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<b>Bottom line</b>: missed even my conservative goal by a wide margin, but I ran half marathon, dammit!<br><br><b>Background</b>: I've run this race twice before, most recently two years ago. It starts in front of the Tennessee Titans stadium, goes through an industrial area and then into a park, where a bike/running path runs along the Cumberland River. It's out and back, so slowpokes like me get to see the front runners coming the other direction starting at about mile 4.5. The race caps at 2000 people, the perfect size for me.<br><br>
This time last year, I was 12 days away from giving birth to my second child. I've really worked hard since his birth to get back into shape and push myself into better running, with mixed success. I was really hoping to PR this race (1:55:50), but had a totally doable goal of under 2 hours. I didn't get in as many quality speed workouts as I wanted, but was doing well on the long runs. Then about three weeks ago, the whole family was hit with a stomach virus. Illness, sleep deprivation and plain lack of motivation made me a slug for about two weeks.<br><br><b>The race</b>: For a couple of days before the race, I'd been feeling a tickle in the back of my throat, and some stuffiness, but nothing too bad. I went to bed at a decent time last night, and only had to get up with the baby once. When I woke up, I had a mild dry cough, tickly throat, and a raspy voice. It was also pouring rain. I opted for a long sleeve wicking shirt and shorts, took two puffs of albuterol, and rode with my friend to the race start, which is about two miles from my house.<br><br>
To do under 2 hours, I'd have to average 9:09 mm. The first mile was 9:16. Not bad. Next was 9:10. Third was 9:16 as the water stop created a small bottle neck. Next mile 9:04. I was feeling pretty good about the pace. I left my firend behind with a wave and a "good luck." At mile five (9:11), I realized that my garmin was counting the miles about .1 mile before the actual mile marker. I was disheartened to realize I need to add almost a minute to my projected finish time. I did mile six in 8:59. By now, everyone ont he course was completely drenched. There were puddles in the path, and I could hear everyone's wet shoes squeeking and sploshing. Mile 7 was 8:58. Another water stop bottleneck gave me mile 8 in 9:26. I was starting to really flag and got nervous. Mile 9 was 9:07, and my calves and hip flexors were starting to hurt. Mile 10 was 9:29. I knew it was only 5k from there, but I was really starting to feel uncomfortable. A gal I'd been chasing the whole time took off in a spurt, and I couldn't catch her. We were heading back into the industrial part of the course, I had about a half mile of strong whiffs of burning rubber from some plant across the river. Bleah. Mile 11 was a tragic 9:46. The friend I'd left behind caught up with me and kept going. This was all according to my garmin, and I was still .1 mile off. Mile 12 was 9:49. I saw the gal I'd been chasing walking. Bummer. Mile 13 was 9:39.<br><br>
For the final stretch, you actually go into the stadium, run around the field, and go throught he finish line. I tried to kick, but it was pretty pitiful. Once I actually stopped running, I was freezing. I forgot to hit my watch right away, and when I did, it was 2:03:46.<br><br>
Mr jebba, Miss Sunshine, and Little Easy met me at the finish. Bless mr jebba, he handed me a thermos of coffee and a warm jacket. I put my medal around Miss S, and shuffled after her as she induced me to run with her.<br><br><b>The debrief</b>: the training wasn't as good as it should have been. My friend ran fewer miles than me and shorter long runs, but was very consistent in her training. It's a good lesson that she powered past me in the last couple of miles. I'm going to run another half in 6 weeks, and I have no idea what kind of goal to aim for.<br><br>
Thanks for reading.
This time last year, I was 12 days away from giving birth to my second child. I've really worked hard since his birth to get back into shape and push myself into better running, with mixed success. I was really hoping to PR this race (1:55:50), but had a totally doable goal of under 2 hours. I didn't get in as many quality speed workouts as I wanted, but was doing well on the long runs. Then about three weeks ago, the whole family was hit with a stomach virus. Illness, sleep deprivation and plain lack of motivation made me a slug for about two weeks.<br><br><b>The race</b>: For a couple of days before the race, I'd been feeling a tickle in the back of my throat, and some stuffiness, but nothing too bad. I went to bed at a decent time last night, and only had to get up with the baby once. When I woke up, I had a mild dry cough, tickly throat, and a raspy voice. It was also pouring rain. I opted for a long sleeve wicking shirt and shorts, took two puffs of albuterol, and rode with my friend to the race start, which is about two miles from my house.<br><br>
To do under 2 hours, I'd have to average 9:09 mm. The first mile was 9:16. Not bad. Next was 9:10. Third was 9:16 as the water stop created a small bottle neck. Next mile 9:04. I was feeling pretty good about the pace. I left my firend behind with a wave and a "good luck." At mile five (9:11), I realized that my garmin was counting the miles about .1 mile before the actual mile marker. I was disheartened to realize I need to add almost a minute to my projected finish time. I did mile six in 8:59. By now, everyone ont he course was completely drenched. There were puddles in the path, and I could hear everyone's wet shoes squeeking and sploshing. Mile 7 was 8:58. Another water stop bottleneck gave me mile 8 in 9:26. I was starting to really flag and got nervous. Mile 9 was 9:07, and my calves and hip flexors were starting to hurt. Mile 10 was 9:29. I knew it was only 5k from there, but I was really starting to feel uncomfortable. A gal I'd been chasing the whole time took off in a spurt, and I couldn't catch her. We were heading back into the industrial part of the course, I had about a half mile of strong whiffs of burning rubber from some plant across the river. Bleah. Mile 11 was a tragic 9:46. The friend I'd left behind caught up with me and kept going. This was all according to my garmin, and I was still .1 mile off. Mile 12 was 9:49. I saw the gal I'd been chasing walking. Bummer. Mile 13 was 9:39.<br><br>
For the final stretch, you actually go into the stadium, run around the field, and go throught he finish line. I tried to kick, but it was pretty pitiful. Once I actually stopped running, I was freezing. I forgot to hit my watch right away, and when I did, it was 2:03:46.<br><br>
Mr jebba, Miss Sunshine, and Little Easy met me at the finish. Bless mr jebba, he handed me a thermos of coffee and a warm jacket. I put my medal around Miss S, and shuffled after her as she induced me to run with her.<br><br><b>The debrief</b>: the training wasn't as good as it should have been. My friend ran fewer miles than me and shorter long runs, but was very consistent in her training. It's a good lesson that she powered past me in the last couple of miles. I'm going to run another half in 6 weeks, and I have no idea what kind of goal to aim for.<br><br>
Thanks for reading.
