For the past seven years, I’ve made an annual end-of-April road trip to Nashville. TN. It’s become a tradition of sorts to drive the almost 200 miles north on I65, stay with my sister (plus now my brother-in-law) and run the Country Music Half or Whole Marathon on Saturday morning.
Well, this year I registered for the half, began increasing
my running mileage a couple months out, and then realized less than a month
pre-race that I’d registered for the Nashville half marathon in… NOVEMBER! Since when is there a Nashville half marathon in November?! The
race folks didn’t seem to see my blonde moment as a reason to refund my $100
registration fee for the fall race and instead encouraged me with the not-at-all
helpful statement that I would certainly be race-ready by then. Thanks a lot.
I stayed bummed for a couple of days and then decided to
keep my trip plans in motion and spend the weekend with Jen and Zach, sans race.
This proved to be a very good decision indeed. Instead of having to go to sleep early, waking up at 5 a.m., running for 13.1 and then feeling like crap the rest of the weekend, I was able to actually enjoy downtime and house hunting with Jen and Zach.
Zach's family (and Jen) were in Memphis all day Friday for his grandmother's memorial service. I didn't want them to have to worry about dinner plans after their long, emotionally charged day, so I went about preparing dinner in time for their arrival home.
We dined on honey brie with whole wheat crackers, honey glazed salmon (recipe will be posted on Wednesday), mixed greens, sweet potato fries and red wine while watching the Predators take on Arizona.
Saturday was rise and shine with Green Monster time!
I've been drinking quite a lot of these lately and will post the recipe Friday.
We then walked stairs at Percy Warner Park before heading into the woods for a nice, long trail run and coming across a three-foot, black snake. Eeew!
After climbing what felt like the stairway to heaven in the intense humidity, Jen and Zach weren't in as silly of a mood as I; but they were great sports!
The rest of the afternoon was consumed with house hunting for their first home together! A little Batter'd & Fried was a nice was to cap off a very full, fun day.
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Zach showing his Tennessee love |
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Sunday morning began in my most favorite way. |
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Before we prepared for a 90-minute Bikram Yoga class |
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For the first 10 minutes of the class, I was breathing so hard and sweating so profusely in the 100 degree room that I couldn't even see the instructor, much less participate in any of the poses. It was a slippery, humbling, out-of-body experience. I've never longed for a shower so much. |
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Back in Birmingham, I shared what's becoming a regular Sunday dinner tradition with three of my favorites folks. Chef Hank spoiled us with pork tenderloin and creamy risotto, a perfectly delicious ending to a wonderful weekend! |
