I can’t believe that I actually have to type this but because Tennessee can’t get its act together, the Pistol Ultramarathon was canceled/postponed for the second year in a row. Last year, in its stead, I decided to run my own 50 miler and set the FKT/OKT on A Round at McCabe which no one, not surprisingly, has gone after yet. This year, instead of doing that again, I decided on a different challenge: a self-supported run of the length of the greenway from Ted Rhodes golf course to Percy Priest Dam and back - I wasn't sure how far this was but I assumed it was between 40-45 miles. My "A" goal was to finish in under 8 hours, my "B" goal was to finish in under 9 hours, and my "C" goal was to just finish. I also planned on treating this like a race: not pausing my Suunto for any reason. The self-supported part of this challenge posed some unique logistical issues since the only place to refuel was a Target about 1/3 of a mile from a trailhead at both miles 19 and again at 25 and if I got bored, attacked by a dog (more on that one later), or just didn’t want to be out there anymore I didn’t really have a bail out spot.
Since January 1st, I had run and walked (I'm talkin' dedicated, purposeful walks) just over 600 miles. My lowest training mileage week was 51.5 miles and my highest was 70.1 miles. That included a week where I lost a few days due to the massive snow/ice storm that hit and shutdown most of middle Tennessee for several days in mid-February.
I parked my truck at the trailhead near Ted Rhodes shortly before 6:30am on Saturday. I texted my wife to let her know that I would be off soon and that I would text her later when I was about halfway through. I told her I was expecting it to take between 8-10 hours. There was a very light but steady rain - the weather would kind of remain like that for the whole day. I had a bunch of gear from Cumberland Transit that kept me warm and dry (especially my Arcteryx jacket ).
I headed out for the 1/3 of a mile section from the trailhead to the end of the greenway where it meets Ed Temple Blvd so that I didn't have to run that section at the end. I started along the Cumberland River on a very flat, very easy section of the greenway for the first six miles before reaching downtown Nashville. It was quite quiet downtown at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday. I ran along 1st Ave S and saw the backside of all of the buildings that are being rebuilt after the Christmas Day bombing. It was a particularly emotional moment for me, considering how many times I have run along that route.
I continued along 1st Ave and up and over Korean Veteran's Blvd bridge. To be honest, I don't know the exact path of the greenway through downtown: Does it go under the Korean Veteran's Bridge? Does it go over the Pedestrian Bridge? Does it go on the west side of Ascend Amphitheater? Does it matter?
I ran over the Korean Veteran's Blvd bridge and down to the east side. I looped around towards the greenway, knowing that it ran parallel to Davidson Street towards Shelby Bottoms Park. I noticed that I was already having some slight chaffing issues about mile 7 so I slowed to a walk for a few minutes as I grabbed my Trail Toes out of my backpack. I reapplied and prayed to Nike that it would work. (It did).
I ran another 3 miles along the Shelby Bottoms path to the Two Rivers Bridge. There is a corkscrew (as I like to call it) that sort of steeply leads up to the Two Rivers Bridge. Until this point in the run, with the exception of the Korean Veterans Blvd Bridge, there had been almost no elevation change. I knew that once I hit this corkscrew, that there would be some hills in front of me for the next 20(ish) miles.
After crossing the Two Rivers Bridge, I came to the Two Rivers Water Park trailhead (at mile 14) which was the finish line of my first ultramarathon in 2016. I got a feeling of nostalgia, as I always do, when I run past that spot.
I headed along the gently rolling hills toward McGavock High School and then down HeartBreak Hill. Or is it Heart Attack Hill? Either way, if you've run the section between Two Rivers and Kohl's, you'll know exactly which hill it is. I have seen many cyclists bail out on this hill - either stopping to walk their bike up it or narrowly missing a massive crash at the bottom of the hill. I figured I had about 10K left before hitting the Percy Priest Dam and heading back. The next 6 miles were full of the gentle rolling hills that the greenway is known for. I passed the Kohl's/Target Trailhead half an hour later at mile 19, made a mental note that I would see it again in an hour and assessed my fuel situation: I was getting a little low on water but I still had plenty of calories in my pack. I was hopeful that the water fountains at the Percy Priest trailhead would be turned on: if they were, I wouldn't have to waste any time by running over to Target on my way back.
I made it to Percy Priest Dam at 21.5 miles in 3:30 on the dot! It also answered my question that the total distance of this run was going to be just over 42 miles. I was feeling really good! I pulled my phone out of my pack, took a picture of the dam, and texted Sue that I (optimistically) thought I would be done in another 3:45, putting me at a total time of 7:15. This was so much faster than my "A" goal - and a cause for concern for me because I am notorious for going out waaaaaaaay to fast during races. I checked the water fountains near the trailhead and they were still turned off which means that I would have to make a detour to Target on the way back.
I turned around headed back. I got to mile 23 and ran into one of my biggest pet peeves: an off leash dog. Listen, I love my dog. I love running and walking with my dog. But I don't trust my dog for shit. She has the IQ of a 3 year old, she likes to chase stuff, and if she gets distracted, good luck. And that's true of every dog. I don't care how well behaved they are. Also, there's a law in Nashville that states that all dogs need to be on leash. Oh, and there's signs at every trailhead indicating that very thing... with pictures and everything! I passed a guy on the greenway whose dog was running around off leash and who had the dog's leash casually draped over his shoulder. I shook my head as I ran by. Not 5 seconds later, I heard the approaching footsteps of the dog barrelling down on me. It knocked into my feet and almost knocked me over. I turned around and sternly asked him to please leash his dog. His response was "Aw... He's not going to hurt anyone." I'm originally from Downriver Detroit and I don't have much of a filter. And, as my mom always said, "You can take the boy out of Downriver but you can't take the Downriver out of the boy." So, I replied with "Listen, your dog almost knocked me over. I don't care. Leash your damn dog." He shot back with, "The leash is right here. He's fine." and accompanied his jerkiness with some sort of weird dancing motion. I stopped and shouted, "If that dog gets near me again, you're both going to end up in the river!" So, you know, not my finest moment.
I peeled off at mile 25 to get some water at Target. I ran off the greenway and into the store. Funnily enough, they were running a promo called the FunRun which made me giggle. I picked up a couple bottles of water and a can of Coke and headed out the door. I refilled my water bottles, quickly drank my Coke, and headed back to the greenway. The trip to Target only cost me about 10 minutes or so which I think may be a record for fastest trip that anyone has ever taken in a Target.
I headed back along the Stones River towards HeartBreakAttackKillMeNowIHateThis Hill at mile 29. I trudged my way up the hill and back through the rollers toward Two Rivers Park. Over the bridge and down the corkscrew I ran: I had about a half marathon left and it was almost completely flat, save the climb up and over Korean Veterans Blvd.
I approached Korean Veterans Blvd Bridge and could see the Nashville skyline (Thanks, Bob!). I knew this climb was going to suck. And it did. No, not because my legs were tired but because of all the transpotainment vehicles. For those of you outside of Nashville, a transpotainment vehicles is a party bus, tractor, or hot tub on wheels (You think I'm joking? I am not joking.) full of drunken tourists that are like "Fuck it! I don't need a mask! I'm on vacation in Nashville! I don't care that my selfish act is going to make some dumb middle aged guy do another virtual running challenge!" that clogs up our city streets while "WOOOOOS!" and Florida Georgia Line songs are blared from it. I saw no fewer than 4 of these on the bridge. Run-on sentences be damned! The city that was sleeping 5 hours beforehand was wide awake now!
I escaped downtown made my way back onto the lonely part of the greenway at mile 38. My pace remained consistent, hovering just over 10 minutes per mile. I was running out of energy and I knew that I had given it all I had. As I came to the sign that read "Entering Golf Course: Quiet Please" I looked at my watch and saw that I had 1 mile to go. I let out a loud "YAWP!" and jogged in the last mile.
I had kept a very consistent pace throughout the entire run. My training could not have been much better and my only gripes were the jerk with the off leash dog and the transpotainment vehicles.
This was a really fun and hard challenge. My Strava data can be found here . I don't know that I would want to do it again anytime soon, though.
Total Distance: 42.6 miles
Average pace: 10:13/mile
Total time: 7:15:15 (Made my "A" goal by almost 45 minutes!)
