The Knoxville Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k is over and so are my 8 hours of volunteering for marathon related activities (for this I am thankful). My official time for the 5k….. I don’t know. Once again I forgot to look at the clock. My watch said 33.07 some seconds after I crossed the finish line but I must have delayed hitting the start button because this is a little fast for me.
The morning started too early! I woke up a little after 5:00 AM and could not go back to sleep. This meant I had too much time to think before the 7:25 AM race start and I found myself feeling unenthusiastic about the run. I knew I would finish, I just worried that I would give up and walk when discomfort set in.
John dropped me off at the Convention Center near the start line around 6:55 AM. I watched the 1/2 and marathon wave take off around 7:00 AM and walked around until the 5k was ready to start. I positioned myself in the back 3rd of the pack of some 1500 runners.
Bang! The gun went off and the pack began moving across the start line. I looked up and realized that the race started with a moderate uphill climb (Clinch Avenue). I kept running as a number of people slowed to a walk. I have been in this position before! While I passed quite a few runners, I knew many would pass me back as the hill became flat and then downhill.
The first mile went fast. I heard someone in front of me say they didn’t think the course was so hilly when they drove it yesterday. From my perspective, race courses never seem as hilly when driven. This course was definitely rolling! Around halfway through the race, we doubled back on Volunteer Blvd and I caught a glimpse of the number of people still behind me. I was surprised. The course took us on Phillip Fulmer Way where we mid and back of the packers could hear the cheers as the first of the 5k runners crossed the finish line.
Miles 2 and 3 passed. I felt great! I think I was running a little harder than usual but the pace wasn’t uncomfortable so I just kept with it. Before long, I passed the 26 mile sign (for the marathoners of course) and knew I only had .2 miles to go. At this point I started counting steps because the finish was less than 80 steps away…. anyone can take 80 more steps.
Everything at the finish was a blur. My timing chip came off and I started looking for John. He found me in the stadium tunnel and we took off to his neighborhood to cheer the first of the marathoners through miles 21-22. I was back at the stadium by 10:00 AM for 4 hours of chip removal and medal awards. All in all, it was a memorable day!
