Heartland 39.3 x 3

In 2012, a new race series started in Kansas City. It was called the Heartland 39.3 and consisted of three half marathons within six weeks. With that under your belt, you are automatically qualified for entry into Half Fanatics, a group for runners who love running half marathons.

Of course, I signed up. I ran all the races in 2012 (Rock the Parkway, Kansas Half, and Running with the Cows). I ran all the races in 2013 (RTP, Kansas, and RWTC). And, I signed up again for this year. This year, they switched the Kansas Half that used to run in Lawrence to the Garmin Half Marathon. I was actually excited for this because the Garmin runs in Olathe (aka, my town).

The first in the series was Rock the Parkway on April 15th. It was a humid and warm morning. And, we had not had any warm or humid mornings. In fact, race morning was the first day I'd worn my running skirt for this year. That's not really a good sign. I also had a cold. (This is a consistent ailment throughout this series, unfortunately.)

Catching up with Ashlee and Anne before the race. Sorry, Ashlee, Cory apparently didn't notice your eyes shut when he took the picture!

In the starting corral. I entertained myself and the girls by making funny faces and sticking out my tongue.

I decided to start out with the 1:50 pace group. My PR for a half marathon is 1:47:30. I, of course, never say that it's my goal to beat my PR, but of course, it's always an underlying goal. Luckily for me, I ended up with the same pacer who paced me in Running with the Cows last year (the race in which I ran my PR). I loved him as a pacer, so I was super excited to get him again. I told him that I wanted to get under 1:50, so he kept running with me through about mile 7, then told me to take off.

The girls found me on the course (purple tank, hat, black shorts)! I was running with the awesome pacer.

They gave me quite a boost.

I took off around mile 7 and ended up having a great negative split. But, the humidity and heat were too much for me. I was really struggling for the last mile (though I did manage to pull out a 7:50 for mile 13) and ended up with a time of 1:48:25. Even though I didn't beat my unspoken goal of my PR, I was happy with how I raced. I'd definitely pushed myself and hadn't left anything on the course. In those conditions, I was happy with my time. When I saw my pacer guy after the race, he asked how I felt at the end. I told him, "bad, really bad." And he replied, "Good. If you had said you felt good, you know you could've done more." True.

I actually like this race finishing photo! Doesn't happen often :)

And, crossing the finish line.

I found Anne after the race!

My cute little cheerleaders.

Rocking it through the dog door

I know I've been behind on posts. I can only blame the fact that I had a race every weekend of April (including two out-of-town ones). No, excuse, really. But, I'm going to use it anyway. I'm going to try to catch up here. Again. No really. This time, I'm really going to catch up. I swear. 

Rock the Parkway was the second weekend of April. And, my second race of April. Last year, I ran Rock the Parkway for the first time. I did it as part of the Heartland 39.3 series. (A series of 3 races in less than 6 weeks.) But, Rock the Parkway was my goal race of the three.

A lot of people (non-runner friends and my husband) think I'm crazy for running so many half marathons. But, to me, a half is the perfect distance. It's enough to feel like I've really accomplished something, but I can keep trained up for them without a whole lot of change in my normal running routine. I love them. But, the key is, I don't "race" all the races I run. Meaning, most of them, I just run for fun. Or, I run with friends. Or, I don't push too hard.

Not saying that it's not an challenge to run each 13.1 miles, just that I don't push myself to absolute exhaustion at every race.

Just to keep a tally, here are the big races of my Spring 2013 Race Calendar:

• Chocolate Rush Half Marathon
• St. Louis Marathon Relay (2 legs)
• Rock the Parkway
• Kansas Half Marathon
• Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon
• Running with the Cows Half Marathon
• Hospital Hill Half Marathon

Have I mentioned that I love races?  Some people only run one or two races a year and really race them hard. That's cool if that's how they run. But, this is how I run. Lots of races, with only a few "raced."

Ok, all that being said, Rock the Parkway is a race I race. Last year, it was also my goal race. And, despite the humid and warm temps, I managed to PR. I was so happy to see my time of 1:53:34. It was 4 minutes under my previous PR. Now, I had yet to fully learn the importance of eating after a race, and I was sick for the rest of the day. This year, I knew my body even more, and I've been training and cross-training even harder.

I wanted to PR again. I was going to race Rock the Parkway.

This year, the temps were SO MUCH more favorable than last year. They started in the high 30s with no wind. I was stressing out beforehand trying to figure out what to wear, but it ended up being absolutely perfect for running. (Just so you know, I wore capris, a long sleeved shirt, and a light jacket shirt with ear warmers and gloves).

My dad was running the race this year, too. And, my little brother was in town from Maine, so he came out to the race to be a support system for us.

Isn't he a sweet little brother?!? 

I also ran into all my girls pre-race. And, as they are all well aware, I forced them to take a picture.

Marsha, Kelli, Anne and me.