Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon

I ran my 6th half marathon yesterday - the Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon.  This race is a part of the Tennessee State Parks Running Tour.  It is a low key race - I think preregistration was only $5, and $20 if you wanted a race shirt.  No medals.  I decided this would be perfect as race #2 in my quest to become a Half Fanatic.

If you read my post earlier in the week, you know I was a bit freaked out about the race instructions I received indicating that finishers anticipating a finish past 3 hours should start at 10 with the walkers, rather than at 11 with everyone else.  Since I've finished on both sides of the magical 3-hour time, I was stumped as to what to do.  An email to the race director failed to go through, so I just decided to start at 11 and aim for a sub-3:00 time.  Many thanks to my friends Lourdes, Katie (From Ice Cream to Marathon), and Mindy (Road Runner Girl), for your encouragement!

The race instructions also indicated that parking would be at a premium, so hubby and I left the house very early.  We got to the race about 9:15 am and picked up our bibs and shirts.  I love the shirt and am glad I decided to get one.  (The men's shirt is the same, but the print is read, instead of pink.)

There wasn't much to do until the start, so hubby and I sat in the car to stay warm.  At 10:00 we saw the small start of walkers and I wondered for just a moment if I should have started with them.

Around 10:30 we hit the bathrooms (there were about 4 portapotties, and then a small, heated restroom with two stalls.  Then we snapped some pre-race pics and hubby moved toward the front of the start, while I moved toward the back.  

Waiting for the race to begin, I started looking for my friend, Lourdes.  But there were a lot more people there than I anticipated, and I missed seeing her at the start.

Toward the back, we didn't hear the start (though hubby said it was a quick "get set, go!"), but the runners started moving forward, so we knew it was time.  The temperature was in the mid-30's and cloudy.  I started the race with my 2:1 run/walk intervals set on my runkeeper app, pumped the music up, hopeful that I would finish in less than three hours.  

The race was mostly on paved roads, though there were a couple miles of gravel roads.  I think the biggest thing I can say about this race was that it felt like it was mostly uphill.  Looking at the elevation, that was obviously not the case, but even hubby said that it was very hilly.

I started altering my run/walk intervals to go with the hills, walking up the hills and running everything else.  On some of the steeper hills I was actually breathing heavier while walking uphill than on any of my running intervals.  For a few miles I went back and forth with other run/walkers, but by mile 3, I was pretty much on my own.  There was one woman in a neon pink shirt that became my beacon.  On some of the hills I would lose sight of her, but I always felt better when she came back into view.

She's in this picture - a little, tiny pink speck near the top of the hill.

I was happy to get off the gravel path and back on the road, and then I saw this sign:

Just after I saw this sign, I got to the 2nd of three water/gatorade stops.  I didn't take anything at the first two, though I had my sport beans that I spread out over miles 4-9.  Right after the second water stop, I ended up passing the woman in the pink shirt.  I felt a little bad passing her, because I had been following her for so long.  After passing her, I couldn't see anyone else ahead of me.

At mile 9, there was a short out-and-back section (and they were checking bib numbers at the turnaround so no one cheated).  This is where I caught up to a man running barefoot!  He also had these thin rubber sole shoes that he would occassionally slip on his feet.  My feet hurt with shoes on, and I had gravel in them from the earlier part of the course!  

At the end of the out and back part was the third and final water stop.  I grabbed a cup of water, planning to only take a sip, but that water tasted like liquid gold!  I didn't realize how thirsty I was!  I savored every drop of that water, carrying the cup with me for about 1/2 mile (I folded the top of the cup over so the water didn't splash out of the cup while I was running).

Right about mile 10, my phone died.  I was really sad about this because my music was gone, and irritated, because I had charged it in the car and it had 100% battery life at the start of the race.

I kept walking up the hills, and running down them, and then I saw a fabulous sight - hubby was heading back to meet me.  It was about mile 11, and talking with him really helped me get through those last two miles.  We passed the barefoot man, and also a group of three ladies that we chatted with while walking up a hill.  I knew that I had no chance of a sub-3:00 finish, but with several people behind me (I finished 518/549) I knew that they would probably let us finish.  I passed another few people as I closed in on the finish line, which was blissfully downhill.  I also saw my friend, Lourdes, at the finish line, cheering me on.  (Thank you!  You are amazing, and I appreciate you sticking around to wait for me in the cold!!)

I saw the clock and it was about 3:04:5X, so I gave it everything because I wanted to beat 3:05.  According to the results, my gun time was exactly 3:05, and my chip time was 3:04:27.  This was my slowest time ever, but I don't care.  I didn't go into this race planning for a PR, and the only reason I was worried about it was because of the strange race instructions.

Taylor Swift's song, "22," came on while I was running, and I had to laugh a little when she sang, "it's miserable and magical."  That's what this race felt a little like - miserable hills, but magical, because I am a runner.  I may be slow, but I was out there on a cold Saturday, doing my best.  I also heard "Let it Go" from Frozen right before my phone died, and it reminded me that I need to let go of my worries and all the feelings I have about not being good enough.  I may not look like a "runner."  I may not be fast like a "runner."  But in my heart, where it matters, I AM a RUNNER.  

Thanks for reading!  Have a great week!