2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race Recap

It's hard to believe this race came and went. It was only a few months ago that I was registering for this race.

A few days leading up to the race they were predicting rain. Running in the rain isn't my favorite, but after doing a half marathon in the rain I knew that this wasn't going to be a problem.

Race morning arrives. I parked about a mile from the start. I used that little walk as a warm up. Last year I ran a slow mile but since the sidewalk was missing in some areas I didn't want to risk rolling my ankle before the race,

The rain was holding for the most part. It was sprinkling here and there but nothing too crazy. I was set to start at 7:41 AM.

We started right on time. Since the roads were very wet, I decided just to take it easy. I have PR'd before on this course but knew that this wasn't going to happen. I didn't want to risk getting hurt.

Mile 1-3 had gone by quickly and before I knew it was climbing the crazy hill by Shepherd's Center. Even with the rain the patients were still out there cheering us on.

Around mile 4 is when I saw a streak of lightning in front of me followed by some thunder. Not what I wanted.

After that, the flags went from yellow to red.

Sometime after the first streak is when I saw lightning again. I am pretty sure this is the one that probably delayed the start of the waves behind me. I knew I was almost finished and that Mother Nature wasn't going to stop me from finishing.

I decided to speed up. Mile 5 came and went, and now I was turning on to 10th street. Past the marathon foto guys at the fake finish line.

Just a bit more to go.

And finished. Peachtree Road Race #11 in the books.

I grabbed my water and shirt. Got a cold rag and a dry one (to dry off my hands so I could use my phone). I had a few friends from the Suwanee Big Peach Running group running, so I went over to the meeting place to see them.

Some of the Suwanee BP Runners

My weekend running family.

Paula and I showing off our INKnBURN

Kimmie, myself, Paula, and Michael

After getting photos, we decided to head over to the ATC tent at Park Tavern to see what was going on. Ended up with some awesome coffee mugs.

As much as I wanted to hang out and see my Mom finish her 10th Peachtree, I couldn't. I was cold. I had no dry clothes with me. I sent her a text telling her to head to Marta and that I would pick her up at the station.

Paula, Kimmie, and Michael all went back to their hotel to freshen up before heading to lunch at Uncle Julio's for some much-needed food.

This  Peachtree was a fun one. One I won't forget. I will be back next year to run my 12th. I am determined to make it to 20 without missing a year.

2015 GA Publix Half Recap

Second half marathon of 2015. I've been excited about this since registration in 2014.

Flat Ramona ready for the Publix Half.

They started predicting rain a few days before the race. I was hoping it wouldn't do anything until after, but, unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.

I got to the race 45 minutes before the start. Spent that time getting my headphones, phone, and gels ready to put in my FlipBelt.

A friend found me about 15 minutes before the started and handed me a trash bag to use while waiting in my corral. Thank goodness for that. Kept me dry until it was time to start.

Even though I am not a fan of running in the rain, it felt fantastic out there. The first half of the race went by pretty quick. It wasn't  raining so that helped. I did have to keep my eye on the puddles in Atlanta since I didn't want to get my feet drenched before I was even half-way through.

The crowd support was incredible despite the weather. So thankful for that.

Before I knew it, I was more than half way. The rain started to pick up a little bit around Piedmont Park but wasn't enough to slow me down. I kept gone going.

Between GT and Centennial Park, I was getting tired. I knew I wasn't going to PR. So I told my myself to push for a course PR. I did just that. I finished with a time of 2:05. Course PR. Last year's time was 2:09.