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<span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><b>Race:</b> Autumnfest 8K</span></span><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b>Location:</b> Knoxville, TN</span></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><b>Weather</b>: rainy and low 50s</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Eight years ago, my entire family decended upon my parents house for the Thanksgiving holiday. For my wife and I it was our first Thanksgiving after returning to the states from England a couple of months prior. On that Thanksgiving day, my brother, his wife and I ran the Autumnfest 8K on the UT campus that was organized by the Knoxville Track Club. That was my first and only experience with this race distance.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Until today…and it was at the same event. Between now and then, the same brother and his wife moved to New Orleans and our Thanksgiving tradition had been to visit them there for the Thanksgiving weekend and to run the New Orleans Turkey day 5 mile road race.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Anyway, the Thanksgiving meal and celebration migrated back to my parents house this year and so we were back to racing the 8K to kick off the day. And just like it was 8 years ago, the weather was cold, windy, and rainy.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">It’s an 8:30 start, so we were up early to prepare and make the drive. After getting our bibs and t-shirts, we huddled around the tailgates of our cars waiting for the start time. The Knoxville Track Club and moved the staging area for this race from their usual location due to construction on the university campus.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">As a result, there was much confusion about where the starting line actually was. And, they waited too late to get it figured out. So, the race started a few mins late, and I’m sure the course wasn’t correct. Oh well.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The president of the Knoxville Track Club sang the Nation Anthem, and did a great job of it. That was a nice touch. The starter gave us the instructions and then fired the gun. We were off. Of course, a pack of guys took off like they were shot out of a cannon. My brother and I were shoulder to shoulder somewhere in between 30 – 40th overall.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">We settle into our rhythm and stay together until just before the 1st mile maker. From there, he started to pick up the pace and I decided not to go with him. I hit the one mile marker with a 6:49 split.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">The 2nd mile was uphill but I was comfortable with my pace. I had slowed down a little bit due to the hill. Mile two split: 7:11</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Mile 3, is a little bit downhill and I get some of that time back with a 6:49. I take two sips of water and don’t break stride at the water stop.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">The course makes a turn back onto Neyland drive and it’s a fairly straight shot back to where we started. The course rolls a bit here, but no real hill climbs to speak of. I’m in a group of people who are running the same pace.</span></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Once past the 4 mile marker (split: 7:03), I step up the pace and have my fastest mile spilt on the last part of the course. Ended up with 6:38 pace for the last .92 (the course measured a little long, but not surprising giving the starting line debacle).</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Ended up with a PR of 34:39, 77 out of 740 overall, 8 out of 54 in my age group. The PR was 5 mins quicker than my time from 8 years ago. I’ll take it.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:medium;">Happy Thanksgiving!</span></span>
