St Jude's Half Marathon

Jim, Samantha and I left town about 1:30 pm to head down to Memphis. We made pretty good time until we actually got to Memphis. Then, badly marked roads and blocked exits had us doing some creative driving to find our hotel. Because of streets being worked on, the trolley system and one way streets, we circled our hotel a few times before we could actually make it over to park.

I drove the van, which is a 15 passenger behemoth. It is too large to go into the self parking garage, underground so we were set to go into valet parking. I have an antitheft system on the van and was going to explain it to the valet. Apparently it was too much and he said to just park in the valet lot and not worry about it. Nifty! We didn't have to pay for parking! We did tip the guy though.

After checking in and making sure we got late check out, we went over to the Expo, which was unremarkable, to get our packets. I was not listed so I went to the help desk. They could not find my registration. I had a print out of my confirmation from the race director (since my entry was being comp'd) and we got everything worked out. I didn't get the free socks that early registered folks did...even though I had confirmation of my registration from July.

After picking up our packets, we wandered down Main Street in the bitterly cold weather. In our packets was a list of places that were offering discounts to racers so we opted to try The Majestic Grille. We had short wait and then got seated. It was located in this huge building, an open space like I would imagine a loft type apartment would be although most are not 10,000 square feet. I ordered a four cheese ravioli, topped with sundried tomatoes (scraped to the side...ick!), spinach, goat cheese and pine nuts. I was not too sure on the goat cheese but it was pretty tasty. Samantha and I also had some broccoli cheddar soup. With my runners discount, my meal was under $16! Since it was still bitterly cold out, we opted to take the trolley back to the hotel.

The alarm went off entirely too early at 6:00 am since we needed check our gear and be in our corrals by 7:45. Sam and I lounged for a few and then snapped some pictures from our hotel room. We had a very small breakfast (bagel for her, Clif Bar for me). Brittany, her sister Brooke and two of their cousins were in the room right next to ours. When we went out to meet Jim in the lobby, they were still in PJ's but almost ready.

Even though it was still cold, we made our way over to gear check and put our bags in. We made the plan to meet at gear check after the race since all of us finish at different times. It was about 10 min before we needed to be over in the corrals so we said goodbye to our jackets and braved the 30F weather over to the start.

Once in the corrals, we kinda huddled together like a group of pengiuns. There was an announcer who was whipping up the crowd and it made me choke up to see all the shirts around me that were running for sick kids. I had already decided I was going to dedicate my run to a precious angel, Eliana. Eliana was the daughter of a friend of mine. She was diagnosed with leukemia less than a year after Devin. She was only 5 months old at the time. Eliana fought a very hard battle, she went through a transplant but the day came when her body just could not battle anymore. She was a tiger, a sweet baby girl and she is sorely missed but never forgotten. Eliana left her family a month after her second birthday. So I ran this for Eliana and all those children who, like Eliana, gave it their all but didn't make it.

The race was set to start at 8:00 am and 15 seconds before, the count down started. Each corral would start one minute after the previous one. The elites and sub 7 min milers took off, music blaring. The music got the crowd whipped up and there was a roar as each corral went across the start line. People were hopping and bouncing with the music. It was an overwhelming feeling, feeling the enegry and being a part of it.

Samantha and I were in the corral behind where Jim was so we all wished one another good luck and took out places. I was back in the 5th corral so started about 6-7 minutes after the elites. All along the course, you saw discarded hats, mittens, scarves, shirts, jackets...even tech stuff. I was chilly for about a quarter of a mile and then I was fine the rest of the run. I knew that would be the case so that is why I chose to run in just a t-shirt and capris.

Speaking of elites, I never saw them. I find it amusing that they start before me, run twice as far as me and finish before me. Heh...isn't that incredible?

I had planned to run with the 5:00 pace group and kept them in my sight for most of the race. About mile 10, I lost sight of them and then the 5:15 group was closing in on me but I managed to stay ahead of them. It was helpful to have them even though I had my Garmin to help keep me on pace too.

There was music and crowds at various points along the course, there was a lotta water and powerade as well as Gu as mile 9. I saw several Elvi (more than one Elvis), Uncle Sam, a Giant Panda, a giant Bunny, a giant Green M&M, assorted Fruit and a lot of dogs wearing signs cheering us on. I felt bad because I also saw more than a few chips on the course where a runner had lost them and never noticed it. They only had one zip tie in our stuff to put on the chip, I like to have two just in case. I never even saw the hospital so I missed seeing the kids out front.

We got to about mile 9 and there was some bad mojo there for some reason. I just was really struggling there so I moved in behind a guy and gal running. He was discussing the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War, civil war photography so I listened to that until I felt stronger and not so dragging. It actually was an interesting conversation and after he realized I was listening, he moved over a bit so I could hear him more clearly. After the race, I compared notes with my group and at mile 9 we had: side stitches, puking, sock twisting and possible blister and sudden nausea. All of us have run longer distances so we are blaming it all on bad mojo.

I just passed mile 11 and a supporter on the crowd yelled to me "Two more miles R3!" (I had on an R3 shirt...local running store) She then saw a couple of full marathon guys by me and yelled "You guys look like you could go at least another 15 miles!" The crowd was a lot of fun. I would high 5 the kids and made sure I said hi to wee ones on the side of the course. I was always worried I was going to slip on discarded water cups but luckily, it never happened.

The police support was good but right before the final quarter of a mile, there were cars coming from cross streets and no one there directing them. I was really worried they would make us have to stop for them. There really needed to be someone there.

It is funny, I train in a very hilly area so this course felt wonderfully flat to me. There were a few minor inclines but it was nothing compared to what I normally run. It was amusing to me to hear the griping from other runners as we went up them.

The Hostess factory was right before we went into the stadium...it smelled so good and I was soo hungry at that point. No free samples, darn!

As I came into the stadium, I didn't see any of my group but knew they were there so I was going to stride out and sprint. A couple of girls were moving like slugs right in front of me so I went around them. I sprinted across and a volunteer draped me in foil like a baked potato and then another put my finishers medal around my neck.

My goal time was 2:27:45, I wanted to be under 2:30 but came in at 2:33:04...I am so not disappointed though, I think it is a great time! Even better, I ran negative splits on the official results!


Mile 1 -10:39
Mile 2 -10:44
Mile 3 -10:53
Mile 4 -10:14
Mile 5 -10:40
Mile 6 -11:19
Mile 7 -11:31
Mile 8 -11:24
Mile 9 -10:53
Mile 10 -11:59 - walked through a water stop
Mile 11 -12:49 - walked through a water stop
Mile 12 -13:03
Mile 13 -11:18
Official time: 2:33:04, pace of 11:42, (split time of 1:14:01, pace 11:57)

I made my way up the stairs to find my buddies. I knew that I was one of the last in my group to come in and sure enough, Jim was up by gear check waiting for me. I got my jacket and we waited for Samantha. I was starving so ate some Clif Blocks. Sam came in about 20 minutes after me and after we got her, we made our way over to FOOD!

There was an area set up for after race eats. You had to have the tag off your bib to get in. The jerk who took my tag ripped my bib!! I know it is not a big deal but now it says St Jude's H Marathon...with a big chunk gone. Grrr!!! There was some yummy hot soup in various flavors (I got potato), huge muffins, bagels, donuts, fruit, cookies, pizza and all kinds of drinks. It was a great spread with plenty for everyone. I got some soup in a cup, which was wonderfully hot. I also juggled a muffin, some cookies (still in my bag), a slice of pizza and about 3 bottles of water. It sounds like we pigged out but it was a drop in the bucket. On the way home, we stopped and had a meal as well.

I did have a problem in the race, totally not running related. I have a nursing baby so no nursing baby for x hours = agony while running. Ouch!!!

It was a great race...now, to start training for the Flying Pig marathon in May!