Kansas City Half Marathon Race Report: When You Know You Can Do It, You Can Do It

Nearly a month has passed since the Kansas City Marathon where I ran a 1:55 and earned a five minute half marathon PR. I went under two hours at a half marathon race for the first time since my first attempt at the distance in 2005. It's taken me a few weeks to write about it because I'm not really sure what to say. Here's what's in my head: It's not really even that good a time. It shouldn't have taken this long to achieve this. I've been capable of this for a really long time.

I haven't run that many stand-alone half marathons. I've run almost 20 of them at the end of a half ironman, and I've grazed the 2:00 mark a few times - my personal best time previous to this was 2:00:27 at Buffalo Springs in 2014. I've run 3 sub-4 hour marathons, which means I've run at least the first half of 3 marathons in under two hours. Logically, I thought, if I just enter a half marathon and try to run it in under two hours, I should be able to do it. In the spring of 2017, I decided to make it an actual goal for the season. And then for the next 3 years, every time I tried, I failed.

The Conditional PR
I just moved to Colorado, I'm not acclimated to the altitude, I thought. I'm just getting older. This must be what happens after 40. A friend of mine, Shannan, confirmed this suspicion. She told me that she used to run a lot faster, but after moving to Colorado and getting a little bit older, she too has slowed down. "We just have to be positive about our achievements in the present," she advised, "we can't compare ourselves to our younger, faster selves. Instead, let's say, this is my 'I'm over 40 and I moved to Colorado' PR!" Shannan is a gifted athlete and is significantly faster than me. If she was feeling this way, I could definitely take joy in my post-move, over-40 achievements. So that's what I did. This May at the Colfax Half in Denver, I got closer to the elusive two-hour mark than ever in recent times. On Facebook I happily chirped about my 2:03, my "fastest half since moving to Denver and turning 40!" A conditional PR.

Training
I've been doing a lot of running since May. For some reason, I have no problem believing that I can run a fast marathon, and I decided to focus this year on earning a marathon PR at the California International Marathon (CIM) which is coming up in about a month. (Because my age group has changed, just a one-minute marathon PR will earn me a BQ, so there's also that.)

My coach Nell Rojas pointed out early in the season that after a year of ultrarunning and all these years of ironman training, I seem to be pretty durable. I should be able to take on a lot of running volume. Let's give it a try. Mix in some fast track and tempo sessions, and I should get faster too. So that's what we did. I've been running more this year than I've ever run in my life.

Because 90% of what I achieve seems to come from what's in my head than what my legs are capable of, the midweek speed sessions are the ones that have really made a difference. In August, I remember seeing a midweek tempo workout with difficult descending times in it, then thinking, well, I'll try it, the worst that can happen is I walk home. I surprised myself by nailing the workout. Two weeks later when it appeared on my plan again, I thought, I can definitely do this. And I did. What a thrilling lesson to learn: when you know you can do it, you can do it. It's true! I really want everyone who reads this to walk away knowing that this is true!

When You Know You Can Do It...
In early October, my friends from Texas, Morgan and Mack, came to the Denver area on vacation. Morgan asked if we could get together and run; coincidentally I had registered for a trail 10K that weekend so they decided to race it too. Like Shannan, Morgan is a significantly faster runner than me. We follow each other on Strava and Instagram and she inspires me daily with her speed, tenacity, and dedication as she works towards her own marathon goal.

Thrilled to run with Morgan and Mack!

On race day, I looked around for Morgan and Mack, but didn't see them. I started the race by myself, and after several minutes passed, Morgan ran up beside me. They had started a few minutes late. We chatted for a minute and I told her not to let me hold her back. She and Mack (with his selfie stick!) ran ahead. My watch beeped with the time for that mile: 8:20. Whoops. That was faster than I was supposed to start, but was right around the same pace as those midweek intervals I'd been running. Morgan wasn't running away from me as fast as I'd expected. I'll try to hold on to this pace, I thought, let me try to keep Morgan in sight. And I did! Because (say it with me) when you know you can do it, you can do it!

I surprised myself by finishing that 10K in just under 53 minutes, within a couple of minutes of Morgan. She was the perfect rabbit to chase. On the out and back course both Morgan and Mack encouraged me to keep chasing and it was fabulous to high-five both of them at the end. I faded a bit at the end, but still ended up running at a much faster pace than I thought I was capable of. I didn't realize until logging my times later that day that I'd achieved a PR for the 10K distance. That wasn't an over-40, just-moved-to-Colorado, conditional PR. It was an actual PR. I have only run a handful of 10K races - but my 43-year old self had just run 6 minutes faster than my previous best time, and at altitude. There were no conditions at all on this PR.

The Louisville Endurance Race Series 10K was a fantastic local event with free, scenic photos as part of the entry.

...You Can Do It
Armed with confidence from that 10K, I flew to Kansas City two weeks later to make another attempt at a sub-2 half. There was no reason I couldn't do it. I would be running in perfect weather (cold and rainy) at sea level and Trent would be at the finish line. My legs and lungs were in shape and my head was in a good place too.

On race morning, I woke up to 50 degree temperatures and light rain. I intended to run from Trent's apartment to the start, about a mile and a half away. He offered to drive me because of the weather but I declined - I've learned the value of a warmup and some good dynamic stretching before a race or tough workout (thank you Nell).

I lined up in the rain with all of the marathon and half-marathon participants. Many were wearing ponchos and garbage bags to protect themselves from the rain. As we started the first mile up Grand Blvd, I knew we'd be running slightly uphill because I'd run down the hill to the start. I kept my pace in check but still ran past the 2:00 pace group and left them behind. Okay, now I'm trying to outrun that pace group. I prefer to run scared than to chase, so I was in the perfect spot. I set my sights on chasing the 1:55 pacer.

As we wound our way through the streets of Kansas City, I recognized several places that Trent and I have visited on my trips here. It was fun to look around and take in the sights. I watched my watch, too - any number under 9:00 would be an acceptable mile pace. About halfway through, I started to feel a little bit fatigued and I wondered if I should back off the pace. Miraculously, right at that moment, the rolling hills turned into a 3-mile downhill segment, exactly when I needed it. By the time I hit the 9 mile mark and the course started to roll again, I knew that I had a buffer of several minutes and that I'd meet my goal. I pushed up the hills and took the chance of running fast on every downhill opportunity.

Finally, I reached mile 12 and the significant downhill stretch to the finish line. I smiled to myself; I knew I had done it. I knew I'd reach the finish line with five minutes to spare. I even ran past the 1:55 pacer (he had fallen off the pace!). I relaxed. Right at that moment, a guy ran by and said something like, "oh no Big Sexy, you need to keep on pushing to the finish line!" as he galloped by in his Hammer kit. Of course he was right. I was going to make my goal, but I should be running as fast as I can, trying to do the best I can! I chased him to the finish line and screamed with happiness when I ran across it. 1:55:07. A five minute PR. Under two hours. More than 20 races and 14 years after my first one. How awesome. I really felt the joy of the achievement.

The Kansas City Marathon Is Awesome
Obviously I suddenly have a special place in my heart for this race now because I achieved a PR here. But besides that, I want to make sure that everyone knows what a great event it is. There was awesome swag - a nice fitted cotton T-Shirt and Goodr sunglasses in the packet! A beer garden at the finish! A perfect course with perfectly placed rolling hills and fantastic volunteers. The race is sponsored by Garmin and they even had a Strava segment around mile 8 with a prime - the fastest male and female on the quarter-mile segment would win a Garmin. What a cool gimmick. Packet pickup in Union Station was easy and the expo was exactly the right size and had a ton of great local vendors. Oh, and did I mention free finisher pictures? I can't say enough good things about this race and I'm pretty sure I'll want to run the full here next year.

Nice swag!

#fasterasamaster
CIM is only a few weeks away and I'm looking forward to racing in Sacramento with my beautiful friends from Texas. We have one more 20-miler next weekend and then it's taper time, and I can't wait! Before CIM, I have a local Turkey Trot 5K where I'm tempted to aim for a PR as well. How cool would it be to get PRs in every distance in the same year? I absolutely love that I've developed the confidence to think this way.

Remember Shannan, my over-40 friend who taught me the value of conditional PRs? Well, she just ran a marathon PR a week ago in New York City. While the conditional PR may be a helpful tool along the way, Shannan has proved that #fasterasamaster is an actual thing. I'm so excited to set my sights on big goals and see what happens next.

A fast "easy" long run with my friends in Texas was another confidence builder the weekend before the Kansas City race. I can't wait to race in California with Shelly and Orissa!