Running The Race

We set three PRs yesterday, Amy, Michele and me in less than perfect conditions.

With my bad luck for race weather, the forecast for Saturday morning called for strong storms and heavy rain. All I can say is that the forecast was on the money.

Amy come over Friday night for pasta and then spent the night.

It was raining when we left the house a little before 7 am. Before we turned on the I-65 to head north to Nashville, I saw the first bolt of lighting.

When we got to LP Field, I called Michele and we parked near her.

Amy and I got out the umbrellas and headed to the stadium to get our shirts, bibs and chips. By the time we got back to the car, we were already wet. We changed our shoes and socks. I had already put Body Glide on my feet before I left the house. I was glad I did. As we were getting ready, Michele came and got in our car. I realized that I had left my Garmin at home, not a good thing.

Wearing garbage bags to keep a little dry, we headed back to stadium for one last trip to the bathroom before heading to the starting line about 7:45. It was still storming as we headed to the starting line but at least the rain was not a heavy down pour. It was the lighting that concerned me.

The gun went off and we started moving toward the starting line. I kissed Amy. Wished her well and told her I would come back to run the last mile or so with her.

Michele and I took off. We were aiming for an 8:30 pace. That would give both of us a PR.

The first mile it took some getting use to the rain. My hands and feet were cold but they soon warmed up. My feet were wet and just continued to get wetter.

The course is very flat for Middle Tennessee. It runs out to a park and then on a greenway that borders the Cumberland River. It is basicly an out and back course. Once you get on the greenway, there is not much room to pass other runners, especially when you start meeting the folks that are already heading back. We kept our pace and did OK getting around runners when we needed to.

After making the turn, we started looking for Amy. If she was struggling, I had decided that I would cut over and run with her.

We spotted her. We were around mile 7 and she was around mile 5. We started cheering and Amy was all smiles. She looked good. I knew she was doing well.

Michele and I trudged on. By now, there were parts of the greenway that were totally flooded. There was no way around the water.

We made it back to the stadium and down the ramp and out on to the field. The turf was mush. By staying close to the wall, it was firmer. As we made the last turn with 50 yards to go, Michele took off. She set a PR of 1:50:23. I was a few seconds behind at 1:50:27.

We collected our metals, had our chips removed and head back out to meet Amy.

The wind was gusting from the South and we were heading right into it. As wet as I was, I was getting chilled. We met up with Amy about a mile and an half from the finish line. She was still in good spirits and all smiles. She was doing great.

When we got to the South end of the stadium, Michele turned left to go watch us finish.

When we got in the tunnel under the stadium we were the only runners there. The security workers started cheering us on. It was really cool. But when we came out of the tunnel onto the field, we heard folks cheering for Amy. I was really special. Amy was smiling and teary-eyed. It was a really special to be there. As we made the final turn, once again I was left behind. Amy took off and sprinted toward the finish line to the cheers of her friends and family. She finished in 2:28:02.

Amy got her metal and we headed up the ramp out of the stadium. When we got to the street, there was all of her fans, Gayle, her roommate, two friends and Michele. Amy was the star.

It is really easy to forget what an overwhelming accomplishment completing a half-marathon can be and all the life lessons one learns. Amy said to me today, it is as much about the journey as it is the race.

Since I forgot my watch, Michele sent me our splits….

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg
1	8′ 40	+0′ 20	6.9	-0.3	0 ft
2	8′ 19	-0′ 01	7.2	+0.0	-3 ft
3	8′ 19	-0′ 01	7.2	+0.0	-16 ft
4	8′ 22	+0′ 02	7.2	-0.0	+10 ft
5	8′ 27	+0′ 07	7.1	-0.1	0 ft
6	8′ 15	-0′ 05	7.3	+0.1	0 ft
7	8′ 22	+0′ 02	7.2	-0.0	0 ft
8	8′ 19	-0′ 01	7.2	+0.0	+10 ft
9	8′ 08	-0′ 12	7.4	+0.2	-7 ft
10	8′ 17	-0′ 03	7.2	+0.0	-3 ft
11	8′ 27	+0′ 07	7.1	-0.1	+16 ft
12	8′ 11	-0′ 09	7.3	+0.1	-13 ft
13	7′ 57	-0′ 23	7.5	+0.3	-3 ft
end	7′ 36	-0′ 44	7.9	+0.7	+6 ft
Versus average of 8′ 20 min/mile

Training for the week
Sun: 12 miles w/ Amy, – 2:14:19, 11:10 pace
Mon: Rest
Tues: 10 miles w/ 5 x 1000m intervals- 1:27:21, 8:43 pace
Wed: Rest
Thur: 8 miles – 1:11:33, 8:56 pace
Fri: Rest
Sat: Tom King Half-Marathon, 13.1 miles – 1:50:27, 8:26 pace

Total for the week: 43.1 miles

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Race Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.