Country Music Marathon (well 1/2)

Nashville's Country Music Marathon is the funnest run I have ever run in my life.  3 years ago, I made the trek down to Nashville with one of my friends to run the 1/2 Marathon.  We were 27ish and were in no way prepared for this run.  Holy hills.  There are a ton of hills....  These are all uphills.  I don't ever recall going downhill!  We had a blast 3 years ago running it, so I decided what the hell I want to run it again.  

Since I am officially in the 30 - 34 bracket, all I wanted to do was to finish the 1/2 in an "acceptable" time.  Saturday, April 27th, 2013, was the first real race I have run since I hurt my knee last year.  Let's just talk about my run a little.  

I am from Chicago.  We have horrible weather....  All the time.  This weekend, Chicago had amazingly sunny and 70 degree days....  Nashville was low 60s, dark and cloudy, and raining.  Really?!?!  Out of all weekends for it to be crappy, it had to be this weekend.  It rained from the time I got outside on Saturday morning until well after I finished the race.  My feet and body were wet the entire.  I am not talking about a little drizzle.  It consistently rained the whole time.  We rain (swam) through puddles up to our ankles.  The worst was running uphill through a stream of water.  I made it though!  I had a child's sized poncho on top of my cute marathon gear.  It was well worth the $5.99 I paid at Walgreen's for it. 

The thing about running 13.1 miles is that I don't feel bad eating anything afterward.  I had the BEST Bar-B-Que ever from Jack's on Broadway.  It was so great that we even bought a case of sauce to bring back to Chicago!  

In a nutshell, things I have learned running the Nashville 1/2:

1.  Bring a poncho
2.  Bring a plastic zip lock bag for your phone / iPod
3.  Eat at Jack's Bar-B-Que
4.  Get to the expo early on Friday
5.  Take a plane there - do not drive - no one wants to be in a car that long
6.  Try to see as much live music as you can
7.  Go with a great friend or significant other.  Too many people will cramp your style
8.  Get an amazing night of sleep on Thursday because you won't on Friday
9.  Be prepared for any weather - Gloves, hat, poncho, tank top
10.Enjoy the music along the way.  Remember Complete not Compete.