4:45 am: No one should be up before the sun—it’s unnatural. I can’t remember the last time I had to get up that early. I’m definitely not a morning person.

5:00 am: This is when I finally got up out of bed after snoozing my alarm once. And I started to question if doing the Hartford Marathon 5K was worth it.

I signed up for the race back in August, and I’ve spent the last two months training for it. If my math is correct, I’ve run 50+ miles in preparation for this, which I think is impressive considering I had only run a handful of times this year prior.

5:15 am: I made myself breakfast consisting of two pieces of toast with peanut butter and yogurt with strawberries.

5:30 am: Josh was up by this time, and I changed into my running stuff. Bib and t-shirt pick-up was the day before, so I wore the race t-shirt along with cropped leggings and a zip-up (which I wore before the race and then took off prior to starting). I also made sure I had everything I needed in my running bag—running belt, armband that holds my phone, earbuds, and inhaler. 

6:00 am: Although the race started at 8:00 am, Josh wanted to get into the city early to ensure we’d get a parking spot. On Thursday night, we looked at the parking map provided by the Hartford Marathon Foundation and found three parking options we would try. The plan was to get there at 6:30 am, which I had negotiated down from the original time of 6:00 am that Josh wanted to be there.

6:25 am: We found success in the first parking lot we tried! It also helps that Josh is familiar with the city because of his work, so I trusted him with the parking options and getting us where we needed to be.

We sat in the car since we were early, and the sun wasn’t up yet so it was a little chilly. This is when I felt like I could finally relax. I spent most of Friday nervous for Saturday morning because: 1. It was a new experience/race for me, and that’s how my anxiety works, and 2. I knew there were going to be a ton of people there. I also had trouble sleeping the night before, due to the worrying. Getting there and easily finding a parking spot felt like checking one thing off my list.

7:00 am: We were parked a few blocks away from the main area of the race, so it was a short walk over. Everything was taking place in downtown Hartford near the capitol building and Bushnell Park (a really big park in the middle of the city that’s often used for events throughout the year). We walked through the park and by the finish line, which was just past the notable Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch. There were vendors set up in the park that we would check out after I finished the 5K race. We were also very happy with the amount of dogs we saw out with their hoomans to watch the races.

7:40 am: By this time, we headed over to the start line for the 5K. It was in the opposite direction of where the marathon and half marathon start line was (since we 5K-ers were on a different route). There were signs for different pace groups; I stood between the 10 and 12 minute mile signs and in front of the walkers. There was an MC in the front of our start line hyping everyone up; he said there were 2,500 5K participants (the final count was actually 2,036).

8:01 am: Then we were off! One minute after the marathon and half marathon folks headed out. Josh stood off on the sidewalk while we started. To my surprise, I ended up running almost the entire first mile, and from then until the 2.5 mile mark, I did take a few walking breaks. There were two sneaky hills, one very gradual and another short but steep, that I slowed down going up. 

The last .60 of the race was downhill and then flat, and I was like, I can do this. Around that area was where the marathoners and half marathoners would be coming through later on (our routes did overlap just a bit in the city) and there were a bunch of people out there who cheered us on. 

I was handed a branded water bottle—that was actually filled with water, I was surprised—and made my way through the crowd to where they were handing out the medals. Yes, even us peasants who ran the 5K got medals.

Josh was on the other side of the barrier in the park, so I had to walk all the way around to actually get to him. In the process, we ran into one of Josh’s former co-workers who ran the 5K, too.

9:00 am: We walked around Bushnell Park and the different vendors who were set up. There was an athlete food tent but the line was already long by the time we got there, and I don’t think Josh could have gone in with me. So we opted for pumpkin bread slices from a bakery that had a tent there.

9:30 am: Then it was time for the beer garden. (Hey, at least we waited until 9:30; it was actually open at 9:00). I got a free beer with my bib, and Josh bought a ticket for himself. As we walked into the garden, one of Josh’s current co-workers was yelling my name; don’t worry, I’ve met her a few times before so it wasn’t as weird as it might sound (she and her husband ran the 5K).

Urban Lodge Brewing was supplying the beer. I got a raspberry session sour and Josh got an IPA. We both really liked them, and we won’t turn down morning beers.

10:40 am: Time to finally go home. We walked back to the car and easily got out of the parking lot. Prior to the race, some of the highway exits were closed and would be until after 11:00 am. We weren’t sure if the on-ramps were open, so we ended up taking the backroads, which was actually pretty scenic with the foliage on the trees.

11:30 am: I immediately hopped in the shower and put on comfy clothes. I also couldn’t stop yawning.

11:50 am: We ate a quick early-ish lunch since we both already had been up for so long.

12:00 pm-2:00 pm: A very well-deserved couch nap.

2:00 pm-5:00 pm: Then I spent most of the afternoon just watching TV, still from the couch. Josh was playing a game on his computer but would occasionally check on me—probably to make sure I didn’t fall back asleep. (He can vouch, too, that our couch is incredibly comfortable.)

5:00 pm: Dinner time, thanks to Josh making mac and cheese in the crock pot. Usually on the weekends, we make dinner together, but I figured he’d be more with it in the afternoon to deal with the crock pot than I would be.

5:30 pm: Part two of our Saturday activities was seeing Quinn XCII in concert. Just like last year when I saw Big Time Rush, this time it was me dragging Josh to a concert, yet again.

I started to get ready, which was vastly different than how I got ready in the morning for the race. Mostly less wicking fabric and more curling wand.

6:15 pm: On the road, again, this time just over 12 hours after we were on the road in the morning. The concert was at the Oakdale Theater, about 45 minutes away. It would be both of our first times there for a concert.

8:00 pm–10:20 pm: The opener, Carter Vail, came out at 8:00 pm. I hadn’t heard of him before but a few of his songs were catchy; I want to check out the rest of his stuff on Spotify soon. He played until 8:45-ish before the stage was cleared and set up for Quinn XCII. He came out around 9:10 pm.

Thankfully we were in the front of our section because I noticed a bunch of people to our left all stood up. I think people were standing up behind us, but since we were in the front, we could still perfectly see the stage. (Also we’re old now and can’t stand for over an hour, thus why we definitely didn’t buy pit tickets.)

Here’s the setlist, in case anyone is interested:

• Candle
• Autopilot
• Stacy
• Coffee
• Georgia Peach

• Worst
• Fake Denim
• Close Calls
• Bartender
• Always Been You

• Flare Guns

• Stay Next To Me

• Another Day In Paradise
• Straightjacket


Encore:

• Panama

• Kings of Summer

• Look How Far We’ve Come



Because I am who I am, I kept researching setlists from other concerts on this tour and found a playlist on Spotify that closely matched what I was seeing online. I know most of his newer stuff but wanted to know all of the songs he would be singing. Because what’s the point of going and not knowing all of the words? (Welcome to how my brain works! It’s a fun place!!)

There were a few songs that were on earlier setlists that he didn’t end up singing that I was looking forward to; he was also sick the week before and had to cancel a few shows so maybe they adapted the amount of songs because of that.

I’m just happy I got to scream-sing “Stacy” and “Coffee”. Those were the first few songs I listened to when I found Quinn XCII in 2021, so it was awesome to see them played in person.

And Josh said he really enjoyed the show! He said there wasn’t a bad song Quinn XCII played; we had been listening to that Spotify playlist for a few weeks to get ready so at least Josh had sort of heard the songs before.

10:40 pm: It took like ten minutes to get out of the parking lot and through the concert traffic on the main road. Once we were on the highway, it was smooth sailing home.

11:30 pm: Bedtime, and boy, did I sleep like a rock that night.