RunEatBeHappy

Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon

Saturday, April 1, 2017 9:00AM

Lexington, Kentucky

Confession… I LOVE HILLS!!!!!

A couple of months ago, my friend Jill asked me if I would be interested in running the Run the Bluegrass half marathon with her.  I had just completed the Bahamas Half Marathon with a rough run for me personally.  I wanted to run another half marathon immediately to prove to myself that the Bahamas was kind of a fluke.  So when Jill asked me about this one, I looked the race up and realized that it was on the Saturday after we got back from Walt Disney World.  Taper week means go walk miles around Disney parks all day long, right?  I went back and forth with the decision to run this one or not.  Either get back from Disney and run a half marathon 36 hours later OR be running longer miles (for The Pig training) super early before hitting up the parks each day.  I have done the latter before.  It is hard!  Whenever my husband got his April schedule and was working the night shifts the entire weekend, I knew that was my sign to do it.  I signed up the next day!

Jill has been such an inspiration for my running.  This girl has shown me how to be STRONG!  From the beginning of my more serious running, she made sure I was doing strength training.  She has always emphasized being strong so my body can handle the miles.  Jill shared with me her training plans for my very first half marathon.  She continues to show me that I can keep going even when I think I cannot, to not sweat the small stuff or if I miss a run, encourages me so much along the way, and to really enjoy the miles I do get to put in.

Jill is speedier than me.  I thought this bib name was appropriate.  When she noticed it on Saturday morning, it made her smile and laugh.  That made it all worth it for me!

After the expo on Friday, I took the map and drove the course.  I immediately texted Jill with this message, “Holy crap, Jill!!!!  Seriously?!?!?!? The good news is that after you go up the hills, you get to go back down. But man, this course is crazy!”  I will admit, I was very intimidated and began to wonder why I signed up to run this race.

I laid out all of my clothes and gear the night before.  The weather app was calling for low 40s and cloudy.  I packed shorts and tights in my suitcase, but I laid out the shorts.  Shorts and a tank top, because I may be a little insane.  I had my old AE zip up sweatshirt to wear in the corrals to help try to keep me warm.

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Other Gear:

• Mizuno Wave Rider 20s
• Spibelt
• Apple Ipod Nano
• Powerbeats headphones
• Garmin Forerunner 220
• Hairband and Nike headband
• Body Glide
• Sunglasses
• Propel water
• Aveeno sunscreen
• chocolate Hammer gels
• my gear check bag (tights, undies, race shirt to exchange sizes after the race, sweatshirt, vaseline, wet wipes, car key, and another pair of sunglasses if I tossed the others during the race)
• Pure Protein Smores bar and a banana (saved the banana for after the race)

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The race did not start until 9:00am, but they had sent an email saying that we should try to be there by 8:00am.  To me that meant, get there by 7:30am.  I like to be super early!  I set my alarms so that I had plenty of time to be out the door by 7:00am.  Usually, I do not sleep great the night before a race.  However, after being at Disney World all week, I was absolutely beat and went right to sleep.  Around 2:30am I woke up to my phone beeping at me.  My husband was texting me. What?!?! Now, normally I would not be happy about middle of the night text messages before a race.  But when they are texts about a possible future Disney trip I will wake up and have a conversation with you!!!  (Someone else has the Disney bug).  After I got back to sleep, I did not wake up until 6:10am!

When I woke up, the weather was on the cooler side of what they were predicting.  Jill and I were texting back and forth about what to wear.  I know I get warm very easily after a few miles.  I tend to over dress.  I had to go with my gut and stick with my shorts and a tank top.  I knew I would be very cold to start off, but hoped I would heat up as I thought I would.

CLOUDY!  On the drive to the race track, I had some misty drizzle.  I was worried we were going to have a wet run.  It ended up just being cloudy for us.  Thankfully!  And the wind was present, but nothing hateful.  Honestly, I hardly noticed the wind much at all.  Maybe because I was so focused on those hills.

It was time to rock ‘n’ roll!  Run the Bluegrass, #1354 coming at you!  Of course, I had to wear blue!

Once I was parked at Keeneland, I had my Pure Protein Smores bar.  Then, I made the walk up to the building.  Brrrr, it was chilly!  I had to keep convincing myself that I had made the right decision on attire.  “You WILL warm up, Kelly.  You WILL”.  I dropped my gear check bag off at the trucks.  They had the moving trucks right by the start line for us.  They were very easy to spot and get to.

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Up by the building, the Keeneland starting gates were out on display for us.  Very cool!

You could get breakfast if you forgot yours or wanted some more fuel.  Waffles anyone?

Inside the building, they had multiple heaters going full blast!!!  Two thumbs up for each of those big guys.  I was glad they had the building open for us to stay warm.  The women’s bathroom line was forever long, but like all the other ladies, I waited my turn for my final potty break.

They had a free yoga session you could join in on.  (Jill is killing the pigeon pose).  There were massages and tape wrappings taking place.  The weather report was on the tv screens.  Some runners were doing some last minute shopping before the race.  And many other runners were just staying warm as we all waited for the start.

America’s Prettiest Half Marathon, Run the Bluegrass.  There were quite a few horses out the day before when I drove the course.  There were plenty of gorgeous farm houses, barns, and endless fences.

Introducing, Jill!  I was so happy to be running this race with her.  We snapped this picture then started making our way down the hill (through the wet grass, bad choice) to the start line.  I would start the race with wet shoes, wet socks, and cold toes.

My goals for this race were:

1. Do not pee my pants (always).
2. Run all of those hills.
3. Run under 1:55:00 (back up was to PR, under 1:55:44, next was to run it under 2:00:00).
4. Relax and enjoy it!

We sang the national anthem. I feel like this should be a requirement at every single race.  The Keeneland bugler played “My Old Kentucky Home”.  Um, that was pretty sweet!  The Yearlings (3.65 miles) started five minutes before the 7 milers and half marathon runners.

We did our best to warm ourselves up.  All of us runners were jumping up and down, moving all around, and counting down the seconds to when we could get going.  Jill and I stayed at the back of our wave (wave 1), because we knew everyone would take off FAST and we did not want to do that.  She said she was going to take the first few miles slower.  I asked her how ‘slow’ exactly she was thinking.  She said, “8:30s, maybe 8:40”.  I thought to myself, “Okay, I can do that.  I’ll try to hang with her those first few miles”.

We were off, and like always, people took off!  Good for them!  I cannot run 7:00 miles.  “GO SLOW, KELLY!  GO SLOW”!  I am glad I had Jill next to me.  She helped me pull back and save some of my legs that first stretch out of the start.  You can see us behind the guy in yellow below.  Yep, I still have on my jacket.  I could not ditch it in the corral… I was freezing!  I ended up wearing it the first three miles before dropping it off at a water station.

My race was actually great!  I had a blast out on this course!  While intimidating, it was also a lot of fun.  I would get to a hill and tell myself, “What goes up, must come down”.  At a few hills, I found myself picturing my neighborhood hill.  “There is the tree, there’s the light post, keep running to that next tree, get your rear up to Warner’s house”.  Visualizing a hill that I run multiple times a week helped break the big hills up and get me up those!  Jill tended to beat me up the hills, then I would catch back up to her on the downhills.

We were still together when we got to the railroad tracks.  I was so glad to see we crossed railroad tracks twice on this course.  Why?  Because I immediately think about my train obsessed little guys.  “SHOW them that they can do anything.  Prove to them that all things are possible. Make them proud”.

Passing by the train bridge, I knew they would absolutely love this spot!  I could not help but smile as I ran this half mile (the ONLY half mile that is flat in this entire course).

I took my first Hammer Gel a little earlier than I had planned.  I went ahead and downed it during that flat stretch around mile 3 – 3.5.  Also, I took off my jacked while I ran that flat road.  Up around mile 4 I got to high five a chicken (well someone in a chicken suit) as I came into the first water station I used.  I dropped off my gel packet and sweatshirt, took a sip of water, and walked through that turn as I did so.  Jill did not stop at this one and that put her about 15 seconds ahead of me.  I kept her in my sight though!  Jill, thank you for wearing a bright pink shirt that was easy to spot.

I had a lot of mottos going through my head for each of those hills.

• You are STRONGER than this hill!
• It is just like the hills you run all the time.
• Keep your body up. Pick up those legs. Pump your arms.
• Keep running!  Just keep running!
• Ten more steps up.  8 more steps up.  5 more steps up.
• Pain now, no regrets later.
• Get to the top and you get to run back down.

When I reached mile five I found myself smiling.  I was having such a great time out there running.  I thought back to mile five in the Bahamas and how I was already feeling bad during that race.  Not this time!  I felt awesome! My legs were cooperating.  I was keeping great pace.  I did not kill myself those first few miles and it was already paying off.

The views were GORGEOUS!!!  I did my best to take it all in as I was running.  The beautiful horses, fences, and houses were very refreshing. This race was unlike any other half marathon I have ran so far.  There is no city to run through.  There is not a ton of support while you are out there.  It is a lot of you, the beautiful scenery, and other runners.  The water stations every couple miles were encouraging. There were a few police cars blocking the few roads we turned on.  I made sure to tell each of them thank you (as all runners should do).  At several of the out-of-this-world houses, the people had walked down to the end of their lanes.  Those people brightened my day more than they will ever know.  They did not have to do that, but they were out there being kind and supporting us.  A couple of the lanes had little girls at the end.  I made sure to tell all of them thank you as I went by, too.  It may mean nothing to those little girls, then again, it may give them an idea to one day run a race themselves.  You never know.  Be the good!

As we came around the corner around mile 6, I saw Jill standing at the bathroom waiting her turn. She went in right as I ran by.  I yelled out to her, “Hurry up, Jill”!!!!! I knew she would not be far behind me.

Honestly, I forget exactly when I took my second Hammer gel.  Maybe it was around mile 7.  Maybe it was mile 8.  I do not remember.  It was somewhere around there.

Here I am climbing the last bit of a hill right at mile 8.5.  I will tell you that I was not smiling like this the entire time I went uphill.  I saw those photographers and planted that smile on my face for them.  Then, I chuckled and thought, “Really guys?!?  At the top of the hill?!?”

I walked four times in this race.  I walked through three water stations (about 5-10 seconds each I would say).  The other time I walked was after mile 9 at the S-curve.  It was steep and curvy.  I will say that I paid attention and my quick, larger strides of walking kept me right by the people trying to run that section.  I enjoyed my 20 steps to catch my breathe and did not lose much ground…definitely worth it.

I will not say I was not tempted to walk at other times.  Those last two miles were definitely a challenge.  At every uphill, I was expecting Jill to come up beside me.  Whenever I wanted to walk, I reminded myself that she was right behind me.  “Do not let her see you walk.  You are strong.  You got this, Kelly”.

During those last few miles, we merged back in with the 7 milers.  People were walking, but they were still going.  I did my best to give them encouragement as we all headed toward the same finish line.  Sometimes it is the people at the back of the race that I find so much inspiration from.  They are out there traveling the same exact mileage as everyone else in their race!

Oh, and there was a safety bicyclist that I have to give a shout out to.  I do not know your name.  I do not know exactly what your job was that day.  I saw you earlier in the race around mile 2 maybe.  I saw you again climbing those hills at the end around mile 11.  You were cheering on the runners while you rode up and down checking to make sure no one needed help.  Much appreciation for you and your enthusiasm for all of us runners!!!

At mile 11, I started looking at my watch and doing the calculations in my head.  (I had not really done much thinking up until this point.  I saw my splits at each mile and felt good with where those were falling).  But now I started thinking.  I was pretty sure I was going to be able to PR if I just kept running.  I realized, there was a chance that I could finish under 1:55:00.  I know I stated above that this was my goal.  If I am honest, I do not know if I actually believed I could do it.  I dreamed of doing it.  I pictured myself doing it during my training runs.  But really believing I could do it, not so sure….until mile 11!  Knowing that this dream big goal was within my reach, made me get up those last couple hills.  “I can see the building.  You just have to get over there.  C’mon, Kelly!  Pick it up.  You can do this”.

The final mile.  Oh, the final mile.  When you are wore out, beat up, and have used up all of your mental tricks, this race throws the longest uphill at you.  Maybe not the tallest, but I really think it was the longest hill.  Luckily, around 12.5 the cheering sections started popping up here and there.  “Two more songs.  Two more songs.  Yes, play The Man for me! Good song choice!  That was incredible timing on your part, Kelly. Way to go.”

As I ran the final .2, I knew I was going to hit my dream time goal for this race!  I could see the clock.  I still had legs left (somehow, no clue how).  I took off and gave it everything I had that last straight away!!!  I took in the cheers. I was all smiles!  You can see me crossing the finish line…behind that guy!

The pride I felt in that moment is something I do not even know how to put into words. It was all of the training runs, the early mornings, the rainy runs, the dreadmill miles, the pain from the Bahamas, the friends I have met along the way who have made me a better and faster runner, the dreams coming true, and the happiness all wrapped up together in a medal going around my neck.

I am stoked about my stats for this Run the Bluegrass half marathon!  I not only beat 1:55:00, but I beat 1:54:00!!!  BOOM!!!

My Garmin Forerunner watch was right on with this course. The first two miles, I was beeping a few steps before the flags.  I was prepared to have to run a little longer at the end.  For some reason, as the miles went on, I started beeping right with the flags.  In the end, I was pretty dang perfect with 13.11 miles.  I do find that I am focusing on the running the tangents more if it is not crowded.

Overall, the Run the Bluegrass half marathon was perfect!  It was exactly what I needed!  I kept this one quiet.  Only a handful of people knew I was running this one.  While I love sharing every bit of my running journey with you all every day, I was a bit selfish this time and wanted to run this one for ME!  ALL ME!!!  I was not worried about what I was going to be typing to you all, what you would think, if I was going to let anyone down, I was only having fun and running it for myself.

I have to give a few shout outs now.  Thank you, Shawn, for working hard so I am able to pay my race registrations.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for taking the boys home from the airport with you after spending the week with them at Disney.  Thank you, Loretta, for the the text messages.  Those mean so much to me!  Thank you, Jordan, for a comfy bed and place to crash the night before.  It was much appreciated!  And thank you, Jill, for bringing this race to me exactly when I needed it most!!!!

Post race, donuts?!?!  YES, please!!!  They were not messing around.  These delicious donuts were right after the finish line.  Like, before the water and bananas!!!  Run the Bluegrass has their priorities right.  I definitely enjoyed my well deserved donut.

Jill and I did some post race photos.  I can tell you while this picture is one of my favorites, I could barely climb up into the gates. Getting down was a whole other level of difficulty.  My legs were already sore and feeling it!

The medals are awesome!  Fantastic job, Run the Bluegrass on some kick butt bling for us runners!!!

We grabbed our checked gear bags, put on our long sleeves, and got inside pretty quick after we finished.  We both did some stretching.  Pigeon, runners lunge, downward dog, calf and hip stretches, etc.  I knew my legs were going to have a rough day as I had to get in my car and drive four hours up North.  I did a quick change of clothes and got on the road.  Wet wipes were my friend.

Someone flipped my MRTT (Moms Run This Town) magnet upside down while I was in the expo on Friday.  I got to flip it back around when I got to my car. 13.1 miles later!

I drove half way up North and stopped to eat lunch/dinner by my house.  I love this meal after my long runs.  Buffalo Wings ‘n’ Rings veggie burger with a side of broccoli.  Delicous!  I ate it all within minutes.  Then, I drove the rest of the way back home to see my boys.

Run the Bluegrass is a half marathon I will encourage others to run.

Hilly?  MMHMM!

Fun? YES!

A Challenge?  ABSOLUTELY!

My PR course?  FOR NOW!

You earn an awesome medal, they give you the race photos with your registration, and the race shirt is my new favorite shirt (I am wearing it right now).

Find more information about this fabulous race on their website: runthebluegrass.org

Bring on The Pig!

May 7, 2017!

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