Race Recap: Kansas City Marathon

The one thing I will take away from this trip is Kansas City is a beautiful city. My expectations were low and I wasn’t expecting much out of this marathon after not meeting my expectations in Chicago. I orginally signed up for the Kansas City Marathon after finding out that Rock n Roll St. Louis would no longer be a marathon. In a panic, I went looking for another race because Missouri was an imporant part of the plan this year.

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Luckily, this race was the day before Rock n Roll St. Louis! Things happen for a reason and I truly believe that when it comes to this race. The expo was small, but it had some quality stuff there. I really loved how organized the race was from packet pickup until the end. Our hotel was right outside of the start/finish line and two blocks from the expo. That is always a plus.

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Race morning I woke up early when I really didn’t need to because we were right there. I probably woke up too early but it didn’t matter. I felt good, but once again I wasn’t expcting much. When we rolled into town on Friday, I did get nervous because of the hills. These hills were kind of steep. Willie assured me that I would be fine. My goal was simply to finish.

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At the start line, Willie assured me again that I would do great and I needed that. I lined up with the 5:15 pace group and set out to run a 5:15 marathon which I hadn’t done in quite some time (like 6 months). Little did I know I was lining up with the coolest pacer ever. I ran with her the entire time along with John, who was running his first race/first marathon. We were the only two that stayed with Kelly the whole time.

I’ve never stayed with a pacer for the duration of a race. We were ahead of pace for most of the race until the last mile or so. We did intervals of 2:1. Yes that meant there was some hill running, but I didn’t mind. The conversation was great! Kelly and John gave me a personal tour of Kansas City. They showed me things, explained the history behind the city and told me places I needed to visit (aka BBQ joints). The miles ticked by quickly. I was having the time of my life.

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Kansas City is absolutely beautiful. The first thing that really got me was the World War I memorial. We turned a corner and it was just beautiful. Since I was running with the pacer, I didn’t stop to take pictures because it was important for me to stay the course. But Willie and I did go back so I could have some pictures for the blog. The beauty of this city just kept rolling on.

On the marathon site, it said this was the prettiest marathon in the mid-west. Willie and I joked about it and I said there was no way. But it was an absolutely beautiful race. I can’t talk highly enough about it.

This race really had me thinking that I need to go back to the run walk method on my in between marathons to make it through. It was something I abondaned back in the day because the timer was annoying. But doing this really showed me something different. I really didn’t get tired until mile 21 and at the point, I was almost done so it wasn’t something I dwelled on.

As we got closer to the finish, our pace group got bigger. We laughed, we complained, we looked out for each other. Crossing the finish line became a group effort. It was something I truly enjoyed. It was truly a beautiful experience. The struggles from the week before were completely wiped out in the first 5 minutes of the Kansas City Marathon. It was just a great experience with great people in an extraordinary city.

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In the end, I finished the marathon in 5:13:49 and I am beyond pleased with that result. My new GTS shirt might be a little lucky too.  What do you think?

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I wouldn’t have made it there without the help of a great pacer and a lovely group of people. It was great to hear everyone’s stories, to celebrate first marathons, to celebrated 28 marathons and to celebrate 55 marathons finished. I smiled the entire time. When I crossed the finish line I shed a couple of tears because it was just that great. It was a moment to be proud. It was just a moment or 5 hours and 14 minutes I will never forget. Never!

The course may have been hilly but the weather was perfect for running. It was just one of those days where everything aligned perfectly. If you’re looking for a good race, give the Kansas City Marathon a try. I will definitely go back not because the shirt is awesome (because it is) and not because the medal is huge and awesome (it is all those things) but because the city was welcoming and the people were nice. That is all a girl can ask for. That means state #13 turned out well. There’s another check off the state list!

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A bonus: there was chocolate milk at the end.  I needed it for my recovery because I was running a half marathon the next day.  It’s so yummy but it’s got the right carb to protein ratio to keep me moving which was something I was concerned about.

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At the finish, I saw my buddy Mike.  He ran the 5 hour pace group.  It’s always a joy to see him.  I think I see him more outside of Texas than anything.

Chicago Marathon 2015: Did I #OwnChicago?

Chicago Marathon 2015: Did I #OwnChicago?

The Chicago Marathon was an amazing experience.  Saturday runners walked the streets filled with anxiousness and excitement.  It was infectious! I rolled into Chicago thinking this wasn’t a big deal.  It was just another race, another state to check off my list.  I wasn’t that amped up about the race, I was excited to meet the people of Team Healthy Kids! The Chicago Marathon was something deeper for me when I first arrived, but that’s a whole other blog post. Before actually arriving, I took the experience for granted.  I didn’t see it as a big deal, but it was.…

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#TourdeAngie has begun with my airport food hacks

#TourdeAngie has begun with my airport food hacks

I had big things planned for the blog this week but then life got really busy.  It was launch week at the gym which is always a great time. But that also means things get really busy with teaching extra classes.  Then my full time job was hectic because I was trying to do 6 days worth of work in 4 days.  The blog and vlog kind of got no attention this week.  Luckily I have some down time in the airport right now between my flights. I first had to eat my salad in the bag.  Why in the…

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Travel Tuesday: I’m going on a road …

Travel Tuesday: I’m going on a road trip

It’s Travel Tuesday so I’m taking a health/food/fitness break to tell you about my next adventure.  It’s all related somehow anyway, right?  I never would have dreamed of doing all the things I do now if I hadn’t lost the weight. My eyes are wide open now.  I’m ready to explore. So my next big adventure will be a road trip to Las Vegas.  This is kind of monumental because I’ve never been to las Vegas before and I’ve never driven that far by myself.  I’m probably violating a road trip rule by going by myself, but it’s just something…

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Video this week: drink more water, get motivated …

Video this week: drink more water, get motivated and a road trip

Happy Thursday everyone!  I didn’t do any meal prep this week because it was all up to Willie so I don’t have a food video for you this week.  I’ve been working really hard on these videos and it’s a learning process.  It’s something I feel is adding more to the blog. Here are the videos this week: Drink more water…and add some flava! Keep your fitness appointment because it’s just as important as anything else in your life. Watch and get motivated! And my weekend road trip to Mississippi/Alabama by myself. Boo! Have you tried a water enhancer? Did…

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Five Things Friday: Learned on a road trip

Five Things Friday: Learned on a road trip

It’s late and it’s almost no longer Friday, but I’m going to make it just in time to post my five things Friday. I had a rough start to the day and realized I probably just needed a little break and some sleep.  I bailed on my long run this morning because I was tired. I knew I needed to get in the car to drive to see my very best friends today too so I made the smart decision to bail out on the run and go back home to sleep before leaving. It was a road trip and…

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Zip lining is our non scale victory

Zip lining is our non scale victory

Willie and I always said when we lost the weight, we would do some things like go to China, travel more and go zip lining. I’m two years past hitting my goal weight and we still didn’t zip line. Today we finally enjoyed the view from the tree tops at Shelby Farms. The non scale victory really came because it was great to not have anyone question our weight and we were just normal. We actually planned to go in Chattanooga but we canceled those plans and decided to come to Memphis. This was the biggest thing we had planned…

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Race Recap: Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon

Race Recap: Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon

If you didn’t read my Rock n Roll San Diego 5K recap you definitely should go back to start there.  The Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon was part of my quest and was my 11th state to capture on the way.  I was very excited to be running California and to spend time with my best friend, Missy, who was running the half marathon. It was an early wake up call for us because we had to catch the coaster to the start line.  RnR San Diego staff did an excellent job of organizing transportation.  Everything went smoothly from…

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Race Recap: RnR San Diego 5K

Race Recap: RnR San Diego 5K

This should have been up ages ago, but I got sick the week I came back and then this week happened. We’ll just consider it a Throwback Thursday to an old race. I had a really fun time in San Diego because I got to spend some time with my best friend. This was her first trip to the West Coast! We were there together to run the Rock N Roll San Diego Half Marathon and Marathon! Saturday morning, we ran the Rock n Roll San Diego 5K at Balboa Park. We had to pick up our stuff that morning.…

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How do I travel so much?

How do I travel so much?

The weekend is finally here and I’m traveling. I’ve had lots of questions about how I’m able to travel frequently and I want to put a stop to chit chat and maybe help some people out at the same time. Today is the day I’m heading to San Diego with my best friend to run Rock n Roll San Diego. I’ll be taking on state #11 on my marathon quest and Missy will be running the half marathon. Plus, we’ll be running the 5K on Saturday morning. It’s going to be a great girls weekend…and I get to run! It’s…

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Race Recap: Horse Capital Marathon

Race Recap: Horse Capital Marathon

Running the Kentucky Ale Horse Capital Marathon was a biggie for me.  This is the race that finally got me qualified for the 50 States Marathon Club. I decided at the last minute that it was doable and I asked around to see if anyone would want to go…and bam someone wanted to go.  The dream became a reality and we road tripped to Kentucky. We stopped in Memphis on the way there which was about 8 hours in but I wanted to stop to show Lauren where I attended college.  No pictures of Ole Miss, which we probably should…

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