Marathon#44: Kansas City Missouri, October 2016

Race morning

...well you just keep on using me....until you use me up. (Bill Withers)

It was early in the race. A female singer was really belting this song out. It struck a nerve. This course was going to use and abuse me with the heat, humidity, wind, and hills! I had written "Tough Bitch" on my arm and went for it, knowing that yes, I was going to get used up. I just wasn't sure where. Hopefully close enough to the finish line to crawl it in....

Three years ago I watched my friends run this race as I was sidelined with a hamstring pull. I love Kansas City, so returning to run the marathon was always a plan of mine. I wasn't sure I could or should squeeze it in this year, since I already had three marathons planned, but when Ginna and Laura (LSP) said they were in I had to do it. The training sucked, as summer marathon training does, with the never ending heat, but it was with the promise of a cool, fall marathon. Yeah, well, there are no promises.

Comfortable in tank tops...not good

Our forecast was dire. Sigh, yet another hot one. There was a lot of negative energy to fend off. A lot of pep talking. A lot of ridiculous rationalizations. And yes, that final prayer in the porta potty. I was just so glad when the race started because frankly, I was tired of complaining about it.

From the beginning, as I was trying to access how I was feeling I was a bit surprised to find myself really really enjoying the run. I was skeptical of how good I felt, as it was early in the race, but I found myself really taking it all in; the historic buildings, the stretch along the World War I memorial, the plaza, the quietness of Ward Parkway along the water, the beautiful homes, the historic Craftsman style homes in renovation, and the people, all the wonderful people of the city. Not to mention hints of autumn, with the fall colors emerging from the trees. It was truly a beautiful course, and I really loved everything about it. There was not a single organizational glitch pertaining to the race. I could not pinpoint a single thing that needed to be addressed. It's funny because when I was a spectator three years ago I had popped out on a few different places on the course and thought to myself that the course looked a little blah, so the beauty of the course did take me by surprise.

We didn't plan on staying together, but LSP and I found ourselves that way for most of the first half, which shouldn't be too shocking since duh we train together, but she wasn't having a good day. Things just weren't right with her stomach. And thus another facet of the mystery of the marathon--you just never know what you're going to have to deal with, either mentally or physically until it comes to you and says HERE. DEAL WITH THIS.

As I pulled away I thought to myself, well let's see down the road what lies ahead for me. I have a pretty good feeling this isn't going to end well. Well you just keep on using me...until you use me up...

...At mile 20 I found myself anxiously looking for the chip mat. I knew why I was doing this. I had been running steady, running strong, and dammit I wanted to cross the mat and have it relay back to Toby how well I was running before the anchor came out. And the anchor was near. The mat wasn't until past mile 21 and yep, as soon as I crossed the mat, BOOM. I found myself walking a hill. My quads were saying, "nope nope nope". Ugh. And so it went. I walked some on the uphills, ran all the downhills, hung out way too long at the water stops (people can be so friendly and inviting), but finally made my way to the finish line. There was even a hill on the last stretch to the finish!

Once we were reunited we shared war stories over our chicken sandwiches and beer at the finish. Even though we had harsh conditions we had prevailed, in fact, we had conquered. With a 4:11 finish I came in 2nd in the 55-59 age group, and Ginna came in 4th! LSP ran a 4:17 and came in 6th in the 50-54 age group.

We rounded out our visit of Kansas City with Ginna as our tour guide! It was a blast! I'm so grateful to have finally made it back to run the marathon. Such a great one, and great memories to boot.

Marathon #22: Kiawah Island, South Carolina 2007

If you play golf you've probably heard of Kiawah Island, as it is a premier golf destination on the east coast. If not, Kiawah Island is a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, just south of Charleston. The marathon and half marathon were held entirely within the gated community of the island. In 2007 the marathon consisted of 2 loops. To date, this is the only "double looper" I have ever ran. It is no longer a double looper, but looking at the map it looks confusing, as it twists and turns and snakes about upon itself. There simply isn't a lot of room on the island for a full marathon, that is, unless they'd let the marathoners run on the golf courses, which makes me bust out laughing. In case you don't know, runners are known for getting chased off of golf courses!

We had a pretty large group for this one; Kathy, Laura Harvey, Bill Baxley, Toby, Jamie and I signed up for the full, with Mike and Ken Troupe signed up for the half, but it didn't end up that way. Two weeks out Kathy had elbow surgery from a bike wreck. People were contemplating about how she was going to miss the run and I had to laugh. There was no way Kathy was going to miss this run. Toby was too injured for the full, so he and Mike swapped bibs. Mike would run alongside Kathy and assist her, as she would be running with her arm in a sling! Even though this was my first marathon with Jamie, she ended up dropping out due to injury.

I don't have an old write up to help me with my memory of this one, but I think we all liked it well enough. The route was shaded with large trees and Spanish moss hanging from the branches. There were marsh ponds, glimpses of pristine golf courses and gigantic southern homes. It was beautiful. It was a little humid, and when the sun came out the second loop got a little warm, but the shade helped. Oh, and the course was completely flat! Not a single hill! I remember not liking the stretch on the road where we were relegated to a tiny chalked off portion of a lane, and the teenagers manning most of the water stops had clearly lost focus on the second loop, but all in all it was a pleasant run.

I don't remember what everyone's times were, but I did get 3rd in my age group and was awarded a really nice wooden plaque. Kathy finished her marathon with only one functioning arm! I think that deserves an award.

Overall, it was a great marathon and a great trip overall. At the time Charlie and Ruth were living in North Carolina, so they came down to visit with us. Here are some pictures of the trip:

I believe this is the very first pic of Jamie and I

Toby, Bill, Jamie, and me, pre-race

Laura Harvey--notice our narrow path to stay in

scenery of island

Nice bike path