The Race-Related Things for Which I'm Most Proud

I would be remiss if I didn't start with the fact that I'm very proud to have been asked back to run with the team for this year's race!  I'm proud to be able to participate on a military team and show my appreciation for what they do for our country.  As a boater, I'm also extremely proud to be running with the Coast Guard in support of everything they do to keep us safe on the water.  Being a part of their Run to Remember event to honor a fallen Coast Guard member makes the event even more meaningful.  Thank you, Coast Guard, for "adopting" me and including me in your events!

Looking back at last year's summary, I'm also proud of the improvement in my average pace!  Last year, it was 7 minutes, 45 seconds per mile; this year, it was 7 minutes, 20 seconds per mile.  While 25 seconds per mile might not seem like a big deal, take my word for it: it is a big deal, especially when factored in over 16+ miles.

I'm proud that I had the balls to step up & volunteer for the 7 Mile Bridge.  This was something that I posted after last year's Keys100, and I think it fits (again) perfectly!

Lastly, I'm proud to say that running and racing have made me a stronger, healthier person.  I pay more attention now to things like hydration (the "real" kind with water, not Grandma's kind with Dr. L), nutrition, vitamin intake (especially calcium), and rest.  I've made a lot of new friends through running and racing, participated in some great events, raised funds for many worthy charities, and (hopefully) inspired a few people along the way to take up running for their health & well-being.

Proof of the Fun-Factor!

Just in case you need proof that we were having fun, check out this Keys100 SUV "selfie."

Beau, Erick, Jessie, me, Ryan

Let's Break it Down: Summary Time!

It's time to do my traditional summary of yesterday's events with the help of RunKeeper!  What's below is the reverse order of the runs.

I know the second one of the day, my bridge run, is shorter than what I really ran due to RunKeeper stopping (because I could barely see the screen, took a chance, and clicked the wrong button), but let's go with what's there!

• Total legs run: 5
• Total miles run: 16.96
• Total time run: 2 hours, 4 minutes, 14 seconds
• Average pace:  7 minutes, 19.48 seconds per mile
  
• Total calories burned: 1351

Wow!  My little chicken legs did darn good, huh?!

It's Post-Race Day!

It's so strange to think that at this time yesterday, we were about 2 and a half hours into race.  What a fun, crazy day it was!  How many people can say (or want to say), "Yeah, I ran off and on for 13+ hours and hung out in a van with 5 other sweaty, hot, salty, crazy runners."?

The relay, if you can't already tell, was awesome, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat...just not today!  My legs are sore, and I want to make it so running's fun and not something I feel like I have to do.  Today will, most definitely, be a rest day.  Tomorrow, though, might be a little bit of a "recovery run" (as Jessie so perfectly said this morning).

Ryan, Beau, Jessie, and I had breakfast this morning at Pepe's Cafe, and I had the blueberry pancakes.  I ordered the "big" version (according to the menu), and the waitress said, "That's a lot of food!"  She doesn't know my affinity for leftovers!  I did pretty well and probably ate about half of them!

Yum!

One Final Set of Team Stats on the Race

Our overall time was 13 hours, 21 minutes, 07 seconds.  (For those of you keeping track, this was more than an hour faster than our time last year.  Not a true "apples to apples" comparison since team members had changed and the weather was so much better this year.  But still a fun fact to say "yeah, we kicked ass!")

This put us 27th overall (out of 116) and 9th out of the military teams.

Full results are here:  http://mcmtiming.com/?page_id=3096

Some Finish Line Photos & Details

After I handed the bracelet off to Ryan, he had 2 miles to go.  I got in the van with the rest of the team, and we drove towards Higgs Beach to park & meet Ryan so that all of us could cross the finish line as a team in our Run to Remember shirts.  Here's a picture of mine.

The finish line is set up on the beach, and it's nice that we cross as a team.  Here are a few pictures.

I think the race photographer got some great action shots of us crossing!  Can't wait to see those when they're posted online.

These next few photos were taken after we finished!  Don't we look like a happy bunch?

Beau, Jessie, Erick, Tiffany, me, Ryan

Me, Jessie, Erick, Tiffany, Ryan, and Beau

One of the best parts of the finish line is the food!  For the runners, they provide complimentary hot dogs, hamburgers, cheese burgers, turkey burgers, banana bread, bananas, oranges, and beer!  Check out the awesome burger & beer that I had.  Absolutely delicious after a day of running!

In the interest of full disclosure, I had one and a half cheese burgers, two cups of beer, and a slice of banana bread!  Yum!

Don't think, though, that was it for me!  My first question once we got checked in to the hotel was what the dinner plan would be!  Look at me, I like to eat!  You know that!  Tiffany, her husband (Eric), Beau, and I went out to dinner with the Admiral.  That was neat!  How often does a non-Coastie like me get to break bread with the Admiral?!  He's a heck of a runner, so we had no lack of things to talk about!  It was a very nice dinner with everyone; what a great way to end the day!

Well, I'm sure I'll have many more "forgotten" details to share with you tomorrow.  My brain's mush, and I'm ready to sleep!  Enjoy this final photo, and I'll be back with you in the morning!

I'm so proud to have been a part of the Run to Remember again and to be a member of the team!  Like last year, my goal was to run hard & contribute.  Mission accomplished!

Some Run 5 Stats for You!

Wow!  My 5th and final run was a tough one.  Not because of the distance or the bridges (and there were, I think 2 small ones), but just because I was dead tired, and my quads had pretty much said "we're done!"

I powered through, but it wasn't anything "special."  I know, a pace that's still under  7:40 (considering all that was done today), isn't too shabby.

Ryan was there for the hand-off, and I was glad to give him the bracelet to continue on!  Jokingly, I had offered to "trade" my last leg to Jessie or Beau; they both had slightly shorter legs (2-ish miles).  Had they said "yes," I might have done that, but I'm really glad I kept that last leg of 2.9 miles despite my "complaining" about it.

Here's a cool "action shot" of me handing off the bracelet for the final time!  Thanks, Beau, for taking that & sending it to me!

 

Beau's Out There Now! I'm Next!

Three more runners: Beau (now), me (next), and Ryan after that.  I'll probably be signing off for a while folks.  I promise a final race update tonight (if I have it in me) or tomorrow morning!  Love & hugs to you all for following along, commenting, and sharing in my crazy habit!!!

xoxo

~KimmieLynn~

My Final Run is Nearing...

Beau is waiting for Erick to arrive, he'll go, and then he'll hand off to me.  My legs (specifically my quads) are tired.  Not just "tired," but more like "tired-tired."  I know I can get through the last 2.9 miles, but it won't be quick.  Besides, the sun's setting, the breeze is still kicking, and it's cooling down.  What a beautiful time to be running in the keys!

The Winning Relay Team's Time

Some interim results have been posted on the MCM Timing page, and the winning relay team finished in 9 hours, 16 minutes, 20 seconds.  That's faster than a pace of 6 minutes per mile.  Sweet Mary!  That's completely insane!  I want to know if these are elite/pro runners.

Linky to interim results:  http://mcmtiming.com/?p=3120

"So one more hydration?"

Those were Grandma's words to me on our last call!  Yes, Gram, one more hydration in about another 30-35 minutes!  She said she'd do it!  Woo hoo!

 

Oh, I'm Starting to Think...

...that my Monday long run will probably not happen.  The funny thing is that a few days ago, I said to Dave, "oh, I'm sure I'll be feeling ok by then!"  Huh?!  I need to have my head checked.

 

The Last Few Runners Will Be...

...Jessie's out now, she'll hand off to Erick, he'll hand off to Beau, I'll get it after that, and then hand off to Ryan for the final leg of the race.  We'll all put on our spiffy green Run to Remember shirts to cross the finish line together!

 

Only About 11 Miles to Go!

I can't believe we have a bit less than 11 miles to go!  That's it!

 

Run 4 Done!

2 miles done, and 2.9 left to go.  My quads are toast!  Here are some stats from my last run.

That's a decent average pace (7:10), but it's funny how I'm slightly mad at myself for going "slow."  7:10 should not be considered "slow" by me, and a recalibration of what constitutes "fast" and "slow" probably needs to be done.  Honestly, I pushed for that 7:10 pace and don't think I could've done much more.

Oy Vey! Forgot to Tell You that All 3 of my Runs Up til Now...

...have involved bridges!  Yes, that's right!  All 3 of my first runs were on bridges.  Luckily, only one was insane!  :-)

Once you do the 7 Mile Bridge, the rest of the ones in the keys pale in comparison.  (Does that sound uppity?!  I hope not.)

Beau's Out There Now & I'm Up Next!

Beau's out there now for 2 miles, and then he hands off to me for 2 miles.  I just put BioFreeze on my quads.  They're starting to beg for mercy at this point!

Talk at ya later, blog readers!

By the Way, This is a Whole Lotta Fun!

If you haven't noticed, we're having a ton of fun doing this relay together!  4 of us have run together in the past (either at the Keys100 last year or Ragnar in February), and the two new-to-me teammates are just as awesome as the not-so-new-to-me teammates!  We're joking around, busting each others' chops, supporting each other, and kicking ass!  Love it!

 

My Mind's Starting to Fade

Forgot to mention that I had 1 roadkill on my last run (the super-short one).  I'd have more of them, but the others who I passed were 50-milers.  It's not fair to count them, is it?!  

 

The Newest Grandma-ism

Just called Grandma to tell her about my 2 remaining runs.  She's so cute!  Her comment was "is anyone else on that team running or are you the only one?!"

I told her about the next run being 2 miles, and she goes, "well, then I've got to hydrate again!"  Hysterical!  Yes, she does need to hydrate!  Doing some quick math, I advised her to hydrate in about another 36 minutes.  That should be about when I begin my run.  Grandma commented how her "hydrating" will help "push me" along again.  Hey, it worked for the 7 Mile Bridge!  Why wouldn't it work for this?!

I've Got 2 More Runs Left

Erick's out there now, he'll hand off to Tiffany, she hands off to Beau, and then I get it for my next-to-last run.  This upcoming one will be 2 miles.  I've got this.  The final one, for me, is 2.9 miles.  That's going to be a toughy, but I'm hopeful that the adrenaline of the last run of the day will power me through.

Coming Up Toward the Last Few Miles

We're at at MM19.2!  This was one of the exchange points for Ragnar too.  Wow - 80% done!

I Also Forgot to Tell You About My Attempted Good Deed

Remember how I told you I carried that God-forsaken bottle of PowerAde and didn't drink a drop of it?!  I actually offered it to a runner who I passed.  He declined.  :-(

I know what you're thinking: he would've been doing me a favor taking it.  Yes, that would have been true...had he actually taken it!

My inner tree hugger didn't allow me to give in to the thought of tossing it over the bridge or accidentally "dropping" it.

Hopefully I earned some good karma points for offering hydration to a fellow runner.  What do you think?!

I Forgot to Tell You About the Wind!

The wind for my bridge run was absolutely perfect!  It was straight at my back the whole time and literally felt like it was helping push me along!  The wind Gods could not have made it any better!  Amazing for sure!

3rd Run Done!

Still killin' it, but if I wasn't killing this short of a run, I should be kicked off the team!

I won't lie; I'm tired and my muscles are getting very, very tired!

I Had Enough Balls to...

...screw around with my phone and attempt to get Pandora going and then exit out to get RunKeeper going.  Got it!

Technology Godess <----Me!

LOL

I'm Up Next!

Beau's out there now.  I'm up next!  Woo hoo!  My legs might not be saying that, but my heart is!

I Forgot to Tell You...

...I passed at least 6 people on the bridge run!  One of them is on the Navy chiefs' team!  Yeah, that rocked!!!!!

We're at MM28.4!

Almost 3/4 of the race is done!  My short leg will actually have me cross over MM25 which is the final part-way checkpoint.  The ankle strap with timing chip is already on because I was afraid I'd forget to wear it.  (It's not a huge deal if you forget to wear it, but it's nice to have splits at 25 miles in, 50 miles in, and 75 miles in.)

After My Bridge Run, I Called Grandma to Ask Her...

...if she had been drinking her Dr. L.  She said she had been, and I told her I knew it because there's no way I could've done so well on the bridge without her having her Dr. L!  Grandma got a kick out of that!  (Wish I had gotten a "Yeah, buddy" out of her.  It's just too cute when she says that.)

Dave's Text to Me Before the Bridge

"How's it going?  (Don't answer if you're running right now)"

Yes, that's word-for-word what he sent me!  Totally made me laugh that he included the "don't answer if you're running" part!

I'm Headed Back In to the Rotation!

Tiffany's out there now to do 2.7 miles; Beau's up next with 2.2 miles, and then I have a whopping 1.3 miles to tackle.  My legs are tired, but I think they've still got enough ass-kickin' left in 'em!

 

Lest Anyone Thinks that My Parents Taught Me...

...to speak like that, they did not.  I eat like a truck driver and swear like a sailor.  What are you going to do?!  I'm quite the conundrum, aren't I?!

Notes to Self and Funny Stories for the Rest of You!

Note to self: if you are carrying your phone in one hand, you probably don't want to carry a bottle of PowerAde in your other hand.  Without a third hand, how will you open the bottle?!

Yup - that was me.  I ended up carrying the stupid bottle the whole time and never took a sip from it!  It's not for a lack of trying, but when I attempted to open up the bottle, it had the perfect location to tell my RunKeeper to stop.  Luckily, RunKeeper asks you to click if you really do want to stop the activity.  It was damn hard to see the screen, and (truth be told) I'm lucky I hit the right part to say, "For the love of God, don't stop the activity!"

My run was definitely longer than what RunKeeper showed because my hand, some sweat, the cord, or who knows what else clicked to really, really stop the activity.  The good news was, this was not too much before I would truly be done, and I know I kept up my pace from that point until I handed off to Beau.

Funny story time: I anticipated a best case scenario of an 8 minute per mile pace for the bridge, and with an estimated 7.3 miles to do, it would take me a touch under an hour.  That's what I told my team.  Well, they went to get lunch at Publix.  Normally, when they pass one of our runners, the driver beeps a few times.  I never saw them or heard the beeps (which I expected in the beginning of my run); I just figured I was in my "zone" and not paying attention.  No biggie!  Well, I'm nearing the end of my run, as in probably 3 minutes (or less) to go, and I see/hear them pass me!  Sweet Jesus!  Beau was awesome because he must've jumped out of the car and quickly gotten over to the other side of the road so I could hand off to him without having to wait and waste valuable time.  It's not like they were lollygagging and enjoying a lazy lunch; they just thought that my estimate would be accurate.  Heck, I thought my time estimate would be accurate too, but I just did a pace that felt comfortable.  (I'm still surprised that I could maintain a less-than-7:30 pace!  If I had set out to have a 7:27 pace, I don't think I could've/would've maintained it.)

7 Mile Bridge Details

Details (and proof for you non-believers)!

Interesting & funny stories to follow!

Excuse My French, But I...

FUCKING KILLED IT!!!!!!

Score card:
The 7 Mile Bridge = 0
KimmieLynn = Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!!!

Details to follow, but I swear it's true!

I'm Up Next!

Tiffany's out now & then it's my 7 Mile Bridge time!  In the best George Takei voice, "Oh my!"

  Grandma, I hope you're having your Dr. L right now!!!!

Passing By Marathon Airport

Getting closer to the bridge!  Woo hoo!  Time for me to put up or shut up!  (Just kidding.)

In a tribute to the Real Housewives of Atlanta, I'll throw out the "don't come for me unless I send for you" comment.  7 Mile Bridge, I'm on my way!

Sunscreen Time!

You already know it's sunnier than what Weather Channel predicted, and I was hoping to not have to sunscreen-up, but logic is dictating otherwise.  At the next stop, I'll have someone spray me so I have time to let it dry.

Another Edition of Overheard in the Van

Me: "This looks like a good bathroom." (upon seeing a shopping center with a decent-looking Beall's Outlet store)

I Forgot to Tell You That on My First Run...

...I passed 3 people!  In relay terminology, I had 3 "road kills."  Friggin' sweet!

My iPhone Can Suck It Too!

My iPhone's home button decided to start waiving the white flag a few days ago.  Hans cleared the phone's memory for me yesterday, and that seemed to help, but now it's back to busting my balls again.  It's probably too gunked up from sweat & salt & other schmutz.  Looks like I'm stuck w/ my iTunes songs on total rotation for today unless I grow a set and try to clean the home button.

Overheard in the Van

"That's the blogger's seat right there, so I can't sit there."  Haha!

Weather Update...Weather Channel Can Suck It!

This is not what the weather is like in Marathon right now!

Add in about another 5 degrees and remove the cloud.  That would make it more accurate!  Weather Channel, please get your act straight!  78 degrees and partly cloudy would be nice...but that's not what's happening now.  Sweet Mary!

My Team Has a Lot of Confidence in Me!

Overheard in the car: "We'll make up a lot of time with Kim on the bridge."  Oh, sweet Jesus!  No pressure, right?!  :-)

I did thank them for their confidence in me.

The Plan

The plan for now until we reach the 7 Mile Bridge is to have everyone (except me) run from one "exchange point" to the next one.  These legs are relatively short (2-3 miles in general).

We're currently at the "Tom's Harbor Channel" bridge (MM60.8).  About 40% done with the relay...

Today's First Grandma-ism

My next run is the bridge; it's going to suck with the wind.  It's just wicked (unless it's going to be perfectly at my back the whole time).

Anyway, as you know, Grandma's the only person who gets calls from me today.  I just gave her a ring, and told her that my next run will probably start around noon-ish.  My advice to her was to have a glass of wine somewhere in the range of 12-12:15pm.

Me: "Have some wine.  I'll have some water."
 
Grandma: "I'll be drinking up a little bit."

Hysterical!

1st Run Done!

Man, it is sunny & warm out!  I made it, had a decent pace, and am now done until the 7 Mile Bridge!

Check out these stats from Run Keeper.  Not too shabby, eh?!

And these are pictures that Beau took of me starting the run.

I'm Up Next!

Woo hoo!  I'm up next!  Don't have any predictions on my pace, so I'll just see what I can do.  Gotta remind myself that the legs need to be slightly "saved" for the upcoming 7 Mile Bridge!  Wish me luck, world!

 

Weather Update

Windy (which is good), and it still appears to be coming from the N, NE, or NNE, so it's at our backs.  But it is certainly not partly cloudy!  The sun is out!!!!

 

Getting Closer to My Turn!

Beau's out there now, and then Ryan goes.  He has strict instructions to hand off the slap bracelet as a "baton" to me and not try to slap it on my arm.  Maybe it's my HS track days, but I need that baton!

Just saw Melanie from the Pink Panthers!  She looks good & said her runs were good so far!  Yeah!

How Many More Miles, You Ask...

Tiffany's partway into her 4.9 mile run, Beau's got 4 miles, Ryan's got 2.4 miles, and then it's Kimmie time!  Woo hoo!  Maybe another hour or so.  Can't wait!

Go, Tiffany, Go!

Tiffany's out running now.  She did something really smart: picked a bright coral top to wear!  That makes her easy to identify, so Beau (to whom she will hand off) can spot her without trouble!  I'm hoping that with my turquoise top and bright pink tie-dye Zensah calf sleeves, I'm easy to spot too!

In case you're wondering, those aren't my legs.  Mine look so much better than that!  LOL!

Our Third Runner's Out There Now!

Erick is our third runner, and he's out there now with strict instructions to kick ass & take names!  He'll hand off to Tiffany who then hands off to Beau who then hands off to Ryan who will then hand off to me!  It's sort of strange to be almost 2 hours into the race and to have not run a single step yet!

 

Race Update

Ryan finished his first leg, handed off to Jess, and now we're headed to Founder's Park where Jess will hand off to Erick.  The sun's starting to come up more, and it's a beautiful morning!  Hello, MM87.7!

Short Video of Wave 2 Starting

Overheard This Morning

A few quotes from this morning for your enjoyment!

In reference to the weather: "What you call 'cold,' I call 'awesome!'"

In reference to finding our first stop (a church): "I see Jesus!  I see Jesus!"

(No, I didn't utter either of these!)

A Few Morning Pics

Team photo #1

Team photo #2

Start line:

Good Morning, World! It's Race Day!

Slept great, alarm went off as it should at 4:45am, and we're on track for a stellar day!!!  Good morning, world!

 

Until Tomorrow, Blog Readers...

Nighty-night, blog readers!  It's not even 9:45pm, and I feel like I should've been in bed at least 30 minutes ago.  4:45am (when the alarm will go off) will be here before I know it!