Omaha HM race report

Pre-race Technically, the pre-race goes back almost two years to the disappointing yet PR Kansas City half in 2009.  I was in a great place physically, but life was a bit of mess otherwise and it showed in my performance.  In the two years since, I grew some people, became a mom, had some shitty races, had a great race, and was FINALLY ready to properly tackle that half again.

Packet pick-up was efficient, The Husband made a great dinner, and I went to bed early and easily.  My plan was to get out of the house by 5:45 since that's when my littlest gets up and I didn't want him to see me leave.  Turns out, I didn't need worry at all since he slept until 7:00.  Of course.

I made it downtown quickly and found another sweet parking space right by the start.  Last year I was leaping over fences as the start gun went off, so the relaxed start was a nice change.  The weather was perfect.  Calm, cool, sunny, perfect.  You couldn't have asked for better atmosphere or day to run.

The race
I spent most of Thursday and Friday spazzing about what pace I "should" be able to run.  The Running Buddy sent me a great message reminding me why I run and to trust my training.  I hung onto those words the whole race.

The 1:45 pace group was big, happy and felt comfortable, not that I planned to kill myself sticking with them.  The first half of the course was the same as the previous week's race.  Minimal rollers, boring scenery, miles pass quickly.  Things felt great.

The second half of the course is quite different and where it earns its "hilly" reputation.  Whoa.  I took a gel at mile 9 and put my head down to climb.  The 1:45 pace group had gotten away from me, but it was totally fine.  Sub 2:00 was honestly my goal.  The 1:52 group hadn't passed me yet, so I had a vague idea how it was going.

I let myself take a peek at Garmin for the first time at mile 11.  My time was looking fantastic, but most importantly, I wasn't miserable and hating my life.  A stark contrast to my spring races. Run, run, turn, kick, finish line!

Final stats:
1:48:12
8:16/mi
19/272 age group

That's a 5 minute PR and a 12 minute post-babies PR.  I was thrilled.  Finally, a race where it all came together.  Finally.

Post-race:
Once again, Marines in full dress handed out medals.  Nice.  Food and drink were plentiful and organized, and I made it home quickly to my favorite part:

So, that's it.  A wonderful end to my first season of post-babies running.  I received many well wishes and congrats via twitter, so thank you very much for that.  It meant a lot.

Not sure what the future holds at this point.  I may sneak in a few small races next month.  Or maybe not.  It's not a burning need to end on a better note like it's been in the past.  There's a few more races to online stalk this fall, and that's always some great motivation for next year.  We'll just have to see how life shakes out.  You never know what two two year olds will do to your world.

Omaha CC Race Report

When last we left, it was the night before Omaha's biggest and best 10k.  The race started at 9, so while I didn't get to sleep in (toddlers don't give a shit about "sleeping in opportunities"), we did get a relaxing morning together. 

As soon as I rolled into downtown, I found a sweet (free!) parking space and made my way to our meet up spot. Smiles, hugs, catching up, pace chat, etc before heading out to the start line.  The best thing about this race is the qualified corral start.  The elite race started at 7:45, but the rest of us could send in race times for "select seeded" or "seeded" corals.  It's fun to line up at the very front without all those pesky legit racers in the way.

Last year's time was 8:21 pace, so my goal was to stay ahead of that. 8:00 was my plan, but 7:45s felt even better.  The weather was foggy, humid, calm, and cool.  Pretty nice conditions.  The course is slightly hilly with plenty of people watching opportunities.

I was running what felt comfortable and couldn't believe how easy I hung onto a 7:45 pace.  Weeeee faaaaaaaaall!

Final stats
48:25
7:48/mi
85/1899 gender (got to love a race with a ton of walkers to make your finishing place look better)

I did more chatting with friends at the finish line and happily made my way to the car.  Now, remember that totally awesome free parking spot I mentioned?  I had absolutely no idea where it was.  Save for four years in college, I've lived in this city my entire life, and I STILL don't understand downtown.

I walked south...walked west...hmmm....turned back north...man I'm hungry...start running...did I go down this street already...walk again...do I remember seeing this bank...maybe I'm not west enough... goddamnit!

After searching for my stupid car for nearly as long as it took me to run the race, I made my way home to a house full of rowdy boys.  On the anniversary of my first post-baby race, I couldn't be happier with how the race went.  I was strong, fit, and loving it. 

And here's a nice bookend to my previous post.   Same couch, same kid, much less fuzzy.

And here's both our cuties still in their Sunday morning jammies. (Pay no attention to the hot mess of me.  Getting both kids to look at the camera is a like photographing a unicorn.)

Now, my focus is totally shifted to Sunday's half marathon.  Last year, I just wanted to finish and ended up surprising myself with my fastest post-baby race to date.   This year, I need to get below 2 hours again.  Need.  I haven't cared this much about a race in a very long time. Thankfully, last weekend's race has given me a great deal of confidence. 

Much like my 9 months on-9 months off post-pregnancy bod analysis, one year is long enough to play the "I just had twins/I don't have time to train" card.  I run as much as I want to these days. I have complete control over how I look and feel.  No more excuses.

Off to obsess about the weather and what the heck I'm wearing...

An unfuzzy memory

Last year at this moment, this was my life:

(Well, technically there were two of them, so just imagine another sleeping baby on me.)

I was happy, unkempt, and in a constant state of fuzzy.  Is it Tuesday?  Did I eat lunch?  Is it 3AM or 3PM right now?  I remember veeeeery little of those first few months.  Good thing I took pictures.

My first clear memory was the start line of the 2010 Corporate Cup race.  The boys were 10 weeks old, and we were in the throes of new parenthood.  I had been mommy-mommy-mommy every second of every day.  Every second, until I lined up at the start line of that race.  It was buzzing with all the best of pre-race excitement.  I was surrounded by friends and runners, and I was soaking it all in.  The gun shot, we all took off, and I had to choke back tears.  Finally, for 51 minutes, I was entirely me again.

Well, I'm lining up for that very same race tomorrow morning.  Things are so different now.  Life is clearer, but I still don't take that start line for granted.  Every time I get to race, I know I'm lucky.  Not everyone has the time, support, health, or circumstances that let me selfishly do what I love. 

With that said, I'm not too worried about my actual performance.  Of course I'd like to be faster than last year.  I'm 10-15lbs lighter, sleep more than a few hours at a time, and actually know my own name. My real goal is next weekend's half marathon.  I'm deadass serious about getting a post-baby PR and will taper as serious as necessary.  Tomorrow is for fun.  To be a part of that pre-race excitement with friends and to stand were I stood as a fuzzy new mom once again.  Omaha's Corporate Cup will always have a special place in my heart.

And what's a post without some adorable pictures of the boys?  They are doing fantastic.  They run everywhere, destroy everything, and repeat anything they hear.  Pretty much, your typical toddlers.  Times two. And I love it!