Country Music Marathon 2009 Race Report

My fourth marathon is in the books and it was a challenge. Between the heat & the hills I had a tough day on the course, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm glad I finished it.

I started the race in corral 17 which meant I started about 30 minutes after 7:00 AM. I met some cool guys in the corral who were doing their first half marathon. There was a ton of energy - from the runners to the people cheering us on at the start of the race and everywhere in between. I was pumped and ready to run.

The first few miles were in downtown Nashville. I enjoyed running through the tall buildings because livin' in a small town I don't get to see that everyday. I got to run by Vanderbilt, where the Predators play, and The Country Music Hall of Fame.

The next 6 or 7 miles were through some old neighborhoods. That is where tons of people lined the streets. There were tons of people cheering you on, holding up signs, and little kids giving out high fives. The fans were the best I'd ever seen. This was one of my favorite parts of the course.

Somewhere around mile 10 to mile 11 the Marathoners split off from the Half Marathoners. The course quickly became empty. Most everyone was running the half marathon. So now there are less spectators and it is getting hotter, Much Hotter! This point in the race I'm still feelin' good... but I'm starting to wear down.

While I was running... this is what my wife was doing: (waiting)

I was still feelin' okay around the half way point, but when I got almost to the Cumberland River the sun was sucking the life right out of me. The river was pretty- but there were no trees or anything to give you shade. At this point in the race I began to have problems keeping my pace. I was tring to do a 3:1 run to walk, but I was starting to need longer on the walk breaks.

As I ran back towards downtown I was looking for gels, salt packs, and anything else I could get in my mouth. The hills seemed to be getting longer and longer. I could hardly run, at this point. I would walk and shuffle and then walk some more. I knew I was in trouble when the volunteers where trying to give me two cups of water.

The last 5K was the longest part of the race. My pace per mile was getting slower & slower. Between the hills & the heat- I had nothing left. I pretty much walked the rest of the race. I was exhausted.

Once I started walking I knew my wife was going to freak out. And she did. I normally finish a marathon around four and half hours... well I didn't cross the line until it became 6:00 on the race clock. I found out that she had been talking to all the medics to see if I was in the hospital. She told me that she had never been so glad to see me.... I told her that I've never been so glad to see her!

Here are my splits per mile. At mile two I stoped to use the bathroom in McDonald's. Can you see where I started to fall apart?

Mile 1 - 9:55

Mile 2 - 14:00

Mile 3 - 10:44

Mile 4 - 10:30

Mile 5 - 11:05

Mile 6 - 10:08

Mile 7 - 10:34

Mile 8 - 10:32

Mile 9 - 10:52

Mile 10 - 9:46

Mile 11 - 11:02

Mile 12 - 12:08

Mile 13 - 11:05

Half Split - 2:23:34

Mile 14 - 10:17

Mile 15 - 11:41

Mile 16 - 12:04

Mile 17 - 13:03

Mile 18 - 13:08

Mile 19 - 13:43

Mile 20 - 13:37

Mile 21 - 13:49

Mile 22 - 15:59

Mile 23 - 17:32

Mile 24 - 15:16

Mile 25 - 17:55

Mile 26 - 16:57

Total Time - 5:29:59

This was not my best marathon that I've ever run but it was definitely fun. I would like to run the course again... but when it's not 85 degrees outside.

FYI - I did beat Blane & Dane from the show The Biggest Loser. They crossed the finish line before me but thier chip time was 5:47:20.

Other famous people that I know that ran the race:

Jason Mraz ran the half marthon. He finished in a time of 2:20:14

Dave Ramsey ran the half marathon in 2:08:49

I want to thank my awesome wife & daughter for supporting me from before the begining. Also the Barretts & my mother-in-law for putting me up in their home. Thanks for Devon, Michelle, Brayden, Matt, & Becca for coming out to the race. And thank you to everyone that has commented on this blog, twitter & facebook. I thought about all of you guys while I was running this race. So, This Big Smile & Thumbs Up is for You!