Done and Done. AND DONE!!!

So today was the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon, my participating part being the half marathon.  I knew that it would be hilly and warm.  Unfortunately there are many things that I think I know until I actually experience them.  And then I find my previous knowledge wasn't all that knowledgeable after all. 

Anyhow, KB, Molly, and I met at the house at 6am and headed to LP Field to park the car (since the race ends there, it seemed a good parking place).  We headed over the Pedestrian Bridge (which, like everything else would today, goes straight uphill) to downtown, where the race would start.  There were 30,000 people registered for this race divided in 30 corrals (compared to Disney's 10 or so).  Although we were supposed to be in some of the last corrals, we wiggled our way into earlier corrals - just in case we needed the extra time (corrals are released 2-3 minutes apart). 

Can you see me?
I'm on the left behind the start sign.
Behind the traffic light.

Soon the first corral was off, and we waited and waited until finally it was our turn (that would be KB and me - Molly and Lynnette were elsewhere in some other corrals).  We jogged to the first turn, which would end up being our last jogging spree.  We pretty much walked the rest of the race, which was better than crawling - which might have been our preferred method of motion at many places.

Peniage and Boobage and Nekkidness,
Oh My!!

So, here's my description of the race:  Down to the river, then right, then right again, then left, then right, then right again, then straight, then left (which put us back on Broadway where we started, but headed in the other direction).  We had a bit of a straightaway, until it was time to go left again then right again then up past Musica, the nekkid statue that cost about a bazillion gillion dollars and represents Nashville during the olden Renaissance Days when Nashvillians frolicked about sans clothing.  Nothing like a glimpse of this and that and THOSE to get one moving along ...

And so we kept moving, up and down and up and down the "rolling hills" of Nashville.  At some point, Molly and Lynnette passed us (as did thousands of others).  We wished each other well and promised we'd meet again - not knowing whether it would be in this life or the next - depending on how this race turned out ...

Soon it was time to turn left again, past the old dude and his wife who always sit at their table in their front yard, drinking mimosas.  And no, that's not me taking a picture.  Like I would have any energy to (a) carry a camera with me (who needs those extra ounces of weight) or (b) stop and snap a picture (every second counts when I am trying to complete a mile).  At this point there are many spectators out on their front lawns, watching the idjits out running (and walking and crawling) as the spectators imbibe their desired beverages.  I think the smartest people in Nashville live in this area.

We continue down Belmont and take a left, at which time my stomach decides this whole idea is stupid and starts to decide how to make its opinion known.   We are also only a few blocks from my house, which I wonder if a slight course correction might be in order.   I slow my pace (as if that is even possible).  KB sticks with me and we keep going, and find Cindy, her husband, and their two totally adorbs sons who made signs.  And Cindy had Diet coke - on ice!!  Easy to see why she lives in this neighborhood - she is absolutely brilliant!!

We drink our drinks and trudge along.  Basically the rest of the course involves going up and down and left and right and repeat - sixty bajillion million times.  Naturally my Garmin starts getting off a bit and every mile is now a little longer - as in the Mile 8 sign would actually register as Mile 8.3 on my watch.  Nevertheless, we keep trudging as it gets warmer and warmer.  Just after Mile 11, Sam, Lindley, and Sarah and Melvin (Lynnette's parents) are there to cheer us on.  We keep going, waiting for that Mile 12 sign which will signal there is only a mile left.  However, when my Garmin registers Mile 12.85, I decide that there is no Mile 12 sign (which was echoed by several woggers beside us).  There was a sign at the television station that stated the temperature was 75 degrees - which wasn't so encouraging.  But we kept going up and down and around and around until finally - there it was - the finish line was in our sights.  And soon - well, maybe later - we crossed it.  We got our medals and headed through the gauntlet that was the finisher corral where we got water, bagels, chocolate milk, granola bars, apples, bananas, pretzels, and a wet towel that I promptly put over my head.

Lynnette (who had finished about an hour earlier) and Molly (who had finished about 30 minutes earlier) were in the car, cooling off and waiting.  We hurried (which is a huge exaggeration) to the car, loaded in, took Lynnette home, and went to Nissan to drop me off so I could pick up Mathieu's car (after spending some quality time in the Nissan customer bathroom).  I drove to my house, where Karen was waiting for the AAA dude because she had a flat tire.  Me being the consummate hostess, promptly laid down on the couch hoping I would not barf on anything, including Karen and the AAA dude.

Eventually Karen's tire got changed and they made it home.  I managed to get off the couch and into bed after a shower (and after skipping out on the massage I scheduled for today).  After a few hours, I felt semi-normal (which isn't saying much).  I was done.  And done for and done in.

Anyhow, today's race is for my other friend Emily.  About 12 years ago, she did this very same half marathon with me.  Well, she started with me and Marilyn.  And she might have ended with Marilyn.  Somewhere along the course, I decided I wanted to see the scenery and slow down.  Emily kept on going and finished ahead of me.  And was probably at home taking a nap, having already had a shower and lunch, by the time I finished.  Emily is also the first person to do a 3-Day event with me.  She worked in medical support (she's a nurse) while I walked.  We shared a tent and laughed the first night when it rained (what else was there to do - there was no place to go) and the second night when it got down to freezing (and she shared her extra camp blankets which I think were made out of aluminum foil so I crinkled every time I turned over).  Anyhow, she's probably one of the nicest people I know and so this slow march of a half marathon is for her - maybe one day we'll try another one together.  Well, at least start out together ...

So that was today's race story.  And the moral of the story?  Look for me at this race next year.  I'll be out there with my table and bottle of bubbly!!

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Today was a great day because: CMM with KB, Molly, and Lynnette; spending quality time in my bed with my heating pad; Molly bringing me McDs after her massage; field trip to Fazolis for dinner with Molly and to DQ to get Blizzard for MB; watching two dudes in the Fazolis parking lot yelling at each other and one telling the other one to give him the "piece" or "cheese" or whatever (I wasn't hanging around to see if he was asking for "the piece" - I've seen enough "Law and Order" to know what that is!!)