Wildhorse Saloon – 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!

2022 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Nash Expo2

“A half marathon is just a 5k with a 10-mile warmup”.

(Pinterest)

My Walk into the Future led me back to Nashville for the 2022 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I have run this race 4 times prior but did not get a chance to run in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19.

My original race registration from 2020 rolled over twice to this year and I was thrilled to return to one of my favorite cities to run, explore and enjoy live music again.

Nashville did not disappoint!

The weather was projected to be hot this year and it was. Nashville normally is still cool in April but this year the high on race day was 85 degrees which is 20 degrees higher than normal. This impacts all runners, so the race organizers sent out messaging for runners to take extra precautions (dress with light clothing, drink plenty water, consider slowing the pace, etc.). The weather was like the 2017 race and most runners felt the difference with the heat and the hilly course that Nashville is famous for.

I did not enter this race with a projected finish time in mind due to the weather and the hills. I have run one of my fastest half marathons on this course in 2019 when the weather was much cooler–the weather was not favorable for this year. Training on the hills in Tallahassee helped as well. 😊

Decided to capture my time in Nashville with pictures instead of giving you a complete recap of the race—most of my readers are used to a full recap.

Here is the cliff notes version for the race: I ran 13.2 miles, there were hills, it was hot, I earned a medal, and they gave me beer at the end. Yep, it was worth every second.

EXPO

Nash Expo1

(Got my race bib and packet)

(Scenes from the EXPO at Music Center)

Wild Horse Saloon

(Time at the Wild Horse Saloon / Line Dancing)

Race Day

Nash Race day4

(New compression sleeves for the 2022 Nashville Half Marathon)

Nash Race day5

(2022 Nashville Half Marathon start line)

(Scenes before the start of the race, downtown Nashville)

Broadway

(Rooftop bars on Broadway)

After race

(Ice for my legs after running the Nashville hills)

Saturday

(Venues = Luke Bryan’s, Whiskey Row, The Stage, Tequila Cowboy, Lucky Bastard)

Sunday

(Last day in Nashville! Broadway, Union Station Hotel, The Stage (again), Wild Horse Saloon (again), Lucky Bastard and The Parthenon)

Two new restaurants I recommend on the West End of Nashville are the Midtown Café and The Row Kitchen and Pub. The Midtown Café is a great place to get a hearty breakfast. The Row Kitchen and Pub has a large menu but recommend getting the catfish dinner if you are ever in Nashville—it is worth the wait!

https://www.midtowncafe.com/

https://www.therownashville.com/menus/#dinner

The weather and hills did not stop me from enjoying my time in Nashville. I am already planning my return next year for the 2023 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon—I registered for the event as soon as I returned home. 😊

Who is joining me in Nashville?

Irie!

“Congratulations on finishing your half marathon! Good luck walking tomorrow!

(Pinterest)

2022 Florida Half Marathon

“Please ignore the faces I make while running”.

(Anonymous)

Diabolical: Outrageously wicked (Dictionary.com).

Never thought I would describe a race as diabolical but that’s what I am going to do. I know there are other meanings for diabolical, but I will stick with outrageously wicked.

The Florida Marathon/Half Marathon is a fine race that is put on by a fantastic run organization. My use of the word diabolical is more to describe the course and how the runners must finish both races.

Yes, this was a half marathon, so I was ready to put in my 13.1 miles of work in for the day. I was happy with my 2022 Vero Beach Half Marathon results in January and wanted to translate that effort into the 2022 Florida Half Marathon in Melbourne.

Let’s jump ahead a bit—there was no translation from the Vero Beach race to the Melbourne race. Happy with my effort but did not get close to matching or exceeding my January race time during this race. More on that later. 😊

Signed up for this race to ensure I run monthly half marathons January through May. Wanted to test myself by adding more races to my schedule in 2022 and building a run base that will allow me to get faster with each race—in theory.

Melbourne is one of my favorite places to visit because of the great beaches and laid-back vibe of the people. This race provides the best of my worlds—beaches and running. This was my first race in Melbourne, so I was excited to run the city as a running tourist.

Drove up on Saturday morning since this race had a Sunday morning start. I wanted to get in town early enough to pick up my race packet and continue to carb load throughout the day. My ultimate motive was to get into town early enough so I could go sit on the beach at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for a bit. I always maximize beach time when I can. 😊

The EXPO was held in the Front Street Park Civic Center. This sounds like a huge place, but it is the size of a regular house, and it is right on the river side in downtown Melbourne. Parking was quick and easy, so made my way into the Civic Center to get my race packet and see what the vendors had to offer.

There were only a handful of runners in the Civic Center when I arrived so went right to the front of the line to get my race bib (#715) and packet. Grabbed a fellow runner to take my picture in front of the step and repeat race display which is a tradition for me. Walked around a bit to see the vendors but did not buy anything while at the EXPO.

Went outside and took a few pictures along the river and got a great shot of one of the bridges we would have to cross during the race. The bridge incline should have been a precursor of what was to come.

Left the Civic Center and checked into my hotel. Wanted to drop off my bags and get a good feel for how close the hotel was to the race start line. Made my way to the Crowne Plaza to get lunch and continue my carb loading process. The weather was great on Saturday and provided a perfect backdrop to relax on the beach and listen to the band playing on the deck. Enjoyed a turkey club sandwich, fries, and Bud Light at the Crowne Plaza. They have an extensive menu, but I stay conservative the day before a race to eliminate potential stomach issues during the race—lesson learned from a past race. Sat on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the views before heading out.

Left the Crowne Plaza and made my way to Patrick Space Force Base (PSFB) for a quick shopping trip. Wanted to see if they had the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22s to replace my GTS 21s. They had the 22s but not in my size so walked around and looked at stuff I didn’t need—never a wasted trip since I get to spend time around military people again—love being back on-base.

Made my way to the Olive Garden to finish my carb loading for the day and get to bed early. The restaurant was crowded so made my way to the bar and found a seat there. I am basic when carb loading so went with the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, lots of bread sticks and Bud Light. Relaxed back at the hotel before an early bedtime so I could get my rest and get up early to tackle the half marathon.

Remember the term diabolical from earlier? Well, let jump into that a bit more now. 😊

Woke up at 4:45 am to prepare my mind and body for the 13.1 miles I needed to cover at 6:30 am. I do some stretching and mental preparation during this timeframe before putting on my equipment (KT tape, Salonpas patches and BioFreeze) and getting dressed. My run outfit was conservative for me so got dressed after putting on my layers of equipment.

Luckily, I grabbed one of my running jackets before leaving the hotel because it was already raining. The weather forecast ‘mentioned’ rain the day before, but this was just a steady flow, and it was not cold. I thought the rain would be around for a little bit but was wrong on my forecasting skills.

Made my way downtown towards the race starting point and arrive about 10 minutes after leaving the hotel. Researched places to park the night before and found a spot about 100 yards from the race start line. There was still a light rain coming down at this point, but it got heavier the closer we got to race time. The race announcer came on the loudspeaker and let us know the race was delayed due to weather—the on-course police support was still getting setup because of the rain. I sat in my vehicle to avoid standing around in the rain without knowing the exact time we would start the race. The delay lasted for only 15 minutes, but most runners did not get a chance for a normal warmup.

The marathon runners were allowed to start 10 minutes before the half marathoners. I did not leave my vehicle until the announcer gave us a 5-minute warning for our race to start. Made my way to the bathroom and then got a quick stretch in before heading to the start line.

Yes, it was still raining, and the streets were wet! We finally got started at 6:50 am

I decided to go out very controlled since the streets were wet and did not want to injure myself or anyone else. I did not have a specific finish time in mind with the wet conditions—wanted to enjoy the course (LOL) and the experience.

Miles 1 – 3 were crowded as runners were very cautious trying to avoid slipping and bringing others down with them. My first mile was a comfortable 9:19 which was probably too fast for the conditions and what was to come. Miles 2 and 3 were like my Mile 1 pace but still felt comfortable. A cool experience during this portion of the race was we got a chance to see dolphins swimming in the river. Yes, runners enjoy the scenery during races. 😊

Slowed my pace a bit during Miles 4 and 5 because I knew the course got a bit tougher at the 6-mile point. The FIRST bridge crossing starts at Mile 6 and goes up until you hit the Mile 7 marker. Bridge running is tough in normal conditions but gets a lot tougher in the rain. I did not want to lose too much time so gritted out the incline and then made-up time on the bridge decline. Felt great through Mile 8 but hit a wall right at the Mile 9 marker. This may have happened because my warmup routine was impacted due to rain or I went too fast on the bridge. Either way, my legs were on fire and yes, it was still raining on us.

Decided at this point to just finish the race. No need to try to set a Personal Record (PR) since my legs were not moving that fast anyway.

Miles 9 through 11 were consistently slow for me but I keep moving forward. Started feeling good about myself again at this point but then the second bridge crossing was looming. So, my question is: who puts another bridge crossing at the 11-mile point of a half marathon? A diabolical person, that’s who.

Yep, had to dig down to get up and over another bridge to finish this @#$% race! I made it slowly up to the 12-mile marker and then found some level of courage to go faster on the decline. I did not want to limp across the finish line but that is how I felt. I put on my best I’m not in pain face and found a kick to get me across the finish line. My official time was: 2:17:52 which was 6 minutes slower than Vero Beach. I’ll take it with the conditions and bridge placement.

Got my medal, a couple beers and donuts and found a place to sit down to enjoy my prizes. It was still raining so got my rain jacket out of my vehicle so I could sit and get some ice on my quads. Talked with my fellow runners and we all experienced the course in a similar way. Happy to finish but beat up by the conditions and the course. Would love to meet the person who thought it was a good idea to cross a bridge after Mile 11. 😊

As much as I’m complaining, I will probably run this race again next year. Hopefully, we will have better weather and I know the course now and can pace myself for a better finish. We will see!

Irie!

“I run because punching people is frown upon”.

(Anonymous)

My Refrigerator Door!

Fridge

“Life moves so fast. You gotta document the good times, man”.

(Big Boi)

Luke Combs is one of my favorite artists and he continues to generate hits on the country music charts. His lyrics have a poetic flow and speaks to daily things we all experience in one form or another.

I discovered his music during the 2020 Country Music Awards (CMA) show and quickly identified him as a rising star and promptly added his song, Beer Never Broke my Heart to my running playlist. Yes, I run with country music! 😊

I continue to dive into his discography and discover songs that I identify with. I did not realize how long he has been in the music business, but I love everything he has put out. Fans routinely identify ‘Luke has never made a bad song’ comments on his YouTube channel. I am sure he has a dud or two somewhere, but I can’t find one. I have been on a monthlong binge of his music where I play his music at work, driving home and then again when I get home. Guess you can say I am a fan.

My latest find is a song he put out in 2019 called Refrigerator Door. Very basic concept where he identifies the family memories that are on the refrigerator door in his house. This is something we can all relate to, most of us have placed something memorable on the refrigerator door: report cards, kids sports schedule, family vacation pictures, etc.

Decided this was a great time to let the Walk into the Future blog readers in on my refrigerator door secret. I have never placed report cards, sports schedules, or vacation pictures on my refrigerator door.

My door is covered with magnets. Yes, you read that correctly. My refrigerator door is covered with 70+ magnets. I started collecting magnets as part of my travel while in the Air Force and never really stopped. My goal is to collect a magnet each time I travel to a new state, city, or country. I always thought I would get bored with putting magnets on the door, but it is exciting to me to look at the door for the memories that are hanging there.

I have had family members and friends who send me magnets from places they have visited, but I do not put those on my door. My entire magnet concept is to put magnets up for places I have experienced. This keeps me motivated to continue my running tourist momentum to find races in places I have never been so I can explore new places AND get my magnet.

I added Clearwater Beach (Florida), Norfolk and Virginia Beach (Virginia), Southern Shores and Duck (North Carolina) and Savannah (Georgia) to the refrigerator door in 2021. I will add Atlantic City, New Jersey to the door in May when I head up there for the 2022 Atlantic City Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I am sure I will find some other places to visit and collect more hardware for my door.

The memories I can capture with pictures are great, but my magnet collection allows me to relive great memories daily since I see the door every time I am in the kitchen. I know magnets may not be for everyone, but this is a simple, easy, and inexpensive way to capture memories.

What do you have on your refrigerator door? 😊

“Nothing but good times ahead”.

(Jennifer Cruisie)

The Return to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville Honky Tonk

“I love Nashville. It seems like everywhere you walk, there’s great music coming out of every wall”.

(Imedla May)

I am always looking for a clever quote to help me get started with the writing process.

My friends and family know I love Tennessee and Nashville is one of my favorite places to visit. I did not realize it has been almost 3 years since my last visit to the Music City.

The 2019 Rock N Roll Half Marathon and NFL draft weekend was the last time I was in Nashville.

https://walkintothefuture.blog/2019/05/23/nashville-and-the-wild-horse-saloon/

The 2020 Rock N Roll Half Marathon was cancelled due to COVID-19. The 2021 Rock N Roll Half Marathon was moved to the week before Thanksgiving. I thought about using my race credit and running the fall version of the race, but it would have kept me from exploring the Smoky Mountains. Got to have priorities in life! 😊

It looks like I will be able to run Nashville again in April 2022 with the Rock N Roll crew again.

Back to present day Nashville.

I decided to visit Nashville prior to Christmas for a trip to explore the city in a different way than I normally do. Most times I am in Nashville for an event (race/football game) and get focused on the task at hand. I have a regimented eating pattern when I am in town for a race. I also must keep track of how much I am on my feet prior to a race so I can conserve energy to compete.

I went full tourist mode for this trip so I could explore different areas and venues without worrying about how much time I spent walking or standing up.

Booked a convenient downtown hotel which was only half a mile from Broadway which is the main entertainment center in Nashville.

This easy walk made Nashville more accessible to me since I did not have to worry about finding a place to park. Nashville is like most big cities where parking is a premium and of course you pay a premium to park. I simply left my rental car in the hotel parking lot and got my steps in while enjoying everything Nashville had to offer.

Ryman Auditorium

I have been to Nashville 10 times over the years but never visited the Ryman Auditorium. I have walked by this historic music venue multiple times but for some reason never tried to go in.

The Ryman Auditorium is steeped in musical history and transcends multiple genres. It is the original home of the Grand Old Opry and music fans from all over the world converged there to see their favorite artists. The Ryman Auditorium started as a house of worship but expanded to host political rallies, plays, conventions and musical acts. I was surprised to see how many rock, pop and R&B acts played at the Ryman Auditorium. The Grand Old Opry moved out of the Ryman in 1975 to the current location in Opryland. The Grand Old Opry show returns to the Ryman Auditorium on a regular basis, and they continue to attract national headliners. Josh Turner was playing the same day I took the Ryman Auditorium tour. Highly recommend adding this tour to your Nashville travel plans.

https://ryman.com/

Country Music Hall of Fame

The Rock N Roll Race EXPO is right next to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I have walked by the building a thousand times but never made my way up the stairs to see the exhibits. ☹

This trip was designed to be a true tourist, so I made my way up the stairs and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame. It did not have the same nostalgic feel of the Ryman Auditorium, but it was a great place to see and relive the history of country music. The exhibits included subtexts to ensure everyone knew what they were seeing to include instruments and clothing country music stars wore in their videos and on tour.

A surprising aspect of the exhibits was how small most of the country artists are. A lot of artists look bigger than life on TV but most of the female artists based on their outfits are 5’ 4” or shorter. Even the BIG country guys are not as big as they appear on TV based on the outfit that were on display. My favorite artist is George Strait and I thought he was 6’ 3” or 6’ 4”. He is 5’ 10”—never would have guessed that before seeing his exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I made my way into the Hall of Fame Rotunda to view the plaques for everyone who has been elected to the Hall of Fame. Got to see all the legends in the rotunda but made sure to get a shot of George Strait’s plaque. Highly recommend a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

https://countrymusichalloffame.org/

Nashville Strait

Wildhorse Saloon

The Wildhorse Saloon is one of my favorite places to visit when I am in Nashville. The food, atmosphere and music venue are all first rate. One of my targeted activities at the Wildhorse Saloon is the chance to get in some line dancing. The staff at the Wildhorse teach multiple dances throughout the day and then get everyone on the dance floor. I have learned quite a few new dances over the years. Sadly, the Wildhorse Saloon was closed while I was in Nashville. They decided to give the staff some time off before Christmas and I respect that. The gift shop was open, and I was able to pick up a few souvenirs before heading back over to Broadway for music.

Broadway

Broadway is the main drag in downtown Nashville if you are looking for entertainment. I have covered almost every inch of Broadway over the years and still discover new places to listen to music.

There is no cover to enter the Honky Tonks so there is freedom to roam and change venues. I love this aspect because I move around depending on the bands playing and how good they sound.

I hit most of the Honky Tonks on this trip but found myself gravitating to The Stage, Whiskey Row, Jason Aldean’s Rooftop Bar and Tequila Cowboy. The sound stage in these spots were better quality and I enjoyed the bands playing. The food at Jason Aldean’s was good so why I kept going back. 😊

https://dierkswhiskeyrow.com/nashville-tn/

Nashville is a great place to visit if you have never been. Looking forward to getting back there in April 2022 for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon and line dancing at the Wildhorse Saloon.

“We’re playing your song”.

(Tennessee Department of Tourist Development)

2020 Orlando Utility Commission (OUC) Half Marathon

OUC1

“I plan on having such an epic run, Morgan Freeman should narrate it”.

(Runner’s World)

Running and racing has become such a large part of my lifestyle that I felt a definitive loss in 2020.

I will not harp on the COVID-19 impact on our daily lives. There are more important things in this world than me traveling around the country and chasing people in my attempt to gain a personal record (PR) in the half marathon. Everyone who reads the Walk into the Future blog or listens to me long enough know I love my PR attempts.

My 2019 progress set the stage for me to run even faster in 2020 while tackling more races and new locations. I targeted 7 half marathons to complete in 2020 with an incremental decrease in my PR time for each race I ran. My goal continues to be to run the half marathon distance under 2 hours. I will need to bring out the Benjamin Button affect again at some point to reach this goal.

Luckily, I was able to complete the 2020 New Orleans Rock N Roll half marathon in early February before we knew the future impact of COVID-19 on the country. I left New Orleans with a goal to train harder and get ready for the 2020 Nashville Rock N Roll half marathon scheduled for April—Nashville is my favorite race and city. Missed seeing the sights in Nashville and line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon. Maybe in 2021!

Races 2 (Nashville) through 7 (San Antonio) were all canceled/postponed/terminated due to COVID-19. Most of my running friends wanted to race but we knew eliminating the races was the right thing to do. I still trained but not with as much intensity because I did not have a finish line to run across. I wrote earlier about the virtual race process but never felt the same excitement racing against myself. Could not make myself run fast without someone else around for me to compete against.

Fast forward a bit and my favorite running club, Track Shack in Orlando identified they received Orange county and City of Orlando clearance to stage the 2020 OUC Half Marathon in December with new safety measures. I did not immediately sign-up but got excited when I discovered a real race was possible again. I did a lot of research on the Track Shack race safety measures to make sure I would not be at risk during the event.

The entire race experience was adjusted by the Track Shack staff to keep all runners physical distanced before and after the race. We were required to wear masks prior to starting the race and immediately after crossing the finish line. We did not have to run with the masks on but had to have them for the finish line. Runners were lined up in corrals based on estimated finish times, but we had to stand on assigned markers on the ground before we could start the race. Felt a bit weird but everything was done to protect the runners.

I registered for the OUC half marathon on October 15, 2020 with a race date of December 5, 2020. This timeframe gave me less than a two-month physical and mental preparation window for the 13.1-mile journey in front of me. Decided at this point to just enjoy the training runs and eliminate the thought processing of chasing a PR. This concept provided me with a free mind and gave me the perspective that completing the race was the most important thing. Thing #2 was to run the race and not hurt myself! 😊

OUC3

Race day

The Orlando weather was a bit warmer than I expected but the cloud cover kept the sun away which helped a lot. I did not queue up close to the front corrals since I knew I was not going fast this year and wanted to let the faster folks go out without me in the way.

The new safety measures allowed about 200 runners to go out at a time, so I ended up waiting about 20 minutes before I made it to the start line to begin the race.

Mask off and I was back in my world of racing! I am sure people wondered why I was smiling so much but the joy of running was there at the beginning. My first mile pace was 8:50—which was not too bad considering my goal was to go out nice and easy. Felt good so I kept running at this pace for a bit to see what I had under the hood this year. 😊

A fun fact–at the 3-mile marker while running through a downtown Orlando neighborhood I passed the house of one of my old on-campus recruiters from my UCF days. He was standing on his front lawn cheering on the runners with his daughter. Did not know if he would recognize me in my running gear but I was able to say hello to him and invite him to recruit students at my new school. Please note, I never broke stride but was able to successfully network with an Orlando recruiter while running a half marathon. Completed a Zoom call with him the following Monday and he is excited to recruit our students in the spring semester—small world, huh?

Miles 3 through 8 were my parade through Orlando neighborhoods. I waved at spectators who were out on their lawns to cheer for the runners. I stopped at a pop-up table serving shots of beer as a refresher during the race. I thanked law enforcement officials who were there for traffic duty. You would have thought I was a politician with the amount of smiling, waving, and speaking to people I got done during this race.

Miles 9 through 13 were not as enjoyable as the previous set of miles. Limited training also means my lactic acid thresholds were not built up as they should have been. This means my legs started to hurt and it only got worse the longer I went. I have been here before, so I was able to press forward but my speed and demeanor changed quite a bit. The smile was gone, and I did not feel like waving at folks anymore. Had to bear down and keep moving forward towards the finish line. Luckily for me I was not chasing records and just wanted to complete the race while enjoying the process of running again.

Crossed the finish line with a smile on my face because I was able to run and compete again. COVID-19 has beat us up in 2020 but it could not keep me from running in one of my favorite cities. Mission complete!

The post-race area was sparse as part of the safety measures. No beer, doughnuts, or music to enjoy this year. We were handed a Publix bag with water, banana, granola, and our race medal. That was it—no fanfare, networking and hanging around to cheer other runners on. Run, conquer, and go home was the message of the day.

No worries, we had a great day to race and fantastic people to chase around Orlando again.

Fingers crossed that racing returns in 2021—I have a few PRs to set! 😊

What are you looking forward to in 2021? Let’s make it happen! Irie!

“You never realize how long a minute is until you are running”.

(Pinterest)

The true anniversary date

anniversary image

(Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay)

“A year from now, you will wish you had started today”.

(Karen Lamb)

Dictionary.com defines an anniversary as the yearly recurrence of the date of a past event and the celebration or commemoration of such a date.

The first Walk into the Future article was posted on this site on 6/18/2018. The true anniversary date for me is 4/14/2018—let me explain why I say this.

I sat on the beach at St. George Island (SGI) on 4/14/2018 with the idea of deciding which direction I wanted to pursue moving forward. The Walk into the Future concept was not on my radar but needed the beach atmosphere to help with a huge decision.

So, I sat on the beach on this prophetic day with my beach towel, cooler of beer, reggae, pen, and paper to figure this thing called life out (Prince reference).

I have used the concept of a pros/cons list in the past to help with major decisions and my goal on this day was to identify pro/con items to inform the decision I needed to make. Dr. Henry Cloud identifies successful people do not hang on to bad stuff for long in his book 9 Things you Simply Must do in Love and Life. The only way to label something as bad is to take a true look at it without emotion, hence the pros/cons list for me.

I finally admitted I spent too much time determining if I should stay in my old role. The interactions I had with students, employers, faculty, staff, and community members still appealed to me but there was always something daily to eliminate my joy. Turns out it was too much negative workplace energy. This is not a complaint just a stated fact from my perspective—negative energy can and will wear you down over time.

Fast forward to the list and the decision was obvious! There were 5 pros and 15 cons. I tried to manufacture some additional pros just to see if I could even this process out a bit, but this was the final tally. The 15 cons were present EVERY day and only 3 pros were daily items. I was amused when I saw the disparity of my two lists. I subconsciously knew this to be true but never wrote it out to examine more in-depth. Sadly, none of the cons listed were fixable—not one.

I laughed when I was able to view the list for the insight in front of me. So, on 4/14/2018 the Walk into the Future journey began after I made the decision it was time to move on from what I was doing. The work and making a difference daily were not the problem it was the negative energy—the opposite of the Irie mindset I seek in life. Dr. Cloud has another principle he calls Pull the Tooth. I decided to pull the tooth and Walk into the Future after I finished my beer and listened to a few more Bob Marley songs.

I decided to write this post after looking in my journal and coming across the page with my pros/cons list. Just happened to be 2 years to the date I wrote the items and wanted to share with my readers I just had an anniversary.

So, happy anniversary to the Walk into the Future blog. Here is to a few more years of writing, sharing adventures and making a difference in the world. Thanks for walking with me!

What tooth do YOU need to pull? How could the pros/cons list help with your decision?

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing”.

(Walt Disney)

Nashville & the Wildhorse Saloon

Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Made my way back to Nashville, TN for the 2019 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in April. This race has become a favorite of mine because it allows me to run Nashville neighborhoods and catch amazing musicians at multiple music venues.

My training approach for this half marathon and all others moving forward has improved tremendously. The Walk into the Future approach has allowed me to increase my training efforts and logging ‘true’ long runs. Long runs for me now routinely cover 10 miles or longer. The longest training run I put in for this race was 15 miles—didn’t run this distance for speed but used it to build mental and physical toughness. Turns out I needed all the mental and physical toughness I could display because somewhere in my love for Nashville I forgot about the HILLS there! 😊

The first 6 miles seemed to go uphill with multiple degrees of incline. My training runs incorporated hills, so I was better prepared than I initially thought. Decided to just put trust in my training and have fun as I made my way up each incline. Slowly found myself enjoying each step with a smile on my face—guess I finally got that runner’s high people always talk about.

Fast forward a bit and I was able to finish in 2:08:21 (two hours, eight minutes and 21 seconds) which is my personal best. Improved on my time from the 2019 New Orleans Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. I’m still a bit off from my goal of running under 2 hours but I’m making incremental progress towards the goal. I will continue to take small bites from the elephant. Next scheduled half marathon will be in Philly in September.

Nashville after race

Wildhorse Saloon

The Wildhorse Saloon is a place I visit every time I’m in Nashville. It’s a great place to hear live music, dance and get some of the best food in Nashville. Made two visits to the Wild Horse on this trip and heard some great new musicians.

Line dancing lessons take place when the musicians take a break and the dance floor was crowded with folks having a great time learning the steps. The line dance instructor breaks each dance down with step counts and practice for the dancers before turning them loose. It’s great watching people learn the dance and then actually perform what they learned—yes, I include myself since I first tried line dancing at the Wildhorse. Believe this place is a must visit if you decide to head to Nashville.

NFL Draft

The 2019 NFL Draft was also in Nashville for race weekend. This was an extra event to experience while in town. There were over 600,000 NFL fans in attendance for the 3-day draft event. Made my way down to draft central two days to soak in the excitement of the draft and enjoy the crowds. Didn’t realize how many professional football fans were this invested in their team’s draft process. The passion, excitement and team pride displayed was impressive and Nashville put on an excellent show for everyone in attendance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the most represented team at the draft. Their fans travel all over the country to show their support.

My current Walk into the Future seems to keep bringing me back to Nashville and I love that fact!

I plan to return to Nashville next April to enjoy the race weekend and live music again—great place to visit if you’ve never been!

What’s your favorite place to visit? How often do you get a chance to visit? Thanks!

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