My Knoxville Half....

Well, I have been wanting to write about my half-marathon experience before I forgot it so here goes.......

Had to get up at 5:00 am. And I was lucky that I did actually get up then instead of hitting the alarm because once I had my gear on, had eaten my english muffin and banana, and hit the road it was 6:00. And I didn't get downtown until about 6:25. I parked in the parking garage right off of Clinch Ave across from the World's Fair Park and made my way up to the start line on the Clinch Ave bridge. It was SOOOOOOOOOO cold. Everybody was huddled up inside the Knoxville Convention Center when I went in there to potty. I was just praying that would get me through the rest of the race and that I wouldn't have to stop at a PortOPotty along the way.

As 7:00 am approached, thousands of people began to line up for the race. Now choices have to be made..Do I line up with the people who run a 11/12 minute mile or does my first time marathon low self-esteem win out and I line up with the 13/16 minute mile people? Low self-esteem won and I made my way to the back of the pack. The shot gun went off and .....I stand there. Then begin to walk slowly....Then jog. I cross the start line almost 3 minutes after the gun sounded.

Well, the start of the race is wonderful, of course. Instead of freezing I begin to warm up which feels great. I begin to pass alot of people. I look down at my IPod and ...OH NO!!!!! My sensor that does my pace, etc. is laying on the kitchen counter at home. I feel stupid that I forgot it. I have a moment. But then, I tell myself that I remembered everything else important and maybe I just need to let loose and listen to my body.....Who cares about pace? I will just run and when I get tired I will slow and when I feel good I will speed up. So, there I am just running and running but having no idea how fast I am going, how far I have gone, etc.

So, we head out and go down the hill toward Neyland Stadium, then head out onto Neyland Drive. Pretty long stretch beside the Tennessee River which is beautiful. The runners really began to spread out here and for a while I was running by myself with lots of people in front of me, lots of people behind me, but no one beside me! It was kinda nice....I pretended that I was just running in my neighborhood but that now my neighborhood was next to the river.

As we began to head up a hill to Kingston Pike, I realized that people were beginning to take walk breaks. Walk break? AAAAHHHHH, what was this? I mean, we had only run about 2 miles at this point. Did people know something that I didn't? Maybe if I took a little walk break I would have more energy later? I decided to walk for about a minute. Then I started running again. I told myself my plan over and over in my head. I had promised myself that I was going to run the first five miles WITHOUT stopping. So why had I stopped and walked? Peer pressure. I start running harder to prove to myself that I am not a wimp and wave at the news guys on the side of the road.

Ok, so we head down Kingston Pike. And into Sequoyah Hills, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Knoxville. Gorgeous landscaping, homes, etc. Just a beautiful place to run. Eventually here they have a big mile marker beside the road....5 miles. Ok, I have done my 5 miles. Now maybe another walk break? I headed toward the water/Gatoraid station and jog by, spilling the Gatoraid all over myself as I run. Now my new goal is to take walk breaks while I am drinking. That way it will actually go into my mouth and not down the front of my shirt.

Run, run, run. See some funny things. One guy was running backwards. And seemed to for a long period of time. Also notice at this point that lots of the men are just stopping and peeing in the ritzy neighborhood yards. God bless 'em for letting marathoners do that every year. And around mile 6 is when I realize that I kinda have a running buddy...He has been beside me on and off most of the race...An old man who looks like he is at least 85 years old. He had a bright orange bandana and a fierce expression...But I bet in his mind he was saying "I will beat this little 35-year-old girl beside me and show her what's what" because in my mind I was like "please let me beat this 85 year-old. Not that I don't want him to do good but he is 50 years older than me......it's just embarrasing......"

I think that about mile 7 or 8 was when it hit me that I was actually running for 13.1 miles and that meant that I had a heck of lot of miles to go to be finished. What in the heck was I doing? I was TIRED. OF RUNNING. And there was a big hill looming....I decided to walk it. Up out of Sequoyah Hills onto Kingston Pike again...But now we are more down in Beardon. Wow. How did that happen? Now it is time to go get on the Knoxville Greenway and head back toward downtown. Third Creek trail, here I come! I am pretty familiar with this trail since we ride bikes here alot. I can do this, I can do this! I get a little bit of renewed energy and start passing people again. As a matter of fact, I think that miles 9 and 10 were my fastest of the race. I don't know that for sure though since I left my Nike+Ipod sensor at home on the kitchen counter.

Ok, so at mile 11 they were supposed to have gel for us to devour. That is that candy-like substance that you squirt in your mouth full of calories. When I got to mile 11, no gel!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was very sad. That is what had given me my boost was the thought of getting that and refueling a little bit. I think they ran out before I got there which made me doubly sad. If I had just been doing better I would have gotten it....This was my down turn. Decided to walk the whole entire mile from 11 to 12 in protest.

As I begin to run mile 12, low and behold but who runs up next to me? Little old orange bandana man. AAAAHHHH! He really is gonna beat me. And there is this other girl who keeps walking and then when I get up to her she looks at me over her shoulder and starts running really fast. She does this at least 3 or four times to the finish line. I realize that I am her "person" ...the one she has picked to beat. But my person is little old orange bandana man.

It starts to get more exciting as we near Neyland Stadium.....And oh, the joy I felt when we got to the half-marathon split. The marathoners had to keep going and the half marathoners ran a different direction. I remember saying aloud..."Thank you Jesus that I am almost through and please be with all those poor fools who chose to do the marathon...."

Now it is the home stretch. My knees hurt real bad. I slow down as I get to the finish line instead of speeding up. I am tapped out. Little old bandana man runs ahead of me and crosses the finish line before me. Oh well. As I run across the 50 yard line of Neyland Stadium I feel nothing but relief. I am just glad that it is over. I slow down, walk. All I can think is "I need food...I need food...." I make my way to the little celebration station after I get my medal and grab a bagel and shove it my mouth so fast I almost choke. And I grab a Vitamin Water and gulp it down. Everyone around me looks rested and like they really enjoyed themselves. I am the color of a beet and still have sweat pouring off my body...I look like I have been badly sunburned and then dunked in a pond.

I make my way out and begin dreaming about just getting home and getting into the bathtub. And I want more food. Now where did I park the car? Isn't it way up the hill in the parking garage? Oh no. I walked and walked and walked and walked...Which was probably good since if I had stopped my muscles would have atrophied and I would have just been frozen like the Tin Man. Got lost and got a great tour of the University of Tennessee. However, this is not the time I want to be walking aimlessly around campus. After wandering around in the cold for about an hour I finally find my vehicle. Thank goodness. I can go home and revell in my accomplishment later.