Sunday, July 7, 2013

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?


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