My Active Adventures

Marathon Maniacs at the KC North Face Endurance Challenge 50k/Marathon The final race on my 2012 schedule had finally arrived.  I've worked hard this year, especially this fall.  I've documented in plenty of previous posts, but for those of you that have not been reading my blog up to this point I'll fill you in.  This would be the 7th race in 35 days; two 5k, one 8k, two marathons and two 50k.  I was exhausted mentally and physically as race day drew near.  i had my concerns about running 31 miles on pavement, especially with all of the races I've done leading up, but I was not going to let it intimidate me out of completing my goal.  My friend Erica Carper (fellow Trail Nerd/Mud Babe) decided we'd run it together since we have both been struggling a little lately.  We decided that the pain and anguish involved would be easier to handle together.  Also, our friend Mel (another Trail Nerd) lives right on the course so she decided she would me...

Alternate title: "A Tale Of Two Halves".  The first and second halves of this race couldn't have been more different!  Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, you know by now that I have to give a back story first!  Last year the Pilgrim Pacer Marathon was the race that got me qualified for the Marathon Maniacs, so I was excited to have this be the first marathon I've ever run for a second time!  ( see last year's race report here )  It's been a tough lead up to this race, in the 28 days leading up to it I've run two 5k, one 8k, another marathon and a 50k.  One week after this I will have my last 50k of the year.  So that's a lot of racing, my body was feeling good as race day got here, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little mentally tired.  No time for that, I've got a marathon to run! One of the Marathon Maniac group pics Friday evening, the night before the race, I went over to packet pick up after getting of...

How quickly things can change!!  The tough day I had at the Kansas City Marathon I was getting a bit down.  How could I not be?  It was the first of two marathons & two 50ks in five weeks, so starting off with a race that didn't go well really had me worried about the GOATz 50k just one week later.  Of course I had high hopes that I would turns things around and have a good race, but in the back of my mind I was very worried that I would have a repeat performance of the issues I'd had just a week before.  I really hoped for a good day, I'd been looking forward to this event for quite some time.  My friends Ron & Bobbie Ruhs had told me fairly early this year about a new trail running club up where they live, the Greater Omaha Area Trail Runners (G.O.A.T.z).  I joined their Facebook group so that I could keep up with what they were doing and help support them.  Not long after, there came mention of a GOATz Trail Run 50k, but even better...

Well, the first chapter of my two marathons & two 50ks in 5 weeks journey is in the books!  I must say, as you will see, it was a fun morning but a very tough morning.  As always, I have to start the story well before race day.  Way back in January I decided that this year I was going to run the Kansas City Marathon for the first time this year so I signed up.  That might be the earliest I've ever registered for an event, thus giving me bib #18.  A fellow blogger, Katie Kidwell , had asked me if I was planning to run it because she was going to run it as her first ever marathon!  We decided we would run together with the 4:40 pace group.  As time went by, I found out about more and more of my friends that were planning to be there as well. Marathon Maniacs having some pre-race fun! In early/mid-July I had really hit a lull in my ultra training and took almost the entire last half of July off.  I resorted some of my goals and decid...