The third Saturday in October in always a big event in the running world....the Kansas City marathon! This is the very first half marathon that I did, walking it in 2010 and then running it in 2011. Julie was the overall female champion in the full marathon in 2012 and 2013, both times after entering at the last minute, and I was thrilled to get to cheer her on last year. This year, I ran/walked the half marathon with my dear friend Amy from church, while Julie ran the full marathon...followed by a Sister Getaway Weekend!
Friday afternoon, I finished teaching at 2:30 p.m. and we hit the road right away. This was about an hour or so earlier than we left last year and it is amazing how much less rushed that made the trip.
Lots of reddish plants covering the Konza Prairie. This time last year, there was SNOW on the ground during our drive.
I conned Julie into driving, bahaha! I hate driving.
Made it to KC with plenty of time for packet pickup! We had a room at the Sheraton, which was a super convenient race hotel - packet pickup was right next door, and we could just walk right outside our door on race morning.
At packet pick-up, we ran into our College Avenue UMC friends who were also here to do the half marathon! Since we were early enough, we were all able to eat together right away at the pre-marathon pasta dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant in Crown Center. So much fun to eat with Abby & Emma, Amy, and Sarah!
Julie has taught me that it is very fun to lay out your race outfit the night before. Here is Flat Julie.
Flat Amy.
And the morning of! Julie is ready to go, wearing the same outfit as last year.
I am ready, too! I made the crazy decision of switching shirts at the last minute - I bought several clearance items at the Manhattan Running Company booth at the expo and opted for this one since it was closer to the "Wear Blue" theme the race organizers were promoting in honor of the Royals.
Amy and I met up in the hotel lobby of the Westin and I was so happy that we both were staying at the race hotel - made things a million times less stressful. We ran/walked the half marathon together, with alternating 5 minutes of running and then 5 minutes of walking. Here are five random thoughts about the race:
1. Run/walk is great. I felt great during the whole race and my body didn't seem to notice that I had just completed another half marathon 6 days ago.
2. Like, really great. Amy and I both felt very fresh at the end, and think we might have even been more tired if we had walked the whole way.
3. The race morning was absolutely beautiful - mid-40s and crisp fall colors.
4. The race atmosphere could not have been more opposite of Estes Park. There were about, oh, 12,000 people instead of 400.
5. But not having to dodge cars and jump into the ditch on the side of the road was delightful.
And, here we are, coming in! It was so great to see our fellow running friend Erika at the finish - thanks for the pictures, Erika!! Amy and I had so much fun together - we finished in 2:52, including a mid-race pit stop, which totally beat our goal.
And here comes Julie - she finished in 3:02, which was exactly the same as her time last year and earned her 2nd place overall female! Julie did not feel great during the race and felt off the whole time, but she is one tough cookie and powered through. So proud of you, Julie! And I can now claim that I have beaten Julie in a race....it just took her running a distance that was literally twice as far. ;)
It's Amy Squared! Love my running and walking buddy! We missed our other buddy, Jenny, and I hope she can join us next time. :)
The three of us! I love this picture with two of my dear fellow runners. :)
I was also pumped that we got to see our church friends Abby, Sarah, and Andrea finish! These girls completed the half marathon in Estes Park, but no one was there at the finish since the marathoners were still going. So happy to see them coming in!
With their medals! I am so proud of these girls for completing their second half marathon this year and all they have accomplished.
Oh, this has nothing to do with the Kansas City marathon, but here is a picture of the Prairie Fire Marathon finish from last week. I absolutely love this picture - forget running pictures; it may be one of my favorite overall pictures of all time. I ordered the $25 digital image but the "proof" one makes me smile. :)
After the race, our CAUMC friends headed home, and Julie and I grabbed lunch at Panera. I don't think hot soup had ever tasted so good.
The fountains at Crown Center were synced with music.
And some were dyed blue for those awesome Royals!
One unfortunate discovery I made was that I had forgotten to pack pajamas or underwear for Sunday. We decided to head to Crown Center to purchase either of those, but after visiting about six different stores, learned that you can purchase neither of those items. For example, we went to Hall's Department Store. No underwear or pajamas, but some nice sweaters. For $378.
Or, you could get Spanx. Who doesn't want Spanx??
Admitting defeat, we decided to perform the Herculean task of moving our car and going to the Plaza in search of these items. I am so glad that we did because what a wonderful time on the Plaza! We drove through beautiful tree-line streets that had served as the race route earlier in the day.
At last, success was met at The Gap! I was shocked to discover that I actually love about everything that they sell - who knew! It might need to become one of my go-to stores in the future....
Next up - Barnes & Noble! We agreed that we wanted nothing more than to lounge and read a fun book in the evening, so we each picked out a new book. I also made at least one online Amazon purchase while at the store, which I feel a tad guilty about, but also bought books for Will and the kids, which helped salvage my crime.
We had to check out American Apparel, where we had heard Joe Moore purchased socks to wear as a pacer for the Chicago Marathon.
The Better Cheddar!!! Probably the best store on the Plaza. We tried all kinds of cheeses and ended up buying two types of cheese and crackers to have as a delicious snack later.
Julie introduced me to a great Mexican restaurant - super friendly waiter and mouth-watering food.
All kind of alcohol options were available.
I even got a drink - a white Sangria! Julie opted for red wine.
Our delicious mushroom taco meal, which we split.
We were so full from the yummy food that we had to wait to eat our cheese. Instead, we spent the evening lying down, reading books, and barely moving. Wild and crazy times!
Sunday was another beautiful Kansas City morning.
Cheese and crackers for breakfast. Delicious!
We checked out of the hotel and headed over to see the National World War I Museum. The original part of the memorial was the Liberty Memorial, a giant tower commemorating the war overlooking the city on a hill that first opened in 1926.
The museum is built underneath the original memorial.
I was so excited to see the museum that I gave the double thumbs-up in the picture. But just to clarify, I totally give the war itself a double thumbs-down.
Julie was going to give the "thumbs sideways" about the museum because she is not really a museum person and was going to appease me, but decided that would not be reverent.
When you enter the museum, you cross over a glass bridge suspended over a re-created poppy field below. Each poppy field represents 10,000 lives lost, which somehow seems much more immense and devastating than just hearing a figure that talks about "millions."
Alas, Liberty Tower was closed today, but this just means we need to come back another time.
Entering the museum. I am a history buff and think this was a really, really well done museum.
There were several models of trenches, including British, French, and German. I have of course forgotten which one this one was. Maybe German? It looks so orderly...
Deaths and number of men who fought. It is hard to see in this picture, but France had a crazy number of deaths proportionately. It is estimated that 1 in 3 men who were aged 18 to 30 in 1914 had died in the war by 1918. Mind-blowing and awful.
This is a trench as the war has progressed, minus the terrible smell of human feces, rotting flesh, and other fun stuff.
Picture of Liberty Memorial being dedicated in Kansas City in 1926. It makes me think of the historic Memorial Stadium at K-State, which was also dedicated in honor of the Great War.
We ate lunch at the museum cafe, in the aptly named "Over There Cafe," and enjoyed a delicious and semi-authentic meal of stew, coleslaw, and a biscuit.
It was then time to make the return trip home, where Julie did the hard job of driving and I did the very easy job of finishing the parenting book I had packed. When I arrived home, I was greeted by the wonderful surprise that the garage and front lawn were now all cleaned out and both (!!!) cars now were parked inside the garage.
No car in the driveway means it's even easier to play in the driveway now! Love having neighbor kids across the street with a boy in Daniel's class and another near his age. :)
Will and I had to run to church for Church Night, which meant 3 hours of meetings for each of us. Our children were in childcare with all of their great church friends this whole time, which meant that of course they did not want to actually come home once our meetings were over.
And what would Sunday night be without last-minute homework for the weekend?! Although Daniel loves homework. I think he has been waiting for this for years.
It was a beautiful weekend for a race and to hang out for my sister - we hope that you had a wonderful weekend, too!
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