WRS Nashville Half: Three Weeks To Go!
With three weeks to go, Caitlyn shares why she's excited to run the streets of Nashville.
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First, I want to apologize for missing my post last Friday. I will blame the very hot, very sunny holiday weekend we received here in San Diego. However, the heat and thousands of tourists crawling my neighborhood didn’t keep me from running—and making a rookie mistake—over the weekend while training for Women’s Running Nashville, which takes place on Sept. 27!
I’m using a half marathon in a week and a half as my last long run before my Nashville race, so naturally this past weekend was my last long run before my last long run (did I say that right?). My boyfriend and I decided to hit the trails behind my apartment and do an “easy” 11 across the entire lagoon—without carrying water. Thanks to a minor miscommunication between him and me, I was under the impression that there was a fountain at the halfway point. I just need to get there, I thought as the temperature rose faster than the sun. Unfortunately, the fountain was on the other end of the lagoon, just over a mile from where we finish. After a grumbly attitude and sluggish legs back to the ocean, I learned my lesson: Always bring water for long runs, especially in the heat! (Thank the running gods for the very large ice bath known as the Pacific Ocean.)
After sweating my body weight and sucking down my post-run fuel of choice (Osmo), I perused the event website, which only made me more excited for the following things:
- Mimosa bar at the finish line (yay!)
- FREE massages (yes, please!)
- Well, just the fact that the event is in Nashville. (Have you been there? It’s friggin’ sweet.)
Of course, I’m partial toward this race series, but I’ve completed more than 15 half marathons, and I’ve never seen a mimosa bar at any of them. I have seen the massages, but for races that are so big, this idea seems almost moot (long lines kind of defeat the purpose). And how many half marathons run through the streets Music City? Country music, southern hospitality, really great (authentic) BBQ and running shoes—that’s my idea of a weekend well spent. Plus I secretly love shake out runs (it’s basically like Christmas Eve), so I’m just really uber excited to run with a bunch of giddy country girls the day before!
Follow along every Wednesday and Friday leading up to #WRSNashville to see what other mischief Caitlyn gets into during her runs—and don’t forget to follow @runwrs on Instagram and Twitter for race-day announcements!
Register for the 5K or half marathon at womensrunning.com/Nashville before the price increases on August 31. Save an extra $15* with online code RUNWITHCAIT. If you have training questions for your own half marathon, tweet @caitpilk!
*Code valid for half marathon only