Before the race:
I had a biscuit and a sunny side up egg before the race. I left the house and got to downtown Knoxville with plenty of time to spare….SO I THOUGHT. I got stuck in the parking garage on 11th st. It was a pain. I was anxious to get a spot, but everyone else was taking all day to park. So once I parked, I didn’t pay attention to what time it was and I started to pray and do some last minute prepping. I walked slowly down the stairs. When I got out of the parking garage, I saw that everyone was at the start line. I began to walk faster and faster. Then I heard it, “Runners…..are you ready?….” *bang* They start gun went off. I got to the stat line and was searching for the bag check, but the truck had already pulled off. So then I went to the front desk of the hotel where the expo was held and asked them to keep my bag until after the race. At the start line, they were lining up the runners for the 5k race, so I had to weave through them to get a good start.
Start to Mile 5:
It seems like for the first 5 miles I was trying to play catch up. For a few minutes I was running alone. I saw no one ahead of me and no one beside me, but all I could think about is how I helped to talk a friend into running, and I’m late. So I was focused on catching up with him where ever he was……at first. I continued to run, and soon two ladies were running beside me and I saw some walkers ahead. I was then assured that I was on the right path. I passed lots of walkers. A lot of them appeared to be in better shape than I was, but was staying behind because they were walking with groups of friends/co-workers. As I passed several groups of walkers, I was passed by people much older than me, much younger than me, and much larger than me. I thought that was amazing! I wasn’t really tired of running by mile 5, but I did come to the conclusion that I was not going to find my friend, maybe he will be at the finish line or at the after party.
Mile5 – Mile10:
Hills, hills hills. But that wasn’t the worst part of it. MY FEET! I hadn’t been training much, and the small training I did, was not on the road. My feet were sore. There were two things I did to keep my mind off my feet. One was to turn up the music on my MP3 player, and the other was to cheer other people on. At about mile 8, I pulled out my camera and started taking small video clips and pictures. The videos were not that good….I was running. My goal at first was to make it to the finish around 2:30:00. But now, my goal was to finish without injury. I no longer cared if I walked or ran, but if I was sure I could run….I ran.
Mile10 – The Finish
3 miles didn’t seem that bad, until the last mile seemed to continuously get further and further away. As the end got nearer, I began to press replay on my MP3 player to here Jamaroqui’s “Canned Heat.” This was my first time in a while, not ending a race while listening to Black Eye P
eas. The final stretch, just before mile 13 was UPHILL! That wasn’t as bad physically as it was mentally. I was so mad that they made us go up hill, but then I remembered that there was construction on the other side of the stadium where the race used to end. Once I passed mile 13 marker, I only had .1 miles to go…just meters away from the finish. There was a man a head of me, but close enough to pass. I passed him, and crossed the finish line. I did not look at the time. I just wanted to free my feet.
There were people at the finish to take the chips off your feet. There were also people there to take a picture with you and your completion medal. Then race was over.
Party Time:
There was an after party at the coliseum. They served us pizza, bagels, and fruit. We also had lots of water and juices available there. I stretched there on a 
padded mat as I began to think about the long haul to the start line that I had to make just to get my bag from that hotel. The haul wasn’t so bad. I just took more film and pictures of the runners and cheered them on. I also met a couple from Canada and had nice conversation with them. When I arrived at the hotel, I had a little conversation with the staff there, and told them about Reasons2Run…and I owe them t-shirts. I also filled out an application there. The staff there are always so friendly.
Back Home:
Once I returned home, I soaked in a nice hot tub of water, stretched and took a nap. Then I was on my way out again. I was doing an early dinner with R2R’s street team leader before we had to go to work.
Mission Completion:
This was my very first race since my injury in the summer of 2007. I finished the race. I was not injured. And I’m still alive….THANK GOD! Oh yeh, and my friend that I was looking for….it turns up it signed up for the wrong race, so he was running the 5k, then later joined in on the half marathon. Mission Completion!
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