PC: Cesar Rincon Foto

For my 100th race, I planned, at least hoped, to participate in a major run that would make me feel I accomplished something big to commemorate this milestone, but I also did not want to miss out on a turkey trot just to have this materialize. Like last year, I waited until the last minute to sign up for the Skinny Turkey 10K in my city of Raleigh to commence Thanksgiving 2023.

Kylie was the first woman to finish!

The ideal 39-degree start undoubtedly helped support me through the ceaseless rolling hills, some moderate and some steep, that kicked off with a climb, and I carried on cautiously for the first half of the race to not inadvertently blow myself out. I maintained a consistent pace and never slowed down drastically at any point for more than several seconds, and I reminded myself to continue to pray and thank Jesus, as I acknowledge I cannot enjoy any of my running endeavors, or anything for that matter, without His help and leading me. Knowing the finish nigh following the final half a mile of steep climbing, I pushed myself to the fullest that had me close to vomiting upon conquering the giant hill, and I crossed the finish timing mats in 53:36.957, with my COROS reading 6.30 miles with an elevation gain of 456 feet and an unexpected third place out of 13 in my age group of 30-34.

In 100 races, I have covered approximately 1,556.5 miles, which includes 11 ultras, 5 marathons, 1 21-miler, 57 half marathon(+)s, 5 8-10-milers, 17 10K(+)s, and 4 5Ks. Here is to many more, God willing! Happy Thanksgiving!

Not comfortable sitting through the back-to-back-to-back embarrassing half marathon results, I at the last minute chose to register for and return to the Mayberry Half Marathon on November 11, 2023, that forecast an ideal temperature in the low 40s, requiring me once again to wake up at 4:00 AM to prepare and drive for over two hours to Mount Airy. I could vaguely justify my running so poorly recently, blaming the ginormous hills, suffocating humidity, and nonstop heavy rain, but here, like I told a 10K participant waiting in line for a porta potty, I had no excuse with the chillier weather and a relatively flat course, which oddly added unnecessary pressure.

I inadvertently opened up the first mile at 7:58, thanks to a downhill start, followed by a more realistic and cautious pace of mid-8:00 for the next nine miles. I continued to pray to God for help and to run with me, and three miles in, based on how strong I felt, I was confident I had this race in the bag while simultaneously anxious about suddenly tiring. Three quarters of the race in, my legs abruply felt heavier trying to maintain the same pace and I knew slowing down would be inevitable, and the rapid drop in speed occurred in the last mile and a half, perhaps due to occasional hills that I did not even notice at the beginning but felt like brief mountains on the way back. Regardless, I continued to run as hard as my body let me and crossed the finish with a gun time of 1:55:05.102. Going from three of my worst half marathons ever in my last three races to my top half marathon performance since a couple of years back at this exact event, I felt relieved having proved to myself that I could still comfortably run a sub-two-hour 13.1, boosting my confidence. As usual, with the conclusion of the race itself, the social butterfly in me came out, and I wrapped up my trip congratulating and exchanging stories with many runners and their families. Happy Veterans Day!