This weekend we took a road trip to Nashville for the Rock-N-Roll Marathon. This was Elliott's first time out of Arkansas, and he was such a trooper! We left Friday morning, stopping in Memphis to eat lunch at the Beauty Shop, and arrived in Nashville right as 35,000 other runners arrived, spent an hour and a half in stand still traffic, making it to the convention center just in time to retrieve my bib, shirt and swag bag. It was a long day, but our little man hung in there and was ready to crash by the time we checked in at the Marriott at Vanderbilt.
Saturday morning Gary and Elliott walked me to the start line and wished me luck, returning to the hotel in time for Elliott's morning nap. Meanwhile, I made my way through 13.1 miles of steep hills in unseasonably warm weather. The hills and heat took a toll on me around mile nine, when I gave in to my achy knees and walked the remainder of the race, finishing almost 30 minutes slower than my personal worst. I was disappointed, but happy to be running a race less than 4 months after birthing a baby. Training was a challenge, as I have to plan everything around Elliott's meals, and I admit I should have put in a few more miles per week, but now I'm more motivated than ever to get back in the shape I was in pre-baby.
Gary was such a huge support this weekend, walking 3 miles (as many of the roads were closed to cars) carrying E in the Baby Bjorn to the finish line to meet me. Seeing their sweet faces at the end of a tough run was the best reward. The 3 mile walk (uphill) back to the hotel felt like 10 for me, and I would have paid a taxi $300 to break the law and drive us (with no car seat) back. But, we made it, and after a shower, a half a large pizza, a 2 hour nap and 800 mg of ibuprofen, I was a new woman. We spent Saturday evening in our hotel room icing my knees, watching the Mavs loose the first game in the first round of the playoffs, and listening to Elliott's sweet jibber jabber after finally discovering his voice.
Traveling with a baby will wear you out, but I'm proud of how well our sweet boy adjusted and rolled with the punches this weekend.
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