First of all, let's do a quick recap about what's been going on for the last month. The last time I posted, Kimi and I were preparing for her to run the Kansas City Half Marathon. Headed into the race, I was quite confident in Kimi's abilities as our preparation over the weeks leading into it pointed towards a quality outing. On race day, we headed downtown and were ready to go for what should have been an exciting morning. I was on a bike riding all over the city cheering for Kimi. After 3 miles, Kimi was right in the mix for a top 3 place. That was the last time I saw her for about 3 more miles. Around the 6 mile mark, I was waiting for her to pass me by when the 3rd and 4th place girls went by and Kimi wasn't anywhere to be seen. I knew immediately that something wasn't right. I waited just a little longer to see if she was on her way or if she had dropped out for some reason. After a little longer, she came around the corner and I could tell immediately that she was upset. She shouted to me that she had fallen at mile 4. I asked her if she was ok and she said she was. She continued the race, but at this point, had simply lost too much ground to make up. Kimi finished 5th that day with a time right around 1hr 21 min. She wasn't happy at the finish and I had to reassure her that unfortunate circumstances like these do occur and that she would have been right in it if it weren't for the fall.
Two weeks later, we were both gearing up again for another half marathon. This time, the Bass Pro Cohick half was the goal. This is one of my favorite races each year because it's competitive enough for me to really compete and it usually brings out some of my better racing. I told Kimi prior to the race that I thought she'd be surprised with just how well she would run. She was a little unsure based on how the KC half ended up. She sure didn't disappoint one bit. She rolled in a 1st place finish with a time of 1:18:35. This isn't her best time, but it was pretty impressive considering the colder temps and strong winds that were out there.
My race was an interesting one. I started out and was shocked by how many guys were really competing for the top 3 spots in the half. This became clear immediately after the break from the Marathon course which was only a mere 1 mile or so into the race. I never gave up hopes that I would be able to finish in the top 3 spots. I had moved into 4th place by mile 4 and was slowly picking up ground on the 3rd place guy. As soon as the course started heading back South, I felt it start happening. I could feel the side stitch creeping into my side. I eased up the pace hoping to hold the stitch at bay and was able to do so for about 3 miles. It was there but not full bore. Over those 3 miles, I was unable to close the gap on the 3rd place guy but I hadn't really lost anything either. We were both maintaining a consistent pace. That's when I decided to start picking it up again. Just before the 8 mile mark, I had closed the gap significantly. I still trailed him by probably 10 seconds but that was down from 21 seconds the mile before so I was really gaining confidence. That's when it happened again. This time, it was instantaneous. "BAAAM!" Felt like I had taken a knife in the side of my abdomen. This was one of those, 'you aren't running through it' kinds of side stitches. I had a dilemma on my hands. Do I stop and try to get it to go away, and then continue or suffer to the point that I am forced to a walk anyways. I hit a water station and decided to stop, drink some fluids, and stretch my abdomen out as well as I could. I wasted nearly 30 seconds at this stop but it was well worth it.
I continued on and at this point couldn't see the 3rd place guy anymore. As I was leaving Phelps Grove Park, I was finally to a straight stretch long enough to catch a glimpse of him again. I wasn't sure I would stand a chance to catch him but I'm not one to give up hopes. I was able to get my pace back down to about 5:45 pace. Then 5:35 pace. Then 5:30 pace. I was once again rolling. And by mile 11, I could really tell I was gaining on him and I was gaining fast. There is a pretty good uphill climb just before mile 12 and at this point, I was certain that I was moving fast enough to catch him and perhaps pass right by him. That's precisely what I did. Unfortunately, as I went past him, I could feel myself running out of gas and I knew that if I was going to beat him, I was going to need to put some space between us prior to the last half mile. I continued pressing but just couldn't shake him. That's when I said to myself, when we turn the corner with .3 to go, I'm going to give it one last all out push to see if he has it in him. I think he was thinking the same thing and unfortunately for me, he really had it and I didn't any longer. He poured it on and I just watch him roll away from me. It's not like I gave up, but when you have it, you know it, and when you don't, well, you know that too. This was the year that ended my top 3 finishes streak. Perhaps this will simply motivate me to be even more prepared next year.
And that brings me to my next point. AHHHH REST!!! Following our June Marathon, Kimi and I didn't take the proper recovery time prior to picking up our training for our next set of races. What a mistake that was. Coming off the high that was our Grandma's Marathon, where we both set personal bests and Kimi qualified for the Olympic Trials, it was extremely difficult to stop training. When you accomplish something like that, and feel so good about it, stopping just doesn't seem like the thing to do. You typically feel like, 'I can do better so let's getting prepping right now!'. Probably not the best idea. We learned the hard way on that one. By the time August had come around, both of us were starting to feel mental fatigue and physical fatigue. That is precisely what made our training for this fall racing season not go exactly how we would have liked it to go. However, thanks to that experience, we have learned our lesson and probably at the perfect time because now we are within 16 months of Kimi's Olympic Marathon Trials. That means that over the next 16 weeks, everything needs to be scheduled precisely with cycles that allow for adequate training and preparation for the next several racing seasons or else our training for the biggest race of her life, will be a struggle rather than a blast!
So when you ask us how much we're running right now, you'll get the answer that most people would have never guessed. Kimi and I are hitting a whopping 3 miles per day this week following '0', Zero, Notta, Zip, running last week. And next week, we're going to hit an impressive 4 miles per day! Perhaps by February, we'll be rolling in the miles and won't be feeling bogged down after this nice recovery period.
Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun stuff to write about over the next several months which will include many cold, dark, and challenging runs as we prep for another trip to the great Grandma's Marathon!
