DreamBig 2015 - #42 Connecticut

STATE #42 - Fairfield, Connecticut
Faxon Law Group Fairfield Half Marathon
Finishers: 2,933

June 27, 2015
Warning: This gets really confusing - if you have a hard time connecting dots - grab a friend to help explain the madness I went through on this day.

So, I woke up and packed in preparation to fly to Bradley Airport in Hartford, Connecticut, where I would get my rental car and drive north about an hour to Brattleboro, Vermont for my 42nd half marathon. I had booked an AirBnB and I was really excited because it was across the street from the race start and the guy I was staying with, Calvin, seemed super interesting.

Since my flight wasn't until 12:50pm, I had some time before I needed to leave for the airport but I couldn't break tradition so I said goodbye to Gregg and Tupelo and drove to ChickFilA to get my traditional #7 Chicken, Egg and Cheese bagel up on Piedmont. Once I got home, I finished packing, ate my breakfast and saddled up to walk to Marta. I arrived at ATL with plenty of time and my flight was all on schedule. Once we boarded the plane and got out onto the tarmac, small droplets of water appeared on the windows. Rut Ro. I knew I was in for a treat. The planes all started lining up and we were told we were #17 in line and no departures were allowed due to incoming weather. Cool - love delays. So after sitting on the tarmac with 30 more minutes after 30 more minutes announcements and two competing screaming babies 2 rows in front of me - we finally took off to BDL 2 hours late. You know, weather happens - what can you do?

Weather? Bad - Train on Time - Flight on Time - Ready to go to Vermont!

Fake out - ready to sit on the runway for 2 hours with crying babies

We finally landed at BDL around 4:45PM, I had been on my computer the entire flight yet someone the timing of my first incoming email the second I got into the airport was severely well timed:

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?!
If you know me you know I am usually pretty easy going but if you mess with my plans - especially with my race plans that I have plotted out no joke YEARS in advance --
you should expect some wild reactions. As with all problems, I immediately text Pauli and Megan - not that they can do anything - but sometimes you just need someone to sympathize with you. Then, and bless his heart, I call Gregg and start wildly venting about how I spent all of this money to fly up to the northeast and now it's all for nothing. Mid vent session I had an epiphany, collected my thoughts and realized I may have a Plan B.

There are several websites that organize all of the half marathons states and dates together so I ran a quick google to see if either Massachusetts or Connecticut just so happened to also have a race the next day. Massachusetts? - nope. Connecticut - bingo. This entire time I am searching, I am just speed walking like a lunatic through the BDL airport headed for my rental car with zero clue where I am going. I got on the Avis shuttle and learned the CT race was in Fairfield, CT so I jumped on Expedia and booked the first hotel I saw in the area (don't ask how much I paid). I also called Calvin in VT and broke the news I wouldn't be joining him that evening - bummer.

Ya, thanks...did NOT see this coming.

Once I got my car (a Chevy Sonic - basically the toaster car of choice for all my races) I jumped on the highway and headed south to Fairfield. Within a matter of 30 minutes my life had been flipped and rebooked. Via text, Gregg was quite surprised that I actually kept my cool and didn't just drop to the floor in the middle of the airport and surrender. But now that I had a hotel, a car, and a chance and an idea of Plan B - I just had to make sure I could get into the race.

I tried to call the race company but figured they weren't working on Saturday at 6PM. The weather was rainy and I was already frazzled so I just focused on driving until I arrived at the hotel in Fairfield. I checked in and quickly went into spy mode searching high and low for any possible email address of a person I could talk to and blowing up the races social media just looking for an answer. After I exercised all of my options, I called mom to tell her what crazy cards I had been drawn. She was bummed that I didn't have an ending to my story and was still unsure if I could get into the race but then **PING** an email came back across from both Maggie and Jody from JB Sports confirming I was all set and able to register at 6:45AM the next morning - HORRAY!!!! The final piece of the puzzle has been found!

Relieved, I needed to go find an ATM so I could pay for my registration in the morning and then also needed food - bad. Once I got my money, I decided it was one of those days where I wasn't in the mood to yelp all of the local options so I defaulted to my fall back - a #2 from McDonalds (2 cheeseburgers and fries). Say what you want but I see both carbs and protein in that meal so it works for me. While I was out and about, I decided to drive the race course since I knew absolutely nothing about the race - I mean honestly I didn't even know where I was in general. Probably should've looked at a US map at some point.... It was still raining and getting dark but I could still tell the course would be very historic, gorgeous and hilly -- very, very hilly.

Money check - McDonald's - love you #2

With one last stop at Whole Foods around 9:30pm to grab some food for breakfast, I finally settled in at the hotel to get some rest for the mornings events. I started back into planning mode trying to figure out where I would squeeze another Vermont race back into the equation and things are not looking promising - but it will all work out. WHAT a day.

June 28, 2015
I awoke unsure of what state I was in - but really - who cares? I knew it was one of the 9 states I hadn't finished so all was good. It was still raining but looked lighter than the night before. After my usual race morning prep - covering my side and back with body glide - I drove the short 8 minutes over to Jennings Beach where the race festivities were to occur.

Morning Forecast

After parking, I wandered over to the race registration and concerned as always, was elated to hand over my money and get my race number. Thank Goodness. I heard someone say "Maggie" as I was filling out my registration, so I jumped in and made sure to thank her for replying to my dramatic cry for help the night before. She was excited to meet me and got a picture to share on the races social media of my crazy adventure and how JB Sports saved the day.

AND breathe.

Jennings Beach,  CT

All the stuff I think I need to run 

It was still early and the race wasn't until 8:15am, so I wandered out to the beach to get some pictures and get my race shirt. It was gloomy but still an awesome background for my surprise race. I hung out in the car for a while and then got out and stretched when the rain finally decided to give up. Around 8:05am I joined the masses and walked over to start of the race. Because we were starting on some neighborhood streets, they split the men and women and had us start in two different places. It felt like...woman's suffrage or something...that reference is so off but I don't know how else to explain. (Let us Vote! - ok give it up...)

Walking to the start line

All the ladies - and a few committed men

I noticed a lady with a 50 states half club tshirt on and wandered over to ask (boast) how many races she had done. She said CT was her 18th to which I told her this was my 42nd. As always, I got the typical reply "No this is my 18th STATE" - Uh...ya lady. This is my 42nd STATE! I'm a young little  enigma - people always think I just mean that's how many races I've done.

The race started promptly at 8:15 and the rain had stopped and we were met with a muggy 60s and extreme humidity. The first part of the race took us through the Fairfield neighborhood where we met up with the men around mile 1.2. Mile 2 started a long uphill climb - the first of may for the day. We were met with a nice downhill that brought us to a crazy downhill around Mile 3 and this is where things got beautiful. I guess you would call it a harbor, but it was on our left as were a bunch of sailboats just chillin in the water. We continued down some more hills and then made a right into a little town and past the fire station towards Mile 4. Mile 4.5 - 7 was a rather mental wall for me. You may think these races are easy for me with how many of them I do, but almost every single race I struggle mentally and physically. It may have something to do with the fact that I don't really (ever) train for the events, but when you are 5 miles in and you realize you still have another 8 to go and you are just surrounded by trees - it's easy to start falling into the trap of self doubt. These are usually the times I just start to pray.

Boats on the water!

Fire Station

Mile 8 Beach Run -sorry its gloomy

More boats on the water!

Ain't no swimmers today!

Oh heyyyyy - that's me....FYI

Last year, on this same day, I was driving home from my half and triathlon in Cincinnati when Gregg and I got the news about the passing of Philip Lutzenkirchen, the loved and admired Auburn tight end. Ever since that day, I have worn my Lutzie 43 bracelet for every race along with my Auburn Pride and Boston Strong bracelet. It's a lot of bracelets but they are the reminders I need and love when I start to get discouraged and need something to focus on.

War Eagle, Phil!

So with a little prayer, I made it through to Mile 7 which is always my mental top of the mountain. I know I have more than half the race behind me. Mile 7-8.5 also ran by some ginormous houses and the Pacific coastline so I made sure to take some (blurry) pictures and do my normal Mile 7 snapchat. At Mile 9, the course started to retrace where we had been at Mile 4. That means, anything we had gone down - we now had to go back up. I didn't feel like I had a lot left in the tank but I have some weird relationship with hills. Maybe it's because I am well aware that all of my weight training directly relates to the muscles needed to power up hills -- so I basically sprint up all the hills and people cheer and then I get to the top and can barely jog. What a joke. So Mile 9 - hills. Mile 10 was a long gradual hill back towards the start. Near Mile 11, we turned down back towards the beach and it flattened out and I knew all we had left was to run to the beach, and then turn back and run down a street parallel to what we had just run and then turn back towards the beach and into the finish.

Mile 9 before getting into all the hills

Mile 12 - not during race - stole this from some girls instagram

The crowd support was awesome for the last 3 miles and families with little kids were all outside cheering and handing out little Dixie cups of water, Gatorade, oranges, ice - you name it - fans were ready to assist.

As I made the final turn towards the finish line, I thought I was there because I could hear the announcer and then all of a sudden we are running on wet gravel which took me by surprise but I finally saw and kicked to the finish under the big American Flag. God Bless America - and Connecticut - and the finish line of this crazy race adventure.

I got my medal and then headed out to the beach to grab some food. They had my favorite - watermelon - so I grabbed a slice and went to hunt down a kind citizen to take my race photo. I found a man with a crazy shaved hair cut wearing a kilt and figured he'd be a great candidate. He took my photo and then we chatted a while about some of his most memorable races and I told him about my past 24 hours. After going back for seconds, then thirds, then fourths (I was walking circles around the food tent) of watermelon, a kid volunteer picked up the biggest slice of watermelon I had seen all day and my eyes lit up and I said like a child "Can I have that??" No joke - 10 year old kid - just laughing hysterically at my child like request. Not sorry. I grabbed my monster melon and head back to the car to play "race to the airport".

Snapchat #42 Check In!

BIGGEST WATERMELON EVER!!! OMERGAH!

OFFICIAL RACE PIC - 42 states down, 8 more to go! #DREAMBIG

The lot was MOBBED and I wasn't moving anywhere for at least 30 minutes. I finally got out of there and back to the hotel to quick shower and get on the road by noon. My flight was at 6:40pm but I had put myself on the standby list in hopes of getting back to ATL on the 3:20pm. (Chicken Finger Sunday was waiting). The weather had turned bad again but I made it to the airport safe with plenty of time and after thinking my luck had run out, they called my name at the last possible second to get on the 3:20pm flight back to ATL. Thank goodness.

Reward at the airport =)

Fueling up - wanted to show my cool toaster car

Skinny Pop from the Whole Foods booth - pardon my wet hair.

I may have lost a good 3-4 years of my life in my 30 minute freak out when my Vermont race got cancelled but all in all, I must say the race was a big success! I must also mention that I had to miss Kali's Bachelorette Party in Milwaukee for this race so I want to send my love and regret - thanks for being so understanding!

LOVE YOU MISS YOU KALI and CREW!

JBSports ran a little thing about me on their Instagram that I saw after I got home - this was from when I met Maggie before the race:

Home Sweet Home! Do you know they have an entire store at the ATL airport dedicated to Panda bears?

How does Panda Veranda make money?

Medal - Number - 42 DUNZO!

42 states down, 8 more to go!
#DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2015 - #41 Utah

STATE #41 - Provo, Utah
Utah Valley Marathon
Finishers: 1,658

June 12, 2015

This Friday morning started like most of my pre-race travel morning - I woke up, whined about how I didn't want to pack, got my act together, walked to Marta and got my #8 at the ChickFilA airport. I then boarded the plane and found a couple sitting in my seat. Confused, I approached them and before I could say anything, the man said "Is this your seat?" I nodded to which he replied "Well would you like to sit in First Class". What do you even say to that? DUHHHHHHH. But instead I reconfirmed if he was sure and then sauntered up to my fancy new seat promising him not to drink to much. I was curious who this mystery seat trader was so like all normal people, I googled the name on his boarding pass he had given me. Turns out the mystery man was Beau Turner, son of Ted Turner the Atlanta Media mogul who Turner Field is adoringly named after. Small world, right? I made sure to write Beau and thank you letter and send it back to him in coach via a flight attendant. I watched some movies and did a little work on the plane before landing in SLC where I was to meet my dad who was flying in from Santa Fe. Dad's flight was delayed so I made myself at home at a table and did some more work while I waited for him to arrive.

Here we go! In coach....

Fake Out - Thank you Turner Communications =)

Flying in to SLC

I met dad at his gate and we grabbed a rental car and head down south to Provo, Utah. I forget how gorgeous these mountain cities are in the summer! When we arrived in Provo, home of BYU, we made a stop at the convention center to pick up my race packet and then decided to drive the course so I would know what to expect. The race was all along ONE road - 7.5 were down through the Utah Canyon and the other 5.5 were through town ending in downtown Provo. The 7.5 miles in the canyon was like nothing I had ever seen. Mountains on both sides and just straight up beauty. I had my GoPro hanging out the window the whole time so one day or another I will get that footage put up here.

BYU Football Stadium

Convention Center for Packet PickUp

Driving the Course

After our course tour, we went to a fancy establishment called Macaroni Grill (dad loves his chain restaurants) before checking into the hotel. It was pretty early (9:30pm or so) but we had to meet the buses that would take us to the top of the canyon at 3:30am so I figured I should call it a night. Learned my lesson the hard way with staying up late before Iowa. I laid out all of my race gear and hit the hay before 10pm.

Night night...

June 13, 2015
3AM wake up call - gross. I didn't really have any time to be nervous. I got ready in the bathroom so I wouldn't wake up dad any earlier than need be and then around 3:40AM he drove me over to the buses nearby to catch a bus at 3:55AM up to the canyon. On the bus ride, a lady sat down next to me and we struck up conversation about how it was her first race and she felt like such a rookie and asked me if I had raced before. She had to repeat what I said when I told her this was my 41st half and she was so excited to have a "veteran" of the distance to grill with questions. Loretta, my new friend, was a single mom of four and we got to know each other pretty well that morning and I did everything I could to just ease her nerves and remind her that at the end of the day, she was accomplishing a goal and just out there to have fun! She seemed a lot calmer once we got off the bus and we said our good lucks and went on our way. I had signed up to do a BYU race study so I went and took care of that and then headed down the hill to the start line.

Bus at 3:55AM 

Start Line - not much action at 4:30am

Waiting around for the sun to come up

Panorama of Starting Area

It was an eerie feeling and I was really confused on where I was. It was pitch black and a bunch of sporadically placed tin drums had been lit with fires down the left side of the road that people were huddling around while others were grouped together with blankets against the concrete wall. I walked down as close to the start line as I could where it was more well lit. I has scooped a Delta blanket from my flight to Utah so I had something to keep me warm as an alternative to the tank top I had on. I decided to stretch against the wall and eat my Quest bar and just people watch. I noticed a tall skinny dude with crazy blonde hair standing near the start and overhead someone say "I think that's Ryan Hall". I did a quick google stalk and confirmed it indeed was Ryan Hall - the US record holder for fastest half marathon time - something crazy under 1 hour. I figured I would never see him again so I went up and got a quick selfie with him before he started having to deal with the masses who would quick realize who he was. I sat around a little bit longer as it slowly started getting lighter. I took a little walk back to where all the bonfires had been lit just to look and then went to just stand around for a while. My friend, Loretta, stumbled upon me again and I continued to try and calm her nerves and just have casual chit chat. She was with me until right at 6AM when the crowd started moving and we were off!

Me and Ryan Hall! I later tweeted this picture (below) to which he replied #Badhairday

Getting my feet all ready to roll

Race is about to start - here comes the 5:55am sunrise

Me and my new friend Loretta - so happy I met her and could help out with her jitters

This race was similar to Idaho that it was so gorgeous, I had to hold myself back from taking off like a crazy person. The race had a very encouraging downhill which would usually be wonderful but with my recent knee problems, I made sure to try and not go to crazy and stay controlled. It was cool enough to run in a tank top but be comfortable once I ditched the Delta blanker I had been wearing. The first mile or so was downhill and I was just enjoying the views, mile 2.5 approached and you could see the uphill but it was one of the view uphills on the course so I just had to attack it and appreciate the break for my knees and shins. The miles continued to tick by and I was still feeling good - obviously no clue or care about my pace. At Mile 5, signs started appearing at the side of the road saying "Best Rest Stop Ever - 1 Mile Ahead". The signs continued to talk about how they had water, energy gel, Gatorade, fresh fruit, etc. Then the signs started getting weird talking about cast iron chicken and stuffing and peach cobbler. At one point they even claimed to have caviar but then retracted that statement a few signs down the road. I was so entertained and promised I would stop to eat whatever weird thing they actually did have. Turns out the water stop was manned by the boy scout troop and after getting my essentials like energy gu and water I was thrilled to see a couple panning out small servings of Peach Cobbler so I obviously grabbed some and ate it on the run.

Mile 2ish

Hideous day for a run...not

Mile 7 right after peach cobbler

With only a few more miles left in the Canyons, I continued to take in the views and made my SnapStory at Mile 7. Around Mile 7.5 or 8 we stayed on the same road but bent to the left to head the second stretch of the race down into the town of Provo. At Mile 8 the 10K runners started to merge into our race so the race got a little more crowded which is always encouraging. There was a random guy playing the saxophone so I snapped a picture of him as I ran by. Dad had said he'd be waiting around Mile 8.5 but I didn't run across him until nearly Mile 9.5. Silly dad. I was still keeping a good pace and noticed on my phone that by Mile 10 it was around 7:36am which meant if I really wanted to I may be able to break 2 hours. I didn't stress out about it and continued to just enjoy the race.

Mr. Saxophone - he gave me a good pose but I missed it

Mile 9 - getting closer!!

At the Mile 10 water stop, they were giving out flavored ice pops which probably aren't the best idea while you are running but I just couldn't pass it up. So from Mile 10 to 11 I basically ran with a red freeze pop in my mouth -- makes for some tricky breathing as well but we ran past BYU and their stadium during this stretch into Provo. Once I ditched the freeze pop wrapped I was ready to finish the race. At Mile 11.5 I had a rock stuck in the molding of the bottom of my shoe that I was unable to release even with all of my awkward kicking. Another half mile down the road at Mile 12 my shoe came untied and I had to stop and fix that as well - rookie mistake. With one mile left to go, I could already see the finish line due to the straight road and downhill slope. I knew it was a messed up optical illusion and forced myself not to push myself too much before I was sure I was close enough to the finish. Once the crowds started picking up and I could see completed runners walking back the other way, I knew to engage the finish fuel and start that final kick to the end. Flying through the finishing chute I hear a "War Eagle" in the crowd from dad and smile as I passed under the Finish Line with a clock time around 2:02. I knew I hadn't started near the front of the pack so I had a chance but it turned out I was just shy of 2 hours with a time of 2:00:13. I know the peach cobbler and Popsicle may have easily slowed me down a generous 13 seconds but I would not trade them for anything in the world.

Nicest people ever taking race photos with my phone instead of their required camera

Snap Chat Check In - All done!

Special Guest - David Ahner aka Dad

Official Race Pic - 41 states down ,9 more to go! #DREAMBIG

Beach Bod.

Medal - Bib - #41 check!

I gathered my finish line treats from by FAR the nicest finish line volunteers ever and then met dad outside the finishing area. No joke, every stranger I made eye contact with told me congrats and asked me about my race. It was like an alternative universe where everyone is actually nice - all the time. Dad and I sat near the courthouse and ate my snacks and then we drove to find a good place with mountains in the background to take my photo. Since the race was so early, we made it back to the hotel in plenty of time for the free breakfast so I made a huge waffle with chocolate and peanut butter chips on top and coated the whole thing in butter and honey. So basically it took me all of 5 minutes to eat back the calories I had just burned over the past 2 hours. Once we cleaned up, we got in the car and headed back up into the Canyon stopping at Bridal Falls trail for a little hike. I had already had my fair share of the canyons but dad hadn't gotten to see a lot yet so I obliged and took this as a good chance to try out my new GoPro. We walked a good 2.5 mile up the trail and then back down taking pictures along the way. We then continued on to Park City where we grabbed lunch at Bandits BBQ and then got icecream and walked the downtown.

Heading out of Provo

On our hike - love the Go pro

Hey Dad!

Bridal Veil Falls

Following the River

Lunch in Park City

At one point I saw a truck with an Auburn AU on the back and wanted to write a note to put on the windshield but ended up not needing to because we ran into the couple and their dog soon after! They were both teachers from Coleman, AL who were driving across the country just stopping and exploring along the way. We chatted with them for a while and then continued on to the Park City ski basin to remember about when we used to come out as a family skiing. We checked into our hotel at the Canyons and I took a little tiger snooze before dinner back downtown. I was exhausted so it was a fairly quiet dinner followed by an early trip to bed.

Park City without snow!

The Canyons - night night

June 14, 2015
As always, I was up before I should have been but I just didn't feel like sleeping. I made some coffee and then we went to brunch at the bottom of one of the Park City chairlifts at a place called Silver Star Cafe and had some crazy good brunch. I was in no mode to hike (old people knees) so I suggested we drive up to Deer Valley so dad could try and stalk the Mitt Romney tour who had been there a few days before. We failed. On our way back down the mountain, I saw a statue of a deer and I told dad to stop because I was pretty sure I had a picture next to it when I had come out skiing in Deer Valley in March 2012. As we were stopped, dad thought we were creeping out a man in his driveway. When I took a look, it turned out to be the same Auburn man and his dog from the day before at the house they had rented from an Atlanta friend. We chatted with them for a while before continuing down the mountain and over to the outlet malls for some shopping treats before heading to the airport and back home to ATL. It was a wonderful pre-Father's Day weekend with my dad and I'm super excited he was able to tag along.

Coffee and  the Slopes

Deer Valley

41 states down , 9 more to go!
#DREAMBIG