Running the States

Category: travel

  • 14/50 and 15/50: Kentucky and West Virginia — Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon

    14/50 and 15/50: Kentucky and West Virginia — Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon

    Have you ever been so miserable during a race that you wanted to stop and just quit right there?

    There were two occasions where I was miserable, but not quite close to quitting or wanting to quit:  The Hottest Half in Dallas, Texas in August 2014 and the Savin Rock Half Marathon in West Haven, Connecticut in March 2015.  The former was just as advertised — it was hot as hell during that race, but at least the course was super flat and the heat was dry. I pushed through and thankfully, survived without any injuries, albeit some minor sunburn. The latter was the complete opposite of the former — it was freezing — in fact, it was snowing. Big fluffy flakes fell steadily from the sky throughout the entire race.  And the snow was falling on top of existing snow that had accumulated from the previous day.  At one point, I was even running along side a snow plow. Fortunately, the course was flat for this race as well, and I managed to make it to the finish line. (I remained cold for a good hour after that race though.)

    I didn’t think it could get any more challenging than those two races…

    But then, I did the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon last June.

    I experienced a whole new level of challenge with that race. It was hot. It was humid. It was hilly. And it was high elevation.

    I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it.  At every single water stop during the second half, I debated whether or not to quit and catch a ride back into town.

    But surprisingly, I did make it — six (!!!) hours after the start time, I completed a half marathon in the hills of West Virginia and another half marathon in the hills of Kentucky, crossing states numbers 14 and 15 off the list.

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  • 13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    If you’re attempting to run in all 50 U.S. states and one of your old high school friends invites you to her wedding in Arizona, then naturally you look to see if there are any races taking place the weekend of her wedding.

    Because why not kill two birds with one stone, right?

    And because the prices of plane tickets these days are not cheap.

    So I did a quick search on one of my favorite race websites, Running in the USA, and lucky me — I found a race taking place the day of her wedding — the Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon! Some friends thought I was crazy for running the day of the wedding, but hey, it’s better than running the day after the wedding!

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  • Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Wow, and just like that we’re more than halfway through June!  The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind — went to Mexico, celebrated my birthday, went to Kentucky/West Virginia for the Hatfield-McCoy race, and in between all of that, there have been many dinners, after-work events, social gatherings with family and friends, and the birth of my cousin’s new baby! I finally have some downtime this weekend and hope to catch up on my race updates and clean up this website a bit.

    First, I have to say:  The Hatfield-McCoy double half marathon has definitely been the most challenging race I’ve done yet.  The heat and elevation kicked my butt (hard) in both states, and there was a point during the second half where I seriously didn’t think I was going to make it. But I did — and thankfully, without any major sickness or injuries. So states numbers 14 (Kentucky) and 15 (West Virginia) are done! Yay!

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Run 20 miles?  Check.

    I finally got the long run in a few weeks ago at the C&O Canal towpath. Not going to lie… it was tough.  The first 14 miles went ok, but the last six miles were an absolute struggle.  Six miles had never been so painful or felt so long.

    But it got done.

    LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL HATFIELD-MCCOY!

    Am I ready?

    Ehhh… not totally.

    But it’s all good.  Come race day, I think I’ll be fine and ready to go. Hopefully.

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    I spent part of this week recovering and catching up after a long weekend in Phoenix last week. Last Saturday, I ran the Pride Run (half marathon) and crossed state number 13 off my list (Wooo Arizona! — Hope to have a race recap up shortly.). And then afterward, I attended an old high school friend’s wedding (I love celebrating love). It was a good day — it was a good several days, actually. The weather in Phoenix was gorgeous, the race went well, the wedding was perfect, and I gained 5 pounds (i.e., I ate too much, drank too much, and was way merry).

    I’m back home now — back to focusing on training for the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon (and trying to lose those 5 lbs. I gained).

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Week 1: And so it begins… again

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Week 1: And so it begins… again

    I’m heading for the hills of Kentucky and West Virginia this June for the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon. The races take runners through the historic sites following the Hatfield-McCoy feud in Goody, Kentucky and Matewan, West Virginia.

    Because the halves are back-to-back, I’ve decided to do a full marathon training program. It’s an 18-week program, which means week 1 started last week. It totally snuck up on me. Wintry weather here in the DC area + car issues made it difficult to get most of my runs in this week.

    So yeah. Basically, I am off to a great start so far…

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  • 11/50: Nevada: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon (Strip at Night)

    11/50: Nevada: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon (Strip at Night)

    Six ladies in their 30s head to Vegas — two with young children at home, one pregnant, three running a half marathon, one running a 10k, and three on east coast time. AND they still managed to viva Las Vegas, baby! Well, sort of.

    The trip to Vegas with the girls a couple of weekends ago was a lot of fun. I packed a lot into our short time there, including two races — a 5k and a half marathon — and a Sin City activity that some of the girls would prefer stay in Vegas…

    What doesn’t stay in Vegas: I crossed state number 11 off my list and got a PR on my half marathon. Pretty excited about that!

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  • 10/50 – Illinois: Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon

    10/50 – Illinois: Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon

    I completed state number 10 of the 50 states challenge this past weekend (wooo double digits!). Thank you, Chicago, Illinois.

    What did I know about Chicago before I left? Truthfully, not too much. The last time I was in the Windy City was November 2007 to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It was a short weekend trip. I remember a lot of cocktails and snow on the ground. I don’t remember much else, probably due to said cocktails.

    I had heard great things about Chicago — one being how nice it is in the summer. Other than that, I was pretty clueless about the city. My colleague, Erin, lived in Chicago and absolutely loves it. After my second visit there, I can see why. It truly is a beautiful city with great architecture and a vibrant food scene. And summers there are indeed lovely.

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