How to Spend a 3-Day Weekend in Nashville
Who can say no to a long weekend in Nashville!? With Alicia being a seasoned marathon runner and a big fan of running vacations, Dana knew she had to get in shape to keep up on all the adventures. Thus was born our first “Runcation!” We set off for a 3-day weekend in Nashville for the Rock -n- Roll Running Series where we met up with Alicia’s younger brother, Kevin, for running, beers, and BBQ.
Eat: Peg Leg Porker
Stay: Hampton Inn & Suites Nashville-Vanderbilt-Elliston Place (it was less than 2 miles to the race start and an easy Lyft ride)
Play: Nashville Rock-n-Roll race series followed by brewery hopping in the Gulch
Add a visit to Marathon Village to your Nashville itinerary for a unique local shopping experience.
Day 1: Prep Day
Alicia was the first to arrive, followed by Kevin who drove in from Ohio. Alicia and Kevin headed to the Rock-n-Roll expo to pick up our bibs for the race the next day - the process was quick and the expo was a good size, including lots of vendors and even live music. Dana’s flight got in around 5, and Alicia and Kevin picked her up from the airport (Ubers in Nashville are astronomically expensive. If you’re traveling in Nashville, opt for Lyft instead) and we headed straight for dinner. We ate some delicious pasta at Pastaria (carbload!) and went back to the hotel early for bed (Dana already loves runcations!). We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Nashville-Vanderbilt-Elliston Place, which was less than 2 miles from the race start and we booked it through the race website so we got a rate discount.
Flat runners ready for the Rock n Roll 5k and half marathon!
Day 2: Race Day
Dana’s Run: My alarm went off at 5 and I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs for coffee and a light breakfast before my Lyft picked me up. My driver dropped me off as close as he could to the race start, and then I just started following other people wearing run bibs. I saw the starting line on Broadway, but continued to follow other runners as they walked around warming up and taking in the sites (I was about 30 minutes early for my 6:30 start time thanks to advice from timely Alicia. I’ll know how close I can cut it to the wire next time!). I used the restroom at a local church and headed back to the start line with about 5 minutes to spare.
When I arrived…there were still no people lined up in the corrals. Hmmm…turns out I was at the wrong starting line! The marathon and half marathon start was on Broadway. My 5K started one block over on Demonbreun. Whoops! Guess I get to be last minute afterall! I quickly made my way over and saw the massive crowd of runners waiting to start the 5K and 10K races. I got as close as I could to my corral and anxiously waited for the start of the race. And I waited and waited…finally, after a 30 minute delay, the race was starting! I was in corral 5, so it took a few more minutes to make it to the starting line, but then I was off! I got swept up in the excitement and quickly realized I was running a bit faster than my typical pace, so I slowed down slightly and got into the groove. It is SOOOO much easier to run with no humidity!! It was also still early, so the weather was cool (low 60’s) and the buildings provided additional shade.
Dana’s medal and well-earned post-run beer.
I had 5 goals for my race:
1. Don’t die
2. Have fun
3. Finish
4. Finish in under 45 minutes
5. Run the whole time.
I’m proud to say I made all 5 goals! I could hardly believe it when I saw the stadium in the distance (the finish line) and I still felt like I had a lot of energy. There was one difficult part with a slight incline (I’m used to flat, flat Florida) right before the bridge, but I powered through and didn’t stop. I crossed the finish line with a time of 37:45!
My plan at that point was to head back to the hotel and nap (It was only 7:45) while I waited for Kevin and Alicia to finish, but I was too hyped up for that! I used my free drink ticket and sat to enjoy the music of the cover band. A girl sat down next to me and introduced herself as Anabel. Her friend was also running the half marathon, so we kept each other company while we waited. Another drink, a food truck PB&J, and some good music later and it was time to meet the half marathon runners at the finish line!
A bunch of sweaty runners watching The Struts at the post-race concert.
Alicia’s Run: The half started about 45 minutes after the 5K so I got to sleep in a bit. I always prep all of my clothes, gear, fuel, etc the night before and when I travel for a race, I always bring instant oatmeal for breakfast since I can usually find hot water to cook it in any hotel. I ate my breakfast and waited for my Lyft in the lobby, chatting with other runners getting ready for their races. The Lyft was able to take me close to the start, but not all the way as Broadway was shut down. My brother, Kevin, rented a scooter for an easy commute and we met at our corral to start the race together. The first 5 or so miles felt great (and a serious party with live music and block parties all along the course). I was prepared for the incredibly hilly course, but this New Englander just wasn’t prepared for mid-70s and sun. There is very little shade on the back half of the course. By mile 10, I was crushed by the heat and started walking up the remaining hills. Regardless, the course was a really cool way to see parts of Nashville I’d never seen despite having visited before. Running is my favorite way to see a city!
Showing off our hard-earned medals.
Once we were all back together again we headed to the after party. We stayed to watch the headliner band, The Struts.
After heading back to clean up, we took a Lyft to the Gulch, a Nashville neighborhood, to eat at Peg Leg Porker for 2nd lunch or 1st dinner…depending on how you want to look at it. Run weekend hours are weird! We enjoyed some excellent BBQ and another round of beers. From lunch, we decided to stay in the Gulch and do some brewery hopping. Our first stop was Tennessee Brew Works which had the best beer names ever! Urban Hiker, Wildwood Flower, and Hippies & Cowboys were all delicious! From there we walked about a half mile to New Heights Brewing where we shared some beer flights. This brewery was smaller and more off the beaten path, which we enjoyed. We left the Gulch for East Nashville and our final brewery stop, Crazy Gnome Brewery. True to its name…it was fully decorated with crazy gnomes! Alicia got a flight that came in a lovely mushroom holder.
After 12 hours of drinking, it was time for dinner. We ate at Butcher and Bee, a family style restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine. The food was great, but the best part was when our check arrived in an old Hardy Boys book. Flipping through the book, we saw that people added notes on the pages, so of course we added our own. Then we saw a message with a phone number and the comment “Text for a picture of my cat”. Since we were part drunk and part deliriously tired, we thought this would be a good idea (by we, we mean Alicia and Dana. Kevin did not think this was a good idea). Alicia texted from her phone. Dana was confident we would get a cute kitty picture…Kevin was sure we would be getting a picture of something a little less savory. Luckily Dana won that bet! “Meow” said the picture of the cute kitty from the random stranger. And with that we called it a night!
Sometimes when you text random numbers you find in a Hardy Boys book, you get a picture of a cat.
Day 3: Recovery Day
We slept in and ate breakfast at the hotel where we said goodbye to Kevin, who would be driving home that day. After a leisurely morning, we headed out for a little antique shopping at Marathon Village, a former auto factory built in 1881. It used to house Marathon Motor Works in the early 1900s. It was very interesting to see the original historical and architectural significance of the building preserved while also serving as a modern day shopping plaza. We perused all the different shops and left with some souvenirs for ourselves and family.
Shopping in Marathon Village, a former auto factory that has preserved the history of the building through exhibits like this one.
When we were done shopping it was time for lunch. We decided to try out the motorized scooters Kevin had been riding around town. Like so many of our misadventures, this did not turn out so well. Dana was able to rent her Bird scooter and almost got hit by a car trying it out (ok, that may be a little over exaggerated). Alicia was not able to get enough service to download the app on her phone. Travel Tip-if you plan to make use of Bike and Scooter programs while visiting cities, make sure to download the app while connected to WiFi!
So no scooting for us. We opted to walk instead (luckily, since it was a pretty sharp downhill to where we were going and we probably would have crashed) to Jack Cawthon’s Bar-B-Que for another delicious lunch. From there, we took a Lyft to the Nashville Farmers Market where we did a little more shopping and ate some famous Jeni’s ice cream. Outside the market was the Bicentennial Mall State Park. We took some time to do part of the history walk to learn a little bit more about Tennessee and then found a shady spot to relax and people watch.
Our final stop of the trip was Von Elrod’s Beer Hall and Kitchen. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a final local beer with a light dinner. All was calm and well until a scream came from Dana’s right, sending her jumping almost into Alicia’s lap! The woman who had come up next to us was yelling to get the bartender’s attention. We learned that this lady was a bar regular who was very demanding (sometimes bordering on harassing) of the bartenders and even other guests. It was very entertaining for us though! A good laugh to end the trip.
We headed back to the hotel for another early night after a weekend full of fun and early flights the next morning. Thanks for the fun times Nashville! Another Dana and Alicia Adventure, and our first Runcation, in the books. Until next time!
