 posted Apr-02-2007 02:41 PM
   
This is the “long version” of my Knoxville Race Report
SETTING UP THE DAY
This race represented a number of “First’s” for me.
First Half Marathon
First race outside of Virginia
First “Big” race with a large number of entrants
First meeting with any Boomers from Cool Runners
First race with my Garmin I decided to drive the 300 miles to Knoxville on Friday afternoon and enjoyed the beauty of western Virginia and eastern Tennessee. The dogwood were brilliantly displayed and the other colors of spring made the trip most enjoyable. Passing through Abingdon, VA, I was reminded of the Virginia Creeper race with JJJessee and Tramps running in this over the weekend. Saturday morning I ran what was supposed to be an easy 3 miles and discovered that I was not finding them that easy. That being completed, I quickly got into the day and enjoyed discovering Knoxville and the area. After lunch I headed off to the Expo to pick up my packet. Heading into the Registration area I discovered that the “Future American Model” interviews were being held in the same area. Each of these female hopefuls was decked out in the outfit they thought would give them an edge. I was relieved to find out that their skirts were not the “running skirts” that are now making their appearance in the running world and that the Boomer goddesses have been talking about.
BOOMER DINNER
Thanks to the help of Piejones, we had arranged to meet at a local restaurant in the downtown area. I arrived a little early to find Piejones talking to Tom White. They were easily identifiable since Tom was wearing a shirt with the words “Cool Runner Boomers” printed on it. I was introduced by Tom to his wife Pickles and we all headed to our table. Soon we were joined by Munchkin and husband Steve, as well as Littlerockgm and wife Vicky. This was just a lovely evening of getting to know each other and placing faces to the names we regularly see on the Boomer thread. A number of good stories were shared in a short period of time. Steve kept watching NCAA basketball that was displayed on a TV that could be seen over the shoulder of Piejones. Since Pie was recording the games for later viewing, he did not want to know how the game was going. Steve was having a difficult job to keep his reaction to the game in check. Munchkin was a lot of fun and lived up to the image I had of her from her postings. While meeting her for the first time, Munchkin looked and acted like she is doing just fine. Littlerockgm is a great guy and has some wonderful insights into running and experiences that he and Vicky have enjoyed. They are a wonderful couple who obviously enjoy their life and the opportunity to run together. Vicky is a very personable lady. They are just a neat couple. Tom White is a lot of fun, which should not surprise anyone. I helped him the best way I could by eating some of the huge order of nachos that he got. I was concerned when the plate arrived and it was loaded to the hilt, that if he tried to eat it all he would not be able to run the next morning. I think we were BOTH happy when the rest of the Boomers arrived at the table and helped us with the nachos. Pickles is a fine person and seemed to enjoy finding out that some of Tom’s friends are actually people who do exist. The see through shirt has been promised to me by Tom. I think he wanted to check to see what form I had before finalizing the offer. Piejones did a fantastic job of organizing the evening for us. He had kept us informed all along the way with emails leading up to the event. He has a great way of making people feel at home and has a real servant’s heart. Thanks again, Pie, for all of your help
You are a great friend to us all. I don’t think the Boomer meeting could have been planned out, designed and enjoyed any more than it was. This was simply a great evening, of quality people who share in their passion for running, being able to meet. Thank you folks for making me feel so welcome and for the great time that it was.
RACE DAY
Saturday morning arrived with the threat of showers being the forecast. Due to the early time change, this meant that the 7 AM start was happening in the dark. With ten minutes to go, the heavens opened and a steady rain came down, which was greeted by the moans and groans of race participants. It had almost stopped raining when the gun sounded, but by then everyone was either totally wet or wrapped in rain gear. Fortunately the temperatures were warm. Throughout the race light showers continued, which did affect the traction at various times but really was not too much of a problem With recent difficulties that I have been facing while training, I had determined not to run too hard, but rather, let the “race come to me”. If I felt good I would push, but if there was too much difficulty experienced in running I would ease up to the point of toleration. March had been a PR for my mileage, so it was not a case of lack of miles. For some reason my pace time has significantly increased and running has become difficult over the previous few weeks. However I was determined to still run this Half Marathon if at all possible. My new adjusted goal was 12 minute miles with a finishing time of 2:37.
THE COURSE
The Knoxville Half Marathon starts at the Convention Center downtown. It heads through the University of Tennessee for the first mile and then goes two miles along the river. For another mile it goes along Kingston Pike, which is a main road heading into town. From there the next three miles winds through an impressive residential area. This part is hilly but the beautiful homes, showcased by the spring flowers and dogwoods, are enough of a distraction to make it very enjoyable. The rain kept away many of the normal spectators, but those who did show up were spirited and encouraging. After a couple of hills that leads back up to the Kingston Pike for a mile, the next three miles goes along the Third Creek Bike Path. This was another very enjoyable part of the run, although the rain made it a bit treacherous underfoot. The main concern was experienced when running over one of several wooden bridges or going down the short but steep slopes that made up this part of the race. The final two miles for the Half Marathon course returns to the downtown streets and back onto the University campus. The finish is in Neyland Stadium, the home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team. The slippery cement ramp that leads you from the stadium entrance down to field level was scary but is fortunately short. You enter the playing field and “Finish at the Fifty” to end the race..
MY RACE
I purposely wanted to start slow. For a while I ran with the crowd but I also made sure I didn’t get swept away by the hype. I was having difficulty with discomfort during the start, so did not push. My heart rate was higher than what I wanted the first couple of miles, but by keeping the slower pace I was pleased to see that it did not get out of control. My time after the first mile was 11:37. I was pleased with this time and realized then that I was going to be able to enjoy the day. My times all ranged in the 10 and 11 minute pace. I must confess that since I was not trying to push, I was not really that aware of my times and my goal was not really on my mind. However, when I got to the 12 mile marker I realized that my time was quite good and that I was running with relative ease. This meant I could push over the last 1.1 mile. I ran into the stadium, down the slippery ramp and onto the playing field. Just as I hit the orange and white checked end zone, I heard my name announced over the stadium sound system. I was already running quickly at this stage, anxious to “Finish at the Fifty” and hoping not to “Fall at the Forty”. I saw the time clock and realized this sprint was important. Sprinting by two other runners I crossed the line at 2:24:08…..11 minute mile pace. This was a full minute faster than my goal pace and 13 minutes better than my goal finish time.
MY STATS
Time 2:24:08
Pace 11:00
Place 888 /1391
Gender 557/793
Division 25/39
GARMIN REPORT
This was my first race with my new Garmin. Earlier in the week I had posted a thread asking for Garmin settings that others use. This was a MOST informative thread and helped me to think through a bit of what I wanted for mine. Since I have been having difficulties in running, I mainly bought the Garmin to track my heart rate. This proved to be extremely beneficial as I monitored my race. To start my heart rate was higher than what I wanted and caused me to slow down. However, after about 4 miles, the heart rate remained constant despite my effort. If did creep slightly higher in a uniform manner, but definitely was not affected by how I ran. My slowest mile for the day was my first…….my fastest mile for the day was my last. The last tenth of a mile was a sprint with my heart rate not spiking at all. I had set alarms for “too fast” and “too slow” that proved to be more of an annoyance than a help. On a side note, I had these set and my watch on during my drive to the start line and the beeps indicating “slow down” were a REAL annoyance there. Because of the rain I needed to clean off the screen in order to see and accidentally hit the “lap” button. This threw off my automatic lap settings but fortunately I hit lap again at the next mile marker and it only meant that I had to add two shorter “laps” to find a number for this section. My Garmin was marking miles at a .01 rate faster than what the course signs were set up for. This meant that my mileage, Gramin-wise, was .13 tenths of a mile more than the 13.1 miles (i.e. 13.23 miles). That surprised me but is certainly acceptable for what I can do with it. FASHION REPORT: I had a white tee shirt, red shorts, white socks (to accommodate the Velcro ankle timing chip) and New Balance shoes. Accessories included a green Nashville Marathon bib and 4 silver safety pins. I also had a red baseball cap that I often wear backwards. When the rain came, I would turn it around in the normal position and use the visor to protect my glasses from the wet. Then when the rain stopped, I would turn the hat back around. Well, all the rain caused the red dye in the cap to run. By race end my fingers were red, my neck was red, my forehead was red and the neck of my white tee shirt was red. I was wondering why I was getting strange looks until I saw all the red in the mirror. FINAL COMMENTS This race was a great experience and a ton of fun. I highly recommend that next year there be a reunion of these Cool Runner Boomers and that as many others as possible would join in. My quick calculations suggest that there are about 30 people who frequent the Boomers threads each day who are close enough to make this race. If you are able to come, I am confident that you will enjoy it.
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vista129
[This message has been edited by vista129 (edited Apr-02-2007).]
IP: Logged |
He also might be afraid that you will somehow manage to turn it red. A weekend of Firsts -- seems all were positive. Fantastic. We'll be looking forward to hearing about your marathon this fall. Cindy
. Sounds like everything about this race was fun. Thanks
