A Peachy race

Another Peachtree Road Race is complete.
This was my 12th running of the Atlanta classic 10K, and I thought it was going to be my wettest, but the rain held off until nearly all of the race was done.
I even brought that rain poncho from the Country Music Half Marathon, and that must have been the lucky charm. Instead of wearing it, I had to carry it the whole way.

My race number

The race started out with my running in to my friend Julie at the Avondale Estates MARTA station.

Me and Julie

I met up with my running buddy Jessica and we slowly made our way to the start line. We started a good hour after the official start, because our wave was pretty far back.

Jessica and me waiting to start

At long last, we got up to the start line.

Old Glory

Ready to start

 Once we got on our way, there is always fun things to see. Sometimes it is the runners, spectators watching the race, or things along the race.

Along the route

 Every year as the runners go by St. Philips Episcopal Cathedral along Peachtree, the church arranges a holy water spray.

The holy water spray

 But just in case, there is also a priest there to give a little sprinkle. I always get a drop or two.

Holy water for all!

The race was actually pretty good this year. Since it was overcast, it didn't feel so hot. It was humid, but at least I didn't feel overheated. I think we can guess how Jessica felt about the race:

Having some fun along the race course

 At long last we arrived at Piedmont Park.

We finished!

 What these photos don't really show is how muddy the park's meadow, the staging area for the finish, was. All that rain we've had made the meadow more like a swamp. It didn't help that 60,000 runners and even more volunteers were trampling all over it. I've got quite a bit of dirt on my running shoes now.

Our ultimate prize -- the Peachtree Road Race T-shirt

And this is why I run:

My ultimate prize

So, today, which I feared was going to be a wash out, turned out to be a pretty wonderful Peachtree Road Race.

Oh my aching teeth

Here it is, the eve of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta and I'm nursing aching teeth thanks to a tightening of my braces this morning.
In hindsight, wish I had postponed the adjustment. It would be one less distraction for the 10K race tomorrow morning.
Once again, I'm having to pull out the rain poncho that got me through the Country Music Half Marathon back in April. The weather prognosticators are calling for 100 percent chance of rain for the race, all six miles of it.
At least it won't be a cold rain tomorrow, so there is that.
I ran the HBCU Alumni Alliance 5K last Saturday. It was hot and humid and hilly for that race around Grant Park in Atlanta. I was a little worried that we might experience some malodorous "treats" during the race, since Zoo Atlanta is in Grant Park and during one race two years ago I definitely knew we were near the zoo! What a smell!

Hot. Humid. Done.

Here I am at the end of the race. What was fun about this race was some of the sponsor give aways at the end. I won a $10 Home Depot gift card! Always appreciated as I am always in need of something for the house or yard.
Do they sell water wings at Home Depot?
I have a feeling people will take tomorrow's rain in stride and I expect to see some fun costumes as a result. A very small part of me thought it would be funny to run with my SCUBA mask and snorkel -- for about 2 minutes. Then it would not be fun or funny. And I'd be stuck with it for six miles.
The bad part about my aching teeth is I was again forced on a liquid diet. Soup for supper tonight, rather than the planned pasta, grilled chicken and marinara. I knew I would be able to eat the chicken.
But once the race is over, I'll enjoy my forced liquid diet a little more. I can finally have a glass of wine!