The Half Marathon: Western NC, Part 2

The first thing I did after arriving in Black Mountain on 5/15 was trade my motorcycle for a mountain bike. Justin had arranged for me to join a group ride near Old Fort organized by Kat, a local bike mechanic and friend of Justin & Liz. 

The mountain biking crew. Photo taken before things got hairy. It's been a week and a half, so unfortunately I don't remember everyone's name, but I'll try my best: (left to right) Forgot (starting off on a bad note), Kat, Tim, Shannen, Forget, Roger, Yours Truly. Behind the camera: Vaddis (definitely spelling that wrong). 

Kat, Tim, and Roger work together at the local bike shop. Kat decided to become a bike mechanic a number of years back when she was living in northern Arkansas. She was working as a waitress at the time and would bring lunch to her future husband, Adam (who was unable to join the biking outing on 5/15), who was working as a bike mechanic. On these lunch visits, she realized that he seemed to be having a lot more fun at work than she was, which prompted her to try her hand at being a bike mechanic and the rest is history. 

Shannen's in her 50s now, but still keeps up with all the young pups on the trails. Vaddis, who is from Ukraine and can hold a wheelie longer than I know, likes to compete with Tim to see who can put up the fastest time on the downhill portion of the trail. 

The outing was pitched as being open to all skill levels, but I was definitely on the greener end (having legit mountain biked only one time two years prior), and it showed. I kept up alright on the the uphill portion, but had a pretty solid wipeout near the end, complete with a quasi-faceplant that left me a bit sore for the half marathon and from which I still have unhealed cuts and bruises. That said, the biking trip was still a blast, and I'd recommend you join the group for a ride if you ever pass through Black Mountain. My main tips would be: 1. Wear gloves (the humidity makes the rubber hand grips about at grippy as jello) and 2. Use your front brake (I didn't touch mine the whole time and failing to do so certainly contributed to the wipeout). 

Some views from Bernard Trail (where we mountain biked)

The half marathon was in Todd, NC a small town about 2 hours north of Black Mountain, so we drove up the night before for a big pasta dinner. The pasta dinner was at Tripp's place, on a mountain side on the outskirts of Boone. The dinner was good, but the views were even better.

The view from Tripp's balcony - I believe that is Grandfather Mountain in the distance.

Tripp's balcony, featuring Gavin. Gavin is the personal responsible for convincing me to run the half marathon. I called him about a month ago while he was on a training run and he (half jokingly) suggested I should join the group running it. I don't joke about running and was already planning to be in NC around that time, so signing up only made sense. 

Tripp was a college roommate of other Kevin (who you'll meet later this post). Though he opted not to run the half marathon, he graciously hosted us for our last supper before the race. Tripp (who I don't have a photo of - just picture Zack Efron with darker hair) works a variety of jobs, including modeling, house painting, and photography. Over the past 5 years, Tripp has driven back and forth across the country in his SUV many times, but keeps finding himself drawn back to Boone. With those balcony views, it's not hard to see why. 

We (me, Justin, Liz, and Gavin) spent the night at Mary & Steve's (family friends of Liz), closer to downtown Boone. Mary works as a physical therapist. Steve's had a number of different careers, but currently works in mortgage lending (if you're looking to buy a house and need a loan, hit him up) and does woodcraft on the side (his most recent project was a giant, live edge wood dining room table). 

My neck was still quite sore from faceplanting while mountain biking, so Mary gave me one of these pain patches. 10/10 would recommend - don't know that I would have felt well enough to run if I hadn't worn one of these the night before the race. 

It rained overnight and through the morning, so it was a total slopfest when we arrived for the marathon the next morning. The starting corrale was so muddy that my previously pristine running shoes were stained a permanent brown before the race even started. Things cleared up as the morning wore on though, and it ended up being an absolutely gorgeous day. The race course followed the headwaters of the New River for most of the 13 miles and was by far the prettiest run I've ever done. I didn't take any pictures during the race cause I was in hardcore race mode, but here's a few of the surrounding area I took after the race:

The beauty of the race course was matched only by its difficulty. I don't think hills is a fair term - mountains is probably more accurate as one of the hills had a continuous ascent of over 1.5 miles. 

Justin & Liz used the marathon to announce their pregnancy. I thought the half marathon course was tough, but the marathon course required running all the hills twice, and Liz did it 16 weeks pregnant! To answer your question, no, they did not carry that sign all 26 miles - Elizabeth's mother handed it to them just before they crossed the finish line. 

The full race crew, left to right: Gavin (flight mechanic in training who is currently splitting time between Nashville and Denver), other Kevin (middle school athletic trainer, ski touring extraordinaire, and Boone local boy), Theo (or Teddy depending on what mood he's in, who won the award for the most entertaining finish), Justin (who regrets not wearing sunscreen), Liz (who's baby is now the size of a large onion), Karleigh (who made her return to racing after giving birth about a year ago), Molly (my partner in tie-dye), and Yours Truly (yes, this look will available for purchase on my blog merch page once I get that up and running).

Gavin led the half marathon crew (finishing 10th overall!) and Theo, despite staggering over the finish line, was the fastest of the marathoners. Because I know someone is gonna ask, I finished 25th overall in the half marathon, with a time of 1:44:51 (8' mile pace on the dot), which I felt pretty good about, given my limited training.  

The Receipt, cause I know some of y'all won't believe me without pictures

For newer runners looking to run their first half marathon, here are my tips: 

- wear sunscreen, even if the forecast calls for rain

- the right socks make all the difference (my personal favorite are Darn Tough)

- find someone to pace off of for the middle 8ish miles and imagine a tether between you them

- make a killer playlist and download it in advance cause you'll probably lose service on mile 2

- training is overrated, you'll feel crappy at the end whether you train or not

- save a little energy to sprint at the end, cause that's the part of the race they'll catch on film

- post race recovery is key - lots of water, stretching, alternate cold plunge and hot tub, get out for a run a few days after the race to loosen things up

We stayed at Mary & Steve's after the race to recover, and the following morning, Steve gave us a tour of Boone. 

A random road in Boone with a good view

Kidd Brewer Stadium, home of the 2023 Cure Bowl champs. App State's campus has changed a lot since other Kevin and Tripp were students there 7 years ago; only two dorm buildings from their time there are still standing due to ASU's recent construction boom. 

Breakfast at the Vicious Biscuit, a local favorite and home to the best glass of orange juice I've ever had. From left to right: Gabby (Elizabeth's mother, who is 100% Slovenian), John (Elizabeth's dad, who is always prepared with a box fan when he travels), Steve (King of mortgages and custom charcuterie boards), Liz (who talks to her dog like a person when nobody is around), Justin (who copied my order), and Yours Truly. Not pictured: Mary, who had to work that day. 

Gonna keep you waiting one more post on my big announcement and updated itinerary. 

- K-Man