Reykjavik Half Marathon (Iceland), August 20, 2016

I’d been tossing around the idea of taking a trip to Iceland with some friends for a little while, an epic journey that included camping, biking, and taking several weeks to see the whole country.  We looked at several dates before realizing there would be a half marathon there in mid-August, a time that worked with our schedules.  We had to do it.

We wrapped up our journey around the ring road (roughly 1,000 miles around the country) ending in Reykjavik.  Reykjavik is a pretty town, and our 13.1 mile foot tour took us along the harbor, through historic areas, and the modern waterfront fine arts center.  Although beautiful, sights on the racecourse paled in comparison to what we’d seen in the past 10 days (think Mars-like volcanic rock formations, green rolling hills, black sand beaches, unbearably hot natural springs, and glacial lakes).   

The one thing that stood out during our time in Reykjavik compared to the rest of our trip was the chance to get more of an exposure to the lifestyles of Icelandic people (one thing to know about Iceland is that 60% of the country’s population live near Reykjavik, with a couple exceptions, we hadn’t had the chance to immerse ourselves to far into the Icelandic culture).  The race, which included everything from a kids 550m race to a full marathon, was a celebration of fitness and running.  After finishing the half, we spent a couple hours at the finish line waiting for a friend to finish the full and watching people of all ages finish races and enjoy the day (it was in the 60s…a warm day there and a wonderful break from North Carolina’s 90+ heat).

Coastal Delaware Running Festival-Marathon (DE), April 24th, 2016

Occasionally I will brainstorm a list of states I still need to run and in late 2015 I realized I hadn’t run one in Delaware.  What makes this a shocking realization is that I grew up there and visit my parents there on a regular basis.  Knowing I had logged countless miles as a cross country and track runner, along with having an entire drawer dedicated to my MS Society Thanksgiving 5 and 10k t-shirts, it was time to cross off a half or full.

I know that many people are surprised that Delaware is big enough to hold a marathon without having to run laps around the state, but it is.  My parents live in the northern part of the state, which is a beautiful area with some gentle hills.  Coastal Delaware, the southern part of the state is also beautiful and wonderfully flat.  Needless to say, I chose a race in the southern part.

Although it was flat, the course was not lacking in scenery and diverse views.  We started at the Dewey Beach lighthouse before heading into Rehoboth and enjoying a mile down the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.  The next 20 miles wound through Cape Henlopen State Park and salt water marshes, before turning south near Lewes and following a paved trail back to the post race party in Dewey (which was awesome, after 26 miles, you can’t beat sitting on a beach with lunch, a beer (or 2) and your bare feet in the sand).

Westminster Trail Run (CO), March 27, 2016

I’ve put in a lot of miles in Colorado, although most of them are on skis.  In 2016 my ski trip coincided with the Westminster Trail Run outside of Boulder, so I decided to log some running mile as well.  Weather in Colorado that week was great for skiing, not as great for running.  We made it to the race start where temperatures were in the upper teens (my watch data has the temperature for the run logged at 21 degrees).  We huddled at the start to get last minute instructions from the race director.  Apparently there were a couple spots to watch out for on the course, he listed 4-5 intersections to make sure we didn’t miss turns, identified 5-6 slippery spots, and a few more places where the trail narrowed, so to watch out for runners coming the other direction.  But other than that, things were great; there wasn’t anything else we needed to know (having absolutely no idea what the course was like, the long list of suggestions were not so helpful).

The trail was relatively flat, winding through natural areas, around ponds, and through small neighborhoods.  From what I could tell, the trail was a mix of pavement and packed sand.  Unfortunately it was hard to tell the exact surface due to the layers of snow, and ice, and after a few runners, slush on top of it.  Wishing I’d packed ice skates, or at least something with more traction than my road shoes, I carefully picked my way through the race, thankful that I managed to stay on my feet for the whole thing (I did see a runner slip on the ice and fall into a puddle of slush several inches deep).

Following the race (having thawed my frozen toes) it was time to continue on to Aspen and log more miles on the skis slopes.

Kiawah (half) Marathon (SC), December 12th, 2015

After Chicago, and New York, I was ready for a break.  I ran the half and remembered how much fun they are.  Given the 70+ degree temperature, I was happy not to be running the full and to spend the rest of the day on the beach.  (Want to know more about the race itself...check out December 2014, 2013, and 2012, this one's becoming an annual event :)

New York Marathon (NY), November 1st, 2015

While sitting at home with a broken foot, convincing myself that I would someday run again, I also entered the lottery for the New York Marathon.  I’d heard it took years for most runners to get in, so why not start trying now. 

I had almost forgotten that I entered until I received the confirmation email that I’d gotten in.  I was surprised and a little nervous realizing that it was only 3 weeks after Chicago.  I had a number of friends who had run them that close before, so figured it must be possible.  On the plane home from Chicago, I plotted a 3-week turnaround, one week to recover, one week to tune up, and one week to taper.  Not to mention catch up on work, sleep, get laundry done, and repack.

I couldn’t imagine a race with a greater group of spectators than Chicago, and then I ran New York.  With the exception of bridges (especially the Queensboro, where all you could hear were footsteps around you for a mile and a half), there were fans everywhere.  Just ask my parents…they picked a great race to join me as my support crew! 

I could go on to describe the course, borough by borough, but don’t think I could do it justice.  A number of friends have talked about “maybe” running a marathon, but that it would have to be a special race.  I would definitely (and have) recommend New York.

Chicago Marathon (IL), October 11th, 2015

This one's still under construction...

Around the time I was having troubles with my foot, I decided to take advantage of the guaranteed entry I’d earned into the Chicago Marathon (based on my time from Kiawah last December).  Here are 26 things to describe/celebrate/remember from the race (and trip):

1-no more than 1 mile with no spectators cheering along the course

2-number of slices of deep-dish pizza I ate post race (embarrassingly low, I was tired)

3-Goose Island 312, my beverage choice for the trip

4-number of runners in our group from Raleigh

5-the number of miles it felt like I walked between the finish line and the family meet up letter “U” where I finally got to sit down after meeting up with friends.  It was probably closer to a half of a mile than 5.

6-number of runners and spectators in our group from Raleigh

7-number of tenths of a mile I ran over 26.2 in the race (my watch told me 26.98, I think about one tenth of a mile was watch error)

8-

9- number of games the Cubs played postseason this year (we enjoyed hanging out at a bar in Wrigleyville for one of them)

10-I was in bed by 10 the night before the race

11-

12-

13-

14-

15-Illinois is my 15^th state

16-

17-17,234, the number of women who finished this year’s marathon

18-

19-19x5=95^th floor, location of the Signature Lounge (where we enjoyed views of the city Sunday night, postrace)

20-

21-days until my next marathon (yikes!)

22-length of my longest pre-Chicago training run

23-

24-age when I ran my first marathon

25-age when I ran my first official half-marathon

26-26.2…the number of miles run

Bryce Caynon Half Marathon (UT), July 11th, 2015

Now that I’ve started working on a half or full in all 50 states, running a race has become my motivation for planning a number of trips.  I had never been to Utah but had been told I would like it many times (if the running didn’t give it away, I enjoy spending time outdoors).  Needless to say, when I found the Bryce Canyon half, I was glad to have a reason to head out there.

If I was going to fly all the way out to Utah, I decided I needed to spend more than a weekend there.  With little convincing, I soon had 4 friends traveling with me.  We were looking forward to a 3-day backpacking trek in Bryce Canyon National Park followed by the half marathon before spending a couple days in Zion National Park (including a day hike up the Narrows).  Saying that I’m thankful to have friends willing to join me on these adventures is an understatement.

The 7,000+ feet of climbing and 6,000+ of descent while backpacking was the perfect opportunity to acclimate ourselves to the elevation.  We’re sea level dwellers and were playing at 7-9,000 ft above.  It was also a great last minute strength training session for our legs.

We finished hiking on Friday and were up and as ready to run as we were going to be Saturday morning.  The race started just outside Bryce Canyon National Park and descended about 1800 feet into the town of Cannonville.  If I were to give each race a “most” award, this one would win the “most picturesque” by far (at least at this point in the quest).  Words can’t describe the views of the canyon and surroundings as the sun rose and hundreds of runners descended into the valley.

I won’t deny that my legs were pretty tired by the end of the hiking and running, but it was nothing a 3 mile hike up the Narrows (ankle to waist deep in cool water) couldn’t heal.