Done, state #17.
I got in Nashville after 4pm. I wasn’t sure whether to call for a shuttle or take a cab to the hotel but my new friend Laura told me that a friend of a friend (Jeff) was at the airport with a car and could give me a ride to the hotel. Sweet! Perfect timing too!
He was going first to the expo so I went with him. I did not wait long for my bib which was nice. Check out the cool bracelet I received!
I love Rock ‘n’ Roll expos but I’ve been to a few of them and didn’t need/want anything. We walked around and saw Frank Shorter. I had to take a picture with him.
Later that night Laura and I went out for dinner. We stopped at The Old Spaghetti Factory but the wait was 45 minutes. We left our name on the wait list but left to check out other restaurants and possibly get a beer. We ended up at Rock Bottom Brewery and ate dinner there and drank beer.
Wake up time on race day was 5:15 am. The hotel was nice enough to offer race participants a ride to the start line. We went down a little after 6 and waited in line for about an hour. I was a little annoyed because I don’t like waiting but was glad I did because at least I waited indoors and not at the start line since it was raining.
The rain damped my mood. It rained all through the race. I wore shorts, short sleeve shirt, light jacket, and a plastic bag. I made a mental note that I had to purchase a water resistant jacket (I bought one on Sunday). I chafed in many places and was in pain when I took a shower.
My goal was to finish in less than 2:30. Finish time was 2:29:39!!! And yes another hilly course. Obviously if it hadn’t rain that much then the race experience would have been so much better!
My mile splits were:
Miles 1 through 4-10:12, 10:39, 12:10, 12:39
Miles 5 through 8-11:43, 10:24, 10:48, 12:16
Miles 9 through 12-11:18, 10:41, 11:28, 11:18
Mile 13-12:38
The best part of this race/trip was meeting Laura. She is such a sweet and amazing person! She ran the full marathon and finished in 3:55:26.
