In December, both Ken and I TOOK it easy. He was sick with the cold that wouldn't go away and I have been running slow at 3 events. First one was the The Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon in Percy Warner Park in Nashville, TN
I traveled to Nashville, TN in November to run this unusual named marathon on November 19, 2006. This was an inaugural marathon and turned out to be one of the funnest (is this a word?) and challenging of any road marathon I have done. The race director, Trent said “It is a marathon that is about running. Running hard. Running over big and memorable rolling hills and through dense woods.” He was correct. The field was limited to the first 100 who registered and the fee was $50. I got in! The marathon was not certified and not a Boston Qualifier. I didn’t care about that. I wanted to have fun. The roads were not closed and there were plenty of other runners, walkers, dogs, cyclists, deer and flying monkeys to nod to or speak to. It is rare that a runner encounters a flying monkey, but I did hear some and see one on a bike. Did I say it was fun? It was fun.
Snaking through the 2,058 acre Percy Warner Park, the 11.2-mile Main Drive of the park (which we did twice plus some) has been featured in "Runner's World" and called a runner's Paradise. As you wind your way through the park, you endure over 1,500 feet of elevation gain and loss, encountering grades of up to 10-12% at times . You also pass the Iroquois Steeplechase, one of the country's oldest horse tracks. The weather was perfect – mid 40s, I wore shorts. The volunteers were the best I have ever encountered. They would run out to meet you yelling “what do you need, what can I get you?” The first 20 miles I said “water, sports drink, Gu” – the last 6 miles I was asking for a short cut. One volunteer showed me one, but I couldn’t take it – I wanted to finish the legit course.
And I did and had fun doing it, the finish is in a field coming off of a hill (of course) and it is a nice finish on grass. I finished in 5 hrs:13 mins. The first male finished in 2:50 and the first female came in at 3:11. Besides getting a nice gray tech shirt with the flying monkey logo on the back, the finisher’s medal was carved out of wood (would that make it a woodal?). And the food – best food I have had – homemade pumpkin pie, Italian ice cream, sandwiches, and many more delicious dishes. I definitely recommend this marathon. Next year’s race is November 18, 2007. It looks like the field has been expanded to 200 and the fee is $60 – worth it! I will be there “if Lord willing and the flying monkeys don’t rise.” The website is
http://harpethhillsmarathon.com. It is a fun website. I took some of the above facts from it!

Then I ran the Huntsville Rocket City Marathon down in Alabama in December. This was my second time running this marathon which is a flat course that weaves in and out of Huntsville's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.My legs gave out at mile 6. Never had this happen before. I ran until mile 13 and then walked/jogged the rest. Best part of that race was the Krispe Kreme donuts given out about mile 21. I practiced in my head thinking of the Ironman marathon when I will be SO tired and I just focused on one mile at a time - walking/jogging to the next mile marker. Got a great t-shirt, light blue, fitted especially for women. I got a finisher's medal too.

On New Years Day, I ran the 10 miler Hangover Classic in Louisville under grey skies and cold conditions, but glad to start out the new year without a hangover and to be healthy and running!

Spin class has started at the local bike shop and I will be doing that on Monday, swimming on Tues/Thurs, Pilates on Wed., running on Friday and Sunday and the rest of the time I will be in my living room riding my bike until the weather gets good enough to ride outside. I did see groups of cyclist in Louisville on NYD and the wind chill factor was 30 degrees SO maybe I need to get outside, too. I will contemplate that.......Maybe I can borrow the cyclist's Monkey mask to stay warm!