Rock and Roll Nashville – Walk Into the Future

Nashville 2023

Nashville, Tennessee is one of my favorite places to visit. The culture, music, food, and activities around the Lower Broadway area keep bringing me back year after year.

The 2023 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon was the draw that got me back up there in April. The race organizers do a fantastic job with the race and really take care of the runners.

Made my way to Nashville on Friday and wanted to ensure I had time to explore the race EXPO. My friend Lauren and boyfriend Reese came down from Philly and we met at the EXPO. This was the first time seeing them since last year for the Atlantic City Half Marathon. Lauren had never run in Nashville and wanted to experience the sights, sounds and music I’m always talking about.

We got our race packets and made our way to visit the vendors and see what new products are out. Tested a few of the new hydration drinks available but didn’t buy anything. Decided I wanted to get new leg compression sleeves and got a Rock N Roll custom designed pair. They matched my running outfit and provided me with a new look for the race. We got EXPO photos together and listened to the music for a bit.

The Rock N Roll folks moved the EXPO from the Music City Convention Center to the Musicians Hall of Fame. Sounds similar but the new location was a lot smaller, and the vendors were cramped into a hallway. I hope we move back to our regular location next year—plus it would put us closer to Broadway and all the music venues.

Left the EXPO and made my way back over to Lower Broadway to continue to carb load and find some music. Found an open seat at the Wildhorse Saloon and got food and beer while watching the line dancers. Love the Wildhorse and the band playing was great, and the line dancers were having a ball. Decided to forego line dancing since I had a half marathon the next day. Left the Wildhorse and hit a couple other music spots before making my way back to the hotel to get some rest.

Met Lauren on race day close to the start line so we could stretch and mentally prepare for the Nashville hills. I texted her during my training sessions to let her know I was running hill repeats over bridges. She didn’t fully understand why until we got to Nashville. 😊

Shoutout to my friends at the First Baptist Church in Nashville! They open the church property and allow runners to relax inside while waiting for the race to start. This really comes in handy when the weather is cool and helps runners get off their feet prior to the race start.

We made our way to the start line and settled into Corral #5. Surprisingly ran into an Orlando runner I met last year at this race, and he remembered me. Turns out he came back for the race because he did not like his 2022 race time and wanted to improve. I met another runner who lives in Buffalo but moved there from Orlando. They saw my Track Shack running shirt and it was a family reunion prior to the race start. I highlight these encounters because I tried to prepare them for the hills they were about to run. They did not seem to think I was serious and could not imagine the hills were going to be as extreme as I described. I tried to help them, but they had to learn on their own.

Fast forward—Lauren and I started the race together and ran down the Lower Broadway hill with a smile on our faces. The first half mile in Nashville is downhill and the rest appears to be up a different hill for the next 8 miles. Wish this was an exaggeration but check the race elevation—the hills are steep in Nashville.

We split up after the third hill and ran our individual races. The weather was a lot cooler this year and this made running the hills a lot more pleasant.

Ran most of the race with a smile on my face and enjoyed the great music and spectators that lined the course and cheered for runners. This may be my favorite race for spectators on the course and the music is fantastic.

My race splits were:

Mile 1: 9:57/ Mile 2: 10:40 / Mile 3: 10:47 / Mile 4: 9:48 / Mile 5: 9:58 / Mile 6: 10:02 / Mile 7: 10:10 / Mile 8: 10:04 / Mile 9: 9:54 / Mile 10: 9:28 / Mile 11: 9:54 / Mile 12: 10:05 / Mile 13: 10:04 / Mile .1 / 2:48 (2:13:34 Half Marathon)

***Super proud of that Mile 10 split!*** 😊

Lauren and I spent time at the after-race party recovering from the hilly half marathon, drinking beers, and getting some pictures together to commemorate the race and great atmosphere.

ACME and Wildhorse Saloon

Made our way across the bridge over the Cumberland River and met Reese at ACME for brunch. This is a multi-level building with great views, food, and cold beer: https://www.acmefeedandseed.com/.

The Wildhorse Saloon was next for some line dancing lessons and more cold beer. We decided to get in as much Lower Broadway as possible before leg soreness kicked in from the race. This was Lauren first line dancing rodeo, so we made our way onto the dance floor to learn a nice dance and then they turned us loose with two songs to showcase our line dancing moves. We were great students and danced without stepping on any toes or hurting our dance neighbors. Great experience and a lot of fun to introduce my Philly friend to Nashville line dancing.

We hit a few other music spots on Lower Broadway to get the full country music experience. Decided to call it a day once the leg soreness kicked in. Made my way back to my hotel to begin the recovery process and find more Nashville music.

Fantastic race, trip, and time with my tree branches!

Yes, I’m already signed up to return in 2024. Who is joining the Nashville party?

Irie!

2023 Winter Park 10k

WP 1

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”.

(Fred Devito)

Ventured back to the Orlando area for the Track Shack 2023 Winter Park 10k.

This was my 5^th time toeing the start line for the race but the first time I did not enter with a set finish time in mind. I spent the past 4 weeks recovering from Piriformis Syndrome and my training was limited prior to the race. Yes, this sounds like an excuse, but I was excited to race pain free again. Decided this race would be my test to determine how well I recovered and make a final decision on the 2023 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon in April. Pain in this race would have eliminated me from traveling to Nashville to tackle the hills up there.

Made my way to Track Shack on Friday before the 10k to pick up my race packet and do some shopping. I’m always looking to get new Track Shack gear and wanted to make sure I had time to check out the new selections and colors. It appears a lot of runners had the same idea—the line was out the door when I arrived. This is the first time I’ve experienced a long line at Track Shack, but this was an indication race capacity was full this year.

I didn’t do a major carb load process for the 10k but made my way to the UCF Buffalo Wild Wings to indulge in wings, potato wedges and beer. This is the meal I leveraged to launch me into the 10k. Made sure to get to bed early so I could make my way over to Winter Park with enough time to warm up, stretch and test out my legs prior to race time. I wanted to get a two-mile warm up before the race to ensure I was ready to complete the 6.2 miles with minimum leg issues. There’s a lot of activity around the Winter Park race village—vendors, runners and the Saturday Farmers Market are all in the same area. Great place to watch people.

Made my way to the 10-minute per mile section of the starting corral. I didn’t want to be too close to the front because my competitive nature would have taken over and I would have pressed the pace. Figured limiting my starting position would keep me from going out too fast and possibly aggravating my leg again.

The race was crowded, and the first mile was slow not necessarily by choice but because there were so many runners. This worked in my favor since I couldn’t go fast even if I wanted too at this point of the race.

The runners started to thin out a bit around mile 2 and again after mile 3. I did not experience any pain through this point of the race and settled into a nice clip and started to enjoy the process of racing again. I leveraged a couple of runners for pacing to help me keep a consistent pace through the middle portion of the race. Mentally processed the concept of speeding up but decided to just enjoy the course, great weather and being around other runners. There was no need to push the pace or myself at this point and didn’t want to create a situation where the piriformis became irritated.

I increased my cadence at mile 6 when we made our way back onto Park Avenue. There were a ton of spectators at this juncture, and I pressed the pace a bit to see what I had available for the end of the race. I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face and no pain in my legs.

Finished in 1:02:39 and made my way over to the race village to get my beer and take a few pictures while there. Got a chance to catch up with a few runners I know from the Track Shack circuit and did some light shopping at the Farmers Market.

Happy with my performance and not aggravating my running injury. Looks like I’m clear to travel to Nashville and tackle the Music City hills.

Of course, I will get in some line dancing and country music while I’m there. 😊

Irie!

2023 Town of Celebration Half Marathon

Celebration c

“Running is great for your body. It will increase your energy levels and helps you to clear your mind”.

(Heidi Klum)

FYI—I selected the 2023 Town of Celebration Half Marathon because I did not want to do the double bridge crossing which is part of the Melbourne Publix Half Marathon again. I used the term diabolical to describe that race and did not want to go through that pain again.

The Town of Celebration race is the week prior, and I scouted this race for over 8 months to see how other runners felt about running in this small little town just south of Walt Disney World.

Well, let me tell you, this is my new favorite half marathon, and I will be running this one again for many years to come.

I had never visited Celebration, Florida and barely heard the town’s name in the past. I think most people just assume anything close to Disney World is part of Orlando. Celebration is in Osceola County, and it has a small town feel because it is a small town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration,_Florida

Made my way over to Celebration the day prior to the race. I wanted to explore a bit and get a better feel for the town, the race course and the parking situation. There were several emails that identified parking would be limited and for runners to arrive early on race day. Did not know what all that meant but I learned a valuable lesson at the 2022 OUC Half Marathon and wanted to make sure I had time to stretch and warm up.

Packet pickup was conducted at Celebration Lakeside Park and was straightforward. Arrive, get your race packet, gifts, take a few photos and then move on. There was not an EXPO for this event as they wanted runners to get in and out to maximize the limited parking downtown. I was able to explore a bit and get some nice pictures around town. I wanted to continue my carb loading process and Googled Italian restaurants. Did not need Google as Reggiano’s of Celebration was directly across the street from packet pickup. There were other options close by but wanted to experience something unique to Celebration. There were a lot of runners and family walking around town, but Reggiano’s did not have a large crowd yet. Made my way to the bar and posted up to get some great food and atmosphere.

Reggiano’s has a large menu, and they specialize in pizza—multiple varieties available on the menu. Decided to stay with my tried-and-true selection, chicken parmesan with pasta. The portions are huge so take that into account if you visit Reggiano’s. Got my traditional bud light draft, water and extra bed and dug into my meal. Several runners were in the restaurant enjoying the carbs and great food.

Left Reggiano’s and did some window shopping to look for a refrigerator magnet to add to my collection. Had to visit a few stores to get the one I wanted and made my way back to my car to head to the hotel to get off my feet.

Picked a hotel that was less than two miles from the race start line so felt comfortable with getting back downtown prior to the race with plenty of time to warm up. Laid out my race outfit, hydrated a bit more and watch some TV before going to bed early to tackle the 13.1 miles coming the next morning.

My friend, Lauren texted me and asked what my projected time would be the next morning. I felt good with my race preparation and mentally approach so I replied I planned to run 2:08 (two hours and eight minutes). Remember, I had just run 2:15:03 in Vero Beach the weekend prior so I came into the race looking to knock off 7 minutes. The weather in Celebration was a lot cooler than Vero Beach and there were no bridges—the course is completely flat with a few boardwalks to navigate so felt good with my projected time.

Made my way back downtown the next morning and found parking a few blocks away from the starting line. The citizens of Celebration embrace the event and didn’t seem to have problems with a bunch of visitors parking in front of their houses.

I had plenty of time to stretch and warmup and took advantage of it for this race. The temperature was in the low 50s and made for a great way to start the race. I made my way into the start corral and got set in the 9-minute per mile block and waited for the fun to start.

I was able to speak with and catch up with a few runners I knew from the Orlando area and a couple that came over from Fort Pierce as well—it was great seeing some hometown runners over in Celebration.

I felt relaxed, comfortable, and ready to go.

Fast forward and the winding course hit every major point of interest in Celebration. There were not a bunch of spectators out but the ones who came out were great and provided a lot of support to runners. I settled into my pace during the early portions of the race and did not worry about other runners or how fast they started the race. I had the number 2:08 in my head and wanted to see if I could hit it. Fun fact, the race time was not my driving force, but this was the most enjoyable half marathon I have ever run. 2:05 is my best half marathon time set at the OUC Half Marathon back in 2019 so I have been faster and will be again.

My mile splits were:

Mile 1: 9:20/ Mile 2: 9:29 / Mile 3: 9:31 / Mile 4: 9:28 / Mile 5: 9:44 / Mile 6: 9:38 / Mile 7: 9:52 / Mile 8: 10:19 / Mile 9: 10:03 / Mile 10: 9:47 / Mile 11: 10:20 / Mile 12: 10:06 / Mile 13: 10:10 / Mile .1 / 1:32

I slowed a bit at the 8-mile markers as we had to navigate a narrow portion of the boardwalk. It was not conducive to passing other runners and there were multiple twists and turns during this portion. I didn’t fall off a cliff but believe I could have kept running at the 9-minute clips but I’m extremely happy with my pacing and times throughout the race.

I finished the race in 2:09:18 so I was only 18 seconds off the time I shared with Lauren. Not bad, huh? 😊

I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face and felt great with my effort during this race. I was able to call my time, put in the work and see the training pay off with a really good time.

The BEST part of the race is the after party!

Most races provide beer and donuts to runners, but the Town of Celebration throws a party. Every restaurant in town has a booth and each runner gets a food passport to eat their way around town (figuratively). I hit most of the booths with some being a repeat for me—the beer and mimosa stations at 9 am in the morning were very popular. I was not in a rush to leave so soaked in all the town of Celebration had to offer. I decided during the afterparty this would be a race I run every year. I’m ready to sign up for the 2024 race but registration is not open yet. LOL.

I’ve got a few races lined up for the 2023 racing season but I’m sure this will be the highlight race for me. This little town has set the bar extremely high for others.

Irie!

“Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running”.

(Julie Isphording)

https://www.celebrationmarathon.com/packet-pickup.html

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