DreamBig 2014 - #28 Ohio

STATE #28 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Half Marathon
Finishers: 401

June 27, 2014
I have been known to plan some extravagant adventures so when this opportunity came up, I decide to coax Gregg into tagging along. A few months back, I had found a half in Cincinnati, Ohio taking place on Saturday with a triathlon occurring the next day on Sunday. As Gregg and I had recently taken up triathlons, I decided we should make a trip out of it and drive up Friday and then race Saturday and Sunday. At first, my plan was only to do the half but as time got closer I got jealous and signed up for the sprint triathlon on Sunday as well while Gregg would be doing the Olympic distance. So Friday, we loaded up Gregg's Tahoe in the morning before work and I took MARTA down from my office to his office so we could get on the road. The fun things about Atlanta, is that even if you leave at 3PM on a Friday, you are still guaranteed to get stuck in traffic -- which is exactly what ended up happening. So what was supposed to be a 6-7 hour drive soon turned into a 9-10 hour drive to the Midwest. We stopped and grabbed Cracker Barrel on the way, but we didn't end up getting to the hotel until well near midnight and I had a race starting bright and early the next morning. Tired from the road trip, I quickly fell asleep.

June 28, 2014
Running on little sleep and high anxiety, I got up early to try and eat and wander around the hotel room. This is the first race Gregg has ever tagged along with me so he didn't quite understand what my deal was but after living together for 6 months, he always wasn't surprised by my odd behavior. We drove downtown so that I could pick up my packet and then sat around near the river walk and watched all of the driftwood go by in the river where we would be swimming the next morning for the triathlon - not very comforting. I had my 2nd to last Gatorade energy chew from my pack and just chilled out waiting for the race to start. Gregg brought his bike so he could ride around the course and meet me at different spots.

Prerace - 2nd to Last Chew from Katrina and Gatorade

The race wasn't very large, maybe 400 people, and it wasn't very well organized either. We got delayed at the start because the police hadn't been notified of the start time for the race ...rookie move. The race finally started and this was my first rather warm race of the year which always catches me off guard.  The race first headed west along the river towards the Reds and Bengals stadiums before turning north to run into the city. By Mile 2 (yes, I know...this is early) I could already feel that this was going to be a slower race and I was fine with that since I wasn't running on much sleep. Running through the city, I saw Gregg with his bike and coffee near Mile 3.5 or 4 and let him know this just wasn't going to be my race but not to worry. The race went back east of the city and ran straight out and back on Riverside drive for the remaining 8 miles of the race. Talk about boring. The only nice part about it was on the way back, I could sort of remember where I was and spot landmarks to figure out how much further I had to go. Since the race was small, there wasn't a ton of spectators. We did run past a diner that had a meet up of classic cars out front but they didn't seem to realize I was running and would have appreciated a little hootin' and hollerin'.

On the way back, near Mile 9 it was getting rather hot and I knew I would finish but I was just bored and over it. I hate that feeling but realize every dog has it's day. I just did my best to keep shuffling my feet. This was also the race I realized how long my hair was and how gross my ponytail gets when mixed with sweat when not braided. Just look at my finish pictures...pure birds nest.

We finally got down towards Mile 11.5 and the last little stretch was in along the riverside park where I would be running the run portion of the triathlon the next day so I did my best to try and make mental notes of any landmarks and hills and such. After winding back and forth, I finally got closer to the finish line and did my best to just get across that line. The medals were super dinky but all that matters was I had finished the race and needed to regroup and get ready for Race Day #2!

Official Race Pic - 28 states down, 22 more to go! (Please see how gross my hair is)

Gregg - My lone Fan Club member

Gregg met me at the finish line and then we went and grabbed lunch at a grilled cheese restaurant before going over the bridge to Kentucky to see 22 Jump Street. Best part of the day was that I got carded for a Rated R movie. Might I remind you, you have to be 17 to see a Rated R movie and I was 26 at the time. Forever Young. After the movie, my legs were not in the mood to explore too much so we ended up going back to the hotel and ordering Italian take out so we could get ready for our race the next day.

June 29, 2014
After stressing out the day before about the wood drifting down the river, we got an email first thing in the morning alerting us that the swim had been cancelled. While we were semi elated since that was both of our worst discipline, we were also a bit bummed since we had been training and had been looking forward to the fast swim times that come with a down current river swim. Oh well. The bad news was, they had replaced the swim with another run - ugh the last thing I wanted to be doing after my half.

Regardless, we head down to the same place I had my half the night before and got our gear set up in transition. My race started first with the Sprint Group and Gregg started a few minutes later. After a 3/4 of a mile run, a crazy hilly 15 mile bike (like people were legit getting off their bikes to walk up the hills) and a 3.1 mile run, I was done with my nutso weekend. Gregg's race was double the length of my race since he did the Olympic distance so I was done when he was coming in on the bike and I was able to cheer him on through his T2 transition and on his double lap of the run.

Setting up transition

The sprint awards ceremony started while Gregg was still racing and it turned out I had won my age group and got a cool little trophy rock and got to stand on the podium! Gregg finally came through as well and I got to play pit crew and round up some bananas and foot while he was dealing with his cramped up calves. Gregg ended up winning his age group as well so we got two rock trophies! Yes, we both had far more than one person in our age group so don't go questioning if we were the only people in the race.

Post race Man down....go find bananas

Standing on the podium during awards

Quite a successful day for the Dream Team

We got a bite to eat and then started on the long drive home but had one more stop along the way which I think Gregg will admit was his favorite part of the trip. We detoured off the highway a bit and hopped on the Bourbon Trail to Buffalo Trace! After wandering around the grounds and the gift shop for a while, we got a lit of pictures and then made our way back down south to good old Atlanta. It was a quick but memorable trip and I'm happy Gregg decided to tag along.

28 states down, 22 more to go!
#DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2014 - #27 Wyoming

STATE #27 - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Jackson Hole Half Marathon
Finishers: 250

June 13, 2014
Before I even say a word about my travels or race.....

This is what you see the second you land in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. You land and you step off the plane onto the tarmac and they have to tell you not to stop and take pictures but how can you not?! I almost did a little trip down the stairs because the view was just breath taking! So prepare for scenery pics galore!

Hopped off the plane...into the mountains

I arrived in Jackson Hole around lunch time and headed the short drive into town. I was staying at the Antler Inn which wasn't anything fancy but it was right in downtown Jackson Hole and I could easily wander my way around the town square and shop and grab food and snacks (aka ice cream). I grabbed a sandwich from a bakery/deli and ate in the little park square and just people watched. I ran over to pick up my race number and t-shirt so I wouldn't need to deal with that later.

Such a cute little town!

The entrance to the little park in the square

#64 for #27 - don't mind the scenery

My sorority sister, Katherine Abrams lives in town so we planned to meet up once she got off work. She mentioned she wanted to go work out and even though I had a race in the morning, I couldn't say no once she told me she was going to go on a hike up one of the paths over near Snow King. 

Katherine picked me up around 3 for our hike and I was so excited to have a friend to catch up with! The hike, although tiring, was absolutely gorgeous. We spent some time at the top snapping pictures and I just loved hearing stories about her outdoor adventures because obviously Atlanta doesn't quite have the same outdoor scene.

Ash and Kat

Katherine was heading for a Happy Hour that night since a lot of her friends had just gotten back in town but I opted to cool it and get takeout from a nearby restaurant. Pasta with reindeer meat and other game protein. Sounded like a must at the time - right? I went to bed early because I knew I needed as much rest as I could get for the adventure that lay before me.

June 14, 2014
I woke up rather early as usual so I could eat, chill out and prepare for my walk to the shuttles about a half mile or so away. It wasn't all that cold but it was still "tuck your hands into your long sleeves" cold. The shuttles departed at 7:00am and took us up to the base of Teton Village where the race would start. Basically we got dropped off in the middle of gorgeous nowhere. Seriously, have you ever seen a start line this gorgeous?

Timing Starting Mat

Just hanging out in the mountains waiting to run

Looks like we will be heading south in more gorgeousness

Not a HUGE group

The race started around 8am and we all just lined up along the bike path since there were only 250 of us running. It was a bit packed when we started but I knew the elevation was around 6300 feet and I have an odd history of altitude related illness so I just did my best to pace myself and enjoy the views. The first 5-6 miles the mountains were to my right. Whenever I would have a moment of self-doubt I would just look to my right and realize where I was and that would quickly snap me out of my mood. This part of the race was also a net downhill which helped to keep me rolling.

Running over a bridge - mountains in the background

Once we jumped off this first path, we started the winding course towards Jackson. Once we started the long uphill towards town, my body kind of lost it. I was hurting and fighting stomach cramps and shaking a little and figured I was probably dehydrated. Thankfully I passed a water station just when I needed it the most and then just tried to stay positive and continue my uphill climb.

We were getting closer to town and jumped on another trail (and off the shoulder of the highway) around Mile 9 which looped under the highway and in to a cattle field! No joke, we had cows on our left and right and we were just running between two fences listening to all of the moooooos - it was a hoot! I slowed down to joke with some ladies about it for a few seconds and then wished each other luck before getting back to our own pace.

Normal race fans.

Near Mile 10.5 I was again feeling very sluggish but knew I just needed to stay positive. At this point, I said a little prayer to Simon Everett, the brother my friend Bob. Simon had very recently passed away but he was one of those charismatic, outgoing, personalities that always had a smile on his face and extreme joy and laughter to bring to the table. Another half mile after sending my prayers for just a little more strength up to Simon, I felt a bit re-energized and was ready and charged up to finish the last 2 miles.

The course jumped on yet another trail that ran through the south side of Jackson right near where Katherine and I had hiked the day before! It was an uphill finish all the way to the end (why is this always the case?) but I did my best to use my body to pull down the last stretch to the finish. Phew - that was quite a race of ups and downs, but such an experience all the same!

27!!

Same pic as below but with scenery.

Official Race Pic - 27 states down, 23 more to go! #DREAMBIG

I had a lady take my picture with the mountains in the back, had a slice or two of pizza, and then head back to the hotel to shower and change for brunch with Katherine and her friends.

ZTA and FranYan Sisters at Cafe Genevieve

I met the crew at Cafe Genevieve for brunch before heading to the airport and although it was a quick trip I can easily say I will be coming back to Jackson Hole!

View from the air

27 states down, 23 more to go!
#DREAMBIG

DreamBig 2014 - #26 Idaho

STATE #26 - Boise, Idaho
YMCA Famous Idaho Potato Half Marathon
Finishers: 1,490

May 15, 2014
Again, one of the best parts about running these races is getting to go visit people! Cooper had moved to Denver a few months back for work and since I had to fly out west regardless for my next race, and since he was coming with me, I decided to fly out to Denver for Thursday night. A huge plus of this was that we got to get dinner with one of my besties from when I worked in NYC who lives in Boulder, CO! I landed mid afternoon and Cooper picked me up at the airport and showed me around his new neck of the woods while we waited for Vanessa and her boyfriend Justin to get in town. Cooper is making me dizzy with all of his work relocation - Houston, Milwaukee, San Francisco and now Denver. We met Vanessa and Justin at a place nearby called the Populist. The thing I love about Vanessa is no matter how long we have been apart, things go right back to our goofy normal when we are together. It was nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the evening catching up. After our night with friends, it was time to get ready for our long day of travel ahead.

Vanessa and I at the Populist

May 16, 2014
So Boise, Idaho is not the easiest place to get to which made for a long day. What caught me by surprise was while driving to the airport, Cooper decides to inform me that he didn't have a drivers license because he had lost it in Nashville. Excuse me? How the heck are you going to get on the plane!? He wasn't worried one bit and when we got to the airport told the security guy about his dilemma. Crazy small world, the security supervisor in DENVER ended up being from Mobile, AL where Cooper grew up as well. That being the case, Cooper actually ended up getting through security faster than I did as if he was some sort of VIP.

We had to fly through Salt Lake and then make a connection up to Boise. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect of Idaho when we landed. But after picking up the car and driving into downtown, it turns out the city was super hipster  kind of town. A lot of natural food stores and organic restaurants and cute boutiques. We went to a super good sandwich shop for lunch called Bleubird and I am surprised I don't have a picture of my food. We wandered around for a bit downtown and then went over to Boise State to see what this blue field hype was all about.

Welcome to Idaho!

Continuing my university tour!

At first, we thought the only way we could view the field would be from outside the stadium through the tunnels. Then, after wandering around for a bit we realized they had a "Hall of Fame" museum which had direct access out onto the field! Woo Hoo! We of course snapped a zillion pictures.

So Blue.....

After we had our fair share of blue burning our eyeballs, we went to hunt down shirts to wear for the race at Sports Authority and then I had to go to the craft store to finish our shirt details. We were staying at the hotel where the expo and packet pickup would be so we headed back that way so Cooper could do some work and so I could craft. The expo had a few little events going on as well including the "Tater Trot" which was like a 100 foot race for little kids including crawling babies. It was so freaking precious (I have a video somewhere I need to dig up). We went back downtown for dinner at an Italian place to carb load and then me being the fat kid that I am, went across the street and got Ben and Jerry's and we wandered around the downtown - because when you walk and eat icecream at the same time you don't consume the calories (fact). We went back to the hotel and got all of our gear together so we could get up and go in the morning!

May 17, 2014
Race Day! It was a shuttle start which meant you parked at the finish and got bused to the start. We got there bright and early to get good parking and jumped on one of the first shuttles. The shuttle took us up into the Lucky Peak State Park and ran down along the river to the city and back into town. It was pretty chilly out in the open but the scenery was breath taking. We were surrounded by orange plateaus and right next to a reservoir. We took a bunch of pre-race pictures and in a race of about 1500 we all started at around the same time. Oh - now you can see what my craft was - I made Mr. and Mrs. Potato heads to pin to our shirts....you know, cus it's Idaho?

Oh hayyyyyy Homemade Potatoheads

But just look at the scenery behind us!

Mrs. Potatohead ready to rock n roll

We have a habit of the "upside-down stretching selfie"

Super fancy start line

I don't know where my energy came from but I was excited and ready to run. Cooper and I stayed together for the first couple of miles but maybe it was the scenery or the slight downhill, but I was just ready to go and took off. We are both sort of the "run your own race" types.

Running and snapping pics...real efficient

As I said, we ran along the river and could see the water for the majority of the first half of the race at least until Mile 6. We made a left turn and all of a sudden my phone started ringing so of course I answered it. Mom was immediately concerned about why I was so out of breath and had totally forgotten I had a race. My parents understandably have a hard time keeping up with "Where in the World is, Ashley Ahner". I told mom I was at Mile 6 and I would call her after.

Some serious running going on

I was still feeling good enough that I started playing the "catch the lady in the pink shirt" or "catch the random pack of high schoolers" game that kept me at a faster pace. Usually around the middle of the race I start to lose it a little but I felt super good.

Mile 10 came and went and then I felt like the next mile marker would never come. At this point we were descending off a highway exit ramp and down into a park that had a trail not closed for the race so you were having to dodge mid morning walkers. Out of nowhere, the Mile 12 marker showed up and it made sense why Mile 10 was the longest ever. One more mile and I was still feeling strong! After crossing over a few park bridges it was the home stretch that started to fill up with spectators.

Sub 2 hour!!!

I crossed the finish line in 1:56:04 with Cooper crossing exactly 2 minutes later in 1:58:04. We had both beaten the 2 hour mark which is a little extra icing on the finishing the race cake. Speaking of cake, the other best part of this race was they had a baked potato bar at the finish! So medal + potato + sub 2 hour finish + gorgeous scenery + felt good the WHOLE time = probably one of my favorite races. Maybe it was the extra power of Mrs. Potatohead but I was super happy with the outcome of the race.

Big Sub 2 day for Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead!

Fully loaded Potato

Official Race Pic - 26 states down, 24 more to go! #DREAMBIG

After our photos and potatoes, we head back to the hotel and grab brunch and this was when I started feeling bad. Every now and then the post race illness will strike and it strikes hard but only lasts about 10 minutes. Don't tell my dad, this will freak him out. We head back to the airport and dropped off the car and then flew back to Salt Lake City to venture on to Denver and Atlanta.

Such a fun race! Definitely one to consider if you are interested in exploring!

26 states down, 24 more to go!
#DREAMBIG