. I had posted on Facebook and many families asked I run for their daughter immediately. I wrote their names on my legs so that I could read them and draw strength whenever I needed. Again, I knew going in that this would be a challenging course, so having the extra reason for running definitely helped keep me going. 

Race morning showed up cold! The sun was shining and there wasn't much wind though, so I knew we'd warm up quickly once we started running. I lined up and shed my throw-away clothes and got ready to go! Deena Kastor was there and she actually started the race for us! I wish I could have met her and had the chance to pick her brain. She's a seriously amazing woman.

Course map.

The race started and we took off! Because of the way the course was, Thayne wouldn't be seeing me until I was coming across the finish line. The course started with a slight downhill the first mile to a bridge to cross over the river. Quite a bit of the course was through residential area with few spectators.

We climbed a few big hills to get up to a beautiful park about half way through the race. Since this race was in October, the fall colors were absolutely beautiful! The park was completely wooded and helped to take my mind off of all the hills.

Ha! My face will tell you how this race felt!

My legs were really feeling it by mid way through the race. I knew at this point that it would be about survival and finishing. I was struggling hard and had to draw on the strength of the girls' names written on my legs. It was fitting that the race was challenging because they go through so many challenges every day.

Once we hit mile 9 I knew we had quite a bit of downhill to get back to the Steel Mill. I was able to regroup and pick it up from there! I saw Thayne with about 3/4 mile to go and knew then we only had another few turns to get back to the middle of the steel mill where the finish line was located.

No matter how bad you're hurting, it's possible to find that next gear to get to the finish line just a little bit faster. Sometimes you're motivated just by getting the race completed.

Even though the race didn't go as planned, I had a great time on our trip. There's always something to be learned from every race, and I knew trying to push myself hard twice in about a month's time was going to be a challenge. Not every race can be perfect.

I ended this race in 1:44:32 (7:58 pace). The hills definitely slowed me down... there aren't many hills where I live!  My time brought me to 14th in my age group and the 71st woman overall. 

After the race we headed back to our hotel to get warm. We drove back to Philly and spent the rest of the day eating delicious Mexican food and doing a bit more sight-seeing.

Regardless, Pennsylvania was completed and I now have a few months to recover and prep for the next race. I can't wait to see what's to come!

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Happy to be finished, ready to be warm!

Massachusetts

We flew into Boston to stay a few days and see the sights (including the Boston Marathon Finish Line!) before we headed to Falmouth in Cape Cod. We had a few beautiful fall days to tour the city, walk the Freedom trail and get a few runs along the river. We did visit the Finish Line but I made sure we didn't cross it! I even made Thayne drive a few blocks out of the way to ensure this... I couldn't jinx myself! 

Yes I did hop into the street for this! I'll see you again someday, Finish Line!

We rented a car and drove to Falmouth which was only a little over an hour away. The race expo, start and finish were all at a hotel and we had decided to stay at the host hotel to make things easier for us. 

Once we arrived and got checked in at the hotel we went to the expo. It was pretty small so I assumed it would be a pretty small race as well. I knew this was a woman's only race so everything was about women being strong and resilient. 

The hotel was right on the beach in the cape and it was beautiful! The water was clear and the beach was nice to walk up and down or sit in one of the chairs to read a good book... we did both!

The night before the race, Zooma had a nice pasta dinner for anyone competing and one guest. Thayne and I headed from our room to have dinner and watch the sun set over the ocean. 

Ready to start!

Race morning brought us perfect running weather! The temperatures were in the mid 40's and no wind at the start. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day to run. 

We left the hotel parking lot and started to climb up a long, steady hill. After the hill the race headed towards a marina. The wind picked up a little bit as we were running right along the coast, but that was to be expected. 

There was a short out and back and I was surprised to find myself within the top 5 women. We were a little spread out, but I figured I was only behind the first place runner by about 30 seconds so far, but we'd only run about 4 miles of the race. I tried not get into my head and just run! 

There ended up being one male in the race, but he didn't get to accept any awards. He was pacing the woman in first.

Once we left the coast, we hit a really nice paved and shady trail. We stayed on the trail for about 3 miles while we headed back past the hotel and into a more residential area. While on the trail I worked my way into third place. Woohoo!

The trail was beautiful!

What I didn't realize was that while the first 7 miles of the race were flat and fast, the last 6 miles of the race were not. Hello hills! Not nice to see you!

At this point I was pretty much running alone. I could see the woman in 2nd place, but couldn't see anyone behind me. I was actually a little hesitant to go much faster. I wanted to keep 2nd place in sight so that I didn't get lost, but didn't want to take over 2nd and have no idea where I was going! The volunteers were very helpful with directions but I didn't know the course or area well and didn't want to lead us the wrong direction. I ended up catching up to 2nd place and we ran together for about a mile, kind of leap frogging each other back and forth.

Coming into the finish line strong!

We found the coast again and I knew we only had about two miles to go when my body was telling me... nope! The woman in 2nd took off and I actually had to stop and walk for about 30 seconds. I knew if I wanted to finish strong I needed a short rest. At this point, my goal was staying in 3rd! 

We turned away from the coast and found ourselves on the same winding, slight uphill road that we began. I knew we were coming close to the finish now!

I gave that climb everything I had! Again, the 5k and 10k runners/ walkers who began about an hour after the half were finishing but since it was a smaller race and a wider road than in Little Rock I had no problems navigating around them. The women I was passing gave me big cheers. I love it when strong women support other strong women!

I ended up keeping third place overall and first in my age group. Even with the short walk, my time was 1:37:08 (7:25 average). After the race we went back to the beach for a little before heading up to the point of the cape to go on a whale watching tour. What a great race celebration!

I loved all the light houses!

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Ohio

For every good race, there's going to be one that doesn't go as well. I've had a really lucky (okay, maybe not lucky... I've worked hard!) string of solid races and big PRs since I've started running half marathons just 2 years ago. I've already dropped about 20 minutes in my time! 

I honestly think it's important to have runs or races that don't go well. How will you appreciate the ones that feel "effortless" or like everything just flows if you don't have ones that you struggle through. Plus, there's always a lesson to be learned.

Always spreading awareness of Rett Syndrome.

We hit up the expo and there was a wall asking why you run, and a giant pile of sticky notes and sharpies. I love when races do this! Any chance I have to educate one more person about Rett Syndrome during a race it's a win, so of course I had to share a little bit about my girls.

We didn't stay too long at the expo as we wanted to go to the aquarium just across the river from downtown Cincinnati. We opted to walk there and back, which in hindsight may not have been the smartest idea. 

We also had a decent walk race morning to the start line, so we were up a little earlier than normal to get started. The morning was dark, but warm and humid already. I didn't even need any extra gear on our walk to the start.

My gear is race ready!

Waiting at the start line.

Our race started right at sunrise, which gave us some amazing views as we climbed the first of many hills of the day to cross the river into Pennsylvania for about a mile. I could tell right away that today wasn't going to be about a PR. It was going to be about survival. We ran for about a mile in Pennsylvania before having to climb another bridge to cross back into Ohio. This one was even steeper than the first! Little did I know just how much of a theme this would be for the day.

I didn't get to see Thayne until about mile 4 and he told me after the race that he'd never seen me look so miserable while running. 

The hill just kept going and going and going!

Don't be fooled by my smile.

Right before mile 6, we started climbing a massive hill. I mean it was huge and lasted a solid mile. Luckily this is where a huge gathering of spectators were, including a man with a mega phone holding giant pink wooden "F"s yelling "Get the F up the hill!" He would hand them out and the goal was to take it to the top. I definitely needed the extra boost so I grabbed one and took it to the top!

We still had more climbing after a few downhills but I knew I just needed to get to about mile 10 and the rest of the race was pretty much downhill.

What I didn't know is that once I started those big down hills my stomach would also act up. Now, ask any runner and I'm sure they will tell you of a time or two during a training run when they had to stop mid run to take care of business. I've had my fair share as well, but never in a race. Until today. 

Luckily there were some port-o-potties midway through mile 10 that I could hop into. I don't think I would have made it to the finish line without stopping. After my short pit stop I felt so much better! My last few miles were definitely the fastest of the day.

Race medal and bib.

Even though this race wasn't one that felt great and had the extra pit stop, I still ran a decent time of 1:41:43 (7:47 pace). I took 20th in my age group and was the 96th woman overall. I learned that if I want to run well, I shouldn't be walking all over the city the day before the race and to not eat chicken wings the night before a race. All in all, Ohio is another state checked off the list!

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