Run for Mercy 2011-Nashville

Sunday, 23 October 2011 00:00

My life is horse shows and server upgrades for the next few months and this past weekend's upgrade was in Nashville, TN. I"ve been to Nashville quite a bit for work, but I've never really seen that much of it other than Opryland. So on Friday afternoon, with me waiting on files to be copied to the new server, a co-worker and I headed over for a workout at the Maryland Farms YMCA. Apparently his membership gives him access to any of the Nashville gyms and as an out of town guest, I can visit 14 times a year. How cool is that! The Maryland Farms YMCA is an old health club and it looks like a HUGE and really long gambrel style barn. The pool was a lot different than what I am used to, but it worked and I felt much better after my workout. Thank you Middle Tennessee YMCA.

As I was turning in my towel and asking about swimming the next morning, they mentioned road closures around the Y for a road race in the area. I checked out the race website when I got back to the hotel and decided I would work that night until I finished the majority of my work and then would run the race the next morning. They had cool T-Shirts and I hadn't run a 5K in ages, so why not give it a try. Morning came early and the temps were pretty chilly, but I stuck to my commitment to running the race. There was a good turnout for the Run for Mercy 2011 5K race. The course ended up being relatively flat compared to my Shakertown runs, so it went well and I ended up running about a 7:30 mile and placing 2nd in my age group. I love races because it's so inspirational to see so many different types of people out there running and walking. Every imaginable body type and age group is usually present and it's really great to watch people knowing that they made the commitment to take up the running challenge and to see them fulfilling that challenge. There were a lot of smiles coming across the finish line.

More Run for Mercy Photos

Great video of the race by Funky Umbrella