The months of training really did pay off. I finished the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in 3:57:29! Anita Beth finished the Half Marathon in 2:09:32. More important, we had a great time!
Here's how it all went down:
Accompanied by AB's training buddy Kimberly Labas, we arrived at the Marriot in downtown Memphis at 10 p.m. after some good old italian carbo-loading with a long list of Corinth friends who were also running the Half Marathon.
Our first mistake was not checking into the hotel before dinner and picking up our race packets. We awoke at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, threw on our clothes and headed to Autozone park to pick up our packets. If you've ever been to downtown Memphis you probably know that the Marriot is not close to Autozone Park. We walked briskly through the subfreezing early morning. We had our packets by 7 a.m. and headed back to the room to drop off our shirts and goody bags and make the final preparations. It was a wasted 30 minutes going back and forth to Autozone Park and burned some energy that would be needed for the race. It also made me late. I was supposed to meet my training partners at a Starbucks near the start line, but I didn't make it to the start line until five minutes before the gun. Luckily, my friend Lee Rogers is sort of tall. I spotted him and Greg Cooley amongst the throngs after a couple minutes of scanning the 9:10 corral.
We lined up just in front of the 3:55 pace runners. My Garmin linked to the satellite just before we crawled up to the start and we were off! Me, Lee and Greg ran just behind the 3:55 pacers for the first mile or so. According to my Garmin they were running about an 8:30 per mile pace, which was too fast for my blood. I didn't want to burn out in the first two miles, so I let them go. Lee ran ahead of me after the first two miles. He was only running the Half and I didn't want to let him run me into the ground. I was all alone, but feeling good as I was moving comfortably below the 9:10 pace or four-hour pace.
For the next six or so miles I ran behind and around a girl wearing a pink hat. She had a steady 8:45 to 9:00 pace. I didn't speak to her, nor her to me. She probably though I was stalking her, but I find that when I'm by myself I like to have someone to keep within sight to help keep my pace even. Otherwise, I'm tempted to run too fast or drop off too slow. I eventually passed her around mile 10.
Around that same time I found myself running beside a lady with a very steady pace. You could look at her and tell she was an experienced marathoner. I must have been getting lonely or something, but I asked her if she was running the Half or the Full and she replied the Full. It was nice to have someone to talk to as we approached the part of the course where the Halfers split off the course to go to the finish line. I still had a vivid memory of that same part of the course from my disastrous 5:03 marathon last year. The course is a desolate place when you pass the split as all the Halfters break toward the finish line. Last year I completely bonked at mile 14 and walk-ran the final 12 miles. I did not want that to happen again, so I made the decision to hang with this experienced marathoner as long as I could.
After the race I would learn her name was Amy Leahy. Around mile 13 or 14 Amy told me she was trying to qualify for Boston and she needed to run a 3:50 or better to do it. I looked at my watch and the pace on the Garmin said 8:23. Hmmmm. A little fast, but I felt comfortable. On we went. The miles really ticked by from 13 to 17. We chatted a little bit and I just stayed with her. We caught and passed the 3:55 pacers. A few minutes later we caught and passed the 3:50 pacers. I couldn't believe there was a chance I was going to beat a 3;50 marathon, but I wasn't going to slow down now.
After mile 17 I began to notice that I was straining. I slugged on, keeping Amy by my side. At mile 18 and 19 I was straining alot. I took another GU, hoping that would pep me up. At mile 20 my legs said NO MORE! They didn't cramp, I just couldn't make them move at at 8:30 to 8:45 pace anymore. Suddenly, I was behind Amy.
She began to pull away after we passed the 20-mile mark, and was nice enough to notice. Her parting words got me through the rest of the race. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Whatever you do, DO NOT WALK!" I assured her as best I could that I wouldn't and off she went.
The next four miles were positively grueling. I would close my eyes and just keep my legs running, but much, much slower. I probably averaged a 10 minute plus mile the rest of the way. It hurt. I did not walk. I refused. I knew if I walked it would be over. There's no way to describe how hard it was to keep going, but I did.
I had announced to anyone who would listen that I wanted to beat a 4:00 marathon. I knew Anita Beth would be waiting for me at the finish line. I wanted her to be proud of me. I visualized myself crossing the line in under 4:00 and her hugging me. I kept running. I kept looking at my watch and assuring myself that I could do it if I just kept pushing.
Without prolonging it any further, I did it. I sprinted through the gate at Autozone Park and across the line at 3:57:29. It was thrilling! Unfortunately, Anita Beth couldn't hug me because they wouldn't let people down on the field, but she gave me a big shout as I crossed the line. It was good to see her, and it was good to be finished.
Anita Beth and Kimberly finished the Half in 2:09 and both were thrilled with their performance as they should have been. We had a great time. I think the three of us are going to run the Country Music Marathon in April. I can't wait.
I did think about the Transrockies run in the first hours following finishing the run. The challenge of 125 miles in six days has grown immensely following yesterday's marathon. As I lay here on this Sunday afternoon, I cannot imagine running the day after completing 26.2 miles. There is much to do in order to be ready to take on the Transrockies.
