Atlanta Half Marathon Recap

I successfully completed the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day!  The best part is, I had fun doing it and I wasn't too overtaxed afterward to cook and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. I didn't get much sleep the night before the race.  I had no trouble falling asleep at about 10pm but I awoke three hours later and tossed and turned the rest of the night.  It's that annoying anticipation you get when you know you have to be somewhere early in the morning and you're anxious about oversleeping. I didn't oversleep and was ready for my 5:30am wake up although I did briefly consider forgetting the whole thing and just sleeping in.  I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go and I didn't want a Thanksgiving Day guilt trip. 

My husband drove me to the race so I didn't have to stress about traffic (which I hate) and driving in downtown Atlanta (which I also hate) so I was able to eat a slice of whole wheat with some peanut butter on it as my quick breakfast.  Despite the numerous warnings about traffic and parking spots being limited we didn't have difficulty finding parking around Turner Field and we actually got a space pretty close to the start.  There were a sea of  people there.  When it finally came time for me to get into my corral (corral C) I was amazed at the mass of people in front of me and behind me.

Several minutes behind the 2 hr pace group is a good place to be

The middle of the pack. It feels good to be average.

 There were five different start waves (A-E) with staggered starts of about 5 minutes in between.  The difference between the corral A start and corral C start actually ended up being about 11 minutes instead of 10 but luckily I had my Nike+ sportsband to keep track of my time.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake I did during the Atlanta Marathon and start out too quick.  I made myself take it easy and slow in the beginning even though I really wanted to pass people.  After I got warmed up I could've started pushing myself at that point but I knew that a PR wasn't likely to happen anyway so I resolved to just have fun with it.  I stopped to use the restroom twice and stopped to walk at three different aid stations, twice for water and once for Powerade.  I had two Gu gels with me but only used one at about mile 5.

There were a lot of hills along the course which I had been prepared for after running the Marathon a  few weeks ago.  Luckily, keeping a slower pace meant that I never had to stop and walk and I didn't get any leg cramps this time.  We passed along many of the same points of interest as we did for the Atlanta Marathon.  I'm beginning to realize that I don't like urban races as much as I do trail runs or suburban races.  I just don't find the city view that inspiring.  The longest part of the race seemed to be the last mile.  I saw someone getting loaded into an ambulance at about the 12 mile mark so I hope she's okay. I saw a few guys that obviously encountered chaffing issues if the blood on their shirts and shorts were any indication.  I noticed that there were far fewer spectators at this race than there were at the Marathon.  I don't know if that's due to the holiday or because the distance is shorter or simply because the Half Marathon didn't have the "cheer zones" the full marathon had.

But, after 13.1 miles I finally crossed the finish line at 2:06 along with several other people at around the same time. The race was pretty crowded so there was always a group of runners around me.  Because of this my husband never saw me cross the finish line despite the fact that he was standing right there.  He wasn't the only spouse/relative/friend to miss their loved one crossing the finish line though so I'm really glad there were photographers taking pics throughout the race and at the finish.  As I made my way through the finisher's chute I received my finisher's medal, a bottle of water, a foil blanket, and a banana and some pretzels. The finisher's chute was so long I was wondering if it would ever end and if I would ever find the food tent which was at the very end.  I'm happy I went and I feel I really earned my Thanksgiving meal. As to whether or not I'll do this again next year....probably so.  

 

Atlanta Half Marathon 2011 Prep

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome shirt for a Thanksgiving Day half marathon!

The Atlanta Half Marathon 2011 is the day after tomorrow!  I went to pick up my race number today at the Health and Fitness Expo at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.  I  just browsed around quickly at the Expo because there were way too many tempting running goodies there for me to spend my money on.  But, I did get a pretty snazzy long sleeved technical shirt for signing up for the half marathon that just screams "This race is in the Autumn!".  They also had a few running seminars going on but I arrived too late for the Nutrition for Novice Runners seminar which was probably pretty informative.  I checked my race number only to find that I had a pretty cool and easy to remember number.

My lucky number? I hope so.

 
I'm taking it easy today and tomorrow and I'm only doing some stretches and a bit of yoga to loosen up for the half marathon.  I've found that I run better when I've had a couple of days of rest. So many of these running plans have short runs scheduled for the two days leading up to the race, but I find a walk and stretches to work better for me.  I just hope my legs get well rested by Thursday.  I did a strength training leg workout on Sunday and a 4 mile run which still has my legs sore.  I thought I wasn't pushing myself too hard, but apparently I was mistaken.  The soreness should be gone by Thursday though so I'm not too worried about it.  I did an upper body strength training workout and a two mile walk at an incline yesterday to get in a  good calorie burn and to take it easy on the legs.  Let's hope my strategy this week pays off.

I've already decided that this 13.1 mile race will be run for fun.  I'm not going to set a time goal or try to get a PR.  After all, my last half marathon was on a scenic course with gently rolling hills and this race will have tougher hills to manage.  Most importantly, it's Thanksgiving, so I don't want to be so worn out that I can't enjoy the holiday afterward.  Now, if I can only remind myself during the race to just have fun, everything should go fine. :D