R & J: Rock n' Roll Marathon...Nashville Style

"janelle loved running her second marathon"...said no one. ever! let me explain. i did a relatively intense training program and this marathon according to the books was "easier" than the teton dam marathon. naturally, i expected to do better, right? wrong! i did worse and hated it a lot. i think a few reasons why it went so bad was because in chicago, it was cold (50 degrees fahrenheit), relatively dry and there was no elevation change. i also only ate granola bars before and carried fruit on my runs. in nashville, it was hot (90 degrees), humid and hilly (yuck). i also had two of those five hour energy drinks right before and had a lot of energy gel gu packs during my run (don't ask me why i did this). consequently, my stomach started cramping really bad around mile 8. needless to say, i was literally pissed and angry when i crossed the finish line! ahah it makes me laugh now, but for real i was so mad. however even if things did not go the way i wanted, i am proud that i actually finished! there were multiple moments (mile 12, 13, 14, 15, 16...) when i wanted stop running and join the crowd...but i am too stupid to ever stop running, so i have finished two marathons! ahah! sorry for all the negativity. i don't want to totally be hating on the rock n' roll marathon because the marathon itself was awesome and i will definitely run one again! the city was beautiful, the people were party rockin' and i totally loved the bands that were playing at every mile. i also gained some very valuable running knowledge. i now know that i will never run a marathon that is more difficult than i can train for, and i will also never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever drink a five hour energy bottle ever again. lessons learned!

despite the miserable marathon part, the actual trip was a freakin' blast! i went down with tiffany, nicole, ali and jamie. those girls are too wild! seriously, i love them. i am so thankful to tiffany for inviting me to run with her. this trip was so great, and i will never forget it. tiff is my hero. nashville is my hero too. i am in love with nashville! i totally want to go back again and again! i also got to see my lover, brandiann (from creighton)! i now know why she lives in nashville. i am definitely taking rich there when we are billionaires. i miss it already! enjoy the pics!

me surrounded by beautiful hot mamas!

pillow talk!

all glammed up for breakfast!

deliciousness at the pancake pantry. so yummy! go there!

testing out some lipstick. hot.

gettin' our gear. i love tiffany!

the t-babe and me again. after seeing how hilly nashville was, t and i were so nervous. after running it, i think we should have been more nervous!


right before our race! side note: we parked about a mile away from the start line, so we ended up walking/running a mile before the marathon! brilliant, right? ahah! oh and this is actually us waiting in line for the restrooms. we ended up starting the race with the half marathon 16 min mile people because the lines were so freakin' long! that was another mistake, ahah! i still am addicted to running. always will be.