My History with the Kentucky Derby Festival Full & Mini Marathons

Training for the KDF Mini

I started training for the KDF Mini in February, only to have the annoying pain of shin splints cause me to take off three weeks. I was frustrated, because I could not train to my potential. My original goal was to run a personal best which is common for runners who want to prove to ourselves that, “We still got it.” Reality was another thing. There was no way I could run a sub 1:42 half with the extra weight gain and lack of mileage.

I had to cut portion sizes, and ease up on meat and junk foods. This was about the time I started a 10-week Express Invisalign. I have to wear my aligners for 23 hours a day. I cannot sip tea all day like I normally do. Increased water intake helped with the shin splints. No candy and no snacking. Basically, I take the aligners out to eat lunch and dinner. I can only drink water. This helped me shed a few pounds.

I made sure to get plenty of rest all week before the race. My new goal was to finish under 2:00. The night before, I took a look at my https://kelsielou.com/race-summaries/ page to make some updates and remind myself of previous performances.

The positive thinking and sacrifices resulted in me having an extremely pleasant race. The weather was PERFECT!! I did not run with music. The real reason is because I have not taken the time to link music to my new Forerunner 645 Music. The crowd support and DJs along the course kept me entertained.

Race Highlights of the KDF Mini Marathon

• As soon as I entered Corral B a stranger asked me to tie his shoe. I thought it was a little odd, but I humbled myself to kneel down and tie this man’s shoe. Then, he asked me to tie the other one. I made sure I double knotted and tucked the ends under his laces like I do mine. When I stood up, I saw that he was wearing a Special Olympics shirt. I introduced myself, and he told me his name was Nick. His corral was F, but he was all the way in the Bs. He told me he had run the Mini before. I let him lean on me to stretch. We crossed the starting mats and ran together for a block. I did not see him after that. I’m glad I was able to be Nick’s friend in that brief moment.

• The first few miles has a lot of turns. The pattern is: 2 lefts, 2 rights, 2 lefts. It makes it easy peasy to run those tangents.

• There was a water station between miles 6-7. I thanked the volunteer. As I passed I heard her yell, “Kelsie!” I turned back and saw her face. It was the former Finance Manager at Job Corps. She and I settled up a lot of checks back when I was the Recreation Supervisor. It was so good to see Dawn after all these years.

Results of the 2019 KDF Mini

• Finish Time: 1:52:28
• Age Division: 40/643
• Women’s Division: 313/4557
• Overall: 1175/8138

The non-measureable is feeling like myself again, having that surge going into summer with fun 5 and 10Ks, and a unique half marathon picked out for the fall. The full marathon calls my name sometimes, but I suppress those thoughts. I’m not insane anymore.

While I was finishing my race another co-worker, Ms. Glass, was participating in the preliminary rounds of the National Physique Committee Derby Championship. She has been training since January, and I saw her already toned body become even more defined. She emailed me her eating plan, and I was blown away with the attention to detail and the daily water intake. In addition to her lifting, she had to do 70 minutes of cardio a day and increase her water consumption even more.

I went back downtown to support her Kentucky Derby fitness efforts. Unfortunately, I did not get to see her Master’s Figure 35+ pose on stage because the NPC program is so long. The bikini category was the largest and took a couple of hours to go through each category, class, etc.

There is more to the Kentucky Derby than horses. Next year, I may do the Tour de Lou bike ride.

The Marathon Continues🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁

💙Kelsie Lou💙