The Country Music Marathon

I ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN this past weekend with another CrossPointer, Shane Sisk. It was Shane’s third marathon in six months, while it was my second marathon in 33 days. It was also my fifth marathon in my fifth different state. If the Lord is willing, I plan on joining the 50 in 50 club—that is, to run 50 marathons in 50 states before I die, or at least die trying to accomplish the feat.

Shane and I actually ran the race as Jennifer and Toby Bearden, his sister and brother-in-law. Jennifer and Toby are CrossPointers also, who were already registered to run the race yet due to recent eye surgery complications Toby was unable to compete. Instead of wasting the registration fee, Shane and I ran in their place.

If you happen to know Shane, ask him why it was more difficult for him to convince the marathon officials he was Toby than it was for me to convince them I was Jennifer. You should have seen the look on the officials face when I turned in my registration card as Jennifer Bearden. That was a hoot!

Although this was not my fastest marathon, I consider it my best marathon. I am calling it my best marathon because I ran for the fun of it. My goal this time was only to cross the finish line, and when I did I was pleased.

The weather for the race was perfect. It was overcast for most of the morning, and the temperature rested comfortably between 60 and 70 degrees throughout the day.

The treat of spending Friday night and eating a delicious home-cooked meal with some of my Nashville cousins made the weekend meaningful as well. The hard part was resisting the four different desserts James and Joyce Patton offered after such a huge meal. Shane and I were not expecting that kind of meal.

Spending time with Shane Sisk on the way to Nashville, and then trading race stories on the way home made for a pleasant experience also. I am so glad Shane, his sister, his brother-in-law and his mother are all now CrossPointers. Get this, the first time Shane stepped foot on CrossPoint’s campus was for our 5k run last October. He liked that experience so much that he showed up for worship the next day. He joined CrossPoint about a month later. That’s a good story.

The race was well-organized also. Every thing a runner needed to start, run and finish a race was provided. (It should be noted you can never have enough port-o-potties on a race course. I am eternally thankful for the person in charge of that responsibility. Let’s just say they did an excellent job providing relief).

Another reason I consider this my best marathon is that my overall pace remained very consistent. There was not much variation between my fastest mile and my slowest mile. My consistent pace was due in large part to a new strategy I implemented. In my previous marathons I ran about two-thirds of the race before taking a walk break. This time I ran the first mile and then walked a minute. I did it again the second mile, the third mile and all the way through the race. I am convinced the run-a-mile-walk-one-minute strategy provided my body more endurance for the race. Thus, instead of hitting the wall at mile 18 or 19, which I typically do, I met the wall at mile 23. Therefore, I was able to finish much stronger than I have in times past.

Additionally, even though I walked a total of 26 minutes (a one minute walk at every mile), my overall time was just minutes away from my best time for a marathon. I am so excited about this strategy that I plan to use it in my training regiment for my next marathon. I think if I train that way I may be able to run even faster.

There are many other factors that made this a memorable marathon. Tomorrow I want to share with you what happened at mile 17 that gave me the motivation to finish strong.