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.

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!!!

2015 Michelob 13.1 Atlanta Recap

In July at the Peachtree Road Race Expo, I decided I was going to run the Michelob 13.1 on Oct 4th. I did the Publix Half in March, so I would be getting the Atl Challenge medal as well as the half medal.

A few days leading up to the race, we had some crazy rain that caused them to change the race course. Since I had never actually ran in that area, I  didn't know what to expect even with the last minute changes. I just knew it would be hilly.

Race start promptly at 7 AM. We had a threat of rain, but luckily, it only sprinkled on us, which was refreshing.

The first few miles weren't too bad. We had a few rolling hills. But, those didn't last long. It seemed like the hills were getting longer each time we had a new one to go up. Or maybe it was just how I felt. Either way, I was about ready to be done around mile 8. Because of the course change, we had to loop back to parts of the course that we ran in the first half of the race. That was okay, and all, but the hill around mile 11 took all I had left.

I was trying to stay ahead of the 2:10 pacer, but as soon as she passed me, I knew I wasn't even going to try to catch up.

We had a little uphill finish. I will admit, I walked some of it. Once I could see the finish line, I started running. By the look on my face in my finisher photo, I was glad to be done.

I have said I won't be running this race again next year. I see no point. I hated that course with a passion. I may consider volunteering for it, but I won't be running it.

One of my main complaints was the lack of water. I later found out because of the rain that was being brought in from the hurricane a lot of stuff wasn't able to get here in time. I normally run with a water bottle but decided not to this race. Next time I ever have any doubt, I will just bring it.

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.

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.

Races

What races do you have planned right now for 2015?

I'm currently registered for the Glass Slipper Challenge and the GA Publix Half. I am looking at doing the Chattahoochee Challenge 10K and the AJC Peachtree Road Race 10K. Like I mentioned in my previous post I am not going to be racing as much.

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

Peachtree Road Race Recap

Hard to believe this race came and went just like that. It feels like I just signed up for it. I am already excited about signing up for next year! Why? Because it will be my tenth Peachtree Road Race.  :)

Enough with that let's move on to the recap...

All week they were calling for rain on race day. I was seriously dreading it. I have never ran in the rain before and really don't want to especially a crazy downpour like they were expecting. So on Wednesday, after looking at one of the groups I belong to on Facebook, I decided I was going to duct tape my shoe to try and prevent as much water from getting into my shoe as possible. But with it the chance of rain, I also had to decide if I wanted to wear my normal running shoes or an older pair. I decided I would wear an older pair that I knew would be okay to run 6.2 miles in. Good thing I chose them. More to come on that.

I woke up at 3:15 AM the morning of race day. I was running on 3 hours of sleep (I can never sleep the night before a race anyways). Since my Mom was volunteering before the race, we needed to get down there around 4:30 for her to check in and definitely beat the road closure. We parked at Phipps Plaza which is right across the street from Lenox Square Mall. I was able to take a short power nap before having to get up and tape my shoes up.

By the time I got my shoes all taped up, it was time for me to make my way to my start wave. My wave was set to start at 7:45. It was raining a little bit when I was walking over to it, but as soon as I got there it had stopped and luckily it held off until I was walking back to Marta. 

Please excuse my fuzzy photos. My iPhone was in a zip-lock bag to keep it from getting wet.

Mile 1: Was a little crowded. I had to deal with a few people not moving over to the right hand side. Once I was able to get around them the race seemed to fly on by.

Mile 2: Saw one person receiving medical attention. From what I heard it was a heart attack. I really hope they are okay.

Mile 3: I knew I was getting close to Cardiac Hill. I never slow on this hill. A lot of people are usually stop mid way and walk up. 

Mile 4: I knew I only had 2 more miles to go.

Mile 5: I was already planning my tenth Peachtree Road Race. Hey, I had to think of something other than the run.

Mile 6: I knew I was going to come in under an hour as long as I didn't cramp up at the end. A few years back, I cramped in both of my calf muscles right at the end. Sucked majorly!

Mile .2: I finished strong.

Official time: 55:03

Not my fastest PRR, but I did beat my time from last year which is perfectly fine by me.

Credit to MarathonFoto for the pictures

Since I wasn't raining when I finished, I decided I would stick around Piedmont Park to wait on my Mom and my other friends running the race.

When I turned to go into the park, I didn't notice how muddy this park was from all the rain until I started making my way through the park. Yuck! It was awful walking through it.

I headed over to the Atlanta Track Club for some yummy Waffle House food and a cold water. Oh, and I can't forget this... 

I love free stuff!!! :)

I caught up with Jill after she finished along with Katie and Marcia. It was my first time meeting Katie and Marcia. :)

While making my way around the park with Jill, Katie, and Marcia, Jen texted me asking where I was so I met up with her and Brandi for a photo.

They decided to go as ducks because it was suppose to be raining during the race.

And since Brandi ended up having her Peachtree medal with her so I asked to get a picture with it...

After saying bye to Brandi, Jen and I waited for my Mom, which didn't take long. My Mom and I took a picture up on the hill (to avoid going back into the mud pit) before making our way to Marta.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, I am so excited about next year. :) If you ever want to participate in the world's largest 10K then I highly suggest coming to Atlanta for the 4th of July. It's really a blast. I mean, why else would I keep running it? Registration opens up in the middle of March as a lottery system.

And now for the reason a lot of people run this race...

This is the "finishers medal".

Did you participate in a 4th of July race? Or did you run on your own?

Peachtree Road Race Eve

It is the day before the Peachtree Road Race. For the first time in the 9 yrs I have been running it, I will have to run in the rain instead of the heat/humidity. If I had to choose which one to run in, I would choose the heat. I am really not looking forward to running in the rain. Not just any rain...its going to be pouring tomorrow. Not fun. Unfortunately, I am not going to be running in my normal shoes. I am going to be switching back to an older pair (even though I really don't want those ruined either) to run in. I am going to apply duct tape around the ventilation to try and keep as much of the water out of my shoe.

As far as what I am wearing, I think I am going to stick to the original idea. Tank top and shorts. But since they are encouraging us to wear Boston colors, I pulled out my yellow Under Armour shirt just in case I decide that the tank top isn't going to work. I am going to get soaked no matter what I decide to wear.

I'm going to try and make the best out of this run. If I don't finish under an hour, I'll be a little upset but I will manage. I am not going to try and run crazy fast. Slipping and sliding on wet pavement is not fun.

9th shirt here I come!!!!!

I plan on working on my Peachtree Road Race recap this weekend sometime.  So be on the look out for it. :) I will also post before and after on Twitter with pictures (assuming it isn't pouring when I want to take pictures). If you aren't following me yet, what are you waiting for? AUTgrGrl for Twitter.

Have you ever ran in pour conditions? This is my first. I would have ran in really rain back in March, but the race was called due to lightning in the area.

Last week of training

It's my last week of training for the Peachtree Road Race. :)

I went on a 4 mile run this morning. My pace was slower than normal but planned that. I am trying to make myself get use to running outside. I think it's been 2 weeks since I have been on a treadmill so that's good. 

I have a 5 mile run planned on Thursday and then a 3 mile on Saturday. I may even try and squeeze in 2 miles on Sunday before starting the new week. On Tuesday, I only have to run 2 miles. I like having a day off before a race to rest up and get ready. :)

Hope anyone who is running the race next Thursday is ready. Or are have you procrastinated until this week to start getting those miles in?  ;)

Modify Watch

Last week I won a giveaway over at MRScrashmattb thinks aloud. I was super excited to get my Modify Watch. I was able to pick out one face and two bands. I picked the navy and cool mist strap, and the silver face. I literally was going back and forth on which face and bands. After what seemed like forever I settled on those.

On Monday, my watch came! :)

 I decided to put the cool mist band on first. I love it!!

These watches are really awesome and I can not wait to add on to it. If you are interested in them, go on over to Modify Watches.

3 weeks away until the Peachtree Road Race. I am excited!

Are you getting excited??

Last Full Month of Training for the Peachtree

May went by way too fast. I can't believe I am in my last full month of training for the Peachtree Road Race. It seems like yesterday I was just signing up for it. I am excited about it though. It truly is one of my favorite races to participate in even if its way too crowded.

Here is my training schedule for June:

6.2 miles - June 1st - Possum Trot 10K

3 miles - June 4th

6 miles - June 6th

2 miles - June 8th or 9th

5 miles - June 11th

3 miles - June 13th

3 miles - June 15th or 16th

2 miles - June 18th

5 miles - June 20th

3.1 miles -  June 22nd - Trippadoodle's 5K Run

4 miles - June 25th

5 miles - June 27th

3 miles - June 29th or 30th

2 miles - July 2nd LAST DAY OF TRAINING BEFORE JULY 4th  :)


Like always I will do my best to go by this schedule. I may add more miles to each running depending on how I am feeling.

Who is ready for the big party down Peachtree RD?

 I am really anxious to know what wave I will be in. :)