OWL-DRAGON

Depart, oh night!
Set, you stars!
Set, you stars!
At dawn I shall win!
I shall win! I shall win!





Country Music Marathon - Nashville Tennessee



Let me get this out right away as a kind of catharsis - I am kind of sad because on Sunday I lost my digital camera. Worst part is that I think I lost it right in the hotel lobby - it saddens me to think someone in the hotel would walk away with the camera and not turn it in to the desk. I don't mind the lost of the camera so much as the photos it contained. Fortunately it was only the last day since I have been downloading them each day.



Well anyway - the flight to Nashville thru Raleigh was uneventful. Lots of clouds so there wasn't a lot to see but both legs of the flight were short.



Downtown Nashville turned out to be somewhat of a surprise. There isn't much there, there. Along Broadway there are the tourist honky tonks, but the area doesn't have much life. To my surprise there are no stores of any kind. No food stores, no small corner stores, no boutique stores. These may be coming. On Sunday there was a program where people got to pay a small fee and then tour a large number of current and projected condominiums. I think once these are occupied there will be more human activity, but for now it is extremely bereft of residential life.



We did the touristy things of visiting the Ryman, the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame. My favorite visit was to the Parthenon - an exact replica of the Greek Parthenon, complete with a glided statue of Athena. A staff member who told us about the Parthenon was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and understood when I compared the Parthenon to the Philadelphia Art Museum. One of those small ironies of this small world.



My first view of the Parthenon was about 6 AM on Saturday (29 April). It had threatened rain, and there were showers not far to the west, but after a brief sprinkle the day was dry and remained so. In fact mid race the sun briefly shown and it got quite warm. The Parthenon is in Centennial Park the site of world fair type event in 1897 Nashville. Like Memorial Hall in Philadelphia it is the sole survivor of that event. I stopped by the information booth to say hello to Karen Bingham, then enjoyed the grounds.



The Country Music Marathon combines with a Half Marathon and the vast majority of runners are halfties. The course begins just outside the park and you first head back downtown. I loosely hooked up with the four hour pace group - that is I identified the leader and resolved to keep them in sight. Rather then the crush and shuffle you usually experience in a large race we were easily running at pace immediately.



A few miles into the race you turn onto music row - an area of Nashville I believe called Belmont, a pleasant neighborhood. The race is a small collection of out and backs. This first is probably the nicest with lots of spectators and things to see. We saw the leaders coming back on their loop. One runner way out in front and I wondered at this until I realized he was a half marathoner and hence pushing the pace harder than the marathoners. I was rather amazed, when we ran back toward town at the large number of runners still coming. I have a picture in my mind of a huge wave of runners in front of me and an equally huge wave coming at me. I don't remember ever seeing this before.

(22,000 started - about 5000 marathoners - my time was a relatively slow 4:08 but I was 1006 runner finishing.)



I had run most of this leg with the four hour group, although I briefly lost contact at a water stop. At one point the leader needed a potty break and handed the four hour flag to a woman. This must have energerized her because the next mile was about 25 seconds faster then we had been running. Actually, I felt comfortable with the pace and continued on, just a little slower. It is somewhere in this area that I saw the blue man - I said out loud that can't be healthy and a woman running near said I was thinking the same thing - but it was startling (saw him later at the finish line).



Next loop out is down a large divided highway (8th ave). We leave the halfs about mile eleven separated by Elvis. Then proceed on 8th to the Metrocenter business park that loops along the Cumberland River where you can see the layers of sandstone laid down when this area was under a shallow sea. My favorite band was just after we left this portion of the loop. The bands were great even though you only get to hear for a few moments. The early part of the race when you are running with the halfs have the most then they thin out. -



At mile 9 they gave out jelly bellies. Don't think these will make it as a race food. For the next block there were jelly bellies everywhere - I assume they were just too hard to handle.



I am still comfortably with the four hour group - there are now just four of us. The run back toward downtown is a long uphill and here I lose contact with the leader. I catch up on the downhill and almost catch up when we run thru a park just before coming into downtown. However, with about 6 miles left I am slowing down. Don't feel bad - just no turnover. Because of the heat I have been carefully monitoring for cramps but they seem clear.



I am somewhat surprised by how many people are already walking. It seems somewhat unusual, although warm it is not excessively so.



I prefer to slog on slowly. The final loop is out to Shelby Park - it appears to be a somewhat down on it heels park but you do loop a small lake and when you come out you know you have mostly downhill for the final three miles. Again I marvel at the thousands still coming many of them walking and as slow as I am going I am passing many other runners.



The final mile is past a really ugly junkyard before turning into Stadium area. The final short leg is on Victory Avenue quite fitting given my mantra - Vincero!



Final chip time is 4:08:28. Off goal but acceptable. Finish area is well arranged especially considering that the marathoners and halfs merge here (and there were still many halfs coming in.) I lingered only briefly, stopping to chat with Karen Bingham of the Penguin list before making the trek back to the hotel of the pedestrian bridge that links downtown with the stadium. (This seemed a unique feature for Nashville-the idea I believe to allow and encourage people to use the downtown restaurants and bars before and after stadium events.)



Saturday night there was the post race concert that featured Phil Vasser. Didn't know what to expect but it turned out he gave a great show then came back for an encore and played for another hour.



We originally planned on staying thru Tuesday but we pretty much expended the things to do downtown and didn't really want to do any bus tours and shuttles. So we changed our flight and I finished this account sitting on the tarmac in Nashville delayed by thunderstorms in Chicago.



(Post script - we are sitting delayed in Chicago!!!!)



Well this has not been a terrible vacation but it has not been one of my favorites.



Whether I will travel to another marathon remains to be seen. I rather doubt if my wife will be eager to go again.