I Have a Coonskin Cap (WW # 138)



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Raccoon Mountain Half Marathon
Chattanooga, TN

March 17, 2018

Half Marathon # 54

Our recent Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains hiking trip included the Raccoon Mountain Half Marathon.  It was a stormy morning and my son and I were drenched after walking to packet pickup. Everyone was instructed to stay in their vehicles due to lightning.  It was intense!  Thankfully, it passed quickly and the race start was only delayed about 20 minutes.  We were all given a rain poncho.  I thought that was a very nice touch.

My arm warmers are tucked into my top.
It was warm and steamy.

After two days and 17 miles on mountain hiking trails my quads were feeling every 5,505 foot of descending terrain I'd stepped (and the corresponding 5,505 ascending).  Even so, I pushed on the downhill portions of this race as I'm training for an upcoming downhill marathon.  I walked up the steepest hills.
  

This race bills itself on FUN.  It definitely had a laid back atmosphere.  The location was very pretty.  We ran around a large reservoir and there were scenic views off in the distance from atop the mountain.  The aid stations reminded me of the ones you find on Century Rides.  There were all types of food as well as themes and enthusiastic volunteers.  It's as if they wanted you to stop and hang out a while.

This view is from one of the aid stations.

This event historically has been run on a mix of trails and road.  This year they offered: marathon, double half marathon (morning and evening) half marathon, relay, 10k and the new "all road" half marathon.  I don't know if the volunteers directing runners were confused -- I certainly was -- or if they marked the course wrong, but my all road route came up short    Very short.  It wasn't just me as they apologized on their website. I think my official time was around 2:01 but I can no longer locate the results.  I have no idea how far I ran as my watch stopped a while during the race.  I'm guessing it wasn't even 12 miles.

  

They gave us a coonskin cap with a real tail (I'm serious), a moisture-wicking hat, a huge and heavy glass mug, and bib fasteners.  My son wanted a long sleeve T-shirt and they had a good variety of items for purchase.  I bought a tank top.  By the way, he walked/ran his correctly marked 10k at an awesome pace...but like I said, now I can't find the results.  They had grilled burgers, hotdogs, cupcakes, brownies and more at the finish.

Because we had on coonskin caps...

We continued with our adventures in Chattanooga at Rock City and Ruby Falls before heading home.

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Monday -- Strength
Tuesday -- 8 Miles Evening Run
Wednesday -- 14 Miles Bike Trainer Ride
Thursday -- 6 Miles Evening Run
Friday -- REST
Saturday -- 15 Miles
Sunday -- Strength / Yoga

Total Ran = 29 Miles
Total Cycled = 14 Miles

Dark, evening greetings from the mailbox!

Marathon training is coming along well.  I'm dealing with minor health issues which have me struggling to get up early after nights of poor sleep.  So, my weekday runs were after work.  I enjoyed them immensely.  Maybe I'm getting the hang of this evening runner thing.  Saturday marked my longest run since December 2016.  I didn't get started until around 10 a.m. and it quickly became very hot in the abundant sunshine.   The two bottles I stashed around my 'hood were not enough for 15 miles in the heat. I can usually rely on the water fountain in our neighborhood park but the city has yet to turn the water back on.  {Hello, City?  It's 80 degrees.  I think Winter is over!}    

And that's a wrap!

What's the most unique item you've received at a race?

Are you training for any races?  Which ones?



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