Country Music Marathon

Today I ran the 10th Annual Country Music Marathon here in Nashville, TN.  It all materialized over the last few weeks.  I had not signed up for the marathon because (1) I was not sure I wanted to push for another marathon and (2) I didn't want to pay the high entree fee.  I was also very skeptical about the whole set up, size, and commercialization of it all.  The CMM is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Flying Monkey, you see.  I was pleasantly surprised though.  The aid stations and the bands were great.  It was nice hearing a variety of music, and the large number of people did keep away the loneliness.  Anyway, a friend of mine had signed up and then decieded she didn't want to do it, so she offered me her registration.  The deal wasn't solidified until Wednesday and I got the number last night.  

My girlfriend and her best friend were running it together, so I made it my purpose to be their cheerleader.  They both ran their first marathon in the fall and wanted to do this one under 4h.  In fact, the goal was to keep a 8:45 pace average.

We started off very well, keeping a solid average despite the overwhelming crowd.  With so many people, a lot of energy is wasted bobbing and weaving through the crowd.  It's just weird having people around at all times.  

Probably around mile 10, the friend started having some trouble.  She was feeling very warm and being very quiet, so I thought something was not right.  It was at that point where we started taking walk breaks.  The pace stayed about the same, but she designated when we breaked.  Fortunately, I got her to start drinking a lot of water, pouring some on her head, and she continued taking some gels in addition to Cytomax.  The remaining fifteen miles contained much of the same, a cycle of her running and walking with me and my girlfriend encouraging.  

While I would have loved to have seen the girls go under four hours, I was very proud of their race.  We finished around 4h19min.  My girlfriend ran a strong race and felt great.  And her friend showed a lot of determination and mental strength.  They did a great job!  

As for me, I was very happy with the run.  While I have continued running consistently since Mountain Mist in January, my longest run was twelve miles, I think, and my weekly mileage barely topped 30miles/wk.  I knew I could run 26.2 - I've done it twice already.  However, I wasn't sure how painful it would be.  I hoped to have enough energy to help the girls out and not suffer completely.  Throughout the race and afterwards, I felt very good.  I was surprised.  I had some soreness in my quads, feet, and IT band, but I felt much much better than I did after the Monkey.  Of course, the Monkey was MUCH hillier and I ran 55mins faster.

I managed fuel very well.  I carried a bottle of Gatorade, and refilled it with water several times.  In addition, I drank water and Cytomax at almost every aid station and dumped water on my head.  I also ate 4 gels (1 GU Roctane, 1 Hammer, and 2 Carb-boom), two orange slices, a couple handfuls of Raisinets, and some banana.  I did not experience any spikes in energy.  After the race, I dranka bottle of Cytomax and bottle of water.  

The experience I gained supporting other runners today will hopefully help me if I pace Leadville in August.

Congrats to all my friends who ran and completed the half and full marathons today.  Also, a HUGE thanks to my buddy who gave me her registration!