Zoom Through the Zoo Race Report (Read 446 times)

The Memphis Zoo kicks off an event filled holiday weekend with this 1 mile Family Fun Run and 4 mile race every year. For me, this was a special race since my husband and step-kids were running it, too. DH and SD (age 7) did the 1 mile fun run and my SS (age 11) and I did the 4 mile. My goal was to see if I could break 45 minutes, to improve on my T’giving day time of 47:42. It was hot at the start of the race, 90+ degrees but the humidity wasn’t too bad. The participants of both races lined up together on a paved road just inside the entrance to the zoo. My SS and SD went on ahead and I left my husband who was walking the mile. We looped through the back of the zoo on the tram path for the first half mile, then after the first water station, ran past a bunch of zoo exhibits. By the ¾ mile point, my stepkids were walking and I caught up with them. My SS hung back to walk with DH and SD took off ahead. She beat the whole family across the 1 mile mark where she received her ribbon. I kept going and the route repeated the first half mile and then we took a right, heading behind the zoo exhibits and out into Overton Park. The path was shaded (yay!!) and the temperature seemed to be cooler. My breathing was really hard and I had a side stitch. Our air quality has been crummy the past few days because of smoke from the Georgia wildfires. Between that and the heat, I was struggling a bit. I walked through every water station and tried to maintain at least a slow jog at all times, but I did walk for about a minute 3 or 4 times. We followed a loop around Overton Park, past the golf course, and up a hill to the Brooks Museum of Art. I had been going back and forth between two girls and decided with a half mile left, that I was going to beat both of them. I passed the first one on a downhill towards the zoo entrance with the other just ahead of me. When the hill leveled out, I kept running hard knowing the finish was just around the corner. I passed the second girl about 50 yards from the chute and finished strong. The clock time as I finished was 45:26. It was great to have my DH and SD cheering me on at the finish. I was definitely smiling when I was done. My SS hadn’t finished yet, so I grabbed some water and headed back out to the finishing area. SS came in around an hour. He was so cute and really running hard at the end. There was a BBQ and DJ and we stayed a while at the party. The kids really enjoyed the race and have both asked if they can run with me today!

DH would like me to amend this report to say that he actually RAN for the first two minutes of the race and he wants credit for doing so!

That's a great 2+ minute PR Robin! Especially with the heat and smoke!