Author: healthbyhaven

I shared the above sentiment 6 hours after crossing the finish line of the 2024 Knoxville Marathon. This race was not my goal race for 2024 (see my 2024 Houston Marathon Recap for more on that), nor was I originally intending to run the full marathon. The last two years I’ve registered for the Knoxville Half Marathon wayyy in advance to stop myself from running the full. Well, we see how well that tactic has worked (see my 2023 Knoxville Marathon Recap). Oops. 

That being said, since last July I made qualifying for the Boston Marathon (BQing) my running goal. For a female in my age group, that means running below a 3 hour and 30 min marathon. I went hard for that goal in Houston this January. Like, really hard. And I narrowly missed that time. So even though Knoxville wasn’t my goal race, of course I had that time standard in the back of my mind.

So, I jumped straight into another marathon training block after Houston to prepare for Knoxville (would not recommend this tactic). In yesterday’s race, I went out hot. Clearly too hot, because I kind of went up in flames after about 10 miles. Here’s the mile-by-mile play by play if you’re interested: 

• Getting to the start: I LOVE that I can walk from my apartment to the start line of this race. It’s part of what convinces me to run the full each year. This one’s about as low stress as they come for me. That being said, I probablyyyy should have left 5 min earlier to get to the start yesterday. I was assigned the A corral and the Clinch Ave. bridge was so packed out by the time I got to the start line I couldn’t make my way to the front. I started with the B wave which was fine, it just meant I did a lot of unnecessary weaving through the crowd for the first few miles.
• Mile 1: My watch beeped at 7:53 pace. Exactly the pace I wanted to hit down to the second. I saw it as a sign that it was my day.
• Mile 1.5: I dropped 2 of my gels. Maybe not my day.
• Miles 4-8: Always my favorite section of the course. It’s through Sequoia Hills, arguably the hilliest and most challenging part of the course, but man does that neighborhood show out! I’m talking crowds out cheering, people tailgating the race in their front yards, tons of music, and even a house that cooks bacon right on the road for the runners if they want to risk some potentially questionable stomach-related results from the free snack. I saw several Pure Barre friends in the neighborhood which gave me a great boost! I was still on pace and feeling relatively good. 
• Mile 8: Noelton Hill. Always a doozy, but I pushed through.
• Miles 8 – 11ish: On the greenway. It was nice and peaceful, but this is where I started to feel the results of an aggressive pace through the hills. I tried to just keep putting one foot in front of the other (quickly!).
• Mile 11ish: Getting off the greenway and through UT’s campus and college houses started feeling really tough. I forgot how many sneaky uphills are in this section.
• Mile 12.5 or so: The half marathoners split off the course towards the finish line. I started to question why I voluntarily decided not to go with them…
• Mile 13.1: I was a bit disappointed to see I hit the halfway mark at 1 hr 48 min. That’s when I knew there was no way I was negative splitting 6 minutes in the second half to hit my goal time. I had to accept it and decided to just try to enjoy running in the beautiful weather for the second half without going too deep into the pain cave. 
• Mile 14: I saw Billy, Jake and my dad for the first time since the start. It was a great boost! Swapped my headband for my hat.
• Miles 14 – 18: Some of the more challenging miles of the race. The runners and the crowds on the sidelines reallyyyy thin out and I was wishing I had my headphones for a little extra music motivation. This part of the course is mostly in the direct sun, and I was starting to regret my long sleeve shirt.
• Mile 17ish: A lone sideline supporter in a camp chair and his dog were howling back and forth on the side of the road. It truly gave me the giggles and a welcomed boost in a remote area of the race.
• Mile 19: I saw my fam again and passed off my gloves. I remember telling them “I hurt so bad”, which, of course, was a bad decision because vocalizing that feeling made the pain more real. I felt a catch in my throat and really had to work to take some deep breaths and shift my focus, so I could keep breathing and keep running.
• Mile 20-21: This stretch crosses the James White Parkway bridge. Perhaps the most challenging mile of the course, in my opinion. I was dreading this section from last year, but luckily I fell in line with another runner on the course. We didn’t speak, but we ran the length of the bridge side by side and his matching stride really helped get me across. Thank you, kind stranger! I hope the rest of his race went well.
• Miles 21 – 24.5: A sluggish blur through Island Homes. The pain was different than Houston. There, I was digging deep, but it was my decision and I still felt strong. Knox just felt like I couldn’t will my legs to go any faster, which was super frustrating. 
• Mile 24.5: FINALLY made it to the Gay St. bridge and I was so happy to be feeling the pain going up the hill to get there. I knew when I crossed the bridge and made it back into downtown that I would be entering the last mile of the race.
• Mile 25: Gay St. has never felt so long. It’s amazing how the slightest uphill at this point felt nearly impossible. I kept telling myself “the only way out is through.”
• Finish: After what felt like maybe the hardest marathon of my life, I finally made it to the finish and to my family. Certainly the best part of the day.