Hatfield McCoy
I left Buford with a group of 7 other ladies around 10:30 on Friday morning. As we passed Asheville and were about to "run" out of exits we jetted off the interstate and quickly chose left over right, we found ourselves at the Stoney Knob Cafe.
The patrons looked exactly how you would expect for a random restaurant off an interstate in the south. A bunch of blue haired ladies with their loving husbands. But the decor and menu was more like something you would find in a little hipster town. It was filled with eclectic items such as glass chandlers and a gold painted octopus.
The food was to die for! Especially the dessert!
After filling my belly with a fried green tomato & pimento cheese sandwich, coconut creme pie and 10 glasses of water, we hit the road again.
We arrived at Belfry High School in time for packet pick up and the pasta dinner but missed out on the skit. Packets included headphones, Hatfield McCoy beef jerky and a shirt that is too big on me (it is really my fault, I should have asked to trade it).After dinner, we headed to the Williamson fire-station to check in for the night. Williamson is a sleepy little coal mining town that looks nothing like the places that I am used to. Lights were out by 8pm and people started stirring around 3:45 in the morning. I didn't sleep great but I didn't sleep horrible. Despite trying to crawl into the wrong cot after going potty, I would do the whole lock-in thing again.
The first 5 miles or so were pretty good. They went by really fast. The next 3 miles went by pretty quickly too but my feet were already hurting. My feet were actually hurting before the race started. For some reason, I had started to suffer from plantar fascistic about a week or so before the event.
Nicole and I had decided to walk up Blackberry mountain and we determined the base of it to be around 6.5 miles. We made it to the top around mile 8. When the women told us we were at top we were shocked. It was way easier than I was expecting. I actually find Carriage Hill at Little Mulberry to be harder.
Around mile 11.5, I lost Nicole when I stopped to move a dead (non venomous) snake off the course. I saw her and then Wendy at the finish of the Blackberry Half while I took a 10 minute break. After massaging my feet, I started the River Road Half. At mile 14 my feet were really hurting and I decided to walk a mile. I started talking to a woman named Tawanna who was also taking a walk break....for some reason we never started running again until mile 26.
There were moments when I "could have" run but honestly having company was more important at the time. The course was winding through the mountains and we couldn't see anyone in front of us or behind us....oh wait, someone at aid station 12/14 told me that the River Road course was flat..."that was a lie". Anyway, the course was somewhat hilly and extremely whindy and it was fun getting to know someone new.
At mile 20ish, I utilized a chair, a fan and some Tiger Balm to ease my aching feet. It helped tremendously.
At mile 25, we discovered that had been 2 people right in front of us the whole time.
At mile 26, I heard it. I heard New Kids on the Block! Tawanna encouraged me to go ahead and I did, I ran down the hill and across the finish line to the sound of my buddy Donnie!
All in all, I feel "okay" about my race. I know finishing a marathon is big deal. I really do. But, I can't help but be disappointed and almost a little embarrassed that I walked that last 12 miles. Which is silly because I never did a long training run and I even said, I would walk the 2nd half if I needed to....but sometimes you can't help how you feel.
That being said, I loved it and I will absolutely do another!
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