run. the damn thing is... running. apparently.
i ventured back to the midwest at the end of april to have a much needed girls weekend with some of the best and enjoy a race back home. as in, this race runs directly past the last two houses i had the pleasure of calling home in good ole urbana, illinois.
last year I ran the rock-n-roll half in a respectable time of 1:40 which was nearly a PR when, in fact, the goal of that particular race was to nail a few specific heart rates and start off easy. that race was a solid negative split and i was happy with the time at that point. all things considered, running hasn't been a huge focus in recent years and i have wanted - needed - to get back to that place where i feel like i can pull off a good off-the-bike run whilst triathlon-ing.
no time like the present i suppose.
training has been going well and im pretty happy with where im at. of course, i hadn't raced up until that point so this would be a little window into the larger picture. maybe?
the adventure started off with a pretty excellent solo road trip to illinois. i listened to about 8 hours of my current favorite podcast - my favorite murder - with a couple hours of singatthetopofyourlungs sweet 90's/00's mixed CD jams for good measure. i indulged in starbucks exactly twice which was not enough to hold me over through the great state of indiana. upon my approach to gary, indiana, i determined i was hungry enough to test the waters at a random taco bell and i indulged in some hard shell goodies in the parking lot of a questionable BP. before stumbling upon this oasis in the desert that is northern indiana, I got a glimpse of this on the google maps:
if your question is, "is that the actual birthplace of michael jackson, king of pop AND a taco bell in the same 1 mile radius?" then my answer to you is, "YES, OH, YES." after verifying its legitimacy on Yelp, i decided i had to make a drive by appearance.
now, i've never knowningly ventured into gary, indiana but because my mother was tracking me via findmyfriends on the phone, she solidified her mother/stalker status when she called me in between tacos 3 and 4 in the BP parking lot.
"are you in... GARY, INDIANA?" she questioned, in a horrifyingly loud whisper.
"um, yea mom. and - GUESS WHAT - im about to go to michael jackson's old house! its on the google maps!"
after promising to stay on the phone with her for the duration of my short-lived upcoming adventure, i headed the 7 blocks over to the house. unfortunately the large marble statue depicting the life of MJ was recently stolen (thanks Yelp for the information) but i knew i was at the right house when i saw the fence. no other house in the neighborhood had a nice fence. or... any fence.
i snapped a few pics while still on the move and headed back to the highway to uneventfully take me home to my parents house.
we had dinner at domo 77 that night, lunch at portillos the next day coupled with a stop at kernels, and away i went down to champaign to meet dayle, T, and kevin.
the night before the race we had grilled chicken, pasta, garlic bread, and salad. no salad for me though, thanks. and a portion of the pasta sauce was blended - because pasta sauce with chunks is simply unacceptable and frankly, unappetizing. chew on that for awhile.
got a solid night of sleep, woke up around 5:15ish and had a thomas blueberry bagel with peanut butter and a banana. i planned to run with two gels in my sports bra and carried a third to eat 15-20 minutes prior to the start of the race. we drove over to the iHotel to the sweet stylings of JT (because, dayle) and various pump up tunes.
i did a solid 7 minute warm-up and reunited with my mom who drove down for the race that morning. side bar - my parents are amazing and my two best cheerleaders/supporters.
it was a touch chilly - i would later lament the decision not to wear gloves for the first few miles - but it really was gorgeous running weather. i was feeling a little sluggish but i tried to shake the negative feeling and just focus on the task at hand - enjoying a fun race with my friends in a place that i love and once called my home in a former life.
before i knew it, i found myself lining up near the 7:25/mi marathon group. it seemed overly ambitious, but i thought if i could maybe hang on for the first half that i could muscle through the second and later, die, but end up with a decent 7:35-7:40/mi average. i wasn't expecting a PR, but i wanted to at least go under 1:42.
the gun went off and away we went. as we ran north on 1st street, every other step sent waves of nostalgia through me. the ARC. the farmhouse frat. the old/new 6-pack. the apartment complexes along the way to green street. the first right hand turn onto quiet 7 am green street with the scattered spectators, devoid of college students stumbling out of bars and late night eateries. the new high rise apartments. papa del's pizza. legends. so. many. memories. too. many. memories. it was distracting, continuously reminiscing, and i nearly missed the first aid station. i grabbed some water and shifted focus to the 7:25/mi sign. i kept catching up and passing the pacer and consciously reigned in the pace, keeping step with the pacer. he would inevitably get away from me at the aid stations and i would work my way up in the interim time between water stops.
we travelled from champaign into urbana, took the left at lincoln mall and then a right into downtown urbana. crane alley - their ragout nachos still make my mouth water - and black dog - the BEST BBQ - were the next to go past. i glanced at "my starbucks" - where i used to walk with jazz after i got divorced and moved back into urbana - and smiled. we headed into the urbana neighborhoods and approached mile 4. my cottage grove house came up on the right and i looked over as we ran by - the huge planter box that mom painted black was still outside and that made me happy.
we took the left shortly after the house and passed the silver bullet - the local strip club that my friends and i went to a couple times... maybe a few times - including the night before vet school graduation.
the next turn was kinch and the location of our vet school house on rainbow view. the thought crossed my mind as soon as i hit the turn on kinch but oddly, i lost focus in trying to catch up to my pacer and all of a sudden, i realized i'd run past without a glance. that realization alone made me grin - id found closure so long ago, but this just solidified it - i didn't need to see the house to know how far i've come since leaving it.
at mile 5, i was shocked by how great i felt. i was smooth and comfortable - and dropping pace. i threw down a low 7 around mile 4 and my legs weren't fazed. i was averaging about 7:20 and it felt easy. i cruised into mile 6 still running strong. we ran the "uphill" around the stone creek golf course and the memories of running that road came flooding back. ive run this route 100+ times, i know it better then anywhere else i've ever run and that thought alone brought me such joy through the entirety of the race.
i hit an aid station around mile 6 and when the girl said "water", i reached for the cup and took a large sip. oh sweet jesus nooooo - it was GATORADE. this seems like such a small mishap but we've been here before... circa may 2015 alexandria running festival... and it didn't turn out well for me then and history would indeed repeat itself less than a mile later.
we approached meijer which was mom's destination for cheering. it is also the location of the first marathon relay exchange so it is essentially a madhouse. i looked for mom and couldn't find her which was a little upsetting. i reached for a gel, ripped off the top and felt my guts jump into the back of my throat.
wait. wtf. why, Why, WHY?!
i decided to forge ahead and eat the gel because i wanted the calories, sugar, and caffeine. fuck it. imma a risk taker today, baby.
10 seconds later, i realized id made a grave mistake. i hiccuped some unknown stuff from my stomach and pulled over to the left hand side of the road which was littered with spectators. i spit up some saliva nearly onto the shoes of a pair of women. they asked if i was okay and i forcefully said "YES". a few more heaves and i stood up - i was fixed.
sadly, no i was not. i bent over at the waist and vomited the contents of my stomach onto the grass which was mainly comprised of copious amounts of tan liquid. a bucket of fluid later, i stood up and was met with two pairs of widened eyes of the women next to me. Out of the right corner of my eye, a volunteer came running up and asked if I was okay. "I'm fine! hahaha!" i assured her with a nervous, freaked-out, high pitched laugh.
i crossed to the other side of the street at a diagonal, carefully considering my current situation. my stomach felt... okay. i reached the right side of the road and unexpectedly heaved up what was left in my stomach in the grass.
it was at that point that i felt back to normal. really, legit normal. this girl in blue shorts that i had long ago passed flew past me and i got my legs back under me and ran quickly to catch up with her. i clocked mile 7 at 8:42 - a solid 1:20 plus where i had been averaging. damn it. i kept on eye on my current mile pace and watched it tuck back under 7:30 again and decided not to dwell on the pit stop but to put together a solid back half of the race.
we took the left in the neighborhood and before i knew it, meadowbrook park was ahead. this part is usually a crap shoot depending on where your current place in the race is. luckily, i didn't have to fight the masses for solid sidewalk space and wasn't plagued by the possible bottlenecking that can occur in this mile and a half section. the blue-shorts-chick was still up ahead but i was inching toward her and i knew by the time we exited meadowbrook, i'd be breathing down her neck.
i love meadowbrook. i like the familiarity of the art sculptures and the little section of nature just south of windsor road. i sometimes imagine living in the houses that border the south end (they are beautiful with large floor to ceiling windows, tucked away just past the wild grasses) and imagine the neat view from their perspective. the "uphill" section as you head north in the park usually has a number of spectators and then you see a band on the right on the small stage by the community garden. ive stolen water from that hose on more than one occasion!
i continued to glance at my watch and grinned as i watch my pace maintained itself. as we left the park for the quick left on windsor and right on race street, i passed blue-shorts-chick, exactly when i thought i would. a noticeable headwind hit me as i ran up race street and passed the 10 mile mark. all of a sudden - I SAW MY MOM!
she cheered and yelled and me and I *think* i smiled (?) but i waved excitedly and it spurred me on for the final 3 miles. i did briefly wonder how she intended on making it back for the finish since the stadium was about 2.5 miles away, but i let the thought float away as i focused on running. my quads were starting to tighten but i was keeping pace and i knew if i kept my head down and focused for the final 5k, id have a PR for sure.
i ran past florida ave and took the left onto pennsylvania and within minutes, we were back on campus and running toward the stadium. miles 11 and 12 were strong, slightly faster than the 7:30 pace i was averaging and i was getting excited about my time and the finish. the cemetary hung out on my left side as i remembered countless trips through during the years. a right turn onto 6th street just past the law library and the finish was so close as i started my last mile.
i ran harder - my legs were tired and didn't have much left but i wanted a solid final mile. minutes later, i turned into the stadium and the finish line came quickly. i love crossing that finish on the 50 yard line of memorial stadium - its so awesomely special.
1:38:21 - over a 1:30 PR. had i not stopped to vomit, there is a chance i could have broken 1:37 and gazed into the 1:36 region... but thats a race for another day. im really proud of myself for finally breaking the 1:40 barrier (and i've only run 1:40 twice) at this point in the season and it makes me really happy for the start of the year.
mom was no where to be found because, at that very moment, she too was running the race of her life through the grassy pastures that border my veterinary school to make it back to the stadium. picture her high stepping through knee high grass convinced she's about to step on a dreaded, tiny woodland creature in boots and a winter ski jacket. when she described her personal 5k run, i was in hysterics and later acted it out to whoever would watch.
post-race beers and OHOP (ORIGINAL house of pancakes) for the win followed by pedicures, normatec boots, and fun on bikes the following day.
next race is not until wisconsin in june so stay tuned, my dear negative 3 followers!
i crossed to the other side of the street at a diagonal, carefully considering my current situation. my stomach felt... okay. i reached the right side of the road and unexpectedly heaved up what was left in my stomach in the grass.
it was at that point that i felt back to normal. really, legit normal. this girl in blue shorts that i had long ago passed flew past me and i got my legs back under me and ran quickly to catch up with her. i clocked mile 7 at 8:42 - a solid 1:20 plus where i had been averaging. damn it. i kept on eye on my current mile pace and watched it tuck back under 7:30 again and decided not to dwell on the pit stop but to put together a solid back half of the race.
we took the left in the neighborhood and before i knew it, meadowbrook park was ahead. this part is usually a crap shoot depending on where your current place in the race is. luckily, i didn't have to fight the masses for solid sidewalk space and wasn't plagued by the possible bottlenecking that can occur in this mile and a half section. the blue-shorts-chick was still up ahead but i was inching toward her and i knew by the time we exited meadowbrook, i'd be breathing down her neck.
i love meadowbrook. i like the familiarity of the art sculptures and the little section of nature just south of windsor road. i sometimes imagine living in the houses that border the south end (they are beautiful with large floor to ceiling windows, tucked away just past the wild grasses) and imagine the neat view from their perspective. the "uphill" section as you head north in the park usually has a number of spectators and then you see a band on the right on the small stage by the community garden. ive stolen water from that hose on more than one occasion!
i continued to glance at my watch and grinned as i watch my pace maintained itself. as we left the park for the quick left on windsor and right on race street, i passed blue-shorts-chick, exactly when i thought i would. a noticeable headwind hit me as i ran up race street and passed the 10 mile mark. all of a sudden - I SAW MY MOM!
she cheered and yelled and me and I *think* i smiled (?) but i waved excitedly and it spurred me on for the final 3 miles. i did briefly wonder how she intended on making it back for the finish since the stadium was about 2.5 miles away, but i let the thought float away as i focused on running. my quads were starting to tighten but i was keeping pace and i knew if i kept my head down and focused for the final 5k, id have a PR for sure.
i ran past florida ave and took the left onto pennsylvania and within minutes, we were back on campus and running toward the stadium. miles 11 and 12 were strong, slightly faster than the 7:30 pace i was averaging and i was getting excited about my time and the finish. the cemetary hung out on my left side as i remembered countless trips through during the years. a right turn onto 6th street just past the law library and the finish was so close as i started my last mile.
i ran harder - my legs were tired and didn't have much left but i wanted a solid final mile. minutes later, i turned into the stadium and the finish line came quickly. i love crossing that finish on the 50 yard line of memorial stadium - its so awesomely special.
love my Base Performance arm warmers!
ooo theres the vomit-induced drop in heart rate and the tiny increase where i crossed the street and subsequent second drop with the second vomit stop. excellent.
blue-shorts-chick.
3/4 quadpod + goodrs
3/4 quadpod + goodrs
1:38:21 - over a 1:30 PR. had i not stopped to vomit, there is a chance i could have broken 1:37 and gazed into the 1:36 region... but thats a race for another day. im really proud of myself for finally breaking the 1:40 barrier (and i've only run 1:40 twice) at this point in the season and it makes me really happy for the start of the year.
mom was no where to be found because, at that very moment, she too was running the race of her life through the grassy pastures that border my veterinary school to make it back to the stadium. picture her high stepping through knee high grass convinced she's about to step on a dreaded, tiny woodland creature in boots and a winter ski jacket. when she described her personal 5k run, i was in hysterics and later acted it out to whoever would watch.
post-race beers and OHOP (ORIGINAL house of pancakes) for the win followed by pedicures, normatec boots, and fun on bikes the following day.
APPLE PANCAKE
SWEDISH PANCAKE
is that sebastian kienle?!?!?!
Casey's pizza - my love.
