NASHVILLE COUNTRY MUSIC MARATHON STATE # 6 (26.2 on April 26th my birthday!)

O.K., I know I'm crazy! I just finished the Yakima Valley Marathon and felt pretty good right? Why did I have to push it, other than to say I ran 26.2 on the 26th, my birthday. Andrew wanted to go and so did Jeewon, so we made a family trip out of it to celebrate my birthday. The airline tickets were reasonable, the car we rented was with my american express blue points and we stayed at a hostel in the hood. Since we just went with carry-ons we jumped off the airplane, rented the car, and hustled to the movie theatre to watch the movie MARATHON. (It was only playing one night) It motivated Andrew so much that the next day at the expo, he signed up to run the marathon without even training. NUTS!!! The expo was a 10+, Very fun. After the expo, we went to the Nashville Temple. The temple is in the most beautiful part of Nashville. The houses surrounding the temple were southern mansions with beautiful sprawling lawns in front. I did an endowment, but Andrew couldn't baptize for the dead until 6:00pm when the workers would be there. So while I was in the session, Jeewon and Andrew went on an adventure to an old plantation of a confederate general, where many confederate soldiers were buried. That evening Andrew baptized for the dead. Many southern gents will someday thank Andrew for his service. Jeewon and I went to a ward dinner and talent show in the church house adjacent to the temple. We had a good time. The sister missionaries told us that the county the temple resides in is one of the most wealthiest counties in the country. Did I mention hot it was in Nashville? 80 degrees. I knew I would die in the marathon. I had trained in 29 degree weather a week before! I went to bed early to prepare for the marathon after a meal of rice cakes, tuna and carrots. In the middle of the night we were all startled by the sound of rolling thunder. Rain was pouring down, and did not stop. Andrew and I went out to run the marathon in pouring rain, and it really rains in Nashville. We had jackets thank goodness,I now prepare for all things. The start was very organized. We tossed our extra clothes in UPS trucks, grabbed some food and waited in a porta potty line. It was warm in the porta potties. I stayed as long as I could. Andrew felt sorry for me and gave me his jacket he was going to toss. The race started at 8am. Andrew ditched me after the first mile when I had to use the porta potty again! I tried to warn him not to start out too fast, but he didn't listen. I ran the Country Music mile (CMA sponsers that mile) and was given cute sweat bands after completing it. We also ran through alot of historical country music sections of town. The Reiman, country music museum etc. One dissapointment! There were too many people to start. The 1/2 marathon started with the marathoners. I couldn't get set into a good pace because of the quantity of runners. After 13 miles, it was enjoyable. The reason Nashville is so green, is because of the rain. The rain eased up at about mile 10. It was cloudy to about mile 18, then it started to get really warm when I finished. One poignant memory that I'll always remember was the black man outside of the housing project we ran through. He reached his hand out to give me a high five, and I gave him one. After I gave him one he said I aint nobody, I aint worth nothing, but if it means anything to you I support you and respect what your doing. I felt like stopping and giving him a hug and saying but don't you know your a child of God and he doesn't make any junk. Also the nun water stop was a fun memory. The bands were good, but alot didn't show up at first because of the rain. I loved the part of the run where you ran beside the cumberland river, and also the end where you ran around Shelby Park. It was drop dead gorgeous, all the dogwoods were in bloom. I finished in 3:54 and Andrew around 4:57 I think, because he lost his timing chip on the road. Not bad for no training. I passed the poor little bum at 13 miles. He tried to stay with me, but his legs were cramping up every time he tried to run. He was on his own through this hilly race. I was suprised at how hard it was, (Mentally hard because of the out and back turn around the last 8 miles of the race. You seen runners finishing when you still had 8 to go). But, they had great food at the finish. I was so EXCITED TO FINISH. After I picked up my bag and finally found Andrew,and the car we stopped and bought us (Jeewon, Andrew, and Faith, a friend we met that takes care of the hostel. She was a friend to Jeewon and helped her a ton!)a treat at Dairy Queen. We then went back to the hostel for a picture with our other buddy we met at the hostel, Amos from California before he left to fly home. He was so nice, an uncommonly good man. We showered and were ready to go to the show at the Grand Ol' Opry. I took them to the Opryland hotel first to look around the massive arboretum. The hotel's amazing. Jeewon couldn't believe it. She probably wondered why I didn't rent a room there! $$$$ They show was fun at the Opera. Andrew couldn't walk of coarse, and asked me to take him to the hospital. I told him to buck up! If he wants to play the big boy games he has to be a big boy! Of course we had to climb stairs to the balconey. We slept good that night even though it continued to drizzle. The next morning we went to church. I was an hour ahead of myself, I forgot to turn my watch ahead, so we had an hour to waste. Andrew pulled up an arboretum on the GPS by the temple that was by far one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. They were not open yet, but Jeewon and I walked around while Andrew slept. The church meeting was awesome. Sh-Daisy's husband was the high councilman who spoke. Jeewon can't believe how the church is the same no matter where we go! The ward was very wealthy. CEO'S, Heart Doctors, Country music performers, Song writers, Franchise Owners, all humbly attending church together. After church we went downtown to the Country Music Museum, which we could only stay for about an hour because they were having a big affair that night inducting 2 new musicians to the hall of fame. Then we went to the Reiman, where country music got it's start. We poked our heads into a few bars to hear some country music, and felt the spirit leave us completely. We hated the horrible feeling there, so we went to the park where the marathon started read scriptures and rested. Then we went back to the hostel to say goodbye to our friends and pack for an early morning flight out of Nashville the next day. I would rate the trip and marathon about at an 7. If my feet didn't look like prunes at the end of the race because of all the rain, I would have rated the race at an 8!!!