Nashville Country Music Half-Marathon

Last weekend I ran my second half-marathon. I ran the Nashville Country Music Half-Marathon. My mom and a family friend race the race too. My mom and I left on Friday, April 23, at noon to drive to Nashville. I missed half of a day of school. We suspected the drive to be about 4.5 hours.

The week before the race my mom and I had been keeping an eye on Saturday's forcast. The forcast said that everyday except Saturday was supposed to be gorgeous in Nashville. The weather didn't look good for the race. As it came closer to Friday, my mom began to wander if it would be safe to make the trip because there were tornado warnings for Nashville already! I prayed the weather would turn out.

My mom decided it was safe for us to make the trip to Nashville. When we arrived in Nashville on Friday, we met our friends at their home. Later, we went to the expo to pick up our t-shirts, numbers, and bags. It was very busy downtown. There was also a Hank Williams Jr. concert downtown that night. The convention center was packed with people, and everyone was excited for the race.

After the expo, we went out to dinner. We went to a delicious resturant called Brick's. After dinner, we went home and watched TV. When we turned to The Weather Channel, it looked as if there were going to be three hours the morning of the race that the sun would shine. We went to bed soon after we got home so that we would be well rested for the early morning we had ahead of us. When I got into bed, I could hear it start to rain.

We woke up the morning of the race at 4:45 A.M. to get ready. The race was supposed to start at 7 A.M. So far the race wasn't cancelled. It was very cloudy when we drove to Cenntinial Park. As we were walking to the start line the sun came out from behind the clouds. This was going to be a great race!

The race began fifteen minutes early to avoid any bad weather on its way. This course was very hilly. It was very hot. There were many bands playing along the streets of the race. The bands were very good.

I had previously ran my first half-marathon four weeks before this one. I finished it in two hours and thirteen minutes. My goal for this race was to finish it in two hours. I knew I had two stay ahead of the two hour and fifteen minute pacer.

I felt awesome until I reached the eleven mile mark. That is when my hip began to hurt and I began to feel tired. Many people started to faint because of the heat. I knew I couln't give up because I was starting to be able to see the finish line, and I knew I was close. Just after I can over the bridge, I saw two of our family friends. They were cheering. At that point I was about one tenth of a mile away from crossing the finish line. Finally, I crossed the FINISH line! I felt like I did well. I quickly took a water and a medal and I kept walking. I went to meet up with my friends. They told me they had heard from my mom, and she was on her way in.

When the three of us finished, I began to rain. We were so lucky! It was a great race! I was excited to figure out what my time was. We all went to breakfast at Noshville. It was delicious. My mom and I split a well deserved pancake and omlet.

Later the evening the results were posted online. I finshed with a time of one hour and fifty-seven minutes. It was my new PR (personal record)! I placed third in my age division. I was very pleased with my results. It was a great race and weekend!

Wednesday, April 21, 2001, was our second track meet! St. Charles did greet! There were deffinately some records broken and personal records made. Our first track meet against Brown County was very successful. Congratulations to the girls for their win against Brown Country, and great efforts given out by the boys!

In the first meet I ran the 1600 meter (1 mile) race and the 800 meter (1/2 mile) race. I place second in both events! I came in with a 6:41 on the 1600. I am not for sure what my time was for the eight hundred, but I do remember it was 3 mins and some seconds. So far 6:41 was my PR (personal record) on the 1600!

When I run on my own I usually run four or more miles. Running 1 mile is new to me. I have not fully figured out how to run the race as far as my pace. I would like to get my time down to a 6 min/mile by the CYO meet.

In the second meet I ran the 1600 in 6:20, a new PR! I also ran the 4 by 800 meter relay. This is a relay of four teammates who each run an 800 meter leg. My team was a great group of friends who also love to run! We came close to beating the school record, but we were about 20 seconds off. Some off us weren't feeling our best. This was a great race. We placed first!


GO HAWKS!!