Katy 80 Mile Relay Race Recap

Last Saturday, May 31st I ran the Katy 80 Mile Relay with five other runners on team Rogue Runners.

The teams registered for the relay by mid-May

I have only run one other relay, the River to River Relay in Southern Illinois in 2011 with our Rogue Runners team captain.  I had mentioned to him several months ago that I was interested in running another relay in 2015.  He came across this relay and asked if I was interested, and knew of any other runners who would want to join our team.  I was hesitant about running a relay this year because I wanted more time to work on speed, but I was free on May 31st and it sounded fun.  I found a co-worker at the gym who was interested and he found the remaining three runners and before I knew it, we were registered.

Although the date of the race was open, I didn't take into account how busy the weeks leading up to the race would be.  I had been working a lot of hours between my full-time job at the non-profit and the part-time job at the gym and then I went to DC for five days.  My flight was late returning Tuesday night and the latter part of last week had something scheduled every night, so I had no time to really research and prepare for the relay before race day.  The other five team members met up for dinner Friday night, but my family and I had gotten tickets to the Cardinals game several months ago, so I didn't meet up with the team until 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning.  As I mentioned earlier, our team captain found the remaining three runners who I met for the first time race morning, then we all hopped into the SUV and headed towards the start line at the Black Walnut Trailhead on the Katy Trail.

Katy 80 Relay Map

To be perfectly honest, when I got back from DC Tuesday night and saw how busy the remainder of the week was going to be, I thought: "What did I get myself into?"  When the alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. Saturday morning I was tired, dead tired.  But I got ready, got an iced tea from McDonald's and met the team at the hotel.  The relay would be my last "big race" of the spring, and then I intended to run shorter races, join a weight loss challenge, and train hard throughout the summer for my fall races.  

On the way to the start line, my teammates told me that we were one of 22 teams in the inaugural year of this relay.  The race day weather forecast included a high in the 80's and a chance of thunderstorms, which meant the humidity would be HIGH.  May in the Midwest is rather unpredictable, so you tend to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  We had plenty of snacks, drinks, bug spray, and sunscreen packed and before we knew it, the time was 6:30 a.m. and our first runner took off.  The remaining five runners packed into the SUV and headed to the first exchange.  This was the pattern throughout the day: drive to the exchange, wait for one of our runners to complete their leg of the race (distances varied), cheer during the hand-off of the timing chip to the next runner (I brought my cowbell from the 2013 MO' Cowbell race), then drive to the next exchange to repeat the process.  Below are several pictures of the exchanges along the route.

Bike rentals along the trail

Augusta Brewery (where we eventually finished)

Vineyards along the route

The repetitive process of dropping one runner off, cheering on our incoming runner, and driving to the next exchange actually made the day fly by.  There were 18 legs and six runners so each runner ran three legs, but the total mileage varied.  Our team captain has run MANY relays so he has the math down to a science.  To keep your overall team pace low, your longest mileage should go to your faster runners so that it averages out the slower pace runners in the end.

Runner 1: 13.1 miles total

Runner 2: 13.7 miles total

Runner 3: 13.85 miles total

Runner 4: 12.15 miles total

Runner 5: 13.5 miles total

Runner 6 (Me): 11.7 miles total

Me handing off to Runner 1 who was lightning fast (he passed any team that had passed me during my leg)

I was runner six because I knew I would be the slowest.  So even though my average pace was SIGNIFICANTLY slower than our fastest runners, we ended the day with an overall team pace of 9:02 per mile, making us #2 in the Coed Open Division!

We're #2

On my last and longest leg of the race, I was actually sad that it was about the end.  It had been such an amazing day, and I loved the fact that I had only known two of the other five runners before the day started.  But after spending the day cheering each other on and sweating in an SUV together, you not only gel together as a team, but you also become friends.  I love running and as my blog name implies, I love running for medals. But even though this race ended with a pint glass rather than a medal, I would do it again and hope to have the same team for this race in 2015.  I was so worried up to this point about my average pace compared to my teammates paces, but in the end I contributed what I could to the team, and had a great time doing it. My teammates built me up and made me feel amazing!

Once we crossed the finish line we received our pint glass and beer coupon.  We had already received our food coupon at packet pick-up.  We had a "serious" team picture taken, followed by a team picture with props.  The race crew took these pictures, so I am anxiously awaiting those being posted, but below are a few of mine.

Beer coupon with Augusta Brewery in the background (where we redeem the coupon)

Using our pint glasses for champagne (L to R: Jess, Gordon, Haley, Tim, Me, Tim)

I think Augusta Brewery was happy to have us

Augusta Brewery as the day drew to a close

If you haven't run a relay, consider it.  If you can't stitch together your own team, check the relay's website or Facebook page because teams are always looking for individual runners.  Who cares if you don't know anyone else on the team!  You have an entire day (sometimes longer for Ragnar Relays) to get to know your teammates.  Then after the race, you have a new network of runners to participate in other races with.  If you don't want to run, volunteer.  The volunteers for this race varied in age, and it was great getting a few minutes to talk to them at the exchanges.  They sat in the middle of nowhere in the heat at the exchanges.  It takes a pretty awesome person to give a day to do that.  You could be that awesome.....

Run or Dye and Memorial Day Weekend in DC

You can see in the About Me section, I used to live in DC and I started running because it seems like EVERYONE runs there.  So once a year, I try to schedule in a trip to visit my friends there.  This year I visited over Memorial Day Weekend.  When I arrived on Friday, my friend picked me up from the airport and we immediately went to Old Town Alexandria and had an amazing lunch at a Greek restaurant that I loved. I highly recommend it!

Later that afternoon we went to the packet pick-up for the Run or Dye race, which was taking place on Saturday at RFK Stadium.  In addition to our white cotton t-shirts, you also receive a color packet to use during the race, but my friend decided to invest in a few more color options.

Before color

At the Start Line

My friend's daughter getting colored blue

And our group after the race

The timing of this race was just PERFECT!  It was a fun race that I could participate in with my friend and her family and it got them into the city from the home in the suburbs.  Color runs are a great way for families to participate in an event together, so I would highly recommend trying one near you!

Towards the end of my weekend, I got a cooking lesson from my friend's husband who is a chef.  I wanted to learn how to properly prepare fish (since I love fish but tend to overcook it )and learn a few new recipes for soup.  When all was said and done, I learned how to purchase fresh fish, descale a fish, pinbone a fish, prepare a white fish in multiple ways (fish sticks, fish cakes, fish fillets), and cook a whole fish.  What you see below at the top is Cod and the 2nd plate is Rock Fish. 

The results of my fish cooking lesson

We also made three soups: carrot and ginger, tomato and tarragon, and cauliflower and curry.  For dessert we made honey lavender ice cream, as mentioned in the movie It's Complicated.

I LOVE ethnic food, so my friend and I also took advantage of a Groupon to my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in DC, Meskerem, which is in Adams Morgan.   

If you are going in a group, I recommend ordering the meat or vegetarian platter so that you get to try several entrees.  You typically won't use silverware in an Ethiopian restaurant.  You pick up the food and eat it using the injera bread.

Meat and vegetarian dishes on injera bread

Injera bread

To counteract all of the eating I did, I also ran in my friend's neighborhood once or twice.  The 5-day weekend flew by and before I knew it, I was back in St. Louis but I look forward to my next visit in 2015!

River Town Run Half Marathon Race Recap

On Sunday morning I had another scenic drive to Washington.  I arrived around 7:30 a.m. which was a bit later than I wanted, but the drive ended up taking a bit over an hour, even without the cycling event.  The half hour I had before the race went by quickly and before I knew it, the National Anthem was being sung by NFL Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith.  Just a few minutes later, the half marathon and 5k were underway.

Runners waiting at the starting line

I honestly can't remember how the race course was described (I generally don't pay attention anyway) but it included pretty constant hills.  This race was probably the 2nd hilliest race I have run after the Adventuremax trail half marathon at Innsbrook, MO.  The course took us on some very scenic hills, by many farms, through a several industrial parks, along the Missouri River, throughout downtown, and then back to the fairgrounds.  Traffic didn't seem to be an issue along the course and volunteers were stationed at all of the turns.  The water stops seemed well-placed and were staffed by very vocal volunteers.

My right hamstring was bothering me the last half of the race so my time was not great, but I really enjoyed the course and the weather was perfect.  There was a decent gap between the runner in front of me and the next runner after me, yet the crowd cheered loudly every time it saw another runner approaching.  The post-race food and water were directly behind the medals, so you didn't have to wander around or walk a great distance to refuel.  

Later that afternoon, I received a congratulatory email from one of the directors as well as a personalized email with my finish time, a link to my official stats, and a link to the overall results.  The first email mentioned that over 300 runners participated in the two races, which is great for an Inaugural year.  I thought the organizers and the volunteers did an excellent job in the planning and execution of this race.  It was a great idea to have the race on the same weekend as the Art Fair and Winefest, because it gives runners who travel specifically for the race more to do and it helps us learn more about the community.  Proceeds from the race benefit the Foundations for Franklin County, which is a non-profit agency that supports substance abuse prevention programs, enforcement, and recovery.  By talking to one of the race directors a few weeks prior to race day, I learned that the race came about as a new way to raise money for this non-profit and also offer a closer half marathon to local runners.  So by running this race you get to run through the scenic town of Washington, receive a great tech shirt and medal, get cheered on by countless strangers, and support a great cause.   I hope that the volunteers and race crew were as pleased with the race as the runners seemed to be, and I hope to see this race on the Fleet Feet St. Louis race calendar next year!

The River Town Run Half Marathon Medal

Packet Pick-Up today in Washington, MO

I am running the River Town Run Half Marathon tomorrow in Washington, MO.  The original plan was to pick up my packet on Friday evening at the Fleet Feet in Fenton (South County) and then relax on Saturday in preparation for the race Sunday.  Mid-week I was given tickets to the Cardinals-Braves game from my job at the gym, and I couldn't say no.  You can't beat this view!

Since I missed the Friday packet pick-up, I ended up going to Washington today.  The "most direct" way to get to Washington from St. Charles is to take Highway 94, which is one of the most curvaceous roads I have ever been on.  It is really a shame that I have lived in St. Charles for over a year now and never driven down this stretch of 94.  This area of Missouri is called the Missouri Rhineland and I can honestly say that for a while, I felt like I was no longer in Missouri.  There was a cycling event on the highway as well, so you really felt like you were in Europe and every few miles you would see another sign for a winery.  At one point we were stopped for the cyclist, so I was able to take a photo of one of the vineyards.  Beautiful!  As I said, this is the most direct way to Washington but it is also considered the scenic route, so you just can't plan on getting anywhere quickly because you never know what you will come across.

Once I finally crossed the bridge into Washington, I quickly picked up my packet which included a tech shirt, frisbee, fliers for other races, chapstick, sunscreen, shoe laces, various coupons, information on local organizations and businesses, a nail file, and a red bracelet from Curiosity+Heroin whose website provides information about the dangers of heroin.  I then headed downtown to check out the Art Fair and Winefest.  I parked near the river, and got a great view of the bridge and the park. 

The festival had many tents with arts, crafts, food, wine, and beer.  Live music was also playing throughout the day.

You probably did not know that Washington is the Corn Cob Pipe capital of the world.

So now I am relaxing and planning on going to bed soon.  The journey back to Washington will take me no less than an hour and the race starts at 8:00 a.m., but I like to be there early with plenty of time to kill.  

Good luck to anyone racing this weekend!

YMCA Schoolhouse Rockin' Half Marathon Race Recap

Yesterday was a very long day!  I woke up at 4:00 a.m. so that I could be on the road to get to the pre-race packet pick-up at the YMCA Schoolhouse Rockin' Half Marathon in Maryville, Illinois,  which is on the other side of the St. Louis metro area.  I ended up arriving a lot earlier than expected and was left with an hour to kill.  I asked a few questions when I picked up my packet, and the volunteers said that a little over 100 runners had signed up and there was only the half marathon, no 5k.  In lieu of a shirt you get a "custom buff" which was something totally new to me.  The instructions on the packaging showed that you could wear it as a headband, a scarf, armband, and anything else you could think of.  Think of a long sleeve not attached to the body of a shirt, made of stretchy fabric and then you have the "custom buff."

The "custom buff"

This race was a bargain compared to many of the other races I have run this year. In fact, I only ended up paying $3.35 per mile whereas the January races at Disney were $10.86 per mile.  When you run a smaller/bargain race, you can't expect to receive the same course support and swag that you get at the larger/more expensive races.  I like running both large and small races not only for budgetary reasons, but also because it is nice to be able to see both ends of the spectrum, and it keeps me grounded so to speak by not allowing me to "expect" certain things at each race.  It basically allows me to still be surprised even after 30 races.

The course was set primarily on local asphalt trails so that traffic would not be disrupted.  This was nice because the trails were shaded by mature trees and there were other runners and bikers using the trails so although the race was fairly small, it somehow felt larger.  The course also had multiple loops, which made it easier to manage the water stops and volunteers.

Runners at the start line

The turtle that crossed my path on the trail, and was apparently camera shy.

The finisher's medal

I heard one runner mention that this was her first half marathon, and then there were other runners who were clearly veterans so there was a wide range of experience on the course.  It was nice to run a race on the Illinois side of the metro area, and I really couldn't complain about the price after going out of town to Indianapolis last weekend.  I am now half way to earning my Half Marathon Fanatic status!  Until next week.....

My 30th Half Marathon and a Mother's Day Dedication

As you can read from the About Me section to the right, I started running while living in DC and I now live in St. Louis.  I LOVED living in DC being surrounded by landmarks and museums and the St. Louis skyline makes me smile every time I lay eyes on it.  Last weekend I fell in love with a new city four hours East of here; Indianapolis!

The One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon was the 3rd race that I have run in Indianapolis but this time, I saw the city from an entirely different perspective.  Each time we have come for a race we have stayed downtown, which is well worth the extra money.  Indy is a very walkable city and the downtown area is filled with great hotels, restaurants, museums, various monuments, a zoo, pro and minor league sports venues, and a shopping mall with a movie theater on the top floor.  The downtown area is also connected via skyways so that in bad weather, you can get to a lot of buildings without ever having to go outside.  We did not stay at the host hotel , which was the Westin Indianapolis.  Instead, we typically stay at the Crowne Plaza which was across the street from the race expo.  In general, I recommend staying downtown for this race but I also recommend this hotel specifically because of the historical significance, the train rooms, and the ghost people (see picture below).

The expo was one of the largest I have been to and there was no shortage of things to snap pictures of, see, and purchase. 

This way to the expo!

Official Mini Marathon Race Vehicle

Pace car for the Indy 500

The swag: The t-shirts were long-sleeved and although they weren't the mesh/tech fabric that I am used to, I loved the design and the color!

Shirt front

Shirt back

More swag!

 I LOVED that the bibs had maps of the corrals in the context of downtown streets on the back.  What a great idea, yet I have never seen this done before.

This race was the only one I have seen that started the 5k before the half marathon.  Mom and John started their race around 7:30 a.m. and since I was staying so close to my corral, I was able to stay in the hotel and watch the start of the 5k and even the start of the half marathon before I had to get to my corral.  The weather could not have been more beautiful, so I snapped quite a few photos along the route.

Indiana State Capitol adjacent to the corrals

This half marathon had no age minimum and while I was waiting to start I met these guys.  Graham (12248) is only 9 years old and this was his first half marathon!  His older brother who is just 14, was running his 4th half marathon.  I was able to talk to their father for a few minutes and he said that as a family, they started a challenge in October 2013 to run a race each month for a year.  Last month they were in St. Louis for some of the GO! St. Louis races.  I thought that this was such a great idea, especially doing the challenge as a family. Wow!  Way to go guys, you are an inspiration!

Entering Speedway, Indiana.

Be sure to kiss the bricks!  I missed this when I ran the race in 2011, so be sure to get to the side (for the safety of the other runners), stop, and kiss the bricks.

Heading back downtown

Nearing the finish line.  Checkered flags guiding us in.

At the finish you receive the coveted medal.  You also received a plastic bag, courtesy of Finish Line, to put all of your post-race snacks in.  Again, this seems like such a simple idea but I have never seen it done before this race.

Overall, I would recommend this race to locals and out-of-towners and I would recommend spending a few extra $ to stay downtown.  You can't beat being able to walk to the expo, dinner, entertainment, and the start line.  Then you can get back to your hotel for a post-race shower in no time.  Being that this race is marketed as the largest half marathon in the country, expect constant runner density during the race equal to Disney or Rock and Roll races.  Even though there were around 30,000 finishers, there was never a shortage of water or Gatorade and volunteer support.  The race weekend discounted rate for the 2015 race just ended but when registration opens up again this fall, seriously consider registering for this race.

Mother's Day Shout-Out
This Sunday is Mother's Day and I have to take a second to thank the woman that carried me for almost 10 months.  That same woman flew to Baltimore to cheer me on for my first half marathon.  She has been at every Disney race I have run and she was in Indianapolis when I crossed the line at my 30th half marathon.  Thanks Mom for always supporting me and the crazy/random goals I set.

John and Mom waking up early for my first marathon at Disney.

Mom, Donald, and I post-race

At the U.S.A.F. Museum post-race

Mom races for medals too!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom as well as all of the other Moms who are runners, or support their loved ones at races.  We couldn't cross the finish line without you!