Tag: katy trail

Rock Island trail 1/2 marathon

August 3rd, 2023

What a race! I had signed up as pacer for the 2:10 group. Not awfully fast, but not terribly slow. The pace sticks had the pace time, not the finish time. I suppose that’s helpful for runners that want to keep a steady pace. I am the WORST at keeping a steady pace!

10:00 per mile 😄

I started out “just right” but that hardly lasted. Some people will push their pace, trying to bank time for walk breaks at aid stations. I just sort of ran and tried to stay in range. It didn’t seem like anyone was relying on me to be totally accurate.

10:00 per mile

The race had an option to start thirty minutes early, which is nice! Early start is good for people that may not be very fast and are afraid of missing a cut-off or people that are sensitive to the weather and are afraid of heat injury, which is a real threat. A (probably) unexpected effect was I got to see friends a little more often than the usual once, maybe twice during an out and back. If I had been just running instead of pacing, I for sure would have started early.

There were so many friends running and volunteering! Sydney was pacing the 2:30 group, and Josh was pacing the 2:15 group. We were all off by some minutes. Cody had started early. After he finished, he stood at the last turn with a horn cheering in the runners!

There were only a couple of runners collapsing at the finish area. It was so hot and humid! After a while in the shade, everyone recovered.

The rock island trail course is rail to trail, crushed gravel, mostly shaded, out and back. Just a mile at the beginning / end is out in the sun. That little stretch sure did seem longer at the end of the race! There’s a cool bridge over the trail where the course photographer set up. The pictures are great!

Already sweaty

The volunteers at the aid stations were top notch! The runners were asked before the event to use the provided cups and not fill personal bottles or anything, but there was plenty of water to accommodate everybody. I got ice at one of the aid stations. There was no fireball this time. It’s a good thing, I’m not sure I could have finished!

Phil let me stick my head in his truck to get a little a.c. but I had to get away real quick, or I would have climbed right in there and dq’d less than a mile from the end!

Overall, I felt it was a difficult race done well. I don’t have any criticism for the race directors or kc running company. I haven’t heard anything negative from anybody else, either. Just that it was hot. And humid. We can’t control the weather, yet.

Finish line! Just a few minutes off.

Sweet medal!
Shirts Off Summer 2023!!!

June 20th, 2023

For the love of all that is good in your life, please, please wear sunscreen!

A couple of options. Anything is better than nothing.

Now that the PSA is taken care of… Tops off! Let the sun shine in! If anyone has a problem with your body, that is their problem.

Soak it in

I say “shirts off summer,” but really, I’ve only had my shirt on here and there all year. The weather has been that mild.

I popped the old shirt off pretty quickly during the Clinton historic half marathon. The heat & humidity really came on during that race! I wasn’t the only one stripping down.

The Clinton 1/2 marathon is a fantastic race. The town of Clinton is a little ways out there. So, once again, Syd and I were up and out the door by 6 a.m. on a Saturday. I guess it’s time I just admit that I prefer waking up early.

The half marathon takes runners through some of the older parts of town, by all the schools (I think) a bit on the Katy trail, on some 2 lane blacktop highway, and it begins and ends in the square.

Half marathon course goes all over town

After the race, Sydney and I walked around the square a bit and recounted the past races we ran there before we were together. It was kind of a fun, impromptu date.

The next day was the Father’s Day superhero 5k at the T-Mobile campus. As interesting as the Clinton half was, that is how boring the T-Mobile campus is.

Imagine: a beige and brick rectangle. Now, cut and paste that and arrange them in a circle. I suppose it’s good for productivity. It’s pretty good for races. Getting the distance right and controlling traffic is easy. We had a little problem figuring out which entrance to use. The directions on the event page confused me a bit.

I kept my shirt on for Father’s Day 5k. There were thunderstorms all night, and it was drizzling throughout the race. My intention was to run easy with Syd, and then the two of us were going to pace her father. That was the plan. Pretty soon after the start, we were tailed by a crying baby in a stroller. I had to get away, so away I went.

I was a little heartbroken when I saw it was an out and back course, but at least I got to high-five everyone.

I finished just as Andy, Sydney’s dad, made it to the turnaround. I walked the second half of the race with him and Sydney joined us when we got back around near the finish. We paced him to a new p.r.!

My training is ramping up. With the 2nd big race just weeks away, I’m upping mileage and trying to acclimate to the heat. I’ve been adding gear and shoes to my setup. I’ve been practicing my fueling with rice crispy treats, and oreos. Got to get the tummy in shape!

Fuel
DO or DIE 1/2 marathon

April 27th, 2023

Not to be dramatic. If I don’t capitalize, it looks like “door die” half marathon. That’s a totally different race.

DO or DIE!!! Half marathon is a fun little race put on by the Boonville, Missouri family ymca. The race is on the Katy trail from the Boonville trailhead, out 6 and a half miles (approximately) and back.

Sydney had this race on her bucket list because she wanted to race on the Katy trail. I wanted to do this race on account of the awesome logo.

I’m a sucker for a skull and crossbones

Boonville is a little less than 2 hours away on I-70 in the middle of the day, going the speed limit. Sydney and I were up, “ready-to-go,” and on the road by 5 a.m. and I drive like I run…fast, y’all. I drive pretty fast.

90 mph. Eastbound and down!

We arrived and they were still setting up. It was pretty chilly, and we had an hour to kill. Luckily, they opened up the visitor center. What a cool place! They had a model train running through a scale model of the town. They had artifacts and examples of old timey clothes. There was a model of the Lewis and Clark expedition boat. There were plenty of souvenirs. I didn’t bring any money, so I didn’t buy anything. Most of it was geared toward cyclists, anyway.

There was a briefing before the race that I pointedly ignored. I’ve been told they mentioned the outbound was uphill. Ridiculous. Saying “uphill” about the Katy trail is like saying “spicy” about McDonald’s.

Syd and I decided to take it really easy. To not be competitive and just enjoy the scenery. She was going to try to run relaxed and not look at her watch at all.

This section of the Katy trail is cool. There were a lot of cows, some horses. A loud doggy. A big tunnel that didn’t echo very well, and a couple of bridges.

See you ladies at lunch

Not much of an echo.

Very pretty

We even had a truck honk at us while we crossed over I-70.

I-70

The aid stations were great! The first one was a bit further out than we expected, but there was a port-o-john there. The second had fun size snickers. The third had gummy bears. They all had full sized cups and super friendly volunteers!

Sydney and I finished together in 2 hours, 24 minutes for “not last.” We didn’t care. It was gorgeous and fun. The winners got hand made plaques that were awesome, but we didn’t get a picture.

We ate burgers at the second best diner in Boonville, the Northwoods diner. It was fine.

We made it back to k.c. in plenty of time to see Ted Luce and the moneymakers with our friends.