We finally got to Memphis and went straight to the Expo for the race. It was as crowded as I thought it would be. I was able to get my gear and other "stuff" from the expo pretty quickly. It was really nice to have my family there with me this time. For the other marathon I ran (Madison, WI) I was by myself. The circumstances did not allow for them to come. They finally were going to get to experence the race and see what I really enjoy.
Michael and Scott at the Expo (so nice to have the family with me at the race)
We toured the Expo. The kids favorite booth was the chocalote milk booth. We went back twice. I agree the chocolate milk was really good. Once we finished the expo we headed to the place we were staying.
Josh and Scott at the Expo (so nice to have the family with me at the Expo)
My sister in-law, Sue Miller, was so generous to allow us to stay at her apartment on Mud Island only a few miles from downtown Memphis. I was able to locate the island pretty well as well as the apartment complex it was in. We found the street it was on but we did not know the building number. Normally apartment complexes have signs telling you which units are where. We did not see this sign. So I went to the buildings and looked for the unit number of the apartment. After about 10 minutes (not too long) I was able to find it and we moved in. It was a nice 2 bedroom apartment that fit perfectly for what we needed.
Also, before each long run and race I need to make sure I eat spegetti for dinner. Sue again very generous made a lot of spegetti and put it in a crockpot for us to eat for dinner.
Time to hit the sack. The boys and Kayla did great getting to bed.
I had a plan set for Heather so that she could see the race in places that weren't too crowded and so that she wouldn't be sitting and waiting too long. Heather and I spent some time going over the plan. It looked like it was going to work great.
Hit the sack around 9:30. Needed to make sure I got plenty of sleep for the race the next day.
Time to get up and get ready. It was 6:00. I had all my gear set up in the living room so that all I had to do was put it on. I had my IPOD going on my computer so that I made sure the battery was fully charged. I was rocking in the living room. I ate 3 begals and 2 bananas to get ready for the race. I'll need the energy.
I wanted to try to leave the apartment around 6:45 so to get the start line around 7:00. I wanted to make sure I didn't have any stress getting to the start and I would need to stretch before the race. I had my after race bag packed and ready to go. The after the race bag had clothes for after I take a shower at the stadium.
We got the kids up and in the car. Time to head to the race. I saw some others in the apartment with the same "heros" uniform on. That pumped me up. I am ready to go.
Once we got across the bridge to downtown we saw the cop cars with lights on getting ready to block the roads for the race. The boys thought that was really cool. I could tell the kids were seeing the excitment too. Heather dropped me off at one of the red lights. She headed back to the apartment to hang out until the race got to the point we had selected in between mile 4 and 5.
I headed down to the start. I didn't have too far to go at all. It was a bit chilly. I would say the temperature was around 50 or so and overcast. I had shorts and a running shirt on. But, I was a bit excited about running it that I ignored the weather.
Saw all the flashing lights near the stadium. Now this thing is real. I have 26.2 miles to run in just about an hour. Yikes that is a long way, can I do it? Have I prepared enough? Only one way to find out.
First thing was to find the place to drop my bag off. There weren't very many signs so I just went to where all the people were (at the baseball stadium). I found an information booth and asked where the bag drop off was. They were very helpful and pointed directly where to go. I headed over to the bag drop. Once I made to the bag drop I had a decision to make. Do I take the t-shirt off and run with only the hero jersey or keep it on? It was cold now, but I knew I would get hot. I decided with some consulting with the bag check in guys that I would only run with the hero jersey. So it was time to change. Removed the shirt and checked in. (Picture is blurry because the lady who took the picture was in a hurry) - Lots of bags to checkin.
Once I bag checked in, it was time to find the start line. There are multiple racaes going on (5K and a family fun run as well as the half and full marathon. I found a start line and hung out a little while. I then heard the gun start at the start line and a group started running past me really fast. I must be at the wrong start.
I asked someone and they pointed me to the correct start line. Found it and now it was time to find my corral.
Now that I have found the start line I had to decide which corral to be in. My main goal is to finish under 5 hours. I also want to run the entire race (except for water and bathroom breaks). I decided that I would start out slow and then try to either keep a 10 minute pace and then maybe speed up if I have the energy near the end. The corrals are set up by pace time. I found the 10 minute pace time which was corral 9. It is going to be hard to run 10 minute paces. I am used to running a 8:30 to 9:00 pace. I must keep my pace down.
It is around 7:15 and the race starts in 45 minutes officially. I need to go and find a warm place. I headed to one of the hotels to go and hang out in the lobby. Found the DoubleTree. There was runners everywhere.
I had a hard time just waiting. I decided to call the Heather and the kids and chat. I got to talk to Michael, Kayla and Josh. They seemed to be having fun. I didn't want this to not be fun for them. Around 7:45 I decided to head back down to the corral start, get water and use the rest room. Got all that done and found my place. Time to wait on our turn to run. I knew we would be starting around 8:20 or so begining in the 9th corral.
At 8:00 the 1st corral started. It was weird when the race started we just stood there. Then every 2 minutes I heard another group start and we slowly walked to the start line. They started a group every 2 minutes. After 15 minutes of this I was ready to start. We were getting closer and closer.
We finally got to the start line. After 18 minutes of wait time it was time to go. Only 26.2 miles until I am finished with the race.
The crowd loudly cheered and we finally started. It was a bit crowded but not too bad at all. I enjoyed running with everyone. I had my phone with me. I wanted to take pictures during the race as well as text Heather and others during the race.
My main goal was to remember that 26.2 miles was a long way. I wanted to focus on not running too fast at the start. In my other marathon I had started out way to fast and didn't have much left at the end. I had turned my NIKE PLUS to not announce the mileage because if it was off by just a bit off it would drive me nuts to hear the wrong mileage. The NIKE PLUS is not exact and can be off quite a bit at times.
I wanted to stick with a 10 minute mile and then pick up speed later if I could. This was hard. I wanted to run much faster. I was getting passed left and right from others that were running faster than the pace in the corral. Finally, made it to mile one and then two.
I was texting Heather at the mile markers. Heather was around the 4.5 mileage spot waiting on me. I was excited that they were there.
The spectators were great! There were a lot of spectators. I enjoyed looking at the spectators and them cheering. It gave me encouragement. After mile 2 I felt great.
Around mile 3 we passed by my old home. When I was in college I worked in Memphis for about 3 months and lived near downtown Memphis.
After mile 3 we headed down riverside blvd near the river. I enjoyed the great views of the City, River and the bridge. People were starting to shed clothing that they were wearing. The long sleeve shirts were coming off. Of course, they had layered their running clothes. I was not tired at all. All ready, I saw walkers. I felt for them. The corrals I was in were not walking corrals so the walkers are either tired runners or walkers that got in the wrong corral. If they were tired runners they had a long way to go before the finish even if they were running the half marathon.
Now we were starting to get to the other side of downtown Memphis I was getting close to mile 4.
We ran under the I-40 underpass and near the mud island bridge entrance. I have been texting Heather where I was so they could see me run. I wanted to take some pictures with the kids. The kids were waiting patiently for me. Heather had planned and organized things very well. They all had a snack or something to do while they waited for me to pass. They saw some friends of ours from Church and old friends from White House when we lived there.
I was keeping the pace I wanted pretty good. I wasn't slowing down and I wasn't speeding up. Again, my instinct was to run faster and pass people. I knew the time would come for me to try to pass people, but I needed to run my own race.
One of the fun things about running the race is the spectators that are dressed up or doing crazy things. Around the corner of the bridge to Mud Island 3 Santas were there cheering us on. This keeps your mind off the running part of the race and focus on other things.
I ran around the corner and saw Michael's yellow coat. It was really nice to have them their to experience this with me. When I showed up they seemed surprised to see me. I handed my phone to another spectator next to them and asked her take our picture. The picture turned out great. After the picture it was time to head out through the St. Jude Hospital.
We ran through the St. Jude campus. I was hurting at all, but I felt for all the kids that were going through some very tough situations. I hope never to see what St. Jude looks like in the inside unless I get some sort of tour some day. The crowd on the campus was huge and very loud. There were a lot of families that were standing with signs "Thanks for running for my child". My heart went out to these families.
After running through the St. Jude campus I was pumped and having a lot of fun. The run took us down a busy street near the zoo.
The crowd was great! I love a large crowd; it really helps me keep going.
Break time to use the restroom. I felt good. I was trying to keep the pace going.
Running through a portion of the zoo. We turned to see the village people with the YMCA dance going on. What a sight! When the song got to the part with the "YMCA" all the runners joined in. There still was quite a few runners, but it wasn't crowded.
Once of the spots I had given Heather to be at was around the corner. We were hitting mile 10. Came around the corner and saw her and the kids. Did I say I like her and the family being at the race?? I really enjoyed them being there. This was the final stretch for the half-marathoners. The split was coming up. There were quite a few halfers; a lot less than the fullers. The split came; this was my first split. In Madison the halfers ran a different course. The split made it real.
Headed back up Beale Street and there was Elvis! I had to stop and get a picture with Elvis; the picture did not turn out. O well.
It is getting real. Passed the halfway mark. What we have a whole half left? I struggled the next miles.
