Country Music Marathon Recap #2

This Saturday in Nashville was the Country Music Marathon and my second chance to run 13.1 miles. This year's race had the added excitement of one of our best friends coming to run it with us. 

Race expo

Everyone was saying I shouldn't be nervous since I already knew I was capable of running that far.  I, however, think the opposite.  Last year I was excited and foolishly believed 13 miles would not be much harder than 11.  This year... I knew the challenge I was in for.

Pre-race

J with our race support team

30,000 runners

The day was gorgeous- warm and sunny.  Unfortunately, Nashville is about the hilliest place on earth and my legs and lungs decided they were over it about mile 8.  Last year, the out-and-back part of the course meant you got to run down the hills for a bit... they took that out this time around and added a new, even hillier road giving us no break!

Getting through the final hour of the race was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.  Everything in my body wanted to quit.  Luckily, Mike kept encouraging me to keep going.  I'm really not sure how I made it through to the end but crossing the finish line was an awesome feeling.  

finished!!!

With Publix as a sponsor, the post-race spread was pretty great and we quickly devoured some snacks and several bottles of water and Cytomax.  We found Julianne and congratulated her on her ridiculous race.

We took some pictures with the pretty skyline on our way back over the walking bridge to catch a cab back to our car.  

 

The rest of the day was spent eating massive quantities of wings and mac and cheese and catching up on sleep after our 4:30 am wake-up.

That night we went downtown for dinner and some honky-tonkin'.  J's boyfriend Akira joined us for the weekend (although sadly couldn't run the race because of a sprained ankle) so she wanted to show him the best place in Nashville: The Stage.

so fun!

so happy to be done running!

love this boy.  he deserves an extra medal after this race.

I spent the last couple miles bargaining with myself that if I just finished the race, I would never make myself run again.  As any runner will tell you, races have a way of making you forget the hell you go through and leave you with awesome memories.  While I haven't completely forgotten the pain and tears, I was enticed by an advertisement for a "fast and flat race" and have already signed up for my next 13.1 in October.  The Mister is taking a time-out on long runs for now (he's signed up for his first duathalon next month), but he's promised to be full of sideline support with waters, signs, and orange slices.

Easter Recap

My Easter surprises from the mister...

yummm! 

And his from me...

worst wife ever!

A few sunny pictures...

Hope you all had a happy Easter!

Mom's visit

Last weekend we {finally} got to introduce my mom to Nashville!  While her visit was a quick one, we tried to cram a few of our favorite things into the couple of days we had.  

Wine tasting at Arrington Vineyards.

Newest members of the wine club!

Ol' Rusty.... the Factory in Franklin, TN.

 

 Touring campus.

 and Centennial Park.

She said she hadn't played pool in forty years... then she kicked our butt...

 Can you name the Honky Tonk?

The puppies even calmed down by the end!  Hopefully, all four pounds of Sassy have recovered from my mega puppy. 

Despite the weekend going by way too fast, it was a fun one.  I loved getting to see my mom and share a little part of our lives up here with her. 

Spring is here!

When we were debating between renting a house and an apartment, one of the negatives on my house-list was keeping up with a yard.  I hesitated today when M suggested "yard work" but, because the forecast was said 75 and sunny, I went along with it as an excuse to be outside.  Turns out, my portion of the yard work was super fun and we enjoyed a great couple of hours outside. 

My mom gave us some adorable pots (planters?) for our porch a while back that have sat empty because of the never-ending cold.  Today we hit-up Lowe's Garden Center to look for some colorful additions to our patio.  There were SO many more choices than I knew what to do with.  I quickly limited my search to plants classified as "resilient" (so we don't kill them), needing direct sun, and not-floppy petals. 

We have been struggling with the grass in the backyard due to some shady spots.  Hubs bought grass seed and had to rake up a patch to put it in.  Ellie was right there to help ;)  I assisted by taking pictures.

I potted gerbera daisies, tulips and zinnias. It reminded me of all the flowers my Mom and I would plant every spring out on our pool deck. 

We also got this little kit (the Lowe's lady promised it was easy enough for first-timers).  You dump a bunch of water in the case and the little disks grow into these little things of soil.  You put some seeds in the top and cover them up inside until they start to grow.  I think this would be really fun for kids to do.  Well... if they grow...

We also decided to grill some sausages for lunch.  Notice the GIANT hotdog buns I made out of the previously-mentioned pumpkin bread.

Had to include a picture of our super-pretty blooming trees out front!  I love them!

Help Needed!

I need your help!  Ellie is quickly growing out of her collar so I've been spending way too much time on etsy looking for a new one.  {Could anyone else spend all day on this site?}  I would love your votes on which one I should pick as I cannot make a decision!! Thanks!

GreenTealandBrownPaisley {PinkysPetGear}

Olivia {shoparleebee}

Antoinette {Shoparleebee}

The Royal {AddisonLogan}

GreenSpiral {3pooches}

Go Gators {fairytailcollars}

The Happy Heart {AddisonLogan}

calypso blue {PinkysPetGear}

The Whale Watcher {AddisonLogan}

This one is already a must for football season but I thought I'd share anyway :)

Go Gators {MissMaddieDesigns}

Vegas: 3

Our last day in Vegas was spent revisiting all our favorite places.  We started it out with breakfast in the Bellagio at the super cute cafe: bananas foster crepe and ham and cheese croissant.
 

world's largest chocolate fountain.

We went back to the Cosmopolitan to play the best game in Vegas...

video hold'em

We looked for these at every casino but only found it here.  Hopefully it will catch on everywhere!

trying to win a tesla.

I'd read about a new dessert place with frozen hot chocolate so we went to get Mike one.  Apparently it was awesome... good thing for 13 dollars!

donuts the size of dinner plates.  so getting one next time.

paris.

trying to see the bellagio fountains at the wrong time of day. boo.

We finished up our trip with lunch and using up the rest of our free gambling back at the Palazzo. 

After one more round of the wheel game, we got on the shuttle back to the airport.

Overall, I had a great getaway with the Mister and a really great break from the semester.  Hoping for a return visit soon!