Wicked Half Marathon

Wamego, Kansas

State #36

Wicked, like Wizard of Oz Wicked... Wicked Half Marathon.  Wamego is in Kansas...  about 100 miles Southwest of Topeka or 120 miles Southwest of Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, MO.  Wamego built an Oz Museum and several of the businesses followed the Emerald City theme such as Toto's Tacoz and Oz Winery.  There is even a Dorothy's House Replica.  As I understand it, there is no reference to Wamego in the movie or book.  Dorothy, nor Auntie Em lived there, but there is definitely an Oz theme going on in Wamego.  Lincoln street is the street that I would typically equate with Main street in a small town.  It is, well, the main street, and all of the aforementioned businesses are on Lincoln Street in "downtown" Wamego.  They even play Wizard of Oz music along the street... at least they did on the morning of the race.

Valerie and all three kids came along with me.  They only came because they have never been to Kansas and thought it would be great to visit Kansas.  I am not so certain that any of them are interested in going back now that they have been there, but at least they can say that they have been.  We flew in to Kansas City, MO and rented a car.  KCI or MCI (it is the same place) airport is fairly small and fairly disorganized and a bit confusing, but we made it there on Friday afternoon and rented a car to drive to Wamego.  It took us 1:40 minutes to drive there and one minute to drive through it.  We were looking for a restaurant where they were hosting a spaghetti pre-race dinner, and we drove right past it.  As it turns out, it was not a restaurant at all, but a business called Iron Clad that was hosting a catered spaghetti meal and the race packet pick-up.  Once we made a U-turn, we located the place.  We recognized it because the parking in front was "crowded".  There were four cars out front and it was noticeably "crowded" in comparison to all of the other businesses.  I went in to get my race packet and looked around to see what they had to offer.  I did see some chaffing dishes full of spaghetti in the back room.  After discussing this prospect with Valerie, we decided to head to our place and find a grocery store.

There was no internet or cell coverage.  We were staying in a neighboring town called Alma and it was about 40-45 minutes away and there was absolutely nothing in between... wheat fields... prairies.  There was one gas station and it was basically THE store, so we stocked up on pancake mix, rice, beans, and some lunch meat, chips, water, etc... then off to the cabin.  

The cabin was just across the street from Lake Wabaunsee.  It was a nice lake that looked like it would be packed full of people out picnicking, fishing, swimming and skiing in the summer months.  There was none of that happening this weekend as the weather was definitely not conducive for these sorts of activities.  It was windy and cloudy and cold, roughly 40ºF.  The cabin itself was very cute.  It was two stories.  On the first floor was two bedrooms, a mud room, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen... and a front and back porch.  

                                

Upstairs was a loft room and a master suit.  Off the loft room was an enclosed porch with an air hockey table.  Off the master suit was an enclosed porch with some chairs and a nice view of the prairie.  There was indoor plumbing and electricity and heat and A/C.  We definitely used the heat.  We threw on the gas fire place, pulled up a movie, cooked up some dinner, pumped up the heat pulled on our PJs and snuggled in for the evening.

Race day came early.  The race was scheduled to start at 7:30AM and you may recall there is a 40-45 minute drive to the Lincoln ave. starting line.  So, I got up at 4:00am and made certain I was ready.  I was mostly prepared, as I remembered some gloves and long-sleeved running shirts and a couple choices of jackets.  I realized, though that I forgot my pants.  I only brought shorts.  I do have a pair of "yoga pants" that do keep me cozy warm, but alas one cannot always remember everything.  Oh, well, I thought, It won't be that bad.  I woke Valerie at 6:00am.  As we made our way out to the car, in the dark, we quickly realized that it was snowing.  The temp was 34ºF and it was snowing.  Some snow was sticking on the ground, the car and the roof of the cabin, but it was mostly a wet snow.  Big, wet snowflakes.  I wish I had my lululemon pants.

We drove to the start and parked right in sight of the start line, so we simply waited in the car until the race start.  I did not warm up at all.  I stretched my calves for a minute, but then got back in the car because it was cold.  I changed my jacket to the water resistant jacket, because it was still wet.  The race was delayed 6 minutes, but they made announcements so we would roll down the window when they began to talk.  One of the announcements said, "OK. we are all clear to start.  We will begin in 30 seconds.  Runners make your way to the start."  So, I kissed my wife goodbye and jogged across the street to the start.  I suppose that was my warm-up.  It was basically a ready, go start and off we went.  The first 5k was around the town and back across the start, then the remainder of the race was an out and back.  The turn around was at mile 8.

The course was a half of one lane of a two lane road.  Then after mile 5 or so it became one full lane of the two lane road.  The course description was a rolling hill course... and it was a rolling hills course.  There really were not any flat sections.  We were either running uphill or downhill the entire race, and of course it seemed as if it was uphill the entire time, but I am aware that was just my perception.   My 5k split was 22:58 ~ 7:24 avg pace, and I stayed pretty close to that the entire race.  I basically ran by myself the entire race.  At the 5k split I calculated that I was in 7th place overall and I maintained sight of the two guys in front of me, but I could not close the gap on them and no one passed me.  The hills were long and incessant.  I kept thinking that it was a net uphill on the way out, so the way back would be a net downhill, but it did not feel downhill on the way back.  In fact, I began to slow down without recognizing that I was slowing down.  The only reason I became aware of it was my mile split times.  Mile 10 was 7:44 and mile 12 was 8:10.  Then I would begin to speed up and hit another hill.  It was snowing at the start, then became a rain.  I got warm enough to remove my gloves and unzip my jacket, then it got cold again, so I put my gloves back on and zipped my jacket back up.  It started snowing again.   The course was uneven as it was mostly the side of the road.  I got a blister on my right foot.  And it was wet.  I kept hearing puddles sloshing and I kept thinking someone was catching me and about to pass me, but it was just me.

Right at mile 13 there was a turn one street early from the start/finish and the girl directing traffic was busy talking to someone in their car that was on the course, so I had no idea which way to go... but she yelled and pointed, so I redirected and made the turn.  Somewhere around mile 9.5 I passed a water station that was manned by three people.  The one girl that was actively handing out water had her back to the course.  I asked for water and she did not move.  I asked again with a please and she said, "oh, sorry." then bent down to get a granola bar of some sort.  So, I was stopped at the hydration station and then asked again for water.  So, she finally handed me the water she had in her hand the entire time.  It was wet and cold.  This certainly cost me several seconds of my life and I am certain it has affected my rankings and my chances for an olympic medal. (that was completely tongue-in cheek for those of you who don't get me).

I crossed the finish line and the announcer pronounced my name correctly and stated that I was another finisher of the 5k.  Whatever.  Beyond the finish was one person handing me a medal (or as Valerie more correctly called it a plastic) and there was also a bin of Gatorade.  Help yourself.  The family was all there.  They calculated how long it would take me to finish and they showed up 5 minutes before I did.  Hugs and kisses all around, then back in the car and back to the cabin.  I got 2nd in my age group and 7th overall, but I did not bother sticking around for another plastic... or whatever the age group award was.  I was tired and cold and wet and I knew Valerie was gonna make me some chocolate chip pancakes that I could devour after a nice, long, warm shower.  Which is exactly what played out.

There was a costume contest and I did see some people dressed up.  One tin man and a wicked witch or two -- they were melting lol.  But it was raining and cold and snowing, so I am imagining that turnout would have been better if the weather were better... I am imagining. 

Later that day we went for a walk around the lake and then took a drive to Topeka and went to the zoo... just for some adventure.  Then back to the cabin for a nice rest and back to KC, MO to catch the flight home.  We are all tired.  But overall it was a good trip.  

Next race Connecticut and then Hawaii.