Monday Musings: 2 Half Marathons, a Conference, and Hay

There have been so many good things going on since I last checked in - time flies when you are having fun, right?  I must be having a blast!  October and November are my favorite months of the year, I almost hate to see them pass by so quickly. How about I hit the high spots?

13.1 Marathon Series

On October 25 Erin and I met up and headed to downtown Dallas for the 13.1 Marathon Series Half. It was perfect timing as I had 15 miles on my plan and Erin needed a 13 mile run.  I have heard great things about this race and always wanted to try it, but it always fell in the "wrong" place on my calendar.  The race started and ended in front of the Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District.  I thought that the race did a great job showing off some of the best parts of Dallas - from the Arts District, down to Lakewood Village, through the M Streets, down the Katy Trail to the American Airlines Center, and back through the West End to finish where we started.  It was warmer and more humid than it should have been on October 25 and I could really feel it.  I agreed to run back out to mile 12 after my finish to meet Erin so that I could get my last two miles.  I was thankful that she was expecting me because I really did not want to run anymore after I finished my 13.1. There was a pretty medal for my 46th half marathon, free beer, and we found ourselves some breakfast tacos post-race.  Not a bad way to spend a training run!  

DRC Half Marathon

The DRC Half Marathon is a sentimental favorite as it was my first half marathon back in 2008.  But even before that I had volunteered at this race in 2004--I worked at a water station around mile 10 and I thought those runners were just so cool. I just couldn't imagine running 10 miles! I always wondered if I could do a half marathon, but wasn't all that interested in finding out for sure.  All these years later, it still makes me smile when I run past that aide station.  Now 6 years and 47 half marathons later....

There is something about the DRC Half that just makes it feel like "family." I suppose it is all of the familiar faces there year after year.  It is a big race and one of the oldest half marathons in the country and I intend to be a part of it every year.  They are in the middle of a 5 year medal series honoring the various landmarks around White Rock Lake.  This year was Winfrey Point - a special one for Mr K and me as this is where we both started running at White Rock and it is where our long runs begin and end, even to this day.  

We had 20 miles on the training plan for the day and I knew that it would take some extra discipline to get there early and get the first 7 miles done before the start.  We were not about to leave any miles on the table after the finish line - too tempting to go and visit with friends and enjoy the post race festivities.  Thankfully, we moved our clocks back an hour that weekend so the stoopid early alarm did not seem quite as stoopid to our bodies.  We arrived in the dark and got those miles done just in time to start the race.  The weather was beautifully cool and it might have been my most enjoyable 20 miler ever.  The course highlights the best parts of White Rock Lake and the spectators were terrific - I especially enjoyed seeing That Pink Girl in her brand new panda suit!  She and Robert are such a positive force out there on the course, I love it when they are in the role of spectathlete.  

American Music Therapy Association Conference

Another highlight of the fall calendar is the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) Conference.  This year it was held in Louisville, Kentucky the first week in November.  I am fortunate enough to find a field in which my colleagues feel like a big family and our conferences feel like family reunions.  We were in Louisville for conference back in 2007, but that conference is just a blur as we did not get out and do anything at all that was fun or memorable.  One of my goals for this one was to make it a good one, something worth remembering! Mission Accomplished.  We started out with a tour of the Louisville Slugger Factory which was walking distance from our hotel. Our tour guide, Doug, was the best and let us play with all of the HUGE baseball props after our tour was complete.  I had an absolute blast - a must see for any baseball fan!

Another highlight of conference is running with the MTFrunners bright and early each morning.  It is always so hard to get out of bed after a busy conference day and a late night, but it is so worth it. This year we ran to Indiana!  Don't worry, it was not as far as it sounds - turns out Indiana was only about 2 miles from our hotel.  The weather was so nice and chilly and we were treated to a big, full moon and a beautiful sunrise - things that I would not have seen if I were not out running.

A selfie of a selfie while straddling the line between Kentucky and Indiana.

The conference itself was fantastic.  It is such a boost to be around so many energetic people who "get" who you are and what you do.  I always marvel at how far our field has come since my first conference way back in college. I've formed some really great friendships over the years too, and I'm sad that I only see some of these people once a year.  I always come away from conference realizing how precious time is, I wish I had more of it to spend with my music therapy colleagues.

Hay Is In The Barn!

On Saturday Mr K and I ran our last 20 miler of our marathon training cycle.  It is so hard to believe that we are already into taper time, it is such a huge difference when your training cycle starts in late August instead of June.  I wouldn't say that it has been "easier" but it has been "different."  It was a bitterly cold and windy day and I just had to put my head down and get the work done.  Who knows what race day will bring, but I can say that I have enjoyed the training process and I have learned and grown along the way.  That's kind of what it is all about, right?  Next long run will be in California!