So the plan was to set aside my jumble of injuries, frustration, regret – and maybe a touch of self loathing— stewing away inside me in order to provide time to heal and regroup.
After a while, I got back on the road and steadily pursued a training plan intended to make me stronger and prepare me for another race. The goal eventually emerged as a half marathon, but the idea was to train without serious injury, have a good overall experience and then decide what to do after that.
I am happy – Oh so happy, and maybe a bit ecstatic – to report this morning:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
The Kansas City half marathon rocked and as far as nailing my goal, so did I.
What a beautiful morning and a fantastic race.
We had record turnout for the event that started in downtown Kansas City and then wove its way through some of the highlights of our fair city, including Westport, the Plaza and the 18th and Vine jazz district.
Last night it was a treat to meet RunningJayhawk, Out of Shape Guy Mike (a.k.a. Jayhawk’s husband) and Jayhawk’s family at the marathon expo. The Chicago runners flew in for the half marathon. We had one uncomfortable moment when it was revealed I went to college in this region, but not in Lawrence. “Was it the school I loathe or the one I despise?” she asked. “Mizzou,” I replied, drawing a grimace. Hope our shared passion for running and enjoying life will be enough to help us overcome this hurdle – although, admittedly, it might be a bit of a challenge during basketball season.
Jayhawk’s adventures and encouragement seem to have inspired other members of her family also to lace up the running shoes. In addition to our own fun times and health-improving benefits of our running, it’s tremendous when the example we set can get others out on the road too.
This a.m., somehow I was able to find my running friend Rob standing amid the gaggle of thousands of runners in the early-morning darknesss. Rob was running the full marathon, but the half and full courses were the same through 6 miles.
We ran together early on, including up some nasty, nasty hills in the first couple of miles. I was only half kidding when I asked Rob whether we should put on climbing harnesses and rope in case one of us slipped off the steep cliff of a hill by Liberty Memorial. He looked strong, strong, strong when he zigged and I zagged to finish our different races. Can’t wait to hear his race report.
Around mile 5 I spotted Mrs. Oz and the Ozlings jumping, cheering and offering awesome support by the side of the road. I swooped in for a batch of high 5s and then was on my way. After the hills, we were treated to a downward drop and long sections of flat.
I turned on the jets. Coach Eladio had me well trained. He had been sprinkling in a bunch of hilly courses for our Saturday morning long runs in recent weeks. They helped. I was cruising on the ups, the downs and felt strong through the end.
We had good crowd support for most stretches of the race. It thinned out a little during the back section, but those who were there offered enthusiastic cheering and an occasional cow bell.
With a mile to go, I did a mental check. The usual twinges, although they were relatively muted, checked in. But I was doing fine. My last three miles were 7:41, 7:25 and 7:30. I averaged 8:23 for the entire run. I came in at under 2 hours. Better than I had hoped.
That marathon monkey probably will remain on my back until I can offer a similarly positive report for 26.2, but today I at least loosened his grip.
After a while, I got back on the road and steadily pursued a training plan intended to make me stronger and prepare me for another race. The goal eventually emerged as a half marathon, but the idea was to train without serious injury, have a good overall experience and then decide what to do after that.
I am happy – Oh so happy, and maybe a bit ecstatic – to report this morning:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
The Kansas City half marathon rocked and as far as nailing my goal, so did I.
What a beautiful morning and a fantastic race.
We had record turnout for the event that started in downtown Kansas City and then wove its way through some of the highlights of our fair city, including Westport, the Plaza and the 18th and Vine jazz district.
Last night it was a treat to meet RunningJayhawk, Out of Shape Guy Mike (a.k.a. Jayhawk’s husband) and Jayhawk’s family at the marathon expo. The Chicago runners flew in for the half marathon. We had one uncomfortable moment when it was revealed I went to college in this region, but not in Lawrence. “Was it the school I loathe or the one I despise?” she asked. “Mizzou,” I replied, drawing a grimace. Hope our shared passion for running and enjoying life will be enough to help us overcome this hurdle – although, admittedly, it might be a bit of a challenge during basketball season.
Jayhawk’s adventures and encouragement seem to have inspired other members of her family also to lace up the running shoes. In addition to our own fun times and health-improving benefits of our running, it’s tremendous when the example we set can get others out on the road too.
This a.m., somehow I was able to find my running friend Rob standing amid the gaggle of thousands of runners in the early-morning darknesss. Rob was running the full marathon, but the half and full courses were the same through 6 miles.
We ran together early on, including up some nasty, nasty hills in the first couple of miles. I was only half kidding when I asked Rob whether we should put on climbing harnesses and rope in case one of us slipped off the steep cliff of a hill by Liberty Memorial. He looked strong, strong, strong when he zigged and I zagged to finish our different races. Can’t wait to hear his race report.
Around mile 5 I spotted Mrs. Oz and the Ozlings jumping, cheering and offering awesome support by the side of the road. I swooped in for a batch of high 5s and then was on my way. After the hills, we were treated to a downward drop and long sections of flat.
I turned on the jets. Coach Eladio had me well trained. He had been sprinkling in a bunch of hilly courses for our Saturday morning long runs in recent weeks. They helped. I was cruising on the ups, the downs and felt strong through the end.
We had good crowd support for most stretches of the race. It thinned out a little during the back section, but those who were there offered enthusiastic cheering and an occasional cow bell.
With a mile to go, I did a mental check. The usual twinges, although they were relatively muted, checked in. But I was doing fine. My last three miles were 7:41, 7:25 and 7:30. I averaged 8:23 for the entire run. I came in at under 2 hours. Better than I had hoped.
That marathon monkey probably will remain on my back until I can offer a similarly positive report for 26.2, but today I at least loosened his grip.
7 comments:
Woah, awesome last three miles! Congrats on a great race!
Jason, congrats on your accomplishment and drive to succeed. It can only get better from here.
I knew you'd have a great race. Way to rock. You know what's next.
Good for you, Oz! It was an awesome day for a run, and sounds like after your finish today, you should kiss those Milwaukee memories goodbye. Keep blogging; I'll be reading.
So SO SO proud of you, Jason! YOU ROCK! Micky, Matt, Cory and Trey
Way to go!! I'm so glad that you had a good race. Sometimes it all comes together and when it does - it is something to savor!! Congrats!
Patricia Rosa
*cough26point2cough*
You've got this in the bag. I actually think you should use this awesome half marathon training and continue with the momentum and go for it in Vegas or something...
...but hey, I'll let you take a few weeks off and then petition you hard for a run in Chicago. :)
But in all seriousness, I'm glad you had a solid race and everything went according to plan. Keep it up, Tiger. (...I just cringed saying that.)
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