Publix Georgia Half Marathon Recap

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen me drop the words "surgery" in a few of my posts.  It's not something that I announced publicly nor was it planned, but it kept me from running and working out for 4 weeks.  Actually, the first thing I asked my doctor when he said I'd have to have the surgery was "Can I run a half marathon on March 20th?"  He said yes, but I wouldn't be able to train for it.  Luckily, I was able to get one Orangetheory workout in before the race, but other than that, I was going in under trained (which I don't necessarily recommend!)

My friend, Stephanie, was going to run with me to keep me company, but she ended up getting super sick the week before and still wasn't feeling up to it that weekend...I missed her but glad she made the decision to take care of herself.  Thankfully she's feeling better now and we plan to sign up for another race to run together soon!

For the first time in 3 months, I laid out my traditional "Flat Jen" and tried to get mentally prepared to run my 15th half marathon.

My alarm went off at 4 am and I very slowly got up and began to get ready.  For only getting about 5 hours of sleep I felt pretty good (nothing like remembering your black sports bra is dirty the night before and staying up to get it washed and dried).  I chose to ride MARTA down because the last thing I wanted to do was stress over finding somewhere to park.  I ran into one of my fellow OTF members so we chatted on our way to the race.

We arrived at Centennial Olympic Park a little before 6 and it was still fairly empty, so we wandered around for a bit.  We eventually made our way over to meet up with some friends and fellow INKnBURN ambassadors for a pre-race photo.

Photo credit: Jill (@mrscrashmattb)

I made the mistake of waiting a little too long to check my bag, so I was a bit rushed, but I made it to my corral with plenty of time to snap a few pictures

Before I knew it, we were off!  I realized the night before that my interval timer was dead, so I was going to run this race simply by how I felt....I ran when I wanted to, and I walked when I felt like it.  

If you've never run this race, it really is a great course.  You run through so many great areas of downtown Atlanta...Georgia State, the MLK center, Old 4th Ward, Little 5 Points, Piedmont Park, Georgia Tech....and the course support is amazing.  I think my favorite groups were in the Old 4th Ward and the Phidippides group...their enthusiasm gave me a great boost of energy as I ran by them.

The past 4 weeks I had not only been recovering physically, but also emotionally.  My goal for this race was simple....to finish.  I just took my time and enjoyed being able to run again. 

If you're a fan of "The Walking Dead", these next couple of pictures should look familiar to you.  It's definitely a popular photo op for runners on the course...and with the sunrise being reflected on the buildings, it's definitely not to be missed.

We then run up into Little 5 Points, a very eclectic and vibrant area of Atlanta.  I'd love to spend more time down here...and I'm still waiting on hubby to take me to eat at the Vortex, but on race day, a photo stop would have to do.

They had a couple of "food stops" along the course...for the half marathon we had two - jelly beans and oranges.  Can you say "yum"??  The jelly beans were a nice change from my usual Huma Gel...it gave me a sweet little sugar rush.

Piedmont Park is also a fun area to run through...the Jeff Galloway 13.1 race group (thanks for the Coca-Cola!) as well as Phidippides was here to greet the half and full marathon runners into the park.  As soon as your exit, you're greeted by a nice, big HILL!  Hey...it's Atlanta...you're bound to eat some hills for breakfast, right?

The last big area you run through is Georgia Tech...and since I'm a UGA girl all the way (Go Dawgs!) I've started to make this a yearly photo stop -

I gotta hand it to the Techies though...they do a great food and water stop!  The music and cheering is always welcome, especially when you're about 2 miles away from the finish!  

I was actually making decent time...much better than I thought I was going to do...and I still felt really good, so in that last mile I pushed myself a little more.  When you make that last turn and you see and hear the spectators cheering, it almost carries you to the finish line (thanks for the shout out to me from Annabel!).

When I looked at my Garmin I was pleasantly surprised...I got a 7 minute course PR!  With my only goal being to finish the race, seeing that I shaved time off of this course time with very little training made me pretty proud of myself.  I received my medal, grabbed a recovery jacket, chugged down a chocolate milk, and headed to gear check to grab some warm clothes...it was a pretty breezy race!

Most of my friends finished before me and headed home (I don't blame them...it was chilly!) so I headed back to MARTA.  As I sat on the train I reflected on my race - not being able to train, still performing well, and finishing with a smile on my face made me extremely proud of myself.  There were a couple of moments during the race where I almost had a breakdown, but i kept looking at my bracelet...Never Give Up...and I took a deep breath and kept moving.  I credit a lot of it to my workouts over the past year at Orangetheory Fitness...they've really helped my endurance during runs.  I'm very happy that I can get back into the gym more as well as pounding some pavement to prepare for my next race!

After a shower and nap, we met some friends for dinner...I thoroughly enjoyed my Pimiento BLT sandwich and fries from the Village Tavern, and then a Snickers milkshake from Cookout!

A big thanks to the Atlanta Track Club, Publix and the other sponsors, and the amazing volunteers and course support groups!  You guys are what makes this race possible as well as makes me want to run it again each year.  I hope to be back in 2017!

Until next time,

2015 Peachtree Road Race recap

Exactly one month ago today I was running down Peachtree Street with 54843 of my closest friends.  This race is one that I think everyone should do at least once.  The atmosphere is simply amazing, and what better way to kick off your holiday than to run (or walk!) a race?

I had been stalking the weather for about a week and knew the chance for rain was pretty high.  After running Wine and Dine (aka "Splash and Dash") last November I was at least prepared with what to do.

I didn't go to the expo but my friend, Ramona, was kind enough to pick up my race packet for me :) 

The night before was a perfect evening.  The hubby, Guinness, and I walked up the road to watch the fireworks the city was shooting off at the fairgrounds.  It was nice not to have to worry about traffic and crowds of people.

We got home and I did my usual pre-race tradition of laying out "Flat Jen" - I absolutely love my new InknBurn Patriotic tank!

 

I also collected a towel, change of clothes, and my Oofos to throw in my car since it was pretty evident that I would be soaking wet after the race.  The next morning I overslept a bit, but nothing too bad.  It actually worked out to my advantage!  The drive to MARTA was quick and easy and I jumped right onto a train.  As I walked to the starting line I was just in time to see the elite athletes participating in the Peachtree Cut to start the race!

About 10 minutes later I made it to my corral.  I kind of hung out and then slowly made my way into the crowd, where I ran into my friend, Zoila.  We chatted and decided that we just wanted to have fun and enjoy the race, so we ran together.  It was good to catch up with her as we hadn't seen each other in quite some time!

Finally our corral made it to the start line.  Due to the rain, they had taken down the huge American flag that usually hangs down over the runners.  Just as we were crossing the start line, a HUGE bolt of lightning struck and everyone simultaneously gasped.  They delayed the race as our corral went off, but we just missed getting pulled off the course (we didn't see anymore lightning after the first strike).

Despite the weather, there were TONS of spectators out, cheering and having a great time with the runners.  One of my favorite spots on the course is by the Catholic church.  The priest stands in the road and throws holy water on the runners.  Even though we were soaked from head to toe by the rains from the heavens, we managed to get some of his water on us as well.

I didn't take any pictures during the race as I didn't want to chance damaging my new phone (again...long story).  We had a great time, despite the rain...it definitely didn't dampen our spirits.

Once we crossed the finish line and received our coveted t-shirt, we went our separate ways.  I headed over to the Atlanta Track Club members only area at the Park Tavern to find a dry place to text the hubby and let him know that I was done and to snap a post-race photo...still smiling!

 

Soon after I headed back to MARTA...most of my friends had either left or I couldn't get in touch with them, so I decided to leave.  At least I was able to grab a seat on the train and chill out on the way back to where I parked.  Before heading home, I made a pit stop -

Yay for a free Starbucks reward coffee!  It was much needed as I was chilled to the bone!

Even though it rained the whole race I still had a fantastic time.  You have to make the best out of a situation that's out of your hands, and we definitely made lemonade outta lemons for this race.  :)  I'm ready to run it again next year and continue the tradition!  Absolutely loved the race shirt design this year, too!

You may have noticed a small addition to my bib - a 4-H clover.  I have a very dear friend, Dr. Bo, who had run the past 25 Peachtree Road Races, but had to miss this year due to going through cancer treatments.  I have known him for years as he was the State 4-H leader here in Georgia when I was growing up.  We reconnected at a race back in 2012 and I currently serve on the Georgia Master 4-H Board with him.  When I learned that he would not be able to run this year, I knew I had to run "for" him.  So I came up with the idea of the 4-H clover and wrote this on my hand -

 

It's a little smudged from the rain but it says "#Run3rd Dr. Bo".  He is a very inspirational man, and I was happy to do this for him.  I happened to see him the following week and he told what I did touched his heart..  I am happy to say that his latest tests show no signs of cancer!!

If you are unfamiliar with #Run3rd, it started as a Twitter campaign by actor Sean Astin, who is a long distance runner himself.  The meaning behind #Run3rd is that I first run for myself, second for my family, and third for you.  Members of the #Run3rd campaign often dedicate their runs to friends, family, and complete strangers.  If you want to find out more, check out their blog here.

Is there a race that is a tradition for you to run?