Marathon Training week 15

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This is the last real week of training. I am starting to get excited and nervous for Rock&Roll San Diego. I have my bib number (51370) and my corral (1). It looks like the weather is typically in the 60s (the 50s would be nice, but at least it won’t be 80). Now that this week is over it is time to taper.

Monday: 5.3 @ 8:40, 4.4 @ 9:09
Nice easy run with Alexis, Brit, and Corbit to start the week off. In the afternoon I ran in Shelby Bottoms with Erica while pushing Max in the new (used) Bob stroller that I picked up from Play It Again Sports on White Bridge Road.

Bob Jogging StrollerI am really excited about this new stroller. While Max is still small enough to ride in it, Erica and I can spend more time together while I get in some easy miles. Erica is starting to run more and I really enjoy when we get to spend time together being active. In my perfect world we would be able to run 20 miles a week together in the evenings. It would be great time together and I would be able to get up to 70+ miles a week while still doing workouts in the mornings. Hopefully it works out like that.

Tuesday: 7.3 @ 7:52
I hit the dirt trails in Shelby Bottoms. I got a little bit of a late start and didn’t really want to run, but I was glad I got out there. The trails are starting to dry out a little so there weren’t as many puddles to dodge. I ran this as a progression run with the last mile being about marathon pace.

Wednesday: 4.5 @ 8:02, 5.0 @ 8:48
East Nasty morning run with Alexis, Mark, Bailey, and Darrel. The pace was a little too slow for me this morning, but it was probably good for me to keep the miles easy since this will be my highest mileage week yet. As normally happens when Darrel is there, we had a sprint finish. My stride felt very smooth at sub 5-minute pace today. I would have loved to have run some 200s after this run.

In the evening, Erica and I went for a run in Shelby Bottoms. We hit some of the dirt trails too which was fun. On the way back we were late for the sitter, so I ran a quick half-mile to finish.

Thursday: 7.6 @ 7:51
Morning run with Mark. Ran the Music Row route. Sucks he is moving to Vegas later this month. Flew to Chicago after the run.

Friday: 7.3 @ 6:51
It is hard to run while traveling. Thursday night I went out to a steakhouse with friends after an all-day meeting. I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol and was able to get to bed on time. That set me up for success and so I got up and ran over 7 miles on the lakefront trail (conveniently only a half-mile from my hotel). I played with different paces in a completely unstructured way. It was fun, but wasn’t really a fartlek.

Saturday: 20.0 @ 7:25
I ran along the lakefront trail in Chicago. I thought I would be able to run 10 out and 10 back, but the trail ended about 8 miles in. Right before I turned around I passed a group of three guys running pretty quick in the other direction. I dropped the pace down to about marathon pace and caught up to them just before 10 miles. It was completely out of character for me, but I asked if they would mind me tagging along – maybe it was good practice for finding someone to share the work in San Diego. Turns out Andre, Ian, and Tim were pretty nice guys. They showed me some dirt trails and Chicago’s biggest “hill” (think 14 ft of elevation). I ran with them until they turned back when I was about 14 miles in. I then dropped the pace back to marathon pace for 4 miles until I started to run out of trail again (or just kinda lost the trail at Navy Pier). I trotted back to the hotel for the last couple of miles and immediately rinsed of and went to the airport to fly home.

  • My legs were pretty shot at the end of the run, but this was my highest mileage week ever.
  • I took Gu about miles 5, 10, 14, and 18 (Roctane at 14).
  • I carried my own water and didn’t refill it.
  • The marathon pace miles were into a decent headwind.
  • This was faster than last week’s 20 mile run.

All-in-all I think this was a pretty solid run. At this point my training is done and I need to taper. I feel ready.

Sunday: 5.6 @ 10:14
Easy run in Shelby Bottoms with Erica. I love these runs. My legs felt fine and I could have easily run longer and faster. Still, nice to have a super-easy day after a long run.

Weekly summary: 66.9 miles
This was my highest mileage week ever. I set out to run three 20-mile long runs after the Country Music Half-Marathon, and I accomplished that. I feel like I hit a new threshold and I could run 60+ miles every week. I am starting to get excited about the next training cycle and what is possible. For now though, I need to focus on this race. It is taper time and I feel ready. The training is done and it is going to be time to race soon.

San Diego, I am heading your way!

Marathon Training week 14

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In 3 weeks, I am going to run the Rock&Roll San Diego Marathon. I have one more week of actual training and then I will do some sort of taper. I don’t feel ready yet, but that is probably a good thing. I felt ready 3 weeks out from Rocket City last December and I bombed – in large part because I slacked off the last month.

Monday: 5.0 @ 7:36
Regular morning run, but this week Alexis was out of town. Luckily Corbin (sp?) showed up.

Tuesday: 5.8 @ 6:34
Pearl Izumi N1I picked up a new pair of shoes from Nashville Running Company. After trying on almost every shoe in the store I settled on the Pearl Izumi N1.

Tuesday was supposed to be Trail Tuesday, but plans shifted and we were going to make it Track Tuesday. Then I ended up with a meeting scheduled for 5pm so I made it Tempo Tuesday and ran the 5.8 at Percy Warner in my new shoes (I couldn’t resist). It is a hilly 5.8 mile loop and the effort felt controlled the whole time, so I was pretty pleased with this workout. It was a quality day :)

Wednesday: 4.0 @ ???
East Nasty morning run. I was going to run extra, but just kinda lolly-gagged after the group run and decided to call it a morning.

Thursday: 6.2 @ 7:50
I hit the dirt mud trails at Shelby Bottoms. It was a nice change of pace. Now that it is getting light earlier, I will probably start running here pretty regularly again. Also, I received my replacement from Garmin. Happy day!

Friday: 6.0 @ 7:01
Easy run at Shelby Bottoms in the afternoon heat (~73˚). I tried to focus on lift my feet higher for the entire run (in an attempt to stop shuffling). Also added strides every 1/4 mile for the last two miles which brought the average pace down a bit.

Saturday: 20.1 @ 7:40
Ran solo, mostly on the greenway. I planned on taking this pretty easy, but did work my way down to 6:50 for a few miles towards the end. Practiced and refined my nutrition plan for the race. Took Gu at 5, 10, 14, and 18. I think on race day I will follow that plan, but add a final Gu at mile 22. The only hill on the RnRSD course comes at mile 20, so hopefully I will get that Gu boost just in time for the hill.

After the run I decided to hop in to an ice bath (something I never do). I ended the run at home, so it was a good opportunity to shock the muscles right away.

Sunday: off
I had planned to run with Erica, but we had some family stuff come up unexpectedly (yes, other than Mother’s Day).

Weekly Summary: 47 miles
I had hoped to have higher mileage and would have if Sunday had gone as expected. Still, I got in two good efforts with the Tempo on Tuesday and the long run on Saturday. Next week includes a trip to Chicago, so that will be interesting. I really need one more solid week of training, so I am just going to have to make it work.

Marathon Training Week 13

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Epic Summer Run Only 4 weeks left until Rock&Roll San Diego! That means there are only 2.5 weeks left of training. Until the marathon I only have two goals:

  1. Don’t get injured.
  2. Build endurance.

I don’t need speed work. I don’t need hard simulation workouts (even though it is really tempting). I need to stay pain-free and I need miles. I don’t want to repeat the mistakes I made in my previous two marathon attempts. I want to save the race for the race (and not simulation workouts). I want to get to the start line well prepared and not slack off the few weeks before. I had a solid half-marathon last week and as long as I have the endurance necessary I should be able to run a great marathon on June 2nd.

Monday: 6.2 @ 8:07
Monday morning with Mark and Alexis. Legs were still really sore from the half-marathon. They probably would have been less sore if I ran Sunday, but oh well.

Tuesday: 5.3 @ 7:13
Solo run. I think I tend to run faster when I am by myself.

Wednesday: 8.2 @ 7:00-ish
Morning East Nasty run with Matt plus a few extra. I shipped my Garmin off on Tuesday, so the pace is a little bit of a guess. Matt and I ran faster than most of the rest of the group and then continued on.

Thursday & Friday: off
Ugh! Consistency?!?

Saturday: 21 @ 7:15?
Ran in the rain on the greenway with Greg and Damien. The plan was for me to run 4, meet up with them at Wave Country and then head to the damn and back for another 16. We encountered flooding on the way to the damn so we went back and into Shelby Bottoms for what ended up being 17 more. Greg had his watch and we had some sub-7 splits towards the end, but most of the pace was pretty relaxed.

I took a Gu every 5 miles or so. After talking with Greg I think the plan for the race will be Gu at 5, 10, 15, 19, 22 or some variation of that. The idea being to carry up to 6 Gu and take them more frequently towards the end of the race. Seems like a good idea as I was starting to feel depleted at mile 20.

Sunday: 6.0 @ 9:10
Ran on the Shelby Greenway with Erica. My legs didn’t feel too bad, especially considering I ran my first 20 miler of the year the day before.

Summary: 48 miles
Weekly mileageYou can see from the chart to the left that the achilles injury really disrupted this training cycle. I am just starting to get close the the mileage level I had been hoping to maintain. Luckily, my fitness has still improved. I am not going to push it between now and the race, but if I can keep having weeks like this I should be in the best shape of my life and ready to go after another big PR.

BTW, I am getting sick and tired of running in the rain. However, I am kinda hoping that it will rain for the marathon.

Country Music Half-Marathon Race-Report

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Ready to RaceOver the weekend I ran the 2013 Country Music Half-Marathon with 20,000 of my closes friends.

I placed 3rd in my age group and 24th overall. My time of 1:19:57 was a significant new PR (previous PR was 1:22:16). All while running in the rain! It was also my first race as a member of the Nashville Running Company race team, so it was a great race.

Last week I wrote a Country Music Marathon Course Preview that was pretty well received. I am going to apply the same format to this race report.

Pre-race:
Erica drove Matt and I to the start line so we didn’t have to deal with the shuttles or parking. We pretty much immediately set off on a two-mile warmup down West End Avenue 40 minutes before the start. It was a fun atmosphere and the weather was cooperating (cool, overcast, no rain). On our way to the 1 mile marker we passed several people including eventual CMM winner Scott Wietecha. After hitting the 1 mile marker we headed back and I found an empty port-pottie on a construction site close to the start line. I never made it to the actual pre-race area and instead just hung out under the RiteAid covered parking area as it started to rain. I didn’t check a bag and just tossed an old Zoo Run Run shirt to the side as well as my makeshift arm-warmers (dress socks with the toe cut off).

The Start:
I was in Corral 1 with a few hundred other runners. It was a really fun and festive environment and I saw lots of friends. Ashley Evans and I chatted a bit and talked about both starting out about the same pace. I still didn’t know what my goal pace/time really was and was just hoping for a new PR.

The start was delayed because of some cars still on the course. During this time they took the opportunity to play some slow and non-energizing music (WTF?!). I guess “Sweet Caroline” as some significance in relation to the Boston Marathon, but I didn’t get it and it was hard to stay race-ready through a series of ballads. Eventually, the wheelchairs were started and about 30-45 seconds later our gun went off. It felt like time stood still for a couple of seconds, but then we were off.

American Flag at the start of CMMThere was some guy at the very front and center of the race who was carrying an American flag. Apparently he wasn’t in the front because he was going to run really fast with the flag, but rather for a great photo op. Unfortunately his flag was hitting me in the face during said photo that ended up published in the Tennessean.

After swerving around a couple of people I fell into a rhythm and started racing. As we passed the 1 mile mark I looked at my watch and realized I had just run the first mile way too fast (5:46ish). I decided to just go with it and see if I could run a sub 1:19 (qualifying standard to bypass the lottery for the NYC marathon).

We then ran past Hume Fogg high school. On Thursday night a couple of girls from HFHS had come into my store to buy clothes to wear while cheering the marathoners. I couldn’t make out any individuals, but I did manage to wave in their general direction. We then ran down Broadway to 4th. As we turned on to 4th I had expected to see a lot more people than we did and didn’t recognize anyone I knew like I had hoped. Oh well.

The climb:
I don’t remember much of the 3rd mile other than that I was kinda shocked to go through 3 miles in less than 18 minutes. Last year I couldn’t run a 5k as fast as I ran the first 5k of this race. Shortly after I started to pay the price as I slowed down while we climbed Music Row. This is where I started to question the pace, but I tried to stay calm and remember that this is one of the toughest parts of the course. Soon I was be at mile 5 and pass some friends.

The neighborhood:
At mile 5 I passed my friend Dan’s house. As I ran by I looked over and say Vicky who cheered my name and then I heard Dan and some others call out as I passed. That was a helpful boost and then a block later I passed my mom who had my son’s with her. I tried to smile and wave as I passed by, but according to my other family members she called my smile came across as more of a grimace. Then a couple of blocks later I heard my name again and looked over to see Will cheering on the side of Belmont. Another good boost.

12th South:
This part of the course was not nearly as tough as I expected, but that may have been because I had settled in to a slower pace. Brian and I were running side-by-side for a while. Apparently he was wearing an East Nasty shirt, so I just pretended that all of the East Nasty cheers were for me. I also remember seeing Chip on 12th South.

As I climbed my way back to Music Row I started to need to pee.

The descent:
I NEEDED TO PEE. BAD.

That is all I could focus on. This was supposed to be the easy part of the course and one where I picked up the pace. Instead I was trying to figure out what to do with my bladder. Since we were already soaking wet from the rain, I decided to just piss my pants.

Have you ever tried to piss your pants? It is incredibly hard to do while running. I spent at least a mile trying to figure out how to relax enough so that I could pee. As we passed Musica and headed to the Gulch I even tried pulling my shorts to the side to see if some fresh air helped to get things going. It didn’t. No matter what I tried I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. At this point I decided that I must not have to pee that bad :-/

As we entered the Gulch I just focused on not falling down since the roads were soaked and that steep little hill seemed dangerous. Along this stretch is when I completely lost focus. I started debating what my goal was for the race – should I race hard? should I try for an easier PR? should I just get close to my PR? should I slow to marathon pace and practice taking Gu and drinks on the move?

The split:
As we entered the Farmer’s Market area I felt like I was just out for a training run. My focus was completely shot and I was doing the math to think about how slow I could run and still PR. I no concept of how close I was to hitting the NYC qualifying mark and didn’t feel like I was even running hard. Just before mile 12 I was passed by the 1st place woman.

We passed mile 12 with 1:13:xx on the clock. I realized that even if I slowed to 7 minute pace I would still PR, but somehow I didn’t realize I had a shot at going sub-1:20.

The finish:
2013 CMM ResultsAs we snaked around downtown and started to head over the Woodland Street bridge I realized that I had a choice. I could either be the first man to get beat by a woman, or I could be the last man to not get beat by a woman. I decided to snap out of it and focus on catching that one last person. I picked up the pace and passed her while going down the final stretch to the finish. As I rounded the turn I saw that they were putting out the woman’s finisher tape and had to swerve to the left so that they could spread the tape on the right and let her break it. CRAP! I was THAT GUY.

Oh well. If I hadn’t decided to pick off that one last runner, I wouldn’t have come in under 1:20. For that I am grateful. Hopefully I didn’t create a stressful situation for her. :-/

Summary:
I didn’t run a smart race, which bums me out. The flip side is that races are a test of fitness and my fitness has improved again. Even with the super wet conditions (it rained the entire time) and even though I started out too fast and didn’t stay focused during the race, I still PRed. By a lot. This is a good sign for my marathon.

This also was my first race as a member of the Nashville Running Company race team. That was a cool experience and I look forward to running lots more local races in that kit.

New PR. Top 25. 3rd in my age group (Men 35-39). All-in-all that is a damn good day.

Looking forward:
VO2 Max 04/2013The chart to the right shows my VO2  Max as calculated from my half-marathon races over the past 28 months (how long I have been running). The days of huge improvements are coming to an end but I do think there is still plenty of room for improvement. Just going by the trend on the graph I think I can get VO2 Max close to 60 by November (HM time of 1:18-ish) and then 61 by April (HM time of 1:17-ish). Maybe there are still some big jumps left if I can figure out how to train consistently with higher mileage (or if I can make significant improvements to my running form / economy). Time will tell.

Now, back to marathon training! I am going to try to run 10 miles in the heat today :)

Marathon Training Week 12

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race_pic1There are only 5 weeks left until the San Diego Rock&Roll Marathon. That means there are really only 3.5 weeks of training left and I haven’t done many long runs. Success of this training cycle is all going to come down to whether or not I can do long runs the next few weeks without pushing myself past the line of over-training.

Monday: off
I got up and dressed to run. When I left the house I was just too sore from the previous days workout (15 miles with my 2nd fastest half-marathon ever). I need to figure out what stretches / exercises I can do to speed recovery from hard efforts.

Tuesday: 10.0 @ 7:23
I was able to go for a longer run during the hottest part of the day 74º. This was good training for San Diego which I assume will be pretty warm. The faster I can acclimate to the heat, the better.

Wednesday: 4.3 @ 8:17
East Nasty route #5

Thursday: 5.5 @ 7:50
Easy solo run on the Musica route.

Friday: off
My ankle was hurtling a little and I didn’t want to screw up before the race.

Saturday: 2.0 warmup, 13.1 @ 1:19:57 (24th overall, 3rd in Age Group)
2013 CMM ResultsMatt and I went for an easy 2 mile warmup. Lots of rain during the race. This was a new PR by over 2 minutes, so there was lots to be happy about. This is a great indicator for the marathon and shows that my fitness has improved considerably even with the inconsistent training due to injuries.

If I can put together a long block of consistent miles, I think I can still improve quite a bit. I am planning on writing a longer race report later.

Sunday: off
My legs hurt. I should have done an easy recovery run.

Weekly summary: 33 miles
It wasn’t a great week for consistency. The 10 miler in the heat was good and the half-marathon was a solid workout. I have enough speed for my goal this season. Now it is time to work on endurance.

Marathon Training Week 11

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There are less than seven weeks until I run Rock&Roll San Diego. I feel like I am REALLY NEEDING TO WORK ON MY ENDURANCE. The speed is there. The strength is there. Now I just need the endurance. I was looking over the different strength, speed, and endurance workouts at Elite Marathoning and realize there is only one way to work on endurance: long runs. Only 38 miles this week, so not a great week. I am going to have to start planning better and adjust my schedule.

I should probably not treat this weekend’s Country Music Half-Marathon as a race and instead make it the final 13 miles of a 20 mile long run, but I am not that disciplined :)

Race Team?!? Woohoo!!!

Race Team?!? Woohoo!!!

Besides, Nashville Running Company gave me this SWEET NEW SHIRT to wear and it says “race” on it, so I gotta race.

Monday: 5.2 @ 8:12
Started the week off right with Mark and Alexis on Monday morning.

Tuesday: 7.1 @ 8:07
Mark and I ran his super-hilly route. It was good to get some more hills in before CMM.

Wednesday: 5.0 @ 8:01
East Nasty route #4

Thursday & Friday: off
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Let work get in the way. Stupid.

Saturday: 6.1 @ 9:43
Erica and I went for a nice run in Shelby Bottoms. I really enjoy running with her.

Sunday: 14.7 @ 6:48
The plan was to run 18 easy miles (8min pace?) on the CMM course. Scott and Daniel were running the half-marathon route at the same time, so I decided to join them. Their idea of pace was a little quicker so I decided to make it a shorter, but harder run. It felt great to stay under 7 minute pace and by about mile 8 I realized that this would likely end up as my second-fastest half-marathon ever. There is a huge window from my fastest and second-fastest (1:22, 1:30), but it was still a neat milestone to hit in training.

It was too late for this working to help my half-marathon this weekend, but it was a good (hopeful) marathon pace run that will definitely help for R&R SD. It also gave me a confidence boost, so I think I will shoot for a new PR this Saturday.

Country Music Marathon Course Preview

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This is the week! Country Music Marathon is happening this Saturday and runners from all over the country are going to run on some of my favorite (and least favorite) roads to run on. In 6 weeks I will be in similar shoes – I will be racing in a strange city on unfamiliar street. During the madness of my taper I am sure that I will be scouring the internet for anything I can find about the course. In an effort to pay forward what I hope to receive, this post is my attempt to tell you everything you want to know about the Country Music Marathon (and half-marathon) course. Please comment with any questions and I will answer them.

Pre-race:
The Country Music Marathon course starts on West End Avenue. This is right next to a really great urban park (Centennial Park) and is also next to Vanderbilt University. The pre-race staging area is in the park. This is where the shuttles will drop you off. You will find plenty of space, but not many places to sit down. There is a building (Arts Center) next to the bag drop that has a parking lot and some picnic tables that make a good place to top off your nutrition and relax your nerves.

The Start:
The Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon run on the same course until just after mile 11. The start heads towards downtown on West End Avenue. There are rolling hills for the first mile and a half. It is already hard enough to start slow and calm, so be extra careful to stay relaxed on the gentle downhills. There is a great 1/2 mile downhill stretch from mile 1.5 – 2. You run through the heart of downtown and have great views of the honky tonks and the river. Enjoy this, but keep it under control :)

The climb:
From mile 2.5 – mile 4.5 is a long hill. You will run past some beautiful sights and some of the most important buildings in the music industry. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any less of a hill (and there is a photographer stationed halfway up the hill). If you went out too fast, this uphill stretch is a great time to stay relaxed and ease into it. You will run past our (world-renowned) symphony hall, the Country Music Hall of fame, the brand new (and huge) Music City Center convention center and round the corner at Nashville (pretty much) only traffic circle which is known for it’s giant statue of dancing naked people. Once you round the circle you are about halfway up the hill. Now you will run up 17th South, a tree-lined street known as “Music Row” which has offices of most major record labels as well as loads of recording studios. At the top of the hill is Belmont University.

The neighborhood:
After that 2 mile hill you will get to take some time running downhill and through one of Nashville’s coolest neighborhoods. Enjoy this time – it is my favorite part of the course. The fans are great on this part of the course too (as long as the weather is nice. After mile 5 you will start to climb a little again, but you will now be at the highest point on the course. From 5 on it is mostly downhill. Sure, there are still hills, but you go down more than you go up.

12th South:
After running down Belmont Blvd you will cut over to 12th South via a curvy little street with lots of family out cheering you on. 12th South is a series of rolling hills past a series of restaurants and bars. The fans are still out, but they are a little more likely to be enjoying the race with a bloody mary. The hills on 12th South are surprisingly challenging. If you are running the half, this is the end of the hard stuff (for the most part). If you are running the full, just enjoy it ;)

The descent:
After 12th South you will cut over to 16th South. There is one more climb to get to 16th, but then there is a nice 2 mile descent. 16th is the other half of “Music Row” and is also filled with record labels, recording studios, and publishing houses. After cruising down 16th you will hang a right at Musica (the naked people statue) and head for The Gulch. You will fly downhill and past a few bars and then you will have a long and flat mile through an area that is quickly becoming less-industrial (I think there are new condos this year, so there may be new fans our cheering).

The split:
After The Gulch you will wind around a few turns toward the Farmer’s Market. This is where the half and the full separate. There will be people yelling at you for a quarter mile telling the half runners (most of the pack) to stay to the right and the full runners to stay to the left. If you are running the half, you can skip to the bottom to the section labeled “The Half finish.”

The projects, the convent and the halfway point:
Ok marathoners, now we get to work. The pack has thinned out considerably and you might find yourself getting a little lonely. You will climb a decent sized hill through the projects and across the interstate until you make a left at the convent. The cool thing about this spot is that the nuns and priests from the convent are manning the water station. Don’t worry, it is just regular water and not holy water or wine :)

After the convent you will hang a right down an oddly serene street that leads you to the middle of nowhere. It is a nice gradual downhill that will take you past the halfway point. If your plan was to wait until halfway to see if you want to speed up a little, wait. Now is not the time.

The hill:
Ugh. This part is miserable. You are in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by concrete. It is hot, lonely, and boring. To make matters worse there is a little out and back section. Just get through it. After the out and back you start to climb the worst hill on the course. A long and steep hill starting just after mile 14. After cresting the hill you get to go back down the hill that you went up after splitting off from the half marathoners. You will likely be passing other marathoners who are still heading out. Try and smile and look relaxed so that damn hill will catch them by surprise as much as it did you. Besides, you are now running downhill so enjoy it :)

The Half finish:
Yes, full marathoners should read this section too. You see, the half and full courses rejoin (though on separate sides of the street and with a rope between them). The full marathoners are at mile 16.5 and the half marathoners are at mile 11.5. There is good course support on this section which is nice. The downside for full marathoners is that you will run right past the finish line knowing that you still have 9 miles to go. Half-marathoners, enjoy your chocolate milk and feel free to read on to hear about all the “fun” you are missing :)

East Nashville:
This is my neighborhood. I run these roads 7 days a week. After passing (not crossing) the finish line you will climb a gentle (but long hill) towards 5 Points. There should be some decent crowds in 5 Points and they are the most likely fans to be drunk. You will run past Nashville Running Company and the water stop will be manned by the East Nasty Running Club. Come back and party with these people later :)

Mile 19.2:
You will pass mile 19.2 during a nice downhill. Perk up and run like you are having a great time. This will be one of the best and loudest cheering houses on the entire course – I guarantee it. :)

After running the half-marathon I am scurrying home to our cheer party (hoping to get there before the elite runners come through). If you were also running the half then feel free to stop by. If you are running the full then feel free to wave as you run by, we will be cheering for YOU :)

The out and back to Shelby Park:
I hate to tell you this, but the last 6 miles are some of the least supported miles on the course. You will run up a gradual hill that is right next to the river, but you can’t see the river. Then you will run around a decent park and there will be a couple of bands and a few fans here and there. After that it is back down the industrial road until you get to…

One last hill:
I am sorry. I don’t know who’s idea this was, but there is a half-mile hill starting at mile 25. It was a dick move. We would take it back if we could. At least there is a water stop at the bottom.

The finish:
After running up the last hill, it is all downhill. Glide towards the stadium for the last half-mile. The fans here are awesome. Try to make it look easy :)