i like lists.

Happy Halloween, trick-or-treaters.

I'm not actually celebrating it much this year (aside from eating some goodies), due to several reasons:
1. i went home to see my parents this past weekend while holiday festivities were in full force around here. (sadly, i had to miss out on the TNT pub crawl)
2. i found a dead woodpecker on my Magic 8 Ball costume from last year (long story), and i loaned it to a friend (she didn't seem to mind).
3. there's no way i can top my friend Dustin's costume, i mean, Teen Wolf's outfit:




In running (also currently known as 'non-running') news, i've decided not to do the Gobbler Grind half marathon on Nov. 19th. I have my reasons, so don't call me a wuss:
1. i looked at the course map and although it's mostly on the trail we do our training runs on, i don't think i want to run that for a race.
2. i'm searching for a late winter/early spring half or full to aim for.
3. i've missed my past 2 long distance runs due to:
---- 3a. trip to Dallas
---- 3b. too many martinis at work last friday
4. i'm considering doing the 5K or volunteering, which is just as noteworthy as the 'thons.
5. my friend josh offered me a ticket to the Chiefs vs. Raiders game that same day. I've only been to 1 preseason Chiefs game before, so for me to pass that offer up would just be silly. I have 12 days to make my decision, but i'm 99% sure the half is not happening.

One last bit of absolutely exciting news, my friend Courtney (TNT San Diego alum & all-around cool gal) won an Emmy this past weekend for Best Morning Newscast as the exec producer of KCTV 5's More in the Morning show. AN EMMY!!!! i'm officially friends with an Emmy award winning producer. congrats, courtney!!

lessons learned

I realized some things tonight during my run.

1. when i don't run, i don't blog.

2. when i don't run my long runs with teammates, it is not a good run.

3. i think it's a good idea that i blog more about non-running activities.

4. my boyfriend is super cool.

So, i haven't blogged for awhile. Why? (See realization #1.) Ok, well that's not completely true, i have been running. But something hasn't been feeling right during my runs. Last week, i got up on friday to run 8 miles before i left for Dallas and despite the cool, sunny morning, after 2 miles I was reading to stop. So i turned around and headed back home. My legs felt as though they were weighted with bricks. 5 ton bricks. I stopped after 4 miles because i was dead tired. Seriously? 4 miles? Why? (See realization #2.)

I headed to The Big D where I met The Todd. Feeling guilty about my 4 mile run the day before (and knowing that i'd be eating wedding cake), i headed to the hotel gym Saturday morning to bike and run on the treadmill. 2 miles. And that was forcing it. I'm not sure what's wrong, i've just been lethargic, my legs don't want to run. I have two (relatively) good legs, why won't they just do their job?

All that whining aside, the weekend was a blast. (See realization #3) The wedding and reception were lovely and done in big Texas style downtown. They had a dance and BBQ later that evening at a ranch in Terrell. Now, i'm not a fan of country music, but I had a rootin' scootin' grand ol' time two-stepping. We spent some time at the JFK memorial on Sunday, then headed to the Galleria for lunch and shopping.

Since todd was feeling a little ill (probably due to my 'ooohing and aahhing' over shoes and purses), and i (shockingly) didn't feel like shopping, we headed to the airport 3 hours early. We spent the rest of the afternoon having escalator races and riding the tram around and around the terminals. fun times indeed. he always makes me laugh and feel like a kid again. (See realization #4) Oh, and he got a new position at Microsoft as a software developer. Which, in my opinion, is like 1,000 times cooler than his previous job as a software tester. I still don't understand 95% of what he does, but that's why having a pretty smile and nodding like you understand, saying 'mmhmm, yeah' is a good tactic.

No need to fear about my crappy runs, i think all it took was some rainy, mild weather and an evening run tonight to rekindle my love with running. 4 miles in 32:40, 8:10 pace. Felt really, really great.

Hello, my name is .......

I've finally uploaded some pics from the KC Half Marathon.

This one is my fave, because i just look like i'm having the best time. This was at the finish when i saw my friends and was gleeful.


I came, i saw, i conquered........


My awesome brother!


Post-race refueling and glamour-shot pose.


Team in Training teammates Rob, Courtney & Greg


And my roommate with her one-of-a-kind t-shirt. (nevermind that she got my number wrong)


Work is busy, so i'll keep this running update short. Well, actually there's nothing too exciting to talk about. Just a rainy 3 miler, hilly 5 miler, chilly 8 miler and some biking in between. I'm not sure what my running schedule will be like this week, as i'm heading to Dallas on friday and most likely won't feel like running 12 miles in a strange downtown.

In other sporting news, my co-ed sand flag football team had our 2nd game last night and i gave myself a mild concussion colliding with another player's knee. I spent half the night with a migraine, hunched over a trashcan and curled up in pain, until the Tylenol kicked in 4 hours after i took it.

But i seem to be okay now. I just can't seem to remember my name.........

Race Recap

I finished the race with a smile on my face!! It was a complete opposite feeling compared to my wretched San Diego finish. But then again, a half marathon is far more enjoyable for my body than a full marathon. I think i'll focus on doing more half marathons and put 'run a full marathon' on my "Things I would like to do only ONCE a year" list along with 'shave my legs' and 'pay rent'.

Not that i don't want to run more marathons, but so far my experience with full marathons (in the ONE that i did), hasn't been too pleasant, with that 'minor' injury and what not. I just think half marathons are easier on my body, both in training and during the actual event. And both half marathons i've ran have been awesome experiences and enjoyable times.

Back to my race recap...........

Saturday was an ideal day for running. It started out cool in the morning, but i knew that it would warm up so i shivered at the 50 degree start in a sleeveless top and my new pink shorts. (afterthought: i forgot to put on sunscreen and now my face and shoulders match my pink shorts) It was great to have so many fellow TNTers there for motivation, even though josh and greg said they were running a 9:00 pace and took off, leaving me in the dust after only a short distance. That's okay, i didn't really have a specific goal, except that i wanted to finish in under 2 hours. Of course, I wanted to beat my St. Louis half time, but i wasn't going to worry about it.

The first 2 miles were great, just those stupid hills by Liberty Memorial and then headed downhill to Westport area where i knew my roommate Cat would be waiting to cheer me on. I had packed a sort of emergency kit for her to carry in case i needed anything: sunglasses, Chapstick, Blister bandages, Biofreeze, camera, gum, etc. Luckily, the only thing i needed were sunglasses since we'd be headed directly into the morning sun soon. My shins hadn't felt this great since i don't remember when, and my blisters were causing no pain at all.

I was actually running a little ahead of my pace schedule (which i'd markered onto my forearm the night before), but i picked it up even a bit more as i anticipated seeing my friends Jamie, Jessi and Erin cheering me on at mile 6. Jamie was the only one i saw, so I stopped for a bit to hug her and kept on going. The bands along the course were helpful and while i was expecting more spectators, the first 8 miles seemed to fly by.

But it was at that point that my stomach began to cramp up a bit and i had to walk through the next water stop as we headed up another hill. I really didn't seem to mind this one though as i knew once i got to the top it would be all downhill (literally and figuratively) the last 2.5 miles. The tummy felt a little better and i used the downhill to my advantage, but had to stop again and work the uncomfortableness out at the last water stop with 1 mile left. I figured i'd give myself a little break, then bust it in to the finish.

And that's what i tried to do. But that last mile, as every runner knows, is the LONGEST mile of the race and i wanted to stop so bad.
NO katie, you're almost done. keep going.
Ugggh, my tummy hurts.
NO katie, you can do it. Only 3/4 mile left.
But i think my Gu might come back up.

And that was when i saw my big brother standing along the street. Like the hero he's always been to me, there he was, just when i needed someone the most. I waved my arms and ran over and gave him a huge, sweaty hug. My legs were heavy and i felt like i was dragging, but he said "you're running so fast! you're almost there, i'll meet you at the finish." And with that extra boost of encouragement and motivation, i sped off, rounded the last corner and sailed down the hill, feeling good, feeling strong and most importantly, not in any pain (other than the obvious 'i just ran 13 miles' pain).

I saw Cat cheering for me and i got teary-eyed, mostly because she was wearing a t-shirt with my face really big on it, and then there was Jamie hollering as i ran through the finish. I didn't even see what the clock said. I didn't care. I looked for my brother and when i saw him i was so happy and couldn't stop smiling. It was just incredibly awesome to have people care enough to wake up early and come out and support me. We all hung around at the finish area cheering on other runners for awhile and then they left and i stayed another 3 hours to cheer on fellow TNTers. Everyone did an awesome job that day (josh, kevin, courtney, brent.....and everyone else, but i don't know if they read my blog) and I cannot wait for my next half!

I did end up finishing in less than 2 hours, but upon further review, i did not end up beating my St. Louis time and I'm perfectly okay with that because this was a much better all-around experience. I think i'll still reward myself with a new pair of shoes. Ohhh, maybe some cute boots!! I deserve it.

Official time: 1:56:26. 8:55 pace.

Blister Sisters

Well, my shins are feeling better. That's the GOOD NEWS. I bought new shoes, and that helped immensely. well, duh....since the ones i was running in had quite a bit of miles logged on them. For Saturday's 8-mile run, the shins were a little sore, but just for the first mile and then the uncomfortableness disappeared. And then....BAD NEWS....at mile 3, i felt a burning, rubbing, chafing sensation on my left foot, in the inner arch. and then, at mile 3.1, i felt a burning, rubbing, chafing sensation on my right foot, in the inner arch.

SERIOUSLY?!?! Blisters?! Ok, i really could've prevented this from happening. All my socks that i usually wear were in the dirty laundry, so i grabbed the first pair of clean socks i saw in my drawer. Very thin, moisture wicking with some weird type of textured material. Bad idea. Basically what happened was that they were rubbing my skin raw.

But i had no bandages with me and i still had over 4 miles left to go. No way was i turning back, not with my half marathon a week away. yes, i could injure myself so that i wouldn't even be able to run, but did i think about that? no. i was concerned with getting my mileage in. Ah yes, behold the mind of a runner.

So, what to do......what to do?

I ran past a tree with shiny, round leaves. "Ah ha! Eureka!" I grabbed a couple leaves, stopped at the 4 mile turnaround point, took off my shoes and socks (OWWWW!), and put them over both Half-Dollar size blisters.

Well, it wasn't the greatest thing I could've done, but i made do with what i had and it at least helped the rubbing stop. good, at least my feet won't be worn down to the bone by the time i finish.

I ran the last 3 miles with Josh and he helped me run a good pace (probably not so good of a pace for him). We even saw some cows, and horses, and donkeys, and llamas. Ya-mas!

Since then, i've been nursing my two HUGE blisters back to health so that i can run the half marathon on saturday. And thanks, mom, for your daily calls of concern and nursing advice. (She also told me "maybe you just shouldn't run". Yeah, ok. Good one. ha.)

My feet aren't pretty, but they're slowing healing and hopefully will be ready for saturday's half.