Peachtree Road Race is Here!!

Tomorrow is the Peachtree Road Race. 60,000 people will make their way down Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park to earn that famous t-shirt.

I am excited to run my 12th. It is the one race I look forward to each year.

If you are running it tomorrow, make sure you stay well hydrated today. Tomorrow is suppose to be one hot, humid one.

2015 GA Publix Half Recap - It finally happened...

So yesterday was the GA Publix Half Marathon, the weather was perfect minus the crazy wind at times which made things seem colder.

Flat Ramona ready to run the hills of Atlanta

I was anxious to get started or maybe I was just ready to start moving to get warm. Either way, I was ready. Even though the course is a challenge, it is still one of my favorites courses out there. A lot of it may have to do with the scenery and the spectators that come out and cheer us all on.

Before the race I met up with some fellow INKnBURN people for a group photo before heading to our corrals. 

The race started on time. Since I was in B, it didn't seem to take long before we were at the start line waiting for our start.

And we're off...

The first half of the race seemed to go by quickly for me. I was feeling great. My legs were happy (which is a plus seeing how I don't run a lot of hills in training).

The second half of the race I knew was going to be a challenge. The hill coming out of Piedmont Park is always a struggle as well as the last hill over by GT.

The last 3 miles of the race turned into a mental game for me. I knew what to expect. I knew to stay on track for a PR; I needed to time my short walk breaks and push through the tough hills.

Soon we were at Georgia Tech. I hate the hills over there. The very last big hill we have is about as bad as the 10th Street hill, if not worse.

I pushed myself up that hill. And now for the home stretch. Longest mile ever. I knew I needed to hold on. I kept telling myself I was only out for a quick run.

Finally, I see the brown building. I knew I was almost there. I kept looking at my watch. I was close oh so very close. I heard the announcer saying you have 20 seconds to sub-2 to the people already sprinting in. 

I turn the corner. I look up and see the clock 2:00:42. I take off. Where that energy from, I have no idea but I just I knew that I had PR'd, but I also knew I had just done something I said I couldn't do on that course. I finally did a sub-2 half marathon!!!

Celebrating as I make my way to finish line!

Official time: 1:57:42

2016 Peachtree Road Race Lottery - OPEN

Today is the day to enter the lottery for the Peachtree Road Race here in Atlanta that takes place on July 4th. It is by far one of my favorite races of all time and holds a special in my heart.

If you are looking to getaway for the 4th of July and want to race as well, why not consider entering the lottery for the Peachtree Road Race? You will not be disappointed, I promise. And if you are local and never ran the race or maybe you have, what are you waiting for....register!!!

I am signed up and excited to run my 12th (yep, 12th straight) Peachtree Road Race. Like I said before it is my favorite and holds a special place in my heart. 

Registration for the Peachtree is open from March 15th to the 22nd. Don't delay, register today!!!

June

Where did this month go? It just seems like yesterday it was June 1st. Holy cow.

In 4 days, I will be running down Peachtree with 59,999 over runners. I can't wait. But am I ready? I sure hope so. I haven't trained like I normally do for this race. I have been doing little to no miles during the week and long runs on the weekend. I don't even need to do the long runs, but I want to keep my fitness up there so I can sign up and run a half marathon at any time. Makes sense, right?

Whether I am ready or not, I know I will have a blast running the Peachtree Road Race. I am also excited to see my Mom finish her 10th one. Crazy to think she started this a year after I did. She loves it though, and I am happy to see her doing it. Walking or running, she is out there getting exercise and having fun.

Tomorrow, my GA Publix recap goes live. I will be working on finishing up the Princess recap as soon as I can. I know, I know, a few months late. I promise I will get it up. It may be a bunch of pictures, but it's better than nothing, right?

2014 AJC Peachtree Road Race Recap

I am just now getting to this one. Better late than never, right?

This Peachtree was a special one for me. It was my 10th time running it without missing a year. I had been looking forward to it since last years race.

After a humid first half of the week, I was worried that race day was going to be bad. Luckily, it wasn't. I wouldn't say it was perfect running weather but it's darn close to it especially for a July race.

Since this my 10th race, Mike decided he was going to come to the race and be at the finish line waiting for me.

Flat Ramona is ready to rock the Peachtree Road Race

The race day started pretty early for us. Met Kat and Eric at one of the Marta stations so we could get a mile warm up in before running 6.2 miles down Peachtree Street.

After our quick mile jog down to the corrals, we stopped for a picture before we each went our separate ways until after the race.

Before I knew it, I was slowly making my way to the start line where I would be starting my 10th PRR.

I was so excited to get started. This is one of my favorite races to do even though I am not  racing anyone except for myself.

This particular race goes by fast for me. The crowd support is amazing. One of the best out there.

Running down 10 street almost to the finish line.

After the race, I met up with some of my running friends from the Suwanee Big Peach Running group for a quick photo.

Then I met up with Jen and Brandi for a quick photo and since I had not received my medal yet,  Jen was kind enough to let me get a photo with it on.

Here is the finisher's shirt that every participate receives. I love not knowing what design won until I open up my race bag and see the shirt after the race.

Here's a close up of the commemorative medal that you can order or buy at the expo.

Peachtree Road Race #11 will be here before I know. I am excited to run it again this year. I'll also get to see my Mom finish her 10th.

2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race Lottery Open

The AJC Peachtree Road Race lottery is officially open. If you are interested in running in the largest 10K in the world (yes I said that right) then go here.

Now that registration is officially underway they revealed the five t-shirts that we get to vote on. Here they are:

Thanks, AJC Peachtree Road Race facebook page for the picture.

I am not a fan of two of them (the Seal and Diagonal Lines). The more I keep looking at the designs, the more I like Americana and Freedom Runner. Vintage is fine too just not one of my favorites. Which one or ones do you like?

To go and vote click here. 

I can't wait until July 4th to see which one is chosen! 

2015 Peachtree Road Race Registration

The 2015 Peachtree Road Race registration starts this weekend for the ATC members. Hard to believe it's already time to do that. I will be running my 11th straight race. I thought about not running it, but I want to be there to see my Mom finish her 10th. And to think I was the one who got her to do this race each year and she has stuck with it. :)


If you aren't a member of the ATC and want to run the race on July 4th, the lottery will open March 15th and close March 22nd at 11:59 PM.

2014 Atlanta 10 Miler Recap

After the Michelob 13.1, I decided I would sign up for the Atlanta 10 Miler. I wanted to run it last year, but had already made plans to spectate the Atlanta Halloween Half.

October 26th came before I knew it. I thought I was prepared for it especially after running 8 miles the weekend before, but on my last run before the race I noticed some pain in my IT Band.

Because of my injury, I went into the race with a game plan. If I felt any discomfort or pain, I would stop and walk some.

The race started at 7:40 (10 minutes after it was suppose to because of a car accident on the major highway near by).

Miles 1-6 were rolling hills. Some worse than others.

At mile 7, we turned onto Peachtree St to enter into the Mizuno Cardiac Hill Challenge. If you aren't familiar with Cardiac Hill, its a gradual hill that takes place south of Piedmont Hospital and the Shepherd Center. Unfortunately for us this challenge took place a little further down the road from Cardiac Hill. I guess they wanted it to last a full mile. Not sure but the first hill was definitely not Cardiac Hill. We finally finished the challenge at mile 8. Only 2 miles to go!

The last two miles went by fast and before I knew it I was crossing the finish line. I didn't run as fast as I would have liked, but I can't complain too much about the time.

Official time : 1:37:15

Slacker

I noticed today that I have been slacking on recaps. My most recent one is done I just need to add some photos. The other two...well, I really don't remember the races, but I will try my best. I am hoping in 2015 I won't be so busy that I can blog about my running.

Here's a little update on myself...

I am currently done running my big races for 2014. I may even be done racing for the year. Not sure yet. I did do a lot this year. I really challenged my body more than I had planned on doing.

I am hoping to take it easy next year. I do have two half marathons scheduled earlier in the year, but after that...I may just stick to running when I feel like it. Let's face it...I miss loving to run. Yes, training for races gets me out the door, but it also seems like a job at times. I am constantly having to plan stuff around my training or races. Plus it expensive. I would like to try and save some next year. Fingers crossed I can do just that.

So what's on your running schedule for the rest of 2014?

June: Last Month of PRR Training 2014

Holy cow! It's the last month of training for the Peachtree Road Race. Hard to believe I am so close to running my favorite 10K!! :)

Here is the June schedule:

4 miles - June 3rd

6 miles - June 5th

2 miles - June 7th or 8th

5 miles - June 10th

3 miles - June 12th

3 miles - June 14th or 15th

2 miles -  June 17th

5 miles - June 19th

10K Race - Possum Trot - June 21st

3 miles - June 24th

4 miles - June 26th

5 miles - June 28th or 29th

3 miles - July 1st

2 miles - July 2nd (Last Day of Training for the Peachtree Race!!)

Back to Running

Quick update:


Decided on Thursday that I was going to go for a 3 mile run with my local running group. It was a slow run for me, but my foot/toe felt great. I am so happy I have finally healed.  Hoping this never happens again. :)

Back to training for the Peachtree Road Race!

May: Second Month of PRR Training 2014

Thankfully no half marathons during this month to mess up my schedule.  :) Fingers crossed that I stay injury free this month as well.

Hard to believe it's May. This year is FLYING by. Slow down please!!

Here's the schedule so far for May:

2 miles - May 2nd

2 miles - May 4th

5 miles - May 6th

6 miles - May 8th

3 miles - May 10th or 11th

2 miles - May 13th

3 miles - May 15th

3 miles - May 17th or 18th

6 miles - May 20th

7 miles - May 22nd

6 miles - May 24th or 25th

4 miles - May 27th

3 miles - May 29th

3 miles - May 31st

April: First Month of PRR Training 2014

This month is kind of crazy since I have a half marathon on the 19th. I am probably going to take a week off after the half but since I am still not sure I will list what I am suppose to do just in case I want to get out there for some slow recovery runs.

Here is my training runs for April:

2 miles - April 9th

3 miles -April 11th

5 miles - April 13th or 14th

2 miles - April 15th

2 miles - April 17th

Half Marathon - April 19th

4 miles - April 23rd

5 miles - April 25th

3 miles - April 27th or 28th

4 miles - April 30th

ATC 2014 Resolution Run 5K Recap

I decided I was going to start 2014 off right by signing up for the Atlanta Track Club's Resolution Run 5K in Kennesaw, GA. It was even better because some of my running friends were doing it as well. :)

New Years Day started at 7:30 AM for me. I got up and through on my winter running gear. I was REALLY excited about running a race in my new shoes (don't worry it wasn't my first time running in them).

As soon as I got to the place the race site, I ran over to get my shirt and bib. I even got an extra shirt for entering a special code at the time of registration.

Shirt I got for entering a code at the time of registration.

After running back to my car to drop my shirts off, I met up with Jen, Katie, Brandi, and her Mom, Karen.

Katie, Brandi, and Karen were doing the 10K while Jen and I were doing the 5K. We all hung out around chatting before it was time for the 5Kers to start.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this race. I knew I wasn't going to try to PR on this course. I was aiming at finishing and having a good time.

The course was fine. Some hills, but nothing I couldn't handle. I have definitely had worse. I was happy to see the turn around and shortly after the final turn to the finish line. (I was so very happy I chose to do the 5K)

I knew I was making good time and my pace was a lot faster than I was expecting it to be. But I knew I wasn't going to PR and again I was cool with it because I wasn't trying to do that.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 26:14.

Not a bad time to start the new year with. I can only hope to do better than that in my upcoming 5Ks.

Once Jen finished we hung around the finish line to wait on Katie, Brandi, and Karen to finish the 10K.

While we were waiting, my Mom calls me up to tell me I had placed 2nd in my age group. I didn't believe her seeing how I never place in a track club event because of the competitive team that usually runs. Jen said  I had a funny look on my face when I was finding out the news.

Here's a picture of my little medal. :)

Once Katie, Brandi, and Karen finished we congratulated each other on a job well done and then took a group photo. 

Since Jill had to work at the time of the race, we planned to meet up afterwards for some brunch. After we took some photos we all headed to J Christopher's for some food.

Finisher's shirt.

Half Marathon Training: Week 1

Since I was on a mission to hit 600 miles before the end of 2013, I knew I needed to work on my mileage and quick. So for the last 2.5 weeks I have been working my butt off with running just so I could reach my goal. I finally did it on the 30th when I went for my last short run before the end of 2013. :)

Now that I had reached that goal, I could officially begin training for my second half marathon.

Sunday (12/29) - I got up and went on a 4 mile run on the treadmill. I don't really remember what the weather was like on this day, but I obviously had my reasons as to why I was running indoors instead of outside.

Monday (12/30) - Quick 2 mile run in the neighborhood to reach my 600 miles in 2013.

Tuesday - Off day since I was running a 5K on the New Years Day.

Wednesday - 5K run at the ATC Resolution Run. Placed 2nd in my age group with a time of 26:14. Not a bad way to start the new year.

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - I was going to go for a 3 or 4 mile run, but I woke up really sick so I had to cancel all plans and pray I would get over this crap fast.

Saturday - Still sick. Slept.... A LOT.

Atlanta Women's 5k Canceled

This morning I was suppose to run in the Atlanta Women's 5k. When we got there it was barely raining, but after I got my number the rain got harder and then came the thunder and lightning. They told us to go to our cars and follow their FB or Twitter. Unfortunately the storm didn't let up and they had to call the race. I was super bummed. I was excited to run this course for the 3rd time and to also calm that 16th 5k. I was also going to meet up with some Twitter friends. Maybe at another race?

So since I was starving I headed off to Chick-fil-a to get some breakfast. I also decided that I was going to run that 5k at the gym on the TM.

I set no PR on the TM, but I did have a great run. I also beat my time from Sundays run. :)

Distance: 3.1 miles

Time: 26:40

Pace: 8'35"

I'd say that wasn't too bad on the TM. I do wonder what it would have been if I had actually ran the race course.

My next race isn't until April 27th. :( Maybe I can find another race to try and run before then.

The bib I should have gotten to wear today at Candler Park

Atlanta Women's 5k 2013

The Atlanta Women's 5k run will take place on March 23rd, 2013 at Candler Park. I have to say this place is absolutely beautiful. (Probably why I keep doing the race?)

This will be my 3rd year doing this run. There is nothing like a friendly competition with other ladies instead of having to compete with the guys. One of the best things about the race is receiving a lovely flower at the end of the race. Added this year we will get a smart glass necklace (a $60 value). How cool is that? I am pretty excited to get a new tech shirt, flower, and smart glass necklace this year.

If any ladies are interested go to http://www.atlantatrackclub.org/events/view/2013-atlanta-womens-5k and register.

You definitely won't be disappointed...promise!

Hearts and Soles 5k Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the Hearts and Soles 5k that I participated in February 9th...

Waiting to start

Getting my Nike+ ready to go...

Almost to the start line..

First 2 guys to cross the finish line

Here I come... 27:54