4 Bridges Half Marathon Race Recap!
First, let me start by saying how much I LOVED this race. I think there were a lot of contributing factors to my adoration and I will try to highlight them all here without becoming to long winded (highly unlikely)!
When researching my next half earlier this year I needed something that not only fit into my crazy fall schedule, but that also would hopefully be a good "comeback" race for me. My criteria weren't very many, just that it was well supported, somewhat close by and a good PR candidate. I came across Chattanooga and it seemed to fit. As they say on their website blurb about the race: "The course is "fast" and would not be considered "hilly" for East Tennessee, but it would certainly not be considered flat." The only word my eyeballs went to was fast and I decided 4 Bridges would be the one. I'm not generally a fan of flat anyway. Some hills mix things up and give different muscles a chance to work throughout the run. Plus, here in Birmingham, my training runs are positively loaded with hills so I wasn't very worried about that.
So, back to the many reasons why I loved this race:
1. Preparation. I went into this race knowing that I had done everything Coach Alex had asked me to do. I skipped ZERO runs and ZERO speed work sessions. I did not make excuses on vacations or work trips. I worked through nutrition problems, many pair of shoes, terrible blisters and aches and pains throughout the past 6 months, but I never gave up. I just focused on each day as it came and didn't think much further than that. This truly allowed me to feel ready and, more importantly, excited! I felt no trepidation about completing 13.1 miles. Was I nervous? Of course. But once I was out there running my nerves just went away and I was really able to enjoy myself. This is the first half marathon I wasn't focused on just finishing - but finishing faster. And I felt comfortable with the plan that Coach Alex laid out for me. We decided that I was going to aim for 13:15 for the first 6 miles, 12:55-ish for 6-10, and 12:45 for the last 3.1. But he cut me a deal that if I finished in 2:45 that I could take a week off on the cruise. Here were my actual splits:
Obviously I took him very seriously at his promise to give me a week off. A wrong turn and a killer hill at mile 12 saw to it that I was exactly 25 seconds from hitting that goal. Boo. However, it was still a 15 minute PR. YAY!
2. The Weather: I obsessed all week about whether the cold front and showers moving in were going to hit on race day. I was happy it was moving through quicker than expected, except then I realized it was going to be 38 degrees at the start. I am all for cold weather running, but I started to think I needed one step up on my attire. I assumed that I could snag some arm warmers at the expo. Wrong. It was the tiniest expo I have ever been to. I was slightly disappointed that there was nothing to be found there, so Omar and I went on a little hunt around town. Nada. Nothing. Oh well. I knew I would warm up and didn't want to overdress so I just decided to wear my sweater to the start line and hand it to Omar. I only minimally froze for about 30 minutes before I warmed up. The rest of the race was PERFECT. I don't even think it hit 50 degrees. I was never hot. There was a tiny headwind on those bridges though...
3. The Course: I loved this course! Yes, there were some industrial areas, but there was a lot of beautiful running by the river and the views were spectacular from atop all of the bridges. Since I was running for time and not for fun, I didn't take very many photos, but I did get one snapped while running the first bridge as the sun was coming up. Gorgeous - this just put me in a happy mood. And, bonus, I was at mile 5 and feeling great.
I am a "back of the pack" runner so another important course detail for me are the aid stations. This is not a huge race, so I wasn't sure how the resources would be. But I can tell you that each and every station I came to (about every 2 miles) was fantastic! They were full of volunteers, water, Powerade, gels, Skittles, Reece's Pieces, peanut butter crackers, etc. I got everything I needed at all the important moments. Omar managed to be high atop a bridge himself and got some fun shots of me running by:
4. The Finish! It was downhill and who doesn't love a good downhill finish?! Omar also got some great shots of me coming through the chute. This down hill helped me not to pass out while sprinting for the finish. Again, yay for downhills! Let's also talk about how much Danger Zone helped out (a lot).
5. The City: Omar and I had a blast really getting to see Chattanooga. I had been several times as a kid, but never really recently. We stayed at the Marriott downtown which was super nice. We had a great cabbie take us to the start line before dawn. We had an incredible dinner at The Public House - highly recommended! - we loved Warehouse Row, the decor, the service and the dessert! We also found out that Chattanooga recently got a Tupelo Honey Cafe and I knew as soon as I saw that we would be doing our post race dining here! We had a bit of a wait but it was worth it for the amazing biscuits and black raspberry jam and the best Bloody Mary I have had in a while:
As Alex said before the race - sometimes the stars just align and the day is truly yours out there. It was everything I wanted it to be and more.
I would offer only a couple of small "negative" observations about the race. If you like crowd support - this race is not for you. The spectators that were out were funny and friendly but they were very few and far between. I was alone a lot. If big expos are your thing - don't expect much here. It was very tiny. It did not hinder my race experience, I was just a little surprised. There were a couple of spots on the race where the course was not well marked. I, in fact, took a wrong turn. Omar said a pack of at least 40 runners came by him asking if he had seen other runners. The miles markers were waaaaaay off. Like maybe 1/3 of a mile off. I was constantly doing a little math in my head to try not to speed up to soon....or too late. Nothing major, just a few things that could be improved. I would most definitely run this one again.
My only BIG regret? There is no photo of Omar and I together on race day. Boo on that.
Otherwise, Great weekend! HUGE PR!! Happy smiles all around!
When researching my next half earlier this year I needed something that not only fit into my crazy fall schedule, but that also would hopefully be a good "comeback" race for me. My criteria weren't very many, just that it was well supported, somewhat close by and a good PR candidate. I came across Chattanooga and it seemed to fit. As they say on their website blurb about the race: "The course is "fast" and would not be considered "hilly" for East Tennessee, but it would certainly not be considered flat." The only word my eyeballs went to was fast and I decided 4 Bridges would be the one. I'm not generally a fan of flat anyway. Some hills mix things up and give different muscles a chance to work throughout the run. Plus, here in Birmingham, my training runs are positively loaded with hills so I wasn't very worried about that.
So, back to the many reasons why I loved this race:
1. Preparation. I went into this race knowing that I had done everything Coach Alex had asked me to do. I skipped ZERO runs and ZERO speed work sessions. I did not make excuses on vacations or work trips. I worked through nutrition problems, many pair of shoes, terrible blisters and aches and pains throughout the past 6 months, but I never gave up. I just focused on each day as it came and didn't think much further than that. This truly allowed me to feel ready and, more importantly, excited! I felt no trepidation about completing 13.1 miles. Was I nervous? Of course. But once I was out there running my nerves just went away and I was really able to enjoy myself. This is the first half marathon I wasn't focused on just finishing - but finishing faster. And I felt comfortable with the plan that Coach Alex laid out for me. We decided that I was going to aim for 13:15 for the first 6 miles, 12:55-ish for 6-10, and 12:45 for the last 3.1. But he cut me a deal that if I finished in 2:45 that I could take a week off on the cruise. Here were my actual splits:
Obviously I took him very seriously at his promise to give me a week off. A wrong turn and a killer hill at mile 12 saw to it that I was exactly 25 seconds from hitting that goal. Boo. However, it was still a 15 minute PR. YAY!
2. The Weather: I obsessed all week about whether the cold front and showers moving in were going to hit on race day. I was happy it was moving through quicker than expected, except then I realized it was going to be 38 degrees at the start. I am all for cold weather running, but I started to think I needed one step up on my attire. I assumed that I could snag some arm warmers at the expo. Wrong. It was the tiniest expo I have ever been to. I was slightly disappointed that there was nothing to be found there, so Omar and I went on a little hunt around town. Nada. Nothing. Oh well. I knew I would warm up and didn't want to overdress so I just decided to wear my sweater to the start line and hand it to Omar. I only minimally froze for about 30 minutes before I warmed up. The rest of the race was PERFECT. I don't even think it hit 50 degrees. I was never hot. There was a tiny headwind on those bridges though...
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| Packet pick up! See the expo back there? Me neither. |
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| Just freezing away! |
3. The Course: I loved this course! Yes, there were some industrial areas, but there was a lot of beautiful running by the river and the views were spectacular from atop all of the bridges. Since I was running for time and not for fun, I didn't take very many photos, but I did get one snapped while running the first bridge as the sun was coming up. Gorgeous - this just put me in a happy mood. And, bonus, I was at mile 5 and feeling great.
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| Bridge 1 - Mile 5 |
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| Elevation Profile - Damn that mile 12 hill! |
I am a "back of the pack" runner so another important course detail for me are the aid stations. This is not a huge race, so I wasn't sure how the resources would be. But I can tell you that each and every station I came to (about every 2 miles) was fantastic! They were full of volunteers, water, Powerade, gels, Skittles, Reece's Pieces, peanut butter crackers, etc. I got everything I needed at all the important moments. Omar managed to be high atop a bridge himself and got some fun shots of me running by:
5. The City: Omar and I had a blast really getting to see Chattanooga. I had been several times as a kid, but never really recently. We stayed at the Marriott downtown which was super nice. We had a great cabbie take us to the start line before dawn. We had an incredible dinner at The Public House - highly recommended! - we loved Warehouse Row, the decor, the service and the dessert! We also found out that Chattanooga recently got a Tupelo Honey Cafe and I knew as soon as I saw that we would be doing our post race dining here! We had a bit of a wait but it was worth it for the amazing biscuits and black raspberry jam and the best Bloody Mary I have had in a while:
As Alex said before the race - sometimes the stars just align and the day is truly yours out there. It was everything I wanted it to be and more.
I would offer only a couple of small "negative" observations about the race. If you like crowd support - this race is not for you. The spectators that were out were funny and friendly but they were very few and far between. I was alone a lot. If big expos are your thing - don't expect much here. It was very tiny. It did not hinder my race experience, I was just a little surprised. There were a couple of spots on the race where the course was not well marked. I, in fact, took a wrong turn. Omar said a pack of at least 40 runners came by him asking if he had seen other runners. The miles markers were waaaaaay off. Like maybe 1/3 of a mile off. I was constantly doing a little math in my head to try not to speed up to soon....or too late. Nothing major, just a few things that could be improved. I would most definitely run this one again.
My only BIG regret? There is no photo of Omar and I together on race day. Boo on that.
Otherwise, Great weekend! HUGE PR!! Happy smiles all around!
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| Big PR! Big Smile! |
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| High Five from Chattanoga's Great Dane |
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