Early to bed, early to rise…
After spending an exciting week in NYC on the sidelines, it was now time to turn my attention to a race I would actually be running…The Mayberry Half Marathon. Elaine turned me onto this race several years ago, but due to factors beyond control (pandemic, Gator home games, etc.), I haven’t been back since 2019. Located in North Carolina, Mount Airy was the home of Andy Griffith. The downtown area looks exactly like Mayberry from the show. We flew up on Friday morning, and Elaine picked us up from the Charlotte airport. She and Joe now live in the mountains, so it was a good two-hour drive to the airport. Their place is amazing! They live in a cabin on Buck Mountain and built a second cabin for guests. The view is breathtaking, but you need to be your own best company, as their cabin is pretty isolated from civilization. Elaine made us supper, but it was an early lights-out. The race was on Saturday at 8am, and we would be leaving around 5:30am.
It was 45° when we got to Mount Airy on Saturday. We picked up our race packets, and I must say the long-sleeve shirt honoring Veterans Day was really nice. The half marathon was starting at 8am and the 5K would begin at 8:30am (Glenda was walking/running this race). The participant breakdown was as follows:
Half Marathon: 315
10K: 250
5K: 426
Total 991
I was still unsure about my knee, but I had
not done much running in the past few weeks.
I was really looking forward to the race; I don’t think I got a full appreciation
of the course last time. This happens occasionally, as I think my expectations are set too high. Once we were off, the knee and leg were kind
of stiff, but I was not in any pain. I
tried to soak in the course; it did not disappoint. The cold weather was refreshing, especially
after doing so much running in the sweltering South Florida heat. Only two pee breaks, but I struggled a bit
towards the end. My heart rate was a bit
elevated from the lack of training, and the knee started to tighten up with a few miles to go.
I did not finish last, thanks to 64-year-old woman who was much slower than me. The medals were OUTSTANDING, and we met up with Glenda for some souvenir shopping and lunch at The Loaded Goat. The food was excellent, and we made the long drive back to the cabin. It would be yet another early night. We were flying out at 7:30am on Sunday, so we would be leaving to go to the airport at 4:00am (Thank you Elaine for being such a trooper).
I hope to do this race again...Just waiting for the football schedule to come out.
