September 22, 2019
My friend Valerie mentioned this race to me in January. She has a 50 states goal. I don't have a 50 states goal, but I would love to run the southern states. The Iron Horse Half Marathon was my first Kentucky race. Kentucky was so much prettier than I imagined. I would love to run another race there one day.
The Weekend
Kentucky is about a seven hour drive from my hometown in Alabama. Michael and I took off work to travel on Friday. We arrived in Kentucky late Friday afternoon. We went straight to packet pick-up at John's Run Walk Shop in Lexington, KY. Packet pick up was quick and easy. We caught it at a good time. The race was on Sunday, so I figured most people would get their packets on Saturday.
After packet pick-up we checked in our hotel. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Frankfort which was about a ten minute drive to the start line in downtown Midway. Midway is a small town between Frankfort and Lexington. Other than a few Airbnb's there weren't many lodging options in Midway.
Michael and I only had time to tour one distillery this trip. We wanted to watch the Alabama vs Southern Miss game at 11:00. Most of the distilleries closed around 4:00-5:00, so we didn't have time to visit any after the game was over.
We got up early Saturday morning to tour the Buffalo Trace Distillery Buffalo Trace is where the finest Kentucky bourbons are made. The grounds were so pretty. We went in one of the warehouses where barrels were being stored/aged. Then we went in the bottling room where workers were preparing hundreds of bottles of Buffalo Trace Bourbon. The smell of alcohol was really strong in the bottling room. I don't know how the workers can work in there all day, but I guess they get used to it after a while.
Bottling Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Pappy Collection
We left the distillery in just enough time to run through the drive-thru at Dairy Queen near the hotel before the game. Alabama handled Southern Miss with a final score of 49-7. After the game we stopped at several liquor stores around town in search of rare bourbon. For a state known for its distilleries, the bourbon selection in Kentucky was a big disappointment for Michael.
On our way to dinner we passed by Liberty Elementary School. An ordinary elementary school to some, but as an educator I immediately recognized it as the school where comedian Gerry Brooks was once a Principal. I love his humor! I got a picture of the school while stopped at a red light. This was the highlight of my evening!
We ate at a Johnny Carino's Italian Restaurant in Lexington before heading back to the hotel. I laid out my things for race morning and got to bed at a decent time.
Race Day
Valerie and her husband Paul were staying at the same hotel. They were kind to let me ride with them to the start line on race morning. Michael slept in, but he met me later at the finish line. The race was scheduled to start at 7:00. They moved the start time up from 7:30 because this year's race coincided with the Midway Fall Festival in town.
There was plenty of parking in a field near the start line. It was pitch black as the time neared 7:00. The race directors made a last minute decision to delay the start until 7:15 when the sun was beginning to come up. I'm glad they made that decision because I was beginning to worry about starting in the dark.
The photographer got a shot of Valerie and me at the start of the race. She was way ahead of me the remainder of the race.
It was a little chilly at the start, but it warmed up quickly. It was 66 degrees and sunny for most of the race. This was a figure eight course alongside farm houses and horse pastures. The first down and back stretch (Miles 1-7) consisted of mostly gently rolling hills and some flat stretches. The last down and back stretch (Miles 8-13) was a bit more challenging with bigger hills and less flat stretches.
I used 2:00 run x :30 second walk intervals for the first half of the race. When I reached the more challenging hills in the second half of the course I walked up hill and ran down hill. It was really difficult to stick with my original run/walk strategy.
I didn't have a time goal for this race. I planned to enjoy the scenery and take pictures on the course. It was so amazing watching the horses run in the pastures alongside us with their manes blowing in the breeze.
The course seemed to level out around 12.5 miles and I planned to run the remainder of the race. There was a surprise hill at the end of the race before making the final turn toward the finish line. It wasn't a long hill but it was really steep. One of the volunteers on the course said, "Come on you got this, It's the last hill." I laughed as I walked up.
I finished in 2:19:56.
Mile 1- 9:47
Mile 2- 9:52
Mile 3- 9:43
Mile 4- 9:30
Mile 5- 10:34
Mile 6- 11:14
Mile 7- 10:07
Mile 8- 10:42
Mile 9- 11:49
Mile 10- 10:43
Mile 11- 11:27
Mile 12- 11:33
Mile 13- 10:51
0.19 Miles- 10:57/pace
It was pretty congested at the finish line, but it didn't take long to spot Michael in the crowd. He was standing with Valerie, Paul, and their son. We got a couple of post-race pictures then said our goodbyes.
Valerie and Paul were going to walk around the festival in town before heading home. I would have loved to look around, but Michael and I both had to go back to work the next day. We went back to the hotel so I could shower quickly before hitting the road.
