2:04:03

Country Music Marathon Start

Well..I didn't quite hit the goal, but I gave it every ounce of juice I had so I did my dead-level best and so I am happy with my time. I was going for under two hours this year, and I guess the lack of training this month got the best of me. I was actually right on target for under two but I ran out of steam by around mile 11. Oh well. It was fun and the amount of people running it was unbelievable. Oh...and the weather was PERFECT..no rain!

I woke up at 4:30 to start getting ready. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and drank some sport's drink, then I put on my running gear and waited on Kelli to arrive. She was a few minutes late so we only got to snap a couple of photos.
So then we made plans to meet in Corral 11 because that's where the 2:00 pacer was going to be and Doug and I went to pick up my friend Nathan. He drove in from Memphis to run it with me and it was his first Half Marathon. He parked his truck at the finish line and we picked him up and drove to the Start line. The traffic was insane so Doug took 100 shortcuts through Nashville to get us there. Then we luckily found a place to park and headed to the Porta-Johns. Here's the scene at 6:30! And there's me surveying the area for an alternative. There were 4 other Porta-John areas with the same sized crowd so I was pretty much SOL!
I ended up standing in a shorter line at a permanent restroom at the park, but it still took forever. While I was there, Doug took my stuff to the UPS truck to be delivered to the Finish line, and at 7:00 I heard the gun go off for the start of the race. I managed to get through the bathroom line and get to the start line at 7:10...They let the Corrals out every 1.5 minutes and so it was a while before corral 11 got up to the start. There was a sea of 30,000 people, and I couldn't find Kellie ANYWHERE.! Here is a photo of Nathan and I waiting for the start of our corral.They had this new thing this year called Bones in Motion or BIM. You carry your cell phone with you and the GPS in your phone tracks you and sends text messages to all your friends every 15 or 20 minutes telling them where you are. They could also watch your progress from a computer map, or get emails. I decided to try it and I carried my phone in my jog bra. After we FINALLY started I was running ahead of the pace leader and I spotted Kellie way up ahead so I ran really fast to catch her. Somehow I ended up passing her because I kept running and never saw her. Then she saw me and ran to catch me. YAAAAAYYY!

So the first mile went by fast with us trying to catch each other. The miles actually ticked by pretty well until mile 6. This is where the pace leader passes me and the hills started getting to me, and I took my first gel. I could really tell I was starting to shut down at that point because I had not trained hardly any for the past month..and the runs I DID do were weak. I still managed to keep the pace leader in sight, though...and Kelli and Nathan were behind me. Then this massive hill came into view around 7 miles and I got passed up by Nathan. He asked me how I was (I was walking) and he charged on. This was the last time I saw him.

After the hill we turned and started running past thousands of runners who had not gone though the neighborhood yet. I was psyched to see how many were behind me. I mean it was endless! By the time I reached mile 8..some of those people were just reaching the 4 mile mark. The gel was working and I was feeling better, but then Kellie passed me. This went on back and forth through-out the rest of the race. We'd run together for awhile..then pass each other. But by mile 10 I was REALLY struggling and she had me. The pace leader was completely out of sight by this time, but I kept my eye on Kellie and hoped for the best. I knew I had a 5k to go and I started to panic because I was out of steam , so I took another gel and almost threw it up. My Garmin said 1:31:47, but my pace band said I needed to be at 1:31:13. ok..Not a problem. I will make it up in this mile and be right back on track. Well.. That didn't happen. Mile 11 I was at 1:41:26. I should have been at 1:40:20. DAMN! Ok...re-group and Don't panic. You can still make it. Just really run hard this mile. (With absolutely NOTHING left in the tank!) At Mile 12 the pace band said I should have been at 1:49:27. Garmin time.....1:54:13. At this point tears were starting to stream down my face..The cheerleaders were cheering and moving me along but my legs stopped working. Still...My "Runner's Math" told me I could bust ass and still make it somehow. So I started "sprinting". ( Some people could walk faster than this feeble attempt) It just wasn't registering that I can't run 1.1 miles in less than 6 minutes. It was down hill though..So I'll try.

While I was running my heart out, this spectator jumped out in front of me and I was so focused I ran right over her. Knocked her completely down and kept running. I could her her screaming at me and I was praying she didn't try to catch me because I couldn't run any faster and I would have easily got my ass kicked at that point. With the finish line in sight..and I am sure some UGLY photos..I made a mad dash and crossed over to safety. I looked down at my Garmin and it said 2:04:05. At first I was disappointed..but looking back I gave it my best so I am happy with it. My chip time ended up being 2:04:03. ...and 2:12:58 was LAST YEAR'S time so I beat it!! Nathan finished in 2:03:34, and Kellie in 2:01:18. None of us got under Two. Eddie George (former NFL Titan's running back) did it in 2:02:56! He said it was a lot more difficult than he thought it was going to be, and he was going to do the Full next year but he has changed his mind. HeHe! Nathan has now caught the Marathon bug, though...and he wants to try the Full next year. You go, Nathan! Been there..done that..and I'll be waiting for you at the finish with my Half medal. I can't fathom another Full Marathon.

After the race I went to eat Mexican Food with Nathan and then I went home and took a nap. Later, I met Nathan downtown and we went to the Sara Evans concert which was free for the runners, but we left early because I was exhausted and really sore, and he wanted to go eat the entire Shoney's buffet so he took me to my car and I was home and in bed by 10:00. I am pretty sore today so I went for a walk and I have been eating and eating and eating. The post-race depression has started to set in as well because the anticpation is over..it's done..and I have to wait till next year to do it again.