2009 Nashville Country Music 1/2 Marathon Recap

So many of you have ask for a play by play detailed description of our day. So, here you go.

The race officially started at 7:00am. But we were assigned to corrals since all 31,000+ could not start at the same time. We were assigned to corral 16. I believe our start time was about 7:36am. I must say it was a gorgeous day for a run, not a cloud in the sky but it started out very warm. Can I just say right off the bat that our entire training was done in temperatures in the 30's 40's and 50's....but NOT in the 70's and 80's which is how our run started and ended. Ugh!

The first 5 miles weren't terribly bad. Aside from a few side stitches and a little sweat, it was a fairly good run. At mile 8, things began to change a little. There weren't many shady areas and there were a lot of hills and it seemed the water stations got fewer and fewer as our miles got longer and longer. Let me just say it was a scorcher! We felt like we were dying.

The entertainment along the way was fabulous and a great distractions. Country music bands, a gazillion fans and cheer leading squads cheering us on and a flat out mob that we were running with. When we came upon an area that had water stations, it was almost like herding cattle down the road because of the congestion. It was insane.

Our team was determined not to stop for a walk until mile 10 which is what we did, but I don't know if it was a mistake or a lifesaver. Immediately after we stopped running and started walking, every muscle our bodies tightened. It caused terrible pain. It felt impossible to begin running again. However, had we pushed our selves in the heat, I am afraid it could have been life threatening. We were all suffering from cramping, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea and stomach issues. We were joined in the suffering with many others who were passing out and throwing up all along the way. I realized somewhere around mile 11 that my left heel was kicking my right ankle bone because of fatigue which caused a nasty bruise as well.

We pushed ourselves best we could to run across the finish line. It was a proud moment of accomplishment. I sure wish it would have been a better run for us. We worked so hard to be prepared. We were prepared for everything but the heat. It did us in. But we made it.

We checked our pace at the 5, 8 and 10 mile marker and we we right on track with our training. It wasn't until mile 11, 12, and 13 that we lagged behind causing us to finish at 2 hours and 36 minutes total. We're happy though.

I must say... just to give you an example of the heat that we all were badly sunburned when it was over. We finished at 10:00am. I have never gotten a sunburn early in the morning like that. Also, I say this lightly as it was a terrible tragedy, but as we watched a few people being wheeled off on stretches that we learned that one of the guys (26 yo male) tragically died when paramedics got him to the hospital. It was a really hard day in the heat to do a marathon.

But, just like child birth (aka- the valley of the shadow of death) when we look back on that painful and difficult day, we can usually say.....ahh, it wasn't so bad and it was totally worth it. And so it is with my 1/2 marathon.

Thanks to all for praying for us.

Here are some pics. We should have some more pics up soon. There is also a link that shows live footage of our finish line if anyone is interested. Here


Here is a picture of our team shirts. We were known as "Team Pink" during the race.
































































Here we are kissing our medals and very thankful for a finished race.