Oak Barrel Half Marathon

Race bib & medal signed by the Master Distiller himself!

Not really a "race report" because I didn't technically race.  A girl I work with doesn't run, but wanted to participate in an event.  I agreed to train & walk a half with her, and this was a local one and only $50 to enter!  It ended up being a really cool race overall, and it was a whole new experience for me doing it as a walker.  It was kind of nice to slow down and just enjoy the experience with no pressure or expectations.

I didn't really train like I would have if I were running.  I stuck to the long walk schedule, and a random walk here and there.  I do a lot of cardio during the week, so I thought I'd be ok. And I was.  Muscles felt fine.  Had one bad blister, and a sports bra problem, but overall it was great.

The race was mostly run on back roads out in the country.  There were spectators at the start/finish line & water stops, but other than that, you were pretty much on your own. We saw plenty of cows, and at about mile 6 had some buzzards circling overhead.  They came back at about mile 11 which was much more appropriate.  Miles 4-5 is what they call a "character building" hill, aka Whiskey Hill.  Oh.Em.Gee..  a mile long hill that gets super steep at the end.  It was nice they had Eye of the Tiger, followed by Highway to Hell blaring at the top.  Once you reached the top, you could smell the whiskey mash in the air from the Jack Daniels distillery below.  I told my friend that around mile 10 or 11, she would probably be hating me/life/everything.  This proved to be true, but she kept the pace with me until the end.  Actually, at the 13 mile sign, I realized I could make it under 3:30 if I ran to the finish.  She didn't want to join me, but told me to go for it.  3:29:46  :)  She finished about a minute later, so we averaged about 16:00 for the race.  Not too shabby for a couple of walkers. 

I think one of the coolest parts of this race was that after the finish, we walked over to the distillery and met the Master Distiller!  He signed our medals and race bibs (i didn't have any money on me to buy a commemorative bottle of Jack, and I wasn't walking back to the car..).  All in all, a great day!