The 44th annual Hospital Hill Half was held the first weekend in June, in downtown KC. As always, the race was HOT and HILLY! (Although as a slogan, that would probably dissuade people from signing up. )

The expo opened on Thursday, but I didn’t visit until Friday. I was having total FOMO with all the pictures of cool swag popping up on Instagram. Hospital Hill has the best swag I swear. The first year I ran it, we got backpacks. The second year, we got blankets. This year was beach towels! And PJ bottoms instead of t-shirts!! (The jammie pants are amazing and get even softer after you wash them!)

The expo is held at the Crown Center Sheraton convention center each year, which makes for a really good-sized expo. All the usual vendors were there with discounted race entries, cool running gear, and wellness products. My favorite part of the expo is always the big archway with the giant course map.

Since I visited om my lunch hour, I made it a quick in and out. (Nice to know that you can make a speedy pick-up if you don’t have time to linger). I picked up my bibs and then stopped by the service desk to switch my Re-Run 5k + Half to a 5K + 10K. (I just knew my body was not going to cooperate. My new medicine has made the last month really awful for me, and I hadn’t run in a month.) They were super friendly in getting me switched over. And OMG. The bibs! So cute! A rabbit for the 5K and a magic hat for the half!

On my way out, I checked into my room at the Crown Center Sheraton. They made a group of rooms available at great discount rate. (It was half the cost of the room I had originally reserved on my discount travel site). They had a special line set-up just for runners to check-in, so I had my room key and was back on my way to work.

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I took advantage of the free KC Streetcar to go back to my office at Power + Light District. (I really should have taken it to the Expo. By the time I was back at work, I was sweaty and my feet had blisters from walking 1.5 miles in my sandals. Bad plan.)

After work, I took the street car back to the hotel and changed into my outfit for the 5K. Friday night was hot and I knew that I had overdone it with all the walking earlier. Since I have poor-heat tolerance with my lupus, and was really feeling iffy, I decided I would just enjoy the race by walking it.

The start line had so much energy! As usual, they played “Kansas City Here I Come” as we took off. (Some of us slower than others! Ha!) Right away, we were rewarded with a view of the Western Auto building, one of my favorites.

The 5K course was unrelentingly as hilly as always. They changed up the course a bit, and I feel like it was slightly easier by not having that one massive hill right away. Just know – Hospital Hill is never “easy” and even the 5K is no exception. The volunteers were so cheerful, so it was actually nice to be able to properly thank them as I went by, instead of the usual hasty “thanks” as I run by.

Soon enough, we descended the final hill and made the left turn to the finish line. There was a huge crowd cheering, and it took everything in me to just keep walking and not break out into a run. I received my medal and headed for the post-race party.

This is a really kid-friendly event with face painting and balloon animals. But I was just interested in the adult beverages. This year’s beer was “Hilltop Hops,” a peach beer from Rock and Run Brewery. My husband received my cup and said it was really good!

And that is really where my race report ends. I woke up the next morning and knew that trying to push myself to do the 10K would be a bad idea. I was too fatigued and it was just too hot. I was pretty bummed as I have had such great runs on that course – even snagging a PR the first time I ran it. I had friends who ran both the 10K and the half, and they had amazing things to say about the race on Saturday. I know for sure, I will be back next year for more swag, bibs, and beer!

It was a busy weekend! I just realized I had a race for 4 of the 5 weekends in July! And I actually did 5 races since I did 2 last Saturday! Holy smokes! Friday night, Steven and I ventured to Parkville, Missouri to the packet pick-up for Win for KC Triathlon. I had volunteered to run the 5k for my work’s relay team. I had completely forgotten what weekend the race was, so it was a little surprise when the participant guide popped up in my email. They had a bib decorating session set up, so I put “HTFU PUCK” on my bib. HTFU being my current favorite mantra, and Puck my longstanding nickname. (Again… you can read about HTFU here). Saturday morning came super early. (I guess staying up watching Stranger Things with the kids will do that). I rolled out of bed, got dressed and managed to sleep a bit on the ride to the race. When I did this race a couple years ago, I had to get up really early to set up in transition. It was nice only doing the run of a relay so I didn’t have to be there at the butt-crack of dawn. I watched the first wave of the swim start and then headed over to the team area in transition. Our swimmer was in the 13-minute wave, so she didn’t even start swimming for half an hour or so. (Maybe it really wasn’t that long… it felt like a long time! It is a big race with a lot of waves). I realized I was getting really thirsty while waiting around and wished I had brought a handheld. Oops. It was also getting warmer and warmer… Our swimmer tagged our cyclist in, and I started stretching and warming up. Bike were going in and out… Runners taking off on the run… But still I waited. I was really worried something happened to our cyclist when finally, she came pedaling in. I guess she started the race with flat tires and had to fill up at the aid station. Yikes – always check your tire pressure beforehand! She helped me put the timing strap around my ankle and I was off. I could feel the timing strap shifting around on my ankle. I know that our swimmer lost the strap and had to dive around to look for it on the swim. (Many athletes were reporting problems with lost straps.) I was really worried about losing my strap and not being able to put it back on myself with my broken finger. It is really sore and I am still wearing the metal brace. I went out a little too fast given the hot conditions. It had heated up a lot by the time my leg of the relay started. I was really just focusing on making it aid station-to-aid station. I was so thirsty! I passed up the Gatorade for water at the one-mile marker. I turned on my music and gutted it out to the turn-around, grabbing another water. On the trip back, I started noticing my finger throbbing. It is already weird enough running with the brace on since it means my finger is sticking straight out, but the pain and throbbing really messed with me. I felt like I had an ET finger! Then I considered that this was a fun thing for work, and we were nowhere in contention of placing, and I gave myself permission to take some walk breaks. I don’t know if it was heat, dehydration or just my heart rate jacking up, but every time I started pushing, my finger would tell me to slow down. Finally, I made it back to the finish. The course turned from paved trail to a grass chute. I kicked at the end, slipping for a second on the wet grass. I just always like to kick hard at the end of the race. I came up fast on the runner in front of my, and when she saw me, we both tore after the finish line. I think she thought I was deliberately passing her… but again. I just like a strong finish. (And our team came in second-to-last. So there’s that). collected my medal, skipping the pancake and sausage line, and snapped a group picture. So happy to get to go home for a shower and a nap

At packet pick-up, mu husband Steven decided to sign up because he really liked the medal. I gave him some grief since he was wearing black socks and cargo shorts. There were a ton of walkers there, so it was totally fine. I told him he could easily walk but he wanted to through in as much running as he could do. (It was 9793792 degrees out, so that made it challenging as well).

There wasn’t anything to really do to kill the next hour. We tried sitting on porch of the building next door, but it was covered in used condoms and leftover stuff from the homeless… not some place I wanted to have my kid. We found a cleaner place to sit and I gave Bowie my phone to watch Netflix. (He chose Prefontaine. Yup. That’s definitely my kid.) Eventually, they opened the deck of the Torn Label Brewery so we moved into the shade.

Finally, race time. Bowie and I lined up near the start, and Steven ducked in toward the back. I told Bowie I would pace him the easy first mile and then he could decide what he wanted to do. He said he didn’t feel like running very fast because it was so hot. I couldn’t blame him at all. After the first mile, I told Bowie to go ahead because I needed to slow down. I was totally pooped from my tri, and I really just wanted to jog, and walk, the rest.

It was a hilly, hot mess. I was just really ready to be done, get my medal, and drink lemonade. I gave a little kick at the end (to which the announcer called me a sandbagger – haha) and found Bowie waiting for me. I knew we had a little bit of time before Steven would finish, so we checked Bowie’s time at the results table. He got 4th place! Woot! Not bad for not trying, kiddo!

So here is where it gets fun… Bowie and I lined up at the finish line to watch Steven finish the race. We met him when he collected his medal and while we walked back the the car, he said I should look at Twitter. He had live tweeted the 5K. And he wasn’t having as much fun and Bowie and I did. So funny!

on Thursday, I slammed my finger in the car door. I don’t know how I did that, and I don’t recommend anyone else try. It was horrible and my finger instantly looked terrible. My co-workers insisted on taking me to the ER to get it checked out, and it was probably a good thing that we did since I broke it! I ended up with a clunky metal brace on my left pointer finger. I specifically asked about my triathlon, and I was cleared to swim as long as I took precautions to protect my hand. (I spoke with the event organizations beforehand to alert them to the situation).

Friday, I took my tri bike for a short spin to see if I could operate the brakes and shifters. I was able to reach over with my right hand to operate the left shifter, so I was pretty much good to go… until I was almost home and stopped at a stop sign. I was in the left turn lane, waiting for traffic to clear. A silver car pulled up beside me in the straight lane. When traffic cleared, I started my turn and the silver car went around me and made a left in front of me, cutting me off. I had to slam on the brakes to keep from running into the side of their car, and had no opportunity to unclip. I went down hard on my left side. I ended up with a bumps, bruises and road rash, but seemed OK still.

We went to packet pick-up that night and I decided to drop from sprint to super sprint to give myself more space in the pool for the race, as well as cut down on the abuse my hand would take on the swim and bike legs. I debated using a paddle on my left hand, but when I test fitted it at home, it seemed like it would push the brace off my finger which would not be good!

My birthday was Friday, so I was up a little late opening presents and eating cake. (My oldest son made me a German Chocolate cake from scratch so that was pretty awesome!) I must point out that it was too great of a birthday, crashing my bike with a freshly broken finger. Just sayin.

k… Saturday, race day. I got up early and got dressed. I put on my trisuit that I had laid out the night before. I filled a water bottle with ice water since it was going to be another super hot day. I couldn’t convince myself to eat anything. I made an English muffin and even that wouldn’t settle.

I grabbed my backpack and headed to the transition area set up outside the Baldwin City pool. After I set up my gear (check the picture below… can you spot the big mistake I made?) I headed to get my body marking and ankle chip. I decided not to do any swim warm-up because I didn’t want to abuse my poor hand anymore than I needed to.

The sprint course started first. The sprint course required swimmers to circle the lanes (do a down and back) before ducking under the lane divider to swim the next lane down. They spaced the swimmers out 10 seconds, so it was pretty tight. I watched as some swimmers bunched up and bumped off each other, and decided I made the wise decision in dropping down.

The super sprint course went next. We didn’t circle lanes, so we had more breathing room in the lanes. The RD suggested I go last and when I stepped up to swim, I gave the swimmers before me a lane and a half head-start. (Which was good since I ended up leaving the water right after them.)

I scurried to transition, stripping up my cap and goggles as I made my way to my bike. I slipped on my cycling shoes, which I had left unfastened, threw on a helmet and grabbed my bike. As I started to leave transition, a volunteer told me I needed my bib. (I actually asked about this ahead of time and was told I only needed it for the run. I wasn’t going to argue, so I ran back and grabbed my race belt. My bib flapped around and annoyed me the entire ride).

Once I made it to the cones and timing mat, I mounted my bike and was off. We took a left single left turn onto the course and headed two miles straight out of town on the hilly county road locals refer to as Le Loup Road.

I found the fun part about starting dead last was that you got to do all kinds of passing! I was having a great time reeling the other bikes in and telling them, “On your left! Thank you! Great job!” as I sped by.

As I reached the turn-around, there was a younger guy in front of me. I could have passed him but I wanted to give him some space to turnaround so I slowed down and tucked in behind him. (This was a mistake). He slowed me down quite a bit. He made the turn and I noticed a fast rider on the sprint course coming thru, so I stopped and let that cyclist go by. (I felt it would be rude to cut him off). By not passing the slower rider, it made me slow way down, and then need to stop for the faster rider, which cost me a bit of time.

After I made the turn back, I passed the younger rider and rode right behind the Speedy McSpeederson guy as we passed more riders. I was having a great time but really ended up trashing my legs for the run. Big mistake.

I made it to the dismount (as a couple cyclists failed to unclip and crashed behind me. I feel your pain, people. I do). and ran back to my spot. As I grabbed my running shoes, I noticed my BIGGEST mistake that day. I hadn’t untied my shoes AND they were in a double-knot. I struggled to untie my shoes with my clunky brace and finally got the laces apart. I knew I would never be able to tie my shoes, so I called out for help with my shoes. A member of a relay team came over and double-knotted my shoes for me. I grabbed my hat (didn’t grab a drink… mistake) and was off. I knew I had spent at least 4 minutes puttering around in T2 and I was feeling pretty dumb about that.

I went out way too fast on the run. I was feeling good, I thought. It caught up with me half-way thru. It was a hilly course. I was hot. I hadn’t had a drink since T1 (I couldn’t get my bottle out while cycling). I paid for all my earlier mistakes and ended up with a crummy run leg. I ended up needing to walk a few seconds a few times in the second half. I was really disappointed in myself since running is my best discipline and I tanked it.

I made it up the final hill and headed into Baker U’s Liston Stadium to do a lap on the track to the finish line. I was able to muster a small kick at the end. I collected my medal and bottle of water, and laid on the turf to catch my breath. I was tired and covered in sweat.

Once I caught my breath, I checked my results at the booth. I saw I was 3rd overall, 1st female and 1st age group and walked away… and then I processed that in my head a bit. what? So I went back and checked again, thinking maybe I put my bib number in wrong… But still. 3rd overall, 1st woman. OMG! That put a pep in my step and gave me a second wind!