May 13th, 2017
Corey and I were lucky enough to take an amazing vacation to Hawaii this May to visit one of his friends who is currently stationed near Honolulu, Hawaii. When I heard we were going to Hawaii I knew I had to look for a race there...when else would I have the chance to run in Hawaii? I found a race that was only about 15 minutes from where we were staying that was a 10k one weekend early in May..so we planned our trip kind of around being able to run that race!
I convinced Corey to do it with me, and we told his friend we were staying with. He wasn't going to run eventually, but a few days before he said he would since a bunch of other soldiers in his company were also running! I was excited we would be running this, it was a 10k...and we get some awesome swag...everyone receives a shirt, a medal and a fresh pineapple at the end! I took a look at the results from previous years and saw it would be tough to place. A lot of people run this and the course has quite a few hills, additionally we would be a little jet lagged, and haven't been training in that kind of heat...lastly, my diet was drastically different here, so I know that can play a small part in running and endurance.
Our friend picked up the packets before we arrived, so the morning of we got up and headed out to the start. We had to drive part of the course to get there and we went down a big hill (I was instantly pretty excited), but then a huge hill came after! It was between 3 and 4 miles, so that was going to be tough being right in the middle of the race. I'm glad I knew about it though so I could try and pace myself knowing it was coming.
The start of the race was on a narrow street, and clearly people didn't care about having strollers and walkers near the back of the pack! The first mile or so was all weaving in and out of people and strollers, wore me out pretty early. I did catch up to Corey and was feeling good, so I passed him. Finally around mile 2 I had some room to run. I paced myself around 8:30 min miles to start because of the hill...well if you have read about my raced you know that I mean to pace, but never do...so I was running a little too fast, but made myself slow down.
When I got to the big downhill I knew what was coming and steadied myself to get up...I almost made it, but had to walk the top part unfortunately (so did a lot of other people it seemed). I had a hard time recovering after that since it was all flat and no downhills, but I continued along, having to stop and walk for 30 seconds or so every once in awhile...it was getting hot and I wasn't used to it. Luckily they had water stations almost every mile, so that helped. When we made a turn onto the main road where the school was I knew I was close so I sped up a bit and of course sprinted across the finish line and despite all the set backs I finished in around 55 min (and ahead of Corey). By chip time was actually 57ish, but my watch said 55, we also found out that the course was actually 6.5 miles...the company they used to place the cones, put some out at a wrong place so we ran a little bit extra. Overall, I was still pleased at my time!
The course was fine..ran through a town, on some outer roads, through fields and finished back at the school we began at. I was also amazed at all the stroller runners...I had misjudged them! Many ran right past me, with speed and not hurting at all, I was very impressed! I found out after that a lot of them were military spouses, and they had a group that would meet and run...so they were trained!
It was definitely an experience, and I'm so glad we got to run. Definitely a check off the bucket list, and the list of states to run in :)
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
May 7th, 2017
As I mentioned in the previous post, my dad and I ran the City to City 2 years ago and were so excited they decided to bring it back! A different running group took over and that's how they were able to do it. The City to City is a 9.2 mile race/relay. You can run it as a single person, 2 man team or a 3 man team. My dad and I have always run it as a 2 man team - he runs the first leg (3 miles) which has quite a few big hills, and I run the second 2 legs (6.2 miles). It's a nice course full of hills and mostly on roadways (meaning little shade), but the end is on a concrete man made trail that runs by a river and next to a forest.
The race starts in Jackson at the health club, and starts up the hill to main street (ugh), so I always dread that for my dad because I hate hills, but he is a trooper and loves it. It was a bit chilly that morning but the sun was out and we knew it would heat up - meaning it was a great morning for a run. Mom was our driver and her and I watched dad take off at the start, and we headed out to the exchange point.
At the exchange we met up with a friend of ours (Kelly) who was also running the second leg for his team and he kept poking fun at me that I would beat him. We saw dad coming down the hill and I took off before Kelly did. I paced myself with a group of people (I was about 30-45 seconds behind them but kept my distance running about 7:45-8:00 min miles). I knew that I had 6 miles to run so I slowed down a bit and was passed by Kelly at mile 2, but he was almost done, while I had more to go. I was feeling alright (hating the few big hills I had though and still feeling that groin pull) when I passed the exchange. I saw my parents up ahead before I turned into the neighborhood and it was just what I needed to keep me up. I was getting tired and was ready to be done and walk, but I couldn't let my dad down.
In the neighborhood we go onto the trail, so I knew I was getting close to the end and was catching up to a guy, and knew I could beat him. Slowly, but surely I passed him, and I saw my next target - a lady I had been running near the whole race and really wanted to pass. When I saw the finish line I sped up a bit and thought I could get her, but of course she sped up too. I passed one more woman at before the finish line and ended with 8:15 min miles.
I was hurting, but proud of finishing strong. They had the times from 2 years ago with them and we were about 30 seconds slower than before, (which could have been both of our faults). We still did awesome, and won our division, which isn't hard since they add ages together to make the brackets...
I hope they keep this race, it's always fun and a challenging course.
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
May 6th, 2017
2 years ago my dad and I ran a race called the City to City which was a 9.2 mile relay from Jackson, MO to Cape Girardeau, MO. We had so much fun...but I'll get to that in my next post. Anyway, they decided to bring it back this year, and it happened to fall the day after another 5k that we have been doing - The Filter's Fund 5k.
Major Garrett Knowlan's call sign was Filter. He lost his life in a water survival training accident on 10/11/2012. Garrett was 32 years old. He left a loving family and many friends behind that day. He was a strong Christian who loved the Lord. He showed Jesus's love toward others and helped others while he was here. We plan to carry on that legacy by helping those in need, in Garrett's name. We will all be together again, 'in a minute'. Every year his family raises money to go to a great cause by hosting a 5k (either virtually or in person) in Jackson, MO on a course he used to run for soccer practice.
Previously my dad and I ran this virtually but this year we were lucky enough to be there! It started at 9 (which was nice) so we weren't in a rush to get up, and the weather was beautiful and the sun was out at that point. So many families showed up it was amazing to see the support for the family, and get a chance to meet the family - especially with my guy being in the military.
Knowing we had a much longer race the next morning my dad and I decided to try and take it easy but you know us...we get that adrenaline and just can't. We started off towards the park in a downhill pretty fast, running 7:30/7:45 min miles. I told him we had to slow down since we had a race on Sunday as well. We did (slightly). At the turnaround we were feeling good and still running together. On our way back out of the park there were a few hills, one of which was a long sweeping uphill towards the finish. I had a previous groin pull and it started to bother me and I lost my breath a bit going up the hill and had to stop for a second to walk and told my dad to go ahead. I kept him in my sight and finished about 15 seconds behind him, and to my surprise first in my division! I graciously accepted a Panera gift card and watched more racers finish. We said our goodbyes to the family and headed back home to get ready for the rest of the day.
I was talking to one of the family members and they know it's a hard end to the course, but can't bring themselves to change it since it was what Garrett ran in school, and I love that, it's just another nod to him. This year 320 participated all over the world (including many of Garrett's fellow servicemen and their families). I was happy to be able to share this one in person this year, and will definitely continue to do so.
Not to mention, we do get a shirt every year, and they have a great logo, and always comfy shirts.
Again, I am proud to say I was a part of this, the family and friends are doing the most amazing things.
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
