Awesome group of running friends
We were missing a few friends for this pic but I'm still thankful we were able to at least get one shot before the race. My husband was so amazing all day, running around Knoxville to capture pics of me (and my running friends) during the race! After the group picture and a quick potty stop some of us headed to the start line. I had to meet Terri there so I went on up after telling Justin goodbye. He snapped a couple pictures of me just before he left me there.
I met Terri in the starting area and we snapped a picture with a friend of hers then we headed to our corral. We had planned to run with the 4:30 pacers so we lined up there. It was a good plan to start. I was not nervous at the start and was really ready to run. The weather was cool and the air was damp due to heavy fog. It was perfect running weather at that point. We had a hard time locating the pacers but eventually a couple of guys in bright yellow singlets with a 4:30 pacer flagged jumped in front of us. I let them know we were glad to see them. We chatted it up with them and a few others in the group while we waited for the gun and GO!
I opted to start my music but only tucked my earbuds into my bra strap (I am THAT classy)! I had my music IF I needed but knew Terri and I would be chatting some and there was plenty of music on the course so I didn't need it right away. The first few miles seemed to fly by. I felt like the course had changed a bit from last year and mentioned that but honestly I doubt I would remember much. We were on track with the pacers and actually they were going just a bit under a 10:30 pace to start. Our plan was to walk through the water stops and if I recall correctly the first one came at mile 2. I think I only took water at this stop. It was short and I felt like I almost lost Terri in the crowd as well as the pace group but she found me and we were back in line with the pace group with no problems.
Miles 1-2 were just settling into the run and went by pretty quickly. Coming out of mile 3 into 4 was great as the climb up Neyland Drive didn't feel nearly as challenging as in past runs there. The crowd support along Kingston Pike heading into Sequoyah Hills was great! So many people with signs and cowbells (MORE COWBELL!!) and cheering just gets ya going. As we ran onto Cherokee Blvd things spread out a bit and I was thankful for that. More room to weave around people when we needed to. We saw some familiar faces of friends we'd met the week before at the bag stuffing event and it was nice to chat it up with them. I wasn't sure where my husband would be but was hoping we would see him soon. Just as Terri was taking her first stop to the potties I spotted him!
Terri told me to go on and that she would catch up. I felt weird about that but was feeling good with my running at that point and didn't want to stop. I slowed my pace a little so that I didn't get too far ahead in case the line was long for her. By the next mile point I spotted a potty stop and decided to take it since I knew we would be making a huge climb at my nemesis hill very soon and beyond that I was not sure where the next chance to stop was. So, I took it and just before going in Terri arrived! She hauled major butt back to me logging an 8 minute mile. True friend there!!
Splits for miles 1-6 (taken from my Garmin upload which doesn't include potty breaks)
Mile 1 - 10:18
Mile 2 - 9:48
Mile 3 - 9:54
Mile 4 - 10:37
Mile 5 - 10:11
Mile 6 - 10:06
As I said before, coming into mile 7 was my nemesis hill. This hill (Noelton) has taunted me since last year's race when I ran the half marathon. I had to walk that hill. I think I ran to like the first mailbox last year before I gave up on it. This year I didn't even let it get me. I kept telling myself "Run with your heart, not with your head," and even had a heart with wings tattoo on my left hand to remind me during the race. I powered up that hill and at one point Terri said to me, "You just ran Noelton. You killed that hill." And all I could say was, "I don't think I did. I'm not all the way up." But I was. And I was stoked. I threw my fists up in the air and said, "I DID IT!" But I still had a ton of miles in front of me. At the top of the hill was another water stop which we trotted through (Not those trots folks!) and at that point I ate a few Honey Stinger chews. We were just about to enter my favorite part of the race on the greenway portion of the course.
Last year most of my training was done on the greenway and I loved it. The only bad part of running the greenway was how crowded it was. This year the fact that it was so foggy and damp was slightly an issue at a couple of bridge crossings. We saw my husband again at mile 9.25 which was a nice surprise. He snapped a picture and I told him what time/mile we were at. He did a great job keeping all my friends updated on where I was all day.
Terri and I both took a potty stop after the next hydration station around mile 10. I was eating a snack when I heard a familiar voice say, "Kick ass girl!" It was another friend who ran the marathon relay! The high five was great at that point. Seems like those things happen just when you need them. After the pit stop we were back on our way. I knew that going into miles 11 and 12 I was in for some more hills. Hills that I walked in the half marathon last year. They were not going to get me this year. I had my mind set on that and I didn't let them. Hill training had paid off and I was really proud of myself again for powering through. If there was any kind of mental struggle at all during this race it was probably coming up at the tail end of mile 12 of what I knew was the half marathon point.
I don't recall having any negative thoughts but I do remember thinking back on last year and where we were at that point in the race...which was almost done! lol I wondered at that point if my friends running the half were done and already celebrating. I wondered if my husband and rest of my family would be there at the half way point to cheer me on. But as we made the split from the half marathoners I realized that no my family wasn't there and that I was for real about to run a full marathon. No turning back at all!
As we made our way down the hill and back into World's Fair park the relay teams were lined up waiting on their teammates to start the next portion of their race. I heard a big, "Wooohoo, Go Kim!" from a familiar voice. I fist pumped the air and let out my own woohoo back! Terri and I did this a lot during the race. We even clapped when passed the bands and just had a good time. Coming up the little hill to our mile 13 I saw my husband. I got a little teary eyed at this point. I knew I was going into a portion of the course that I had not ran but that we had driven just the day before. And I wasn't sure when or if I would see him on that portion of the course again. After we waved goodbye to him again I mentioned to Terri how it really felt as if we were out there all alone at that point.
It's really amazing how many people you lose at the split from the half marathon. Out 7700 people registered only about 780 were running the full marathon. That alone should say something about the course. haha
I was still feeling really well at this point.
Splits from miles 7-13
Mile 7 - 10:51
Mile 8 - 10:19
Mile 9 - 9:31
Mile 10 - 10:20
Mile 11 - 10:38
Mile 12 - 10:01
Mile 13 - 10:13
We were well on our way to meeting our goal but we still had half a race to go. At this point we had long lost the pace group and even many other familiar faces but with already having 2 potty stops plus walking through hydration stations it was to be expected. We were still kicking butt and I was going to complete a marathon. Stayed tuned tomorrow for the second half!
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