2015 Peach Jam Half Recap

I am starting to wonder if I should stop running half marathons in April because it always seems to rain the days leading up to it. Like last year, we had to worry about rain the day of the race. Luckily, the rain stopped the night before.

The race took place on the Big Creek Greenway out in Cumming, GA. It started and finished at Fowler Park.

The race started at 7:30 sharp. We took off from the parking lot making our way down to the greenway.

It was bit congested until about mile one then it started to thin out.

We had a few puddles and one big one that I remember from last year. I decided I  didn't want to run through it quite yet, so I decided to slow down and tip toe quickly through the mud.

With this race, you don't have that crowd support so it's  a mental game out there. Once we were coming up on the turnaround, I saw a friend from the local running group. She took my picture and cheered me on.

Three miles down. I was thinking to myself, "Why am I doing this again??". I kept pushing through.

Another than the mental game, I was feeling pretty good with the run. I was keeping my pace constant.

Around mile 8, I started chatting with another runner who was running her first half.

We ended up staying together for the rest of the race. She thanked me for pacing her and keeping her motivated to keep going. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

I didn't PR this time around, but it's okay. I got to help pace someone cross the finish line of their first half.

Oh and the most important thing of all and why I ended up signing up for this race......

2015 GA Peach Jam Half

So a couple of weeks ago, I may or not have signed up for my 8th half marathon. This will be my third half marathon in three months which will qualify me for half fanatics. I never cared to be in it, but now that I am so close to it...why not?

The Peach Jam takes place on the Big Creek Greenway in Cumming, GA. I ran it last year and even with the crappy weather I still managed to PR. I am hoping that I can beat that time and also possibly sub-2 on that course this year. Fingers crossed for excellent weather and speedy legs/feet. I am going to need it for this flat half. :)

2014 Dirty Spokes: Georgia Peach Jam Half Marathon Recap

This half took place over on the Big Creek Greenway over in Cumming, GA on April 19th.

Back in February I was going back and forth with myself if I was going to do this half or not. It would be almost a month after doing the Georgia Publix Half so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about training too much. So during the last of the snow storm I decided I was going to bite the bullet and sign up.

The course is flat with a few little inclines but nothing too crazy. Very manageable.

Race week rolls around and I immediately start checking out the weather. We had been having some warmer days but since Georgia does have bi-polar weather I just wanted to be prepared for anything. Of course, the forecast was calling for rain. That wasn't the big issue. The issue was the greenway. Most of the time when it rains A LOT the greenways here in Georgia tend to flood since they are usually near creeks.

Friday rolled around and the race was still on even though the rain was coming down. I knew no matter what I was going to get soaked and have some mud on me.

So I laid out my outfit for the next day really hoping that it would stop raining so we could get this half marathon over with.

Woke up bright and early race day to make sure I got there in time to get my number, shirt, and to get ready mentally for the half.

It was still raining some but not crazy. Only thing we were going to have to worry about were the slippery boardwalks (which I didn't find to be very slippery) and the mud/puddles.

After getting my number and shirt, I found Brandi. She and I walked around for a bit until Jen got there then it was time for us to line up and get ready for the half.

We kind of all started around the same area. I am normally more up in the front of the pack, but seeing how this was going to be a slippery/muddy race I had planned on just taking it easy and having fun.

I started off a bit slow but that was the plan. I took it easy until most of the crowd thinned out.

The course wasn't bad at all as far as water goes except for one area that had a few puddles. I somehow managed not to get muddy on the first time through but on my way back I had no choice but to go through some of the mud. 

I was feeling pretty good about myself all the way through the race. I only started getting tired around mile 10 so that's when I decided I would go ahead and eat some jelly beans.

Before I knew it I was making my way up a small hill before turning onto the track to do my last little bit of the half.

When I saw the race clock I knew I was going to PR. I was really hoping I could have finished under an two hours, but I will take what I can.

Official time: 2:03. I took 4 minutes off my first half marathon time. :)

Once I got my medal I was able to see the damage of what I went through on the course. 

After we had all finished the half marathon we got a group photo before taking off to Dutch Monkey to get some yummy doughnuts.

Finisher's shirt. :) We decided the logo kind of looked like the Crush Orange Soda logo. What do you think?

Cute little 13.1 sticker they gave us. I added the "finisher" part.

Yummy doughnuts after running 13.1. :)