Race Report - Country Music Half Marathon

My PR would've had me 16th overall out of over 22,000 finishers, BUT, alas, I was still in a car on the highway about 15 minutes before I was supposed to be starting. The logistics at this race were not ideal to say the least. We were staying in a hotel near Opryland, about 15 minutes drive from downtown Nashville. Our plan was to leave around 5:15, get to LP field (where the finish was), and take the shuttle over to the start. Leaving at that time, we thought, was going to give us plenty of time. My wife, her sister, her sister's husband, and I were all doing the race. Fortunately, we had some grandparent help, so the kids stayed in a different room and we got off in the AM easily.

We were on the road right about when we were planning. However, we got to about 5 miles within downtown and then sat on the highway for quite a while. We thought they were stopping the shuttle at 6 AM, and ended up missing that time. We just figured we'd jog the 2 miles over
to the start. But, we kept sitting. And sitting. And sitting. We finally pulled into the parking lot at like 6:45 or so. So we traveled about 12 miles in an hour and a half. The whole source of the problem was the light at the off-ramp to get to the stadium. There was no traffic control and only a few cars were getting through at a time, causing a HUGE backup.

Then, we pulled into the parking lot and started realizing very quickly that the place was a logjam. There were no workers around, a ton of cars in line, and cars parked everywhere they could be. On the grass in between the trees, on the medians, etc. We tried to remain positive, but were all a little bit cranky about the fact that the logistics of this race were such a pain. I guess we should’ve left about an hour earlier, but that would’ve been at 4 AM for a 7 AM start! Oh well…

We finally found a place at the end of a row on a little patch of grass. I then jumped out and took off. I was thinking I would jog over to the start quickly, but then realized I didn’t really know how to get there. I decided to just take the shuttle, which was actually still running, and then just start with whatever wave was starting when I got there. I was supposed to be in the first starting corral based on estimated finish time, but by the time I got to the start line at like 7:14, they were on wave 6. Now I had something like 5,000 people to dodge in order to go fast. I decided to just cruise for a while and see how it went… treat it like a supported training day.

I started and the first mile was extremely crowded. I couldn’t even see the first mile marker; I think I did around a 7 minute mile. I decided to not even pay attention to mile splits. The course wasn’t bad. It had a few minor hills, but nothing like what I’m used to in CA. Still, with the heat and the hills, it wasn’t an easy course either. I hit the 5K marker at like 22 minutes. I figured I could do it as a long tempo run since the crowd would thin out some as I ran.

I got to the long out-and-back section where you could see the leaders coming back the other way. This was sort of frustrating because I could tell this was a field where I could’ve possibly been top 30 or even top 20 overall. Oh well. I tried to just keep cruising a little bit harder. I made it to 5 miles in around 36 and change, but then I pushed a bit harder. I wanted to negative split it. I did the loop at the turn-around and started back towards town. I got to mile 9 at 62 minutes so I had made up some time in the last few miles. Miles 10 and 11 weren’t bad. I was a little fatigued, but was still feeling strong and still passing a TON of people. At mile 11, I had a GU and kept drinking Cytomax and water. It was really heating up. It was only like 8:15 AM, but already in the 80s I think. I was thinking about my brother-in-law who would be out running until around noon in the heat!

The last 2 miles were good. The course took you back to LP field (the stadium where the Titans play) and the finish was just outside the stadium. I was shooting for 1:30 or less, so I kept pushing. I came down the bridge over to the stadium and made the turn towards the finish. I crossed the line with 1:29 something on my watch. Not too bad considering I ran the first 3-4 miles at over 7 minute pace. I was 88th overall out of 22,000 finishers. My PR time for a half-marathon would’ve had me in the top 20 overall – around 16th or 17th. It was not a particularly fast field and the heat took it’s toll on people. I think I could’ve done a 1:24 or 1:25 had I pushed it. It was still a good race and I had fun.

After the race, I went for a short jog and then circled back to catch the winners at the marathon finish. A Kenyan (can’t remember his name) finished in 2:13 and change. Pretty fast for that heat. The women’s winner did a 2:35. Then I regrouped with my wife and her sister (above) and waiting for my brother-in-law to finish. He finished his first marathon and is already talking about another marathon just a few days afterwards, which is a good sign. I was proud of him because he really struggled near the end, but stuck to it and made it to the line. It’s probably not a race I would do again, but we all had fun.