I was dressed for cold weather!
Another Saturday training walk with Team Rio. Today’s course was scheduled for 8 miles through the “country” in Williamson County,TN. The temperature when we started was just above freezing and when I finished 2+ hours later it was sunny and 20 degrees F warmer. Nice weather for a walk. Jimmy O. with Diamond Rio was one of the 30-40 runners today.
However, there were two “problems” with today’s walk. First, the surface of the roadway was very uneven in many areas, and narrow in other areas. My knees did not like the uneven pavement, and the narrow roadway made it risky in areas when cars passed by runners/walkers going in both directions. But the scenery was very nice – rolling fields lined with wooden fences and plenty of horses. About a mile into the walk, we passed Alan Jackson’s estate. At least, I think he still lives there.
The second “problem” is that the sign at the half-way turn around point had blow over when I passed by, so I did not see it. I had a GPS receiver on my wrist, but it stopped working a little after 3 miles. Bottom line, I walk about 0.2-0.3 miles beyond the turn-around point before I suspected that I had walked too far. So I turned around, and sure enough, I saw the sign on my way back. I later learned that one of the other walkers had righted the fallen sign. I believe I ended up walking at least 8.5 miles, maybe further. No matter – my pace for the last 3 miles or so was slower because my knee was hurting.
Despite these “problems” it was a beautiful day and a great practice walk. I’m feeling much better about completing the half marathon in my goal of 3.5 hours. I really appreciate the support of Team Rio, the coaches, and the folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee.
If you’d like to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters and support me for the Country Music half marathon, please click here. Thanks for your support!
Leave a Reply