Where the Magic Happens

Oh hello blog, it's been a while! Life has been simply CRAZY lately and before I knew it, April was over! Before we get too far into May, here's a rundown of my big race at Stanford last month...

At the beginning of the month I made the annual pilgrimage to Palo Alto, where runners seeking fast times go for the always-perfect weather and Stanford's magical track. And on April 4, magic happened in my 10k. It was one of those glorious, joyful races where everything just comes together. These races are few and far between, so when you find yourself in the middle of one, you best take advantage of it (aka RUN FAST!) and also ENJOY it, which I did.

In the days leading up to the race, I didn't know if I could run well, as things had been a bit crazy... work was INSANE, I almost missed my flight to CA, and my pre-race run was a whopping 3 miles on the treadmill with a few pickups thrown in. Talk about not ideal race prep. The 36 hours before the race were nutty, but hey, that's pretty much how my life usually is, so I tried not to let it get to me.

And I guess I succeeded! Despite life's madness, on the warmup my legs felt light, airy, fast. On the starting line, I felt scary good. I was afraid to dream… I knew that the night could be special, so long as I stayed calm and didn’t do anything stupid.

The gun went off and I found my spot comfortably in the middle of the pack. I maintained composure as the pace fluctuated between too fast and too slow. Finally we settled into a steady stream of 79s, clicking off the laps.

My group came through 5k in 16:37, on pace for my 33:20 goal and feeling good. As I looked ahead on the track, I realized that I was no longer running mid-pack but rather I’d worked my way into the top 10. Eyes up, I got hungry, moving to the front of my group and trying to run people down. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the hunt, and it was FUN! Let’s race, I said to myself.

Then, with a mile to go, fear and doubt crept into my head… those vicious little buggers! I began to worry that I’d gotten ahead of myself – had I gotten greedy and had made a move to soon? Horrible scenes of hitting the wall filled my mind… what if I bonked on the final lap and didn’t make it across the finish line? Self-doubt won out as my pace slowed to 80s and 81s, and my group pulled away from me.

With a lap to go I finally snapped out of it. Gritting my teeth, I made a hard drive to make up the ground I’d lost. Closing in 74 – my fastest lap – I reeled in 2 girls on the homestretch to finish 8th in a season best of 33:14. I was ecstatic! 

After my last 10k on the track (USA’s in 2013, where I suffered through Des Moines’s heat and ran 36:30… gah) and after apunishing winter in Ohio, I could not have been happier with my run at Stanford. The Kaitlin from 2012 is back – almost to the second, in fact! (I ran 33:16 here 2 years ago.) It has been a long road back, and I’ve come close to throwing in the towel a few times. But when you have races like this one, you remember why you do this and why it’s all worth it.

Post-race with Ohio training partner Nicole Camp and NBSV teammate Steph Dinius

So this Sunday I’m back to Stanford, looking for some more magic to happen. The script is the same – work chaos, life craziness, racing to the airport at the last minute – but I’m hopeful I can pull out another big run. It’s Payton Jordan time, sub-33 time, PR time!

Heading East

It seems like it wasn’t all that long ago that I was writing about big changes…saying goodbye to the life I’d built in San Francisco, packing up my car and moving across the country to Ohio! Now, a little over a year later, just as I feel like I’m hitting my stride here in Cleveland, change is on the horizon again. Avi and I recently found out that we'll be moving to Providence, Rhode Island this summer, where he’ll begin his medical residency at Brown.

In the wake of these recent events, a friend said to me, “Man plans, God laughs.” How true! Always a planner and wanting to know what’s next, I find venturing into the unknown to be less exciting, more stressful. I do well with routine and consistency and thrive off a syllabus or a training plan. So as Avi and I embark on our upcoming East Coast adventure, it’s with a bit of trepidation on my part.

However, if working at a startup has taught me anything, it’s that hardly anything ever goes as planned – your thoughtfully-scheduled day often goes off the rails at 10 am. To succeed in the fast-paced startup world, you must be flexible, nimble, and approach challenges (there will be many!) with a smile. So now that I’ve had some time to let this big change sink in, my tearful, trembling frown has turned upside down, and I’m excited for this next chapter. 

What exactly does this next chapter entail? We pack up our house in Cleveland and find a place to live in Providence. A 2-bedroom place is a must since I’ll need an office – I’m very thankful that I’ll be continuing in my role as Program Manager at MOVABLE, just working remotely. We’ll drive to Rhode Island (cross your fingers that my trusty 1999 Subaru Impreza can survive another long road trip!) and settle into our first home as a married couple (oh yeah, in the middle of all this craziness we’re getting married!). It’s sure to be a busy next few months!

Throughout all this I’ll be trying to run fast. The goal of this season is to qualify for USA Outdoor Nationals in Sacramento in June and race well in front of the hometown crowd. With all that I’ve got going on right now, this at times feels like a lofty goal, but then I remind myself that busy people run fast all the time! Heck, my teammate Annie Bersagel just ran the 11th fastest half-marathon by an American woman EVER (1:10:10), all while working as a full-time lawyer! It CAN be done!

So here’s to Annie – a true inspiration! – and to a busy but exciting next 3 months!