The Zyriek Zoo: St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon

The weekend is finally here for the St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon. It has been on my calendar since December and I have definitely put in the miles required to finish the race. I had a horrible Germantown half marathon so was truly trying to be prepared mentally and physically for this race. I had heard plenty of horror stories about the crowds, the heat, the hills and the fact that it is a very tough race. I really wanted to give it a try since this was the first year that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was the primary benefitting charity, so I gave it a good try!!

Gary and I were joined by our friends Zack and Lauren for the race. We drove up on Friday mid-day and hit the expo unon arriving in Nashville. The expo was HUGE and had been going on for 2 days. I could not believe the sheer volume of people and stuff. Zack had registered originally for the full marathon but upon injury this spring to his achilles, opted for the half. He was placed in starting coral 1 (yes, the FIRST coral) based on his estimated time to complete. I was in coral 14 which to me did not sound that bad when I saw that there were going to be over 30 corals!! We got our numbers, swag bags, t-shirts (they had ladies cut shirts which was great, but I hate a red shirt) and headed to the hotel to check in. We reserved our room back in January and glad we did because it was centrally located and was not to far from the finish line.

Gary and I then headed out to the St. Jude Heroes Pasta Party to honor all those runners that had fundrasied for St. Jude in the months leading up to the race. I was excited about the dinner and for Gary to meet folks that I work with, to hear from our CEO and to hear patient stories. There was even a short concert by country artist Jo Dee Messina. It was a great night with good pre-race food.

Headed back to the hotel so we could all get a decent night of sleep. Zack and I decided we needed to be up at 4:30 so that Gary could drive us to LP field and catch the shuttle buses to the start line. There were so many folks catching those buses it was insane. Very well organized and we got on and to the race start by 6am. Took a potty break and took my place in my coral for the 7am start time. It would take about 20-30 minutes for my group to be called to the start line but still just wanted to be in place. It was cool/cloudy at the start but we knew it was going to be hot with a forecasted high temperature of 84 and lots of sun.

The race was the toughest thing I have ever done. It was hot by about mile 3, hilly before we even hit mile 1 and hard the entire race. It was nice to have the distraction of the bands along the way and there were cheerleaders lining the course the entire way. That was impressive to me. Gary met me at mile 3 and mile 9 which were St. Jude cheer stations. Surprised that I saw him but glad to see a famliar face. He knew that the hills were tough and told me afterwards he could not believe them when he saw them. I knew I could finish. I ended up walking 2-3 times for a few minutes to catch my breath or make it up a hill or eat my food that I had brought along the way. It was a good race. I finished in 2:29 which is my slowest half marathon to date, but it was the hardest. I know that I can run faster and finish with a quicker time on a flat course. That will come in December for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon.

Glad I raced. Proud of myself for my training. So happy that Gary was along to cheer for me. Zack finished in 1:36 which was 10 minutes slower than he was shooting for, but an amazing race for him. Lauren was a great cheerleader as well. She and I are going to do the Road Race Series this summer/fall and do the Memphis half in December. Should be fun!!