from the heART: worst parade ever

Months and months went into training for the Nashville Country Music Marathon and it certainly paid off because we FINISHED and gosh darn it, this time we got a medal! Throughout our training there were multiple long runs that we did well over 13.1 miles (half a marathon) with no medal at our finish, so this was a good day ... almost. It turns out that Phoenix, Arizona is probably one of the most ideal places to run a marathon and Nashville, Tennessee probably being one of the worst. 

We had a friend who ran this marathon last year, so upon arrival in Nashville, we asked him about the course. What type of drinks and snacks do they hand out? What in the city do we run past? Are there a lot of hills? To the first two questions, the answers were pretty typical, water, Gatorade, Gu, oranges, convention center, Country Music Hall of Fame, football stadium. It's the last questions answer that after the race left my mom and I a little shocked to say the least. The answer to the hills question was, "It's not to bad, there is maybe one hill and it's at the beginning." This answer was not only ok with us, we were beyond joyful with this answer.

Turns out, he lied. And not only a little lie, it was a big fat lie! THE ENTIRE COURSE WAS MADE UP OF HILLS! Oh, and yes, again, we trained in good old, flat as could be, Phoenix, Arizona. BUT, again, we FINISHED and that is what mattered to us. I could not be any prouder of my mom! She truly is a rockstar, badass (and I'm not just saying this because she made me swear that I would run one at 54 so I know what she went through, and trying to get out of it) she really is amazing and deserves way more than just a medal!

Favorite things about the day:

      1] Finishing (obviously)

      2] Check out Mom's sweet bib number: 20000

      3] Best sign while running: Worst Parade Ever