The Country Music (Half) Marathon was great! I’m not going to write a complete review because there will be one in the Summer issue of WALK Magazine.

The ‘wave’ start is VERY annoying when the race starts. We got to the starting line about 55 min. after the race started. They started each corral individually which took a couple of minutes. I was in corral 29, so I guess 55 mins was good. Once we got started, and there was room enough to move around and not be wall-to-wall people, I decided I like the wave. I also liked every single band and singer, all of the water stops and the route. Though hilly, some of us thought it was not as tough as the Cincinnati Flying Pig. The difference is, Cincinnati has fewer hills, but they are so much more steep. At the top of some of them I was in severe pain and almost needed to rest.

In Nashville there were more hills, but they were rolling. They didn’t bother me much at all.

My finish time was not embarrassing, but I have been much faster. 3:26+ is not horrible – with hills. (Maybe I should change my story and say the hills were HUGE!) My feet were killing me near the end of the race, and I’m not sure if it was because of the new shoes or because of all of the walking we did on Friday.

The Expo was very busy and well planned out. I didn’t like that I had to pay for a poster, but this one was very nice and the artist autographed it. I bought it my second time through.

We got free entry to a Sara Evans concert. It was great!

Here is what I did wrong: Not only did I go through the Expo – twice – we walked up and down the main drag a LOT! I wore boots with heels for a lot of the walking, and my feet were hurting Friday night.

I stayed in a room with two other women and three in a room with two beds is too much if one is not your sister. I did not sleep particularly well.

I drank too much water and needed to stop once. Of course, if I had not had to wait 55 min to get to the start, I could have made it all the way through the race without stopping.

I wore my new shoes without really breaking them in. No blisters or anything, but my feet were sore.

Thanks Deb, Catherine, Elaine and Vonnie! It was a lot of fun!
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Don’t miss the complete race review, written by Deb, in the Summer issue of WALK!

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