Peachtree Road Race Report

At the risk of sounding like one of those runners, I have to admit that I didn't really go into today too worried about what my 10K performance was going to be. I didn't care if I PR'd, but I knew I'd run a respectable time because one of my usual routes is a hilly 6.5 on many of the same roads of the course. But I have to say that the race still isn't exactly a cakewalk, either!

For starters, it was warm. Not too warm. But it was muggy. Very muggy. My shirt was sticking to the back after just a few minutes of warming up.

Also, there are a lot of people. 57,754 finishers, to be exact. You can run your heart out on a daily basis but unless you ask your buddies on a training run to sandwich you in between their shoulders, step on your heels, and cut you off only to stop short before peeling off to a water station, nothing can really prepare you for race day conditions. I think that's part of the excitement and fun. Or torture, depending on how claustrophobic you are.

The morning started off peaceful enough. I work just blocks from the start line so I was able to sneak into the garage before they started road closures and hang out on the patio with my coffee and Clif "Z" bar while checking all the Twitter and FB updates for the race. While I did not shut my brain off in time to get more than 4 hours of sleep, I felt good having just been able to relax before the start.

Around 6:30AM I started to do a brisk walk toward the start area, where you could see runners filing in from both directions, depending on which transit station they got off at to get to the start. The funny thing about mass transit in a city that loves its cars is that you're surrounded by people who are suddenly foreigners in their own city. Everyone is turning around and doubling back to make sure they're going the right way, even though they've been there before.

A welcome site: hundreds of port-a-johns lining the road on the approach to the corrals. Very little wait and plenty of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Nothing, and I repeat nothing is worse than when you have to do your business before a race and you can't clean up properly. Nothing.

By 7:00 it was time for the first five corrals to line up and get ready for the 7:30 start. You could spot plenty of pros, but many nervous faces. Something I strangely enjoy is the nervous shifting back and forth, jumping up and down, and retying of the sneakers that we all seem to do before the gun goes off. Some of us are unified in excitement. Others, in terror.

I held my camera up over my head to get this shot. The boys behind me look thrilled.

Toward the front of the massive crowd in corral A (first of the "regular" corrals behind the seeded and subseeded runners), we stood beneath the massive flag they fly over the starting line every year. Even for someone like me, who isn't exactly the most enthusiastic patriot, I can't help but feel a strong love and appreciation for our country. Politics aside, there we were, tens of thousands of us, just looking forward to a run. We had mp3 players, sweat-wicking gear and cool sunglasses. Some of the runners were in costume. We all had something to look forward to, from the finish line and beyond. None of us have to worry about war or famine or washing and wearing just one outfit day after day after day. We are SO, SO lucky.

With that exact thought in my head, the flags went down and we were off. Bumping and nudging, hopping and darting around each other so we could each find a space to settle into our stride. It took me at least a mile, I want to say, to hit my mark and feel like I was holding my pace comfortably without stepping on someone or having another runner breathing down my neck.

The course had it's usual fun and obstacles. Depending on whether you wanted to have someone throw T-shirts, confetti or Lord knows what else on you, you had to position yourself strategically. I am not one who does this race for the freebies, so I tried to stay more toward the middle, but I still almost got trampled when I had to stop short for something like ten people cutting me off to grab t-shirts and dinner coupons!

One thing I had forgotten about this race was the fake finish line. That's right. This is a shot of runners along the last stretch of the race, about to get their photo snapped at what looks like the end, but is really about 500 yards from the actual finish. You can't really see from this picture, but they are just ecstatic about this. So was I. Hopefully, my true emotions won't actually be reflected in my race photos :-D

When I finally reached the REAL finish line, I did my best to keep moving to get around people who stopped dead in their tracks, visibly wrestling with the pros and cons of throwing up on the street as their stomachs began to heave. Not the most attractive visual of the conclusion of a race, but that's what it was. It was climbing up into the 80's with 1billion% humidity. Here are some nice post-race shots, however, away from all the vomiting.

The Finishers Field

No blood, but definitely sweat, which brought on some tears.

 I made my way quickly to the water tables and then off to the side to fumble with my belongings, trying not to drop things from my dripping fingers as sweat began to sting my eyes and blur my vision. I dropped a Nuun tab in my bottle and chugged it in about 32 seconds. I then retrieved the coveted race T-shirt, a simple, cotton T but with a design created by a local artist and then voted on by the runners. It's as big of a badge of honor as any race medal.

Following the race, getting back to wherever you start is always tricky. Peachtree Rd. remains blocked for several hours as the last runners finish and then cleanup commences. Most people follow the course back to the nearest train station, which allows for a more amusing glimpse of what we might have missed while running.

The sign behind the stage reads "Fur Bus". I did not stop to ask why. I love that the couple in front is about to make out and likely drunk at 9 in the morning.

The whole time, I had a vague idea of my time and pace, but didn't fret much over finding out how I did, since I already suspected I ran better than last year. My stopwatch didn't start even though I thought I hit the button, and I knew my chip time was close to the clock time, which I was happy enough with. Having started my day with just the Clif bar plus a handful of Cheerios, my thoughts shifted to other priorities.

Fortunately, the hubby thought I ran hard enough, regardless of time, to warrant treats for both of us.

Poor kid was forced to eat pizza, too. Just because Mommy ran - it's a rough life.

While stuffing my face I could no longer resist the urge to check online to see if official race times had been posted. Upon finally viewing my chip time, you bet I poured myself a little bit more of that beer.

7:16min/mile pace? What???

Time to start training to try to get into the sub-seeded group!

Hope you all have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Peachtree Road Race Expo

The 10K is one of those tricky distances that is just on the verge of what I can run full-out. I'd like to say I've done plenty of hot-weather running to get ready for this particular run, but my 6-miler last week was just TOO hot to do anything close to my usual pace. Since this is the only race I've run at this specific distance and it's with 55,000 other people, I'm really not looking for a PR. It's really just about getting to run in such an energetic crowd, suffering in the sweltering humidity together.

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Race Day Forcast:

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Not too shabby, considering the triple digits we saw this weekend. I don't think we'll have to worry about storms until later in the day, which will suck for fireworks but won't bother me so long as I can run without getting struck by lightning!

The fun and somewhat ironic thing about this race is that it's so huge - it boasts being the largest 10K in the world - that you'll spend far more time at the Health and Fitness Expo than actually running the race itself.

So many runners participate in this event that ALL of the big vendors are there with freebies and great discounts, and you have two full days to get there to pick up your number and check everything out. I usually go to expos with a tight clutch on my wallet, unwilling to spend money on anything except maybe if I can find a booth with a "Five for $5" goo/gel/bar sale. This time, however, I had a feeling I might go ahead and purchase one or two things for myself.

Of the free items, I snagged some "Food Should Taste Good" brand chips, mini Larabars, a single-serving of Cascadian Farms granola, a free water bottle with the purchase of two tubes of Nuun ($10 = 24 drinks = $0.42/drink, which is pretty sweet, I think), and an insulated lunch bag that used to be a water bottle.

Other than the Nuun, I did spend money on just one more thing...

Come to me, my pretties!

Yes, I finally, finally, finally have my Wave Rider 15's!

I have been perpetually putting off the purchase (say that five times fast) until today, when I saw them on a sale table, practically lit from the heavens above, and possibly with a choir of angels hiding underneath the tablecloth beckoning to me. A vendor was selling used shoes - shoes that were worn once by the buyers and then returned because of ill fit or the wrong size. The only way you could tell these shoes had been worn at all was by seeing the evidence of a little dirt or grit from the pavement on the bottoms of the soles. And honestly, I feel awkward in sneakers when they're pristine, just-out-of-the-box white, so their "used" status would not bother me at all.

And they were $50.00.

That's right, $50.00!

I win at being a cheap-a$$ :-D

Which races do you think have the best expos?

Are you running the Peachtree or have you in the past? This is my second, and I hope to become a PTRR streaker.

Have you ever scored a wicked deal on running or fitness apparel? Where?

Three Things Thursday

1. Miles

I have only clocked 15 of my 100 miles, but I'm slowly making my way there. The weather has been a little whacky lately -  45° and raining one day, 75° the next - just in time for me to have committed to trying to log all of my foot miles outdoors. Aside from risking ruining my phone (which has the Strava app) in a surprise deluge, I'm glad the 100-mile challenge is forcing me outside. I'm pretty happy to run just about anywhere, so treadmill miles don't bother me at all, but for this month's miles to "count" they have to be measured via GPS and uploaded to my online profile. Unless I want to run nowhere for 45 minutes, I have to get outside rain, wind or shine. This means getting back to running with my daughter a bit more which has actually been quite fun. Don't get me wrong, she's the best kid ever, I just haven't always looked forward to pushing her chunky toddler butt up hills. As far as how she handles being strapped into the stroller; as long as there's a fun destination or nice scenery, she's a great running partner. The runs are tougher, sure, but it's also nice to relax and back off the pace so that I can chat with her and answer all of her questions about the world around us.

2. Mindfullness



My biggest pet peeve this week is stupid questions. Despite what your benevolent 2nd-grade teacher told you, some questions ARE stupid. When asked, certain questions don't just reflect a lack of knowledge, they indicate that no thoughts are processed before the speaker's mouth has opened. Here are a few:

• "Did you do/take care of ___? Are you sure?" asked in a accusing manner, to make the person in question feel as though her answer won't be trusted, anyway. In a situation such as, say, working in a restaurant, accusatory-sounding questions like this one are especially unappreciated by me because it feels like an assumption has been made that I won't do what I'm supposed to unless there's someone tailing me going "Are you gonna do this? You got that? What about this over here?"
• Any question about a food's origin beyond the state and farming method. I get that you want to know your filet was once a happy cow, roaming free in the North Georgia mountains before he was electrocuted. But I don't know his name or where his favorite patch of grass was. There's no such thing as a conscious carnivore, although many will continue to try as if caring deeply about the animal on their plate makes it any less medium-rare.
• People who ask my child if she wants something right in front of me before asking me first. This is usually only an issue in grocery stores that give stuff away, and while I'm not a strict mom who never lets her kid have any fun ever, I'd appreciate you clearing it with me before you try to give her a cookie/balloon/crack-on-a-stick (lollipop).

3. A Massive 10K

The lottery opened today for biggest 10K in the country so I'm crossing my fingers that I get in again! The race takes place on the Fourth of July and it's massive. I've never run shoulder-to-shoulder and heel-to-toe like that before but I'm looking forward to hopefully doing it again and improving my time. My first attempt was definitely not the fastest I've ever run 6.2 miles but heat and humidity are definitely a factor. Being quick enough to be in the first start wave is a huge advantage, as there is still shade and just a hint of a breeze between the buildings in Midtown, but regardless of what you do you'll still be sweating before you pass the first mile marker. Fortunately, the weather is warming up just in time to start getting used to runs in the heat. I ran 6 miles with the Little Miss in her jogging stroller and was dripping buckets thanks to some post-storm humidity. Time to acclimate!

If you had to pick an extreme, would you rather run really hot or really cold?

Been asked any stupid questions lately?