THANKYUH, MEMPHIS, THANKYUHVERYMUCH
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Near freezing temps at 8:00 a.m., when some 3000 of us (~1000 marathoners) set out from downtown. I passed the Gibson Guitar Factory, made my way over to Riverside Drive along the Mississippi, got a good view of Mud Island on the way to Beale Street and the Elvis statue, thankyuhverymuch. The crowd had thinned out by the time I met a reincarnated Elvis in downtown. Also in this section I found some of the typically gently rolling hills that typify the course. I passed The Pyramid and turned right to begin almost four miles of a mostly straight stretch east on North Parkway. |
I'd set a goal of 5:50. At mile 5 I found I'd built up a cushion of over four minutes compared to the target on my pace band. Mile 7 took me along the Zoo's north border until I turned in to Overton Park and got a little boost from live music by Greased Lightening [sic]. Checking my ten mile split on Poplar I found I'd built up a reserve of over twelve minutes. Yeah!
The reincarnated Elvis provided a splendidly cheesy
photo op in front of legendary Sun Studios. I passed the finish area
to begin my second loop. As I turned up Third Street my back-of-the-pack
status became evident. The race crowd had drastically thinned as I began
a five mile stretch of déjà vu. |
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Officer before beaming up. |
After beaming up. Go Photoshop! |
By mile 18 stump pain called for stopping to change prosthetic socks and affix a Compeed. Doing so ate up probably five minutes of my time reserve, but it was well worth it; it helped me get back on a better pace.
At noon I had a brief scare: no one told visitors to expect the monthly (or weekly?) test of the tornado siren.
| Mile 19 brought the "Hawaii Christmas" aid station with the inflatable palm tree, and girls in grass skirts (over
warmup outfits). By m20 my buffer had dropped to two minutes and twenty
seconds. I picked up the pace along the southern end of Libertyland Fairgrounds.
The course led past Mid-South Coliseum and into the Liberty Bowl, along
the sidelines, where I got a high-five from a Memphis University football
player and mascot. |
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Continuing up Hollywood and turning left down Union, I rebuilt my time advantage by about 20 seconds over each of the next few miles. I could tell that I could sustain this; I knew I'd make my 5:50 goal. I pushed ahead into the final series of loooong ups and downs, meeting another Elvis offering donuts for the final 2.5 miles. Finally at mile 26 I turned right for a little sprint to the final entrance ramp into AutoZone Park. According to my personal chrono, I finished in 5:45:20—my best time since Cape Cod!
Finishing in the park allowed access to the team showers. I even had the pleasure of a maybe ten minute massage. Then I checked out the post-race food. Powerade, water, bananas, apples, and even Krispy Kremes. Oooooh, baaaaby, the Memphis Marathon does it right.
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Later that afternoon I enjoyed visiting with Lou (from the Runner's World online forum) and family, and other marathoners, at Molly's La Casita. |
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50 & DC Starting Line | Events Completed | Biography | Finish Line |
Chuck's 50 & DC Marathons Starting Line
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Concerts | Is There Anybody Out There? | Presidential Election 2004
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