Day 2 in Houston didn’t begin until after 8am on Friday morning, as I let my body sleep until it was ready to rise. I met Ashley to run our 4 miles- easy in the hotel lobby, and Justin finished up his long run with our short jaunt. On both Thursday and Friday runs, we headed West from our hotel- away from the busy streets and stoplights of downtown Houston. We followed paved trails through “Bayou Park” that ran on either side of the river. The two streets that paralleled this river were a part of the marathon course, leading the runners west, away from downtown, and then looping back on the other side of the river- coming back East into the city. Ash and I did our usual, “socialized running” and it seemed to feel like a typical run back in Des Moines… rather than the last run before the biggest race of our road running careers, yet. The 4 miles seemed like nothing, after the miles of training, and Justin and I were back in the hotel room and showered by noon.
Justin and I met my Saucony rep in the Saucony hospitality suite to obtain my new racing uniform, gear, and full bag of Saucony goods. Turns out, she is also the rep for the Elite Triathletes that Saucony sponsors… so she and Justin enjoyed talking about his background. I was recently accepted into the grass-root program for Saucony, as part of their regional standout runners, or “hometown heroes” called Team Hurricane. I am very excited to have the support and assistance of such a brand, as I continue to train and compete. It is an honor to represent the Saucony name and company as I race locally, regionally, and nationally.
From there, Justin and I headed to the host hotel for the Olympic Trials event, to attend the athlete technical meeting with all men’s and women’s marathon participants. Justin was named my “Athlete Support” credential, and was then able to get into all the restricted zones with me, as the elite athlete during the entire Trials weekend. This credential would typically be used for a professional runner’s coach. The reality of my weekend truly hit me, as Ashley, Justin, and I entered the room and sat with the other 320 (men and women) competitors and their coaches. The names and faces that I witnessed walk through the door for the meeting… were the nation’s best of the best 26.2 athletes. Me, the small town Iowa girl, who reads and envies the talent and abilities of these individuals in each month of Runner’s World and daily videos on Flotrack.org, could barely take it all in at once… Deena Kastor, Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Desi Davilla… Ryan Hall, and SO many other idolized runners surrounded me, all in the same room. Get it together, Kelly! I eventually regained my focus and was able to tune into the meeting J
We obtained our bib numbers and timing chips following the meeting and headed to the athlete hospitality suite to have our uniforms reviewed and cleared to race in. Each athlete was required to present every article of clothing that would be worn the day of the race. Brand names and club logos were measured and covered with tape if the logo was greater than the required size. Double logos on one item were also covered, only allowing one logo to be shown. The entire uniform and warm-ups were then photographed and the athletes name and number shown. Whether this was all completed due to the NBC television coverage standards, or for further reasoning, it was quite interesting and not something that we had ever seen with any other televised professional sporting event.
Justin and I left the Hilton host hotel and met my parents outside in the courtyard “Discovery Green” park, directly adjacent to the start/finish line of the race. We took some fun photos with the Olympic Trials start/finish, signage, and posters. The Olympic Trials Opening Ceremonies was held outside, on the courtyard, with a large stage and jumbo-tron. I enjoyed meeting various fellow-competitors, as we processed in together, holding our American flags and smiling to the cheering crowd. As I walked toward the large crowd of family, friends, and supporters of the event I was overcome by pride and emotion, as I rounded the corner and walked in front of the cheering fans, standing on their feet, cheering, flashing cameras, and cheering. As they seated us, in the athlete area, I walked by the front row and out of instinct- stuck my hand out to the gentleman in the first row and said “Hey Bill, thanks for being here tonight and for your support!”… As Bill Rodgers looked up at me, smiled, and replied with a happy “Hey! Best of luck to you, tomorrow!” GREAT guy. The Opening Ceremonies included speeches from former Olympians and concluded with a booming fireworks show. Somehow, I was randomly asked to do an interview with the local Houston news station, with “Cheeta”, the newswoman (yes, Cheeta…”just like the cat!” she told me). I am not sure if my 60 seconds of coverage made it onto the Houston news on Friday night, but it was just one more fun experience to add to this weekend of events!
We concluded our Friday night with my preferred pre-race meal: #12 from Jimmy Johns and a 12 oz. bottle of Chocolate Milk… my true fuel for success. Back at the room, I competed my uniform prep of pinning the bib numbers on and lacing up the timing chips on the shoes, and getting all my ducks in a row for the big day. A little stretching, a little massage (compliments of my “Athlete Support” Fiance) and the most important: Bedtime- 10:15pm.
Sweet Dreams!
DK
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