Race Day Recap- KC Half Marathon



4:50 am- Awake with Paco busting my chops to let him outside, alarm is set for 5:30, decide to get up.

Pre Race

4:58 am- Nervous, what to eat, where is my packet, long sleeves/short sleeves…kinda feels like I have had 4 cups of coffee and no breakfast.

5:50 am- Brad and Scott come over, we are in pre game mode, sharing stories, sack tapping each other, chewing tobacco and drinking coffee, pretty sweet.

6:00 am- Heading down to Crown Center, where to park, how is traffic…way too many questions for a silly little 13 mile run

6:03 am- First Fanning/Lee Verbal Joust

6:04 am- Parked, geared up in our sweet ass TRR shirts, IPods, 1000 TRR stickers to hand out/put on homeless people

6:09 am- Second Fanning/Lee Verbal Joust

6:30 am- "Someone” starts putting TRR stickers on light poles and porta potties

6:45 am- In line for bathroom

7:02 am- Still in line for bathroom

7:11 am- In bathroom (Ed Note: these runners have the bathroom looking and smelling like a Somalia Pirate Ship)

7:14 am- Third Fanning/Lee Verbal Joust

7:15 am- Fanning to make last minute bathroom stop, we are now in chute trying to get to the 2:25 pace group, no way we are making it up there, Fanning is caught in another bathroom line and we lose him before race starts.

7:25 am- Star Spangled Banner…just about kick off…but I gotta pee

7:32 am- Running!! Decide I can make it to bathroom break at mile 2.

7:40 am- Put a TRR sticker on a homeless man, hand one to second guy, he must have thought it was money then saw it was a sticker, he cussed at me and threw his tin foil hat at us.

7:55 am- Stop at Mile 2 to pee, there is Fanning, he bailed at starting line due to long line and we caught him at mile two.  Someone put TRR stickers on the porta potty. Talked to some girls…told them I was married.

Hills!!

8:11 am- Hill Time- up to Liberty Memorial, this is mile 3 and we still feel pretty good about ourselves, take a pretty good pace up the hill. Then we loop in front of Liberty Memorial, head down Main (I believe) to Westport.

8:30 am- Another hill, shitty one, I am thinking we were near a hospital but not sure, either way this was another drag we still didn’t walk.  Fanning and Lee fight again, I have now lost count.

8:50 am- See first crack head hooker, about 30^th and Main, gave her TRR sticker. Starting to yell out loud “THUNDER ROAD RACING: FEEL THE POWER”

9:00 am- Through Westport, we lose Fanning, feeling pretty good at mile 9, making up some time, decent  crowd of people in Plaza…then

9:10 am- Hit a wall, knee hurts, foot hurts, pride hurts.  I am cussing now at every person who hands me water…they say “Great Job” I say “cuss words”…not my best moment, keep in mind with this log I have skipped like 4 other “gradual inclines”…wiped out.

9:12 am- Scott is now cheerleading to keep me on pace (Ed Note: Scott was awesome to stay with me, he could have ran a much faster race)…when who do we see??  SUZY HAY!!!! Just the pick up we need…I think we are between mile 9 and 10.

9:15 am- Still cussing at volunteers…they say “Great Job, only 3 more miles to go”…I say “You calling me fat? I hate you and hate running”

9:30 am- We hit mile 10…decide we can run 3 miles that is an easy weekday training run, 30 more minutes…or 8-10 more songs.

9:35 am- Katy Perry comes on my IPod…start singing “Hot and Cold” some girls started coming over to me, had to tell them I was married.

9:46 am- More hills….ugggh, we have just rounded 18^th and Vine, home stretch

9:55 am-Last 500 yards, thought there might be some cool reflective moment, all the hard work, to think years ago I would be running 13 miles…but not really, just focused on finishing.  See friends and family (very cool) and listen to Kelly Clarkson.

10:00 am- Get a medal, girl giving out the medals tried to kiss me; I have to tell her I am married.

10:05 am- Take some awesome team pics with Gant’s, Welsh’s, Cameron’s, Mike Casey, Suzy Hay, Jaime & Jen…finally starting to enjoy this crazy deal.

10:10 am- 10 pm- Drink 9 beers, eat a cheeseburger, watch Neb lose, go to a chili cook off hosted by Scott Lee.

One of the best days of my life.