At around 7.5 miles we began to emerge from the neighborhoods, and the already-crowded sidewalks became more and more packed as we went down Music Row. People were everywhere: on the streets, on the steps of buildings, hanging out of windows and leaning from overpasses. The concentration of bands along the course increased until one could get just out of range of one band before beginning to hear the next one up ahead. It was the craziest thing I have ever experienced as a runner. Only the slow onset of fatigue kept me focused upon the task at hand.
Ahead were a couple of low, long hills, which kicked the fatigue up another half-click. Then around the bend came a welcome break: nearly four miles of mostly downhill and flat, into a park and along a levee beside the Cumberland River. As we descended the hill into the park, I saw six nuns high-fiving runners on the left side of the street. What the hell, I thought. With a lightness of mood that I rarely achieve these days outside the confines of a road race, I went down the row, slapping hands with them all. High-fiving nuns: that's new. The day just got a little weirder.
By by halfway point, I was somewhat more fatigued then I had hoped to be, but was still running well, so I wasn't terribly worried. The run down the empty levee was eerily quiet compared to the cheering throngs we had encountered most of the way; but before long, I heard a roar up ahead, and soon was back into town with the crowds and the bands to provide distraction and positive energy. But the temperatures had gotten warmer, and all that concrete intensified both the warmth and the blinding light of the sun. As we moved along the opposite side of the rolling street that we had come down, I passed my wife as she approached the 11-mile mark.
"You're just a few minutes behing a four-hour pace," she yelled over to me. Having realized that a sub-four was out of reach, I nodded and told her to hold steady. A couple of minutes behind her, I saw the 5:30 pace team come up the street. Oh crap, I thought: she's going way too hard.
Still more to come ....
