Saturday, March 14, 2009

Race Report: Tom King Classic Half Marathon

I know, I know, I didn't tell you I had a half marathon race this weekend.

Well its because I wasn't entirely sure I did. So now you know, and here's the report.

I finished work on Thursday exhausted. I really didn't sleep at all Wednesday night. There was so much on my mind with book writing deadlines, student assessments, Reese's 4 miler race, and that little event I have one week tomorrow. Yikes!

So as soon as I was finished work I went to the chiropractor for an adjustment, my back has been sore lately, so I've really cut back my mileage. I came home and slept until 7pm. Hubs and I frantically packed and headed out the door at 9 pm for our 15 hour -2 day commute to Nashville. Arrived on my sister's doorstep at 10:30 Nashville time last night. Exhausted.

So anyway, when the alarm went off this morning, and it was pouring rain, and I hadn't yet signed up for the race, my immediate thoughts were. I can skip this. Its my secret race. No one knows I was thinking of running it, so who cares. Good, roll over back to sleep.

Twenty minutes later I begrudgingly got up. My sister was running this race (and Hubs), and since it was an out and back loop, I knew I could see her on the course. It would be our first race that we both ran in at the same time. And my sister is slowly making her way back to racing, so I didn't want to miss that.

I dressed in a skirt and long sleeve. I have run outside in shorts since Philly in Nov, but it was still cold since it was raining, so I stayed inside until the race began.

The course was fairly flat, and scenic. It ran along a bike path along the Cumberland (sp?) river in Downtown Nashville. It finishes inside the big stadium that is home of the Tennessee Titans, and you get to see yourself on the Jumbo tron screen.

I wasn't sure what to do for the race, I decided to play it by ear. I started off a little fast, and after some self scolding, I decided to settle in at a 5:20 min/km/8:58 mil/min pace, and basically felt comfortable. I was able to keep the pace the whole way and ran a personal best of 1:53:15 :).

The good news gets better. Hubs shaved 6 minutes off his PR and ran a 1:44:47. He ran it as usual, without a watch. I don't know how he does this. I'm pretty sure I looked at my watch a number greater than Avogadro's number during the race.

Better still. My sister won the race. Well she was the first female. Her "getting back into it time" was 1:21:4x!!! It was awesome to see her out there, and even more awesome to watch her collect her prize money. Way to go Sissa!!! You inspire me!

The weather for the race was perfect, cool, maybe a little too rainy, but I think it kept you cool, and it was overcast. I really liked the route, and after a tough Canadian winter, I relished the cherry blossom trees and the green grass after seeing nothing but white and brown for months, its a real treat.

I will catch on your blogs soon. In the meantime, if you haven't registered for Reese Run, click here to register, I will be announcing some early bird prizes soon! Thanks for reading!

38 comments:

That Pink Girl said...

Congratulations on the PR - that is awesome!

Unknown said...

Congrats all around! You all did great. :-)

Unknown said...

Congrats on the PR's, and to your sister. Way to go!

X-Country2 said...

What a great reward for getting out of bed! Nice work all around.

Marcy said...

Alright chica!! FABULOUS jobs all around! Whoot!

Anonymous said...

Way to go! It was a great day. hard to believe all 3 of us had PBs.
Bye the way, thanks for all the birthday wishes I received. That really made my day.
(Hubs)

J said...

OMG!! You guys cleaned up, didn't you? Congrats to both you and your hubs on the PR for your "secret" race. And woo-hoo for your sister! She's one fast girl, can't believe she's just "getting back into it." :)

RunningLaur said...

Powerhouse! Way to go for the whole group, great job!

Jo Lynn said...

All three of you, quite impressive.

Denise said...

Wow, all 3 of you kicked butt!! Great job!

robison52 said...

I'm jealous that you have such a fantastic running family! I'm the only runner in my family and often viewed as that "crazy" runner. Would be very nice to have the support in my own family

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Wow! Congrats to all of you, and you on you PR!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! It's a plus to better your PR as well. I ran this one too, drove back same day. Good luck on your next one. This was my 19th state, going for 25 states for now. Maybe I'll see you at a race coming up.

Anonymous said...

Wow that's awesome. I guess sometimes taking a little pressure off can be a very good thing!

Heather said...

Wow - sounds like a great race to everyone! Good job getting out there in the rain, and congrats to your sister and hubby!

Cindy said...

wow. WOW. WOW! what a speedy family! you did great on your secret half! i giggled, because I would have thought the same thing, "nobody knows about this race..." good job on getting out there and doing so well!

joyRuN said...

Congrats to you, sis & hub!!! Nice work all around :)

Must've been too damn cool to see yourself on the Jumbotron!

No Longer Using said...

congrats to all of you!! wow! great races! and...holy crap to your sister!! that's so freaking fast!

Kim said...

Sounds like fastness 'runs' in the family...HA HA I know.

Great job!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Great run and awesome PR

Laurel said...

OMG, that awesome you PR'ed on a race you almost skipped!

Congrats to your whole family! Great job!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great job on the PR! And man, is your sister fast!

RunningLaur said...

Running Hooray Spring on Tuesday is fine - just be sure you enjoy all the sunshine and new green things that you can!

Aron said...

awesome job marci!!! CONGRATS on the PR :)

Run Mommy said...

Wow! That is fantastic Marci! Moe really is getting fast... I can't believe your sister won her race - wasn't she on a break for her babies. Very inspiring!
Looking forward to drawing for the early bird!

J said...

Great job on your run! and great job to your sister! That is so amazing that she won! i would not have wanted to get up that morning either but its great that you did and still ran!! I am just so happy for you, your husband, and sister! What a great racing weekend!!

Vava said...

Tremendous results! And I've been totally negligent in posting about Reese's Run on my blog - must do this today!!!

Marlene said...

Congratulations all around!! Very sneaky holding out on us like that. ;) I bet you were glad you showed up!

Lindsay said...

congrats on the pr (especially after all that driving) and wow your sister is fast!

Anonymous said...

congrats! that's great you got to run a race with with your hubby and sister! she is a speedy one!!!!! awesome job all around!

Tammy said...

Congrats on the PR! And, to your sister for winning the race. Wow! I have a friend who ran that race this weekend, and he PR'ed as well... twas a good day for a run!

Meg said...

Congrats to all! Ha when you said you'd see your sister, I thought that meant she'd be behind you...wow!

Chic Runner said...

Congrats to everyone for such great races. You and the hubs are quite quick and your sis is super quick! :)

Natalie D said...

Wow - way to GO! A PR when you considered going back to sleep!! Great job! Way to go to the husb and sister too!

Kristen said...

Wow those are great times and I'm sure it was fun running with your sister and hubs.

I don't think I will ever do a half in under 2 hours but I'm working on it. I shaved 12 minutes off my first half.

RoadBunner said...

Congratulations!! You have a speedy family!

SuperDave said...

You have some real running blood in your family! You both did great and also your husband. You guys are the bomb!

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