Rain, Rain, Ahhhhh :-)

An Atlanta Half Marathon Race Report

Dee Dee surprised me by showing up at the office an hour early Wendesday night. I have been excused from working at the restaurant on Wednesday nights for a while, and we took advantage of this to attend the Expo together. I really hated to leave work an hour early, on the eve before Thanksgiving, but ya do what ya gotta do.

We had no trouble finding the expo by Lenox Mall. Since I was an hour early, I phoned Akshaye to let him know I was already there. We had planned a meet up and would hopefully see each other again at the race. Dee Dee and I quickly got our race packet and then mozied around the expo looking at all the neat stuff. I bought some Superfeet insoles to replace the cheap ones I have in my shoes. Dee Dee got a new Girl Runner running hat, and then she bought me a really cool Mizuno outer shell. I am gonna need one of those for running and riding the bike outside through winter.

Akshaye showed up about a half hour after we did and we had a great time talking and poking around the expo for a bit. It was really wonderful meeting ya bro! Next time all of us Atlanta homies need to do something a little more organized so we can spend some quality time together. Dee Dee and I said our good byes and made our way over to a little Italian restaurant I knew was in the area. I was a good boy. No beer. Just pasta, bread, and salad. We went back to the office to pick up my car, then it was time to go home and get the turkey ready for the oven.

I slept really good the night before the race and woke up at 4:30 AM feeling pretty good and refreshed. We ate breakfast, had some coffee and popped the turkey in the oven, setting the timer to start at 7:30 AM and finish at 2:30 PM. (The turkey was 20lbs). We got out of the house at 5:15 AM and drove to the Lindburg Marta station. This is where we always go to catch the trains for events, like races, Braves games, etc. I was a bit concerned that we would not get to the race on time to drop our bags, but this fear proved groundless.

We got to the race site at 6:30 AM. I dropped off the bag and then hopped into the potty line with Dee Dee (for her benefit). This was my first experience waiting in a throng of people to use the bathroom. Luckily, for reasons unbeknownst to me, our line had "reserved" five or six porta-potties. It moved pretty fast. In ten minutes, we were weaving in and out of the crowd, looking for fellow race peeps. As the start time approached, it became apparent we were going to have a tough time finding anybody, and I was really bumbed, especially since Sarah had mentioned wanting to run with us. As I said, next time I will do a better job of planning so this doesn't happen again.

With a loud pop, the gun went off. I could see the mass of humanity in front of me start to bob and run. I thought for sure Nat and Steph were up there somewhere, leading the charge, but they didn't make it to the church on time :-) and actually started the race a little late. It took us almost two minutes to cross the mats. As we did, I started the Garmin.

This race was all about Dee Dee. She was trying for a PR. I was trying for a personal worst! I think we started out a little too fast. We were clipping along at an 11 minute pace, which I thought was really good for Dee Dee. She didn't want to, but I made her get into the run 4/walk 1 routine immediately. Around the end of the first mile, the rains hit. You could hear the crowd up front roar, and then the rain hit us. The first round wasn't that bad. The second round drenched us to the skin. I had decided to be the tough guy and leave my rain coat at home. Dee Dee had decided to wear hers. I did wear long sleeves though, which was a good thing, since temperatures were falling.

I really enjoyed this race. You basically run it along Peachtree Street all the way downtown, then you peel off and head to the Braves stadium. The first 7 miles or so are gently rolling and very pleasant to run. We ran past Oglethorpe University, past the Brookhaven MARTA station, then up to Lenox Mall. This is where Dee Dee's knee started to bother her again, and we were forced to walk. Dee Dee did everything she could to work the pain out of her knee and ITB, but wasn't really overall successful. Our pace slowed down accordingly.

Past Lenox Mall we ran then into Buckhead. All the old dives Dee Dee and I used to dance at are being torn down with new developments being built to replace them. There is no more night life in Buckhead :-( About here, we hit a very, very long downhill. I knew this was the calm before the storm. I enjoyed every minute of it. We ran past my daughters first catholic school, The Cathedral of Christ the King, and down to the bottom of the hill at Peachtree Battle. By this time, we were basically walking whenever Dee Dee said walk, and running whenever she said run.

We walked most of the hills as we climbed up into downtown Atlanta. I kept trying to push Dee Dee a little to make her 3:00 hour goal, but not too hard. She just wanted "to finish", and I certainly didn't want her to hurt herself. It became apparent as we made the right turn to the Braves Stadium that 3 hours wasn't in the cards. I kept telling Dee Dee the finish was just over the next hill, and she was very unkind to me :-) I think she had heard that before! Any way, once we got to the top of the bridge and saw the finish, we picked it up and started our final run. Ms. Sarah yelled out to me as we went by, and I was excited to see her. I shouted "Happy Thanksgiving!" to her and then caught back up to Dee Dee. We crossed the finish line together, with our arms in the air. Turkey winners :-)

Less then two minutes later, the winner of the marathon crossed the finish line. I am still unbeaten.

We turned in our chips, grabbed some food, then started the mile walk back to the MARTA station. It wasn't hard for me, but Dee Dee was stiff and sore and hobbling. We really didn't have anywhere to be. We took our time and got home safely. The boys helped me get more dinner stuff ready while Dee Dee got cleaned up. Then it was my turn. After we had both showered and changed, Thanksgiving dinner proceeded at an amazingly well organized clip. Despite our best effort, the turkey took thirty minutes longer to cook then anticipated. We all sat down to a wonderful feast around 3:30 PM.

After eating, I called all of my family to let them know how our day went and wish them all a blessed holiday. By 6:30, the beer and turkey kicked in, and I was passed out on the couch. By 8 PM, I moved it upstairs and slept until 8 AM this morning. Best sleep I've had in a LOOOONG time.

Despite the knee and ITB issues, Dee Dee shaved seventeen minutes off her half marathon PR, coming in at 3:07 and some change. As for me, I set the bar pretty high for a half mary personal worst. However, I do see a 3:10 plus personal worst in my future. The peeps at the Back of the Pack just rock :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Wes

ORN: 13.1 miles, 3:07:06, race pace, R?/W?, 14:16 mmp