Hospital Hill is a 5k, 10k and half marathon race. I ran the half marathon, which starts and ends at Crown Center. I signed up for this race towards the end of my pregnancy thinking it would be good motivation to get back into shape. My goal for this race was to survive and cross the finish line. I meannnnn, I just had a baby 3 months ago!
Our alarms went off at 4:45am. I ate my bowl of oats with baked apple, threw on my new lulu outfit, quickly and quietly transferred the baby into her car seat, and we were out the door by 5:15am. We dropped Maddy off at Grandma's house at 5:30am... she should win an award for waking up that early on a Saturday to watch our girl! We got to the race an hour early (it started at 7am). We decided to sit in the hotel lobby near the start line and people watch for 45 minutes, it was entertaining.
Around 6:45 we made our way to the start line. Scooter helped me find the 2:15 pace leader. I know, I know...super fast. My goal was to survive, remember?!
The weather started out better than I expected. It was about 70 degrees and humid, I was so scared it was going to pour rain the entire race. After running a couple miles, I started to realize why they call the race Hospital HILL. Holy moly, I thought Kansas City was flat?! Every time I finished running down a hill, there seemed to be a new hill to conquer. Even though the course was difficult, I really enjoyed myself, and the scenery was beautiful! We ran through the Power & Light District, Brookside Neighborhood, and The Plaza. From miles 7-13 it rained pretty hard, but it didn't bother me at all.
I finished the race in 2:13:21. I'm aware that is very slow, but I am SO happy I survived and finished with a smile on my face! Also, shout out to my awesome husband for waking up so early and cheering me on!