The race went pretty much as expected. Boring I know... Allow me try to narrate some of the more interesting points.
Dinner before the race: ate at The Laughing Seed Cafe, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Asheville. Amazing. Eat there if you get the chance and try something exotic! We filled up and then were sleeping like logs at 9pm in the hotel.
Race morning: woke up at 4:30 am and tuned into the Weather Channel. Asheville conditions: 60 degrees (perfect!) and 100% humidity (whaaaaattt?!?!?!?). 100% humidity is AWFUL. oh well - not much you can do about that. We picked up Chris' parents and headed to Biltmore at 6 am, watching the sun try to cut through the dense fog that engulfed the scenery. We got a good 15-20 min jog in to warm up and stretched out.
The start: The start line was a mess. 5k gun time was 7:15 am and 15k was 7:20 am. We headed to a mess of a crowd, groups of 5k'ers and 15k'ers jumbled up talking and spread out. When the 5k gun went off, let's just say there were lots of 5k people that had to be told to "go run." We quickly made our way closer to the start line and positioned ourselves in the front quarter of runners. It took ~9 seconds to get to the start banner from the time the gun went off.
The race: The race started with a decline for 1/4 mile before leveling out. I followed Chris down the left edge of the road, mixing a bit of gravel/shoulder in to get around the crowd until I found a pocket after 1/2 mile and settled in. My thinking was to keep the first half purposefully relaxed and to not push it too much because of the two hills. The first mile came in 8:30. A bit fast but I wasn't too worried because I was feeling good and pulling back a bit. Soon we passed a barn (I think - it was pretty foggy) and I caught a glimpse of the Morgan horses and heard some goats bleating/cheering us on. The first "moderate" hill came during the second mile. It was less than I thought. There was only a short steep part right at the end of the second mile as we crested the hill at the Deerpark Restaurant.
Mile 3 was predominantly downhill and somewhat steep but I love downhills like this. I was able to push the downhill, picking off people one by one, while concentrating on breathing to recover from Mile 2. I estimate mile 3 was close to 8:00. At the bottom of the hill we took a right turn and started what seemed to be the longest hill in all of western NC. Having "mapped" the course out online ahead of time, I knew that Hill #2 (mile 4) was a little longer than Hill #1 (mile 2). Um, wrong. Hill #2 was never ending, winding back and forth through the woods with nothing to pass that would distract you except trees. I wanted to push this hill a bit knowing that the top of it would be the end of hills for the course and I could cruise/push the downhill/flat parts of the course. I did not manage this hill as well as I should have, likely starting too aggressive at the bottom. The massive side stitch that I couldn't shake until the top probably didn't help either. I did manage to get my gel down without losing stride and it kicked in the last bit of the hill. Mile 4 cost me more time than I would have liked.
Just before Mile 5, we wove through the parking lots and passed another water station. Just after the aid tables, there were two Biltmore shuttle vans parked and an attendant standing beside them. I was feeling much better (having conquered the final bad hill of the course) and managed to shout a joking "Hey, you giving shortcut rides out?" to the chuckling bystander. Up a short hill and out of the parking lots, we approached the house. I picked up the pace a bit to shake another runner who wasn't keeping a consistent pace and relaxed down the approach drive of the house. With all the fog, the house was elusive until you made the turn the run across the front of the house. I ran past the photographers and headed away from the house and down into the walled garden.
I remember looking forward to running through the garden on the last weekend of the "Festival of Flowers" but in hindsight, I barely remember the garden and can just remember calculating pace when I passed the 6 mile mark and getting a time. Out of the gardens, we wound our way downhill to the next aid station. These guys rocked! I think they had Asheville Track Club shirts on (forgive me if it was another group) and they were the most encouraging bunch of people out there on the course. The bridge over the bass pond was one of those arched bridges you expect to see a carriage come across...too cute. I managed to squeeze out a bit more of the gel from my pack, realizing I was tiring and still had another 2.5 miles.
The last stretch was nice and flat (the 5k course) and wound along the French Broad River and the Lagoon. Runners were pretty spread by this point and I found this part of the course very relaxing. I set into a comfortable stride to push the flat part. A bit worried about burning out, I think I was holding about an 8:45 pace that was comfortably difficult after having run the rest of the course. I aimed to make it under 1:25 at this point. Turning over my legs, I started picking off runners. I find this is the most motivating thing I can do when tired and coming towards a finish. I put my laser sights on someone's back and slowly catch/pass them. There was a mixture of runners tiring out and slowing (much easier to pick off), runners keeping pace, and runners coming up behind me from nowhere (I suppose I was their target). Getting passed is okay though. I've gotten enough races under my belt this year to know when to latch on and follow and when to let them go, knowing they are running a different race than I. It's a good motivation and is humbling. I passed the Mile 8 marker and tried to pick up the pace a bit for the final stretch. I think I did get a bit faster, but it felt like I was locked into a pace and struggled with pushing it.
During the warmup jog, we ran by the final 1/2 mile of the course so I knew that not only was there a sign at Mile 9, but there was another sign that read "1/4 Mile to finish". I wanted to start kicking it in at this sign. At Mile 9 marker I picked up the pace a bit more, lengthening my stride and focused on smooth breathing knowing this "1/4 Mile to finish" sign would be upon me soon. I rounded a corner and saw it, thankful that the end was near. There was a (fast) runner who had made his way back to the sign and was cheering in other runners. His encouragement: "1/4 mile - just one lap around the track! You got it!" While I had 1/4 mile in my head, I hadn't thought of it as a lap around the track. It was exactly what I needed to hear. My head sung "one lap - that's nothing!" and my legs responded with an open stride while my arms swung along. Then I saw Chris and smiled. He was making his way toward me so that I could see him before the crowd at the finish - about a third of the way up the steep hill and corner that stood between me and the finish line. His encouragement was well placed. And just as I was coming around the corner thinking "where was this finish line?" I heard his parents "Go Jenni!" which fueled me right through the finish for that final third of the hill. A big thanks to all the Jordans for the cheers.
Gun time: 1:23:54
Chip time: 1:23:58 -
Actual time: 1:23:45 - just under 9:00 pace. I was expecting somewhere between 8:45 and 9:00 pace so I was happy with it. Too bad I didn't manage the hills as much as I would have liked...
The gripes:
- The start was quite disorganized/messy.
- The website, packet pickup, program, etc had no mention of whether the mileage would be marked, or if there would be aid stations and how many/what they would have. Turns out there were aid stations with water/gatorade, but I'm glad I brought my clutch anyway.
- The chip timing was a joke. The bibs were gigantic and the chip was a big wire that fit in a baggie on the back of the bib. Nowhere on the course were there RFID systems to get splits. There was no RFID at the start or finish either so the only time you had on the course was "gun time" + however long it took someone to grab you at the finish and hold a wand up to your bib/chip. Chip time is supposed to be less than gun time.
- Spectators had to buy $20 tickets each to come watch/cheer but the only place they could do so was at start/finish. My in-laws napped in the car for an hour so they wouldn't have to stand around (no place to sit).
The grins:
- Photography on course
- Nice tech shirts and medals
- Beautiful course and nice to have the road completely blocked off.
- Good charity
- I placed and got a medal! Hurray!
I wish this wasn't the last year of the race at Biltmore - would really like to run the course again and PR. There is talk of moving it somewhere else which would be great, but definitely not the same appeal.
We wrapped up the day by grabbing showers and checking out of the hotel before heading back to downtown Asheville to grab brunch at the fantastic Early Girl Eatery. Eat there - seriously worth the wait. I got a black bean and cheddar omelet with home fries. Mmmm. Chris' burger was made of local meat ground in-house. Super Yummms. I could eat my way through Asheville - so many good restaurants. The in-laws left after brunch to head home and Chris and I walked all over downtown A'ville for a bit to window-shop and get some of the lactic acid moving out of our muscles. We topped off the walk with a stop by Jack of the Wood and enjoyed a beer before heading back home. It was a great trip. I'd love to come back to Asheville to run some more races - they have a half marathon I'm eying up that is in September.
