ScoJo15
There will be days when I don't know if I can run
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2005
- Messages
- 2,535
LOL!! Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by!! I've been a little preoccupied this past week with the holiday, vacations, family and friends so I apologize for the delayed posting. It is nice to know though that you are all there and so supportive!! I'll get to everyones journals sometime today to see what's going on. Anyway...two updates today...first is the Peachtree race report!! Then I'll post how the training has gone.
I can say from a running point of view, things could not be progressing any better!! Anyway, here is what I wrote a few days after the Peachtree...
Peachtree Road Race 10k - July 4th, 2006
All I can say is "wow!" What an incredibly awesome experience!! Here are the details:
I took July 3rd off and even got to sleep at a reasonable hour of the night. The plan was to be out the door by 5am in order to make it to MARTA (our public transportation system) in time to get to the race nice and early. Regardless of your activity planned for the day, an alarm clock going off around 4:15 in the morning is never a welcome sound....but it did and I quickly made it through my morning routine and actually made it out the door right before 5:00.
I drove downtown, parked at my normal location for work and made my way to the rail system. It was about 5:45am and about a dozen people were at the same station, all with their numbers on. The train came and we hopped aboard on our way to the starting area. Along the way, there were four stops and by the time we completed those stops, the entire train was full of anxious runners.
The blood started pumping when we exited at the Buckhead station...there were hundreds of people filing their way up the stairs...making the way up to the street level where we were greeted with the first glimpse of the closed Peachtree Street and the exciting atmosphere surrounding it. It was around 6:15am and the wheelchair athletes were warming up along the course. You could hear music playing in the distance near the start line, occassionally drowned out by one of the seven helicopters flying overhead getting their first live shots back to the local news stations. It was almost surreal. The 55,000 people who were not seeded were broken up in to seven corrals, your corral identified by the first number on your bib, and would be each started a few minutes after the one before it to provide a little relief from the congestion.
It was a long walk to my corral but I eventually made it, grabbed some water and hit the portable facilities before the lines got too long. I entered my area and took a seat along a wall...it was 6:45am and within the next 30 minutes, my corral was filled with close to 6,000 anxious runners from around the world. The excitment really built to a high when the national anthem was played....55,000 people gathered for the world's largest 10k, massive American flag hanging over the start, helicopters swarming overhead and the Star Spangled Banner being blasted thru the speakers. At 7:30am, the race officially began with the first seeded groups. At 7:48am our group was led onto Peachtree Street where we walked (no running!) to the starting line...after a brief 'pumping up' by the official race starter our group counted backwards from 5...and let out a massive roar as our race had officially begun.
From this point, it is actually pretty hard to describe all of the activity that was going on for the duration of the race. I do know that I started out along the right hand side (with the slower runners) assuming that there would be a bunch of faster people passing on the left...but I quickly found my way to the middle/left hand side of the street due to the fact that I was passing tons of people. I settled into a nice pace for me and really took in the surroundings. The entire race course was filled with spectators along both sides of the street...cheering, waving American flags and holding up signs to try and locate their friends and families who were running. I read an article that stated 150,000 viewed the race. A majority of the businesses along the way were also participating...I saw Publix handing out bagles, Planet Smoothie offering mini smoothies, radio stations handing out t-shirts and frisbees and a donut shop was giving out donuts just to name just a few. And of course, there were runners taking it to the extreme like speedo guy (you don't wanna know), the people painted like American flags, the two guys running in hula skirts and the two guys running in full business suits (they ran right by me!).
The weather was really great with temps in the mid to upper 80s with manageable humidity, eliminating the extreme heat factor that often dominates the stories coming from the race. So there I was...just running along...taking everything in and having a great time. I took no walk breaks until somewhere between miles 2 and 3. I did the first mile in 9:30 (would have been faster if I didn't have to navigate around people), the second in 9:10 and the third in 9:57. I took the advice of race officials and ran under the many sprinklers and hoses along the course, jetting out water to cool everyone off, along with dumping water on my head at the many water stops along the way. At the end of mile 3, I came to the dreaded "cardiac hill"...complete with a major hospital located at the top of it. So I slowed down and made sure to monitor my heart rate. Even though I wasn't hot, I didn't want to run the heart up too much by overexerting myself up the hill. I did manage to run most of the hill, albeit a slower pace than I had been going, and cresting the top was a major thrill. I did that fourth mile in 11:22. Mile 5 was the "Olympic Mile"...the same mile that was used in the 1996 Olympic Games. Both the running and spectator crowds really swelled here making it difficult to pass anyone, so I just maintained my pace and enjoyed the last bit of the race on Peachtree Street. Mile 5 clocked in at 11:42. Mile 6 took us down the remainder of Peachtree and then a left hand turn onto 10th Street where we'd proceed to the finish line just outside of Piedmont Park.
I was able to pick up the pace a little here as most of the runners on the left hand side were starting to kick towards the finish. I ran under the marathonfoto people around the completion of the 6th mile, which I did in 9:53 and then noticed that my right shoe had come untied. No way could I have or was going to stop to tie it so I did the best I could with sprinting to the end. I crossed the finish line with a time of 63:34. I found a spot to tie my shoe and then proceeded to the park where water was given out first, followed by the famed & prized Peachtree T-Shirt. I did it!! I ran the Peachtree!!
I found my way to a nice shady grassy area on a hill where I sat down with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. One major step of my journey had now been completed. I feared not even being able to complete the race when I started, but there I sat feeling like a million bucks...like I could run another 10 miles without it phasing me. Nothing hurt, nothing ached and I was never winded. The training plan had paid off big time and thoughts quickly filled my mind about the upcoming marathon in WDW. I know that it is now in my reach. And I cannot wait for the euphoria that will surround completing 26.2 miles...26.2 miles that will test not only my physical capabilites but my mental as well.
Final numbers:
Total time: 63:34 (10:14 mpm)
Splits: 9:30/9:10/9:57/11:22/11:42/9:53
Heart Rate: 199 max 178 avg
And here is the pic from marathonfoto (sorry it's so small!)
I can say from a running point of view, things could not be progressing any better!! Anyway, here is what I wrote a few days after the Peachtree...
Peachtree Road Race 10k - July 4th, 2006
All I can say is "wow!" What an incredibly awesome experience!! Here are the details:
I took July 3rd off and even got to sleep at a reasonable hour of the night. The plan was to be out the door by 5am in order to make it to MARTA (our public transportation system) in time to get to the race nice and early. Regardless of your activity planned for the day, an alarm clock going off around 4:15 in the morning is never a welcome sound....but it did and I quickly made it through my morning routine and actually made it out the door right before 5:00.
I drove downtown, parked at my normal location for work and made my way to the rail system. It was about 5:45am and about a dozen people were at the same station, all with their numbers on. The train came and we hopped aboard on our way to the starting area. Along the way, there were four stops and by the time we completed those stops, the entire train was full of anxious runners.
The blood started pumping when we exited at the Buckhead station...there were hundreds of people filing their way up the stairs...making the way up to the street level where we were greeted with the first glimpse of the closed Peachtree Street and the exciting atmosphere surrounding it. It was around 6:15am and the wheelchair athletes were warming up along the course. You could hear music playing in the distance near the start line, occassionally drowned out by one of the seven helicopters flying overhead getting their first live shots back to the local news stations. It was almost surreal. The 55,000 people who were not seeded were broken up in to seven corrals, your corral identified by the first number on your bib, and would be each started a few minutes after the one before it to provide a little relief from the congestion.
It was a long walk to my corral but I eventually made it, grabbed some water and hit the portable facilities before the lines got too long. I entered my area and took a seat along a wall...it was 6:45am and within the next 30 minutes, my corral was filled with close to 6,000 anxious runners from around the world. The excitment really built to a high when the national anthem was played....55,000 people gathered for the world's largest 10k, massive American flag hanging over the start, helicopters swarming overhead and the Star Spangled Banner being blasted thru the speakers. At 7:30am, the race officially began with the first seeded groups. At 7:48am our group was led onto Peachtree Street where we walked (no running!) to the starting line...after a brief 'pumping up' by the official race starter our group counted backwards from 5...and let out a massive roar as our race had officially begun.
From this point, it is actually pretty hard to describe all of the activity that was going on for the duration of the race. I do know that I started out along the right hand side (with the slower runners) assuming that there would be a bunch of faster people passing on the left...but I quickly found my way to the middle/left hand side of the street due to the fact that I was passing tons of people. I settled into a nice pace for me and really took in the surroundings. The entire race course was filled with spectators along both sides of the street...cheering, waving American flags and holding up signs to try and locate their friends and families who were running. I read an article that stated 150,000 viewed the race. A majority of the businesses along the way were also participating...I saw Publix handing out bagles, Planet Smoothie offering mini smoothies, radio stations handing out t-shirts and frisbees and a donut shop was giving out donuts just to name just a few. And of course, there were runners taking it to the extreme like speedo guy (you don't wanna know), the people painted like American flags, the two guys running in hula skirts and the two guys running in full business suits (they ran right by me!).
The weather was really great with temps in the mid to upper 80s with manageable humidity, eliminating the extreme heat factor that often dominates the stories coming from the race. So there I was...just running along...taking everything in and having a great time. I took no walk breaks until somewhere between miles 2 and 3. I did the first mile in 9:30 (would have been faster if I didn't have to navigate around people), the second in 9:10 and the third in 9:57. I took the advice of race officials and ran under the many sprinklers and hoses along the course, jetting out water to cool everyone off, along with dumping water on my head at the many water stops along the way. At the end of mile 3, I came to the dreaded "cardiac hill"...complete with a major hospital located at the top of it. So I slowed down and made sure to monitor my heart rate. Even though I wasn't hot, I didn't want to run the heart up too much by overexerting myself up the hill. I did manage to run most of the hill, albeit a slower pace than I had been going, and cresting the top was a major thrill. I did that fourth mile in 11:22. Mile 5 was the "Olympic Mile"...the same mile that was used in the 1996 Olympic Games. Both the running and spectator crowds really swelled here making it difficult to pass anyone, so I just maintained my pace and enjoyed the last bit of the race on Peachtree Street. Mile 5 clocked in at 11:42. Mile 6 took us down the remainder of Peachtree and then a left hand turn onto 10th Street where we'd proceed to the finish line just outside of Piedmont Park.
I was able to pick up the pace a little here as most of the runners on the left hand side were starting to kick towards the finish. I ran under the marathonfoto people around the completion of the 6th mile, which I did in 9:53 and then noticed that my right shoe had come untied. No way could I have or was going to stop to tie it so I did the best I could with sprinting to the end. I crossed the finish line with a time of 63:34. I found a spot to tie my shoe and then proceeded to the park where water was given out first, followed by the famed & prized Peachtree T-Shirt. I did it!! I ran the Peachtree!!
I found my way to a nice shady grassy area on a hill where I sat down with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. One major step of my journey had now been completed. I feared not even being able to complete the race when I started, but there I sat feeling like a million bucks...like I could run another 10 miles without it phasing me. Nothing hurt, nothing ached and I was never winded. The training plan had paid off big time and thoughts quickly filled my mind about the upcoming marathon in WDW. I know that it is now in my reach. And I cannot wait for the euphoria that will surround completing 26.2 miles...26.2 miles that will test not only my physical capabilites but my mental as well.
Final numbers:
Total time: 63:34 (10:14 mpm)
Splits: 9:30/9:10/9:57/11:22/11:42/9:53
Heart Rate: 199 max 178 avg
And here is the pic from marathonfoto (sorry it's so small!)
. And I gotta agree with you about The Office. Dunder Mifflin RULES!! That is one of the few shows I am REALLY missing this summer and am dying to find out what happens.
)
You did a great job at the Peachtree! 
You have accomplished a great deal in the past few months and you have inspired many as well. I hope that you take the time to reward yourself for a job well done. 
I can tell you that in February, I thought running the full was at least a year and a half away....but I actually feel pretty confident about completing it this January. Once you get on a plan and stick to it, you'll be amazed at how quick you progress. And you're right about the encouragement around here, it really helps.....I can't thank Amy enough for pushing me to where I am now, she's an incredible motivator! (and as far as the 4th...let's just say that beer is not an acceptable rehydration fluid after running a 10k...tends to get to you pretty quickly... 
. After loving RS:INXS so much, I think it's just a let down that they chose Supernova, a band that is brand new and hasn't put out any material together yet.
.
. 
? Not much a fan of the girls except Danielle. She might have blown it but she's still hanging in there so you never know. I'm pulling for her to stick around for a while. 
.
