A few months ago, I heard that the Mississippi Blues Marathon had pacer spots available, so I signed up for 4:00. I didn't know much about the race going into it, but now that I have run it, I will remember 5 main things about the race:
- The medal and harmonica are sweet.
- Jackson is hilly.
- Mississippi volunteers are friendly.
- The race shirt is ugl....noticeable.
- Jackson's roads are rough.
Pre Race
I woke up early on Friday and flew to Jackson. My connecting flight out of Houston was filled with marathoners, including several
Marathon Maniacs and
50 States Marathon Club founders Steve and Paula Boone (I'm in both clubs). From the airport I headed to the expo, which was on the smaller side but nice with live music and an easy packet pickup process. I picked up my race packet and pacer gear and found myself back in my car around 1:00pm, with nothing to do until my hotel room was available at 3:00pm.
So, I started looking for things to do, and I found out that there are casinos in Vicksburg a mere 40 miles away! I hit the road, played some blackjack and drank some water, and ended up returning to Jackson around 5:00pm with $200 extra in my pocket. Not a bad way to prepare for a marathon :)
Back in Jackson, I did my usual night before the race festivities, including running a mile to loosen up, carbing up on Olive Garden take-out, pinning bibs and GUs to my race clothes, and watching football.
The next morning I slept in a little later than usual because I was staying close to the start. I waited until about 40 minutes before the race to make the 1 mile walk to the start, where I lined up in my pace spot and chatted with some of my fellow 4:00 runners.
The Race
Miles 1-3 - Less crowded than I expected.
The first few miles were nice, with some decent hills and cool foggy weather. I had read that the first three miles would be crowded due to the full and half marathons sharing a course, but the roads were nice and wide so it wasn't bad at all. (I heard this weekend that they may allow more people into the race next year. From what I saw the race should be able to handle a bigger crowd just fine.) I found my body trying to go too fast in those first few miles, so I constantly made myself slow down to stay near my 9:09/mile pace.
Miles 3-13.1 - Leading the pack.
I had a great group running with my pace group through the first half. I did my usual local trivia questions every mile for entertainment and got to know a little bit about everyone in the group. The course was pretty hilly in the first half but everyone was feeling good. By the half way point, I had built a 1 minute lead on my 4 hour pace, so I thought I was all set for an easy second half.
Miles 13.1-21 - Hill after hill after hill.
During the second half, the hills started to wear on me, along with everyone else in the group. Also, the sun came out and the temperature climbed into the 70s. This is when the 4:00 group around me started getting thinner. As the miles went on, I found myself concentrating more and more on holding the pace and I kept forgetting to ask my trivia questions. Tragic! The hills aren't very big at any point on the course (the biggest/steepest one is actually at mile 11), but they just keep coming one after another, mile after mile, late into the race.
Miles 21-26.2 - Trudging to the finish.
Luckily the hills finally do end and the course is pretty flat for the last 5 miles. My legs were pretty dead from all of the previous hills and the day was just getting hotter, so I was ready to be finished. I managed to hold pace all the way and finish with a chip time of 3:59:08. I normally would have eased up a bit in the last few miles to finish closer to 4:00, but I knew I had started about a minute behind the gun so I would be just about perfectly on 4:00 clock time if I kept my 1 minute chip cushion, so I went for that instead. I ended up finishing right at 3:59:57 on the clock, which was pretty sweet. The race announcer even gave me a hard time for finishing 3 seconds too early. They're picky in Mississippi :)
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Elevation from my Garmin...lots of hills!
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Post Race
After a couple of free post-race beers and slices of pizza (really good finisher food at this race), I walked back to my hotel to shower and stopped for a gourmet post-race lunch at McDonald's on the way to the airport.
The airport after the race ended up being a great part of the trip. I ran into fellow Maniac and friend from the Missoula Marathon and blog world, Amy!
I also made some new friends, Keith and Andrea from New York, who were super nice but tried tricking me into running more marathons this year :) We also chatted with some of the race's elite runners who were on our flight, including the women's champion Malika Mejdoub, men's 3rd place Solomon Kandie, and men's half marathon 6th place Jhonny Camacho. Malika carried on her fancy new guitar that was part of the prize for winning the race. I had never sat down and talked with elite runners before, so it was really interesting to hear about their training, race strategy, equipment, goals, etc. It was the most interesting wait for a plane I have ever had!
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| My fast new friends before our flight. |
Nerdy Race Statistics:
Garmin Distance - 26.39 miles
Garmin Average Pace - 9:04/mile
Garmin Calories Burned - 3758 calories
Official Splits
| Mile | Time | Split Pace | Total Pace |
|---|
| 5 | 45:17 | 9:03 | 9:03 |
| 10 | 1:30:49 | 9:06 | 9:05 |
| 15 | 2:16:41 | 9:10 | 9:07 |
| 20 | 3:02:13 | 9:06 | 9:07 |
| 26.2 | 3:59:08 | 9:11 | 9:08 |
Garmin pace per split:
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Pace per split, I took a split at every mile marker I saw.
(click to enlarge) |
I was a little fast throughout the first half, especially the bit where I caught up after a bathroom break in the woods. I ended up with a minute lead on my pace at half way, then I calmed down and cruised the second half to finish about a minute early, with some minor pace changes on the hills.
Souvenirs:
Some of the best stuff I've ever gotten from a race. The race packet included a harmonica, a CD of local Blues music, and an extremely "noticeable" short sleeved tech shirt. The medal was impressive and big, almost as big as Little Rock (comparison below).
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| 4 hour pacer gear |
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| Harmonica! |
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Shirt, bib, medal.
The shirt is tough to miss. |
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| Back of the shirt...take that Competitor Group! |
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| Sweet medal. |
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Little Rock vs. Mississippi Blues medal size comparison.
My two biggest marathon medals. |
Likes and Dislikes
Likes:
- Volunteers - Everyone working at the race was extremely friendly and thankful to everyone for running. It made for a fun, friendly race. I also had a first-time experience, when a nun handed me water at an aid station around mile 12. I knew I would have a good race after that!
- Souvenirs - See above, good stuff. It's fun to drive my girlfriend crazy trying to play the harmonica when she's around.
- Location - The expo and start/finish were both right downtown in Jackson, easily walkable from several affordable hotels. If you stay further away, there is a ton of free parking a few blocks away at the fairgrounds.
Dislikes:
- Rough Roads - Lots of cracks and potholes to avoid. Someone in my pace group was telling me that it's because of the type of dirt they have in Jackson; it shifts a lot when the temperature changes. Whatever the cause, if you are running this race, watch your feet or you will probably take a spill.
- The Sun - Yeah, I know, it's tough to dislike the sun because it keeps us alive and all. But, I was mostly mad that the day ended up being so hot and the sun came out around mile 13 when it was supposed to be cloudy with a chance of rain all day. Oh well, can't control the weather.
Race Costs
Race Entry - $0 (Pacer)
Flights - $160
Hotel - $80
Car - $50
Gas - $20
Total - $310
Totals
29 Total Marathons and 1 Ultra.
23 States (already had Mississippi).
29 of 30 marathons before I turn 30.
