4 miles of heat

I'm behind in the blog, so let me get caught up.
I ran the Atlanta Track Club's Decatur-DeKalb YMCA 4 Miler two weeks ago. Met up with Angela, Carolyn and Susan for the race.
It was a hot four miles, and Angela's knee began to bother her badly, so we walked a good deal of it. That one won't go down as one of my fastest!
But, it's always fun to run with friends. We had planned to go to breakfast afterward, but ended up walking up to Arden's Garden smoothie shop and had a healthier treat.

Susan, me, Carolyn and Angela

The day after the race, I drove up to South Carolina to pick up my nephew Chase and had a fun half-week with him in Atlanta. We went to Zoo Atlanta and the Children's Museum of Atlanta, plus other little trips around town. Then I got his younger brother Gavin for the rest of the week and we did all the same sightseeing. It was a whirl of a week. Those boys keep me on my toes!
It was grand, and I enjoy being a fun aunt.
That's sort of why I haven't run in a couple of weeks. I needed to recover from all the fun I had with my nephews!

Hot and steamy Peachtree Road Race

I ran my 15th Peachtree Road Race 10K on July 4.
Last year it rained down buckets. This year, it was hot as the gates of hell.
Really, I was all set to run the race in my mid-packer place, but I was invited by the Atlanta Track Club to run the "media challenge," which was a race among seven other media types for bragging rights.
Honestly, I wasn't their first choice. I wasn't anybody's choice. Atlanta Track Club asked my big, big boss to participate, but he was out of town July 4th weekend. And he gave them my name. And they looked me up and saw I was an ATC member. And lo and behold, the track club invited me to participate.
And honestly, I was very exited to participate. And I'm still very excited I got to participate. But it as a very different experience.

My new race number

So, I had to give up my original Peachtree Road Race number. Here is my Atlanta Business Chronicle number. We got to start up front, way before my original number.

Wow. Way up front

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

 I was so far up front, I got to see the  behind-the-scenes look at how the race is put together. I got to see Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed before he addressed the crowd before he began his trot down Peachtree Road.

Honor guard getting ready

 Again, I was so up front, I got to see the color honor guard get ready for its part of the ceremony.

Color guard performing at the Peachtree Road Race

Old Glory at the start

I got to see the woman singing our National Anthem, and the elite women and men start their races. It was almost surreal. Then, it was our time to go. We started between waves B and C. Let me just say right here, I was scheduled to run in wave L!! Way in the back.

Getting ready to start the media challenge

Media peeps at the start 

So there we were, eight of us media types to start the media challenge.  In a moment, we were off. And let me just say, all those other folks took off like a shot. Me, on the other hand, knew immediately I was out of my league.
I came out fast, but could not keep up. Soon on, I knew I needed to run my own race, but it was so odd since I was running down Peachtree without anyone around me at first. Soon enough, I was being passed by many a runner in waves behind me.
Did I mention how hot it was for this race? Dear heavens!
Last year I needed water wings to swim down Peachtree. This year, I would have welcomed a little rain.
I had foot and leg problems almost immediately. Calf cramps and toe numbness meant I was not got going to have my best race ever. So I walked quite a bit of the race.
But I got to the finish!
And  I was dead last in the media challenge. Well, drat!

I finished!

Susan, Carolyn and me

 As a track club member, I got to hang out at Park Tavern with fellow track club members, so I met up with friends Susan, Carolyn and Angela.

Headed home with Angela

It was not a race without trouble. I saw two runners down at Peachtree and 14th street. Then  I saw a runner go down well after the race at the MARTA station at Five Points.
In all it was a bittersweet experience doing the media challenge this year. I won't do it again. I want to be back in the middle of the pack where I belong.

Trotting with the possums

I got up before the songbirds Saturday to run the Possum Trot 10K in Roswell.
It's the 38th annual running of this race, which takes place near Chattahoochee Nature Center and runs along the Chattahoochee River. It was a 7 a.m. start and the roads close at 6 a.m., which meant I left my house at 5:45 a.m.
I wasn't sure I was ready for a 10K. I've really slacked off from running since my foot had been bothering me so much, but this was a nice flat course and Saturday morning turned out to be cool for June and lower humidity than we had been having.
Still, I ran what I like to think was the "possum division," slow and ugly. Even with it being such a flat course I came in at 1:24:31.
You know you are slow when the race photographer is no longer at the finish line taking photos when you come in for the finish! I'm not kidding. He wasn't there. He'd moved up to the stage, where the awards ceremony was taking place.
Yes, I came in AFTER the awards had started. No need to stick around that morning to see if I'd placed in my age group. I knew with certainty I had not.
Still, it was a great little tune-up for the Peachtree Road Race coming up July 4. I was a little nervous that I hadn't gotten much running in prior to the Peachtree and wasn't sure how I'd manage, but I feel fine now that it will be OK.
Thank goodness for muscle memory!
I think I'd like to do this race again next year. My goal will be to finish before the race photographer leaves!.
Trot on, possums!

Ticking off a trail race

I returned to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers this year to run the Monastery 5K Run With the Monks.
I ran this race three years ago. The grounds are really lovely and this is a trail race. The first time I ran it, it had rained before the race, so the grounds were muddy. I remember race officials had put down hay along the route.
This year the route was dusty, and apparently, there was another difference: ticks.
As I walked up to get my race number, I was pointed toward bug spray "because the ticks have been bad this year." I just about drown myself in the spray! I sprayed my shoes twice, thinking I'd at least keep them from wanting to start up my body to begin with. I haven't found any now that the race is over, so I guess it worked!
I'd forgotten the giant hill from mile 1.5 to mile 2. Goodness!
Because it was a trail race, and a lot of it was shaded, it didn't feel too hot, even though this weekend has tied record heat. It got up to 96 degrees the day of the race, although it wasn't nearly that hot at race time.

On the grounds of Monastery of the Holy Spirit

One reason I wanted to run this race again was I was out of Abbey honey! The monastery has apiaries on the grounds and the monks sell local raw honey. It is delicious. I'm set for another couple of years!
I stuck around for the awards afterward. I didn't think I had won in my age group, but the awards were really nice engraved pint glasses, so I sure wanted to see if I had!
Sadly, I was a slowpoke on the trail run, so I did not garner a pint glass.
But at least I can say I ticked off this race. Ha!

Summertime running

I ran the annual Summeriest 5K Saturday morning.
It was hot and steamy, just as it usually is.
I ran this one by myself this year. No friends to join me this time. Still, it was fun. It was the first time I've run in about two weeks. While the respite meant my right heel felt better (until I finished the race, of course), my quads just ached for two days after the race. So, I regretted taking so much time off from running.
No worries, now. I'm signing up for several other races, and the big Peachtree Road Race 10K will be here soon.
Just in time for some summertime running.

Running on the (fire)fly

I ran the Firefly 5K Saturday night.
I ran it its inaugural year with my friend Rachel, and this year my friend Angela wanted to do this race.
It was fun to see Angela and run into fellow Mizzou alums Karen and Kyle. Angela went to Mizzou as well, so we almost had a Tiger Team!

Angela, me, Karen and Kyle

The race started around 7:45 p.m. but it really wasn't all that dark like the first year I ran it, when the race was in October. Angela got blinking earrings for herself and me. They were cute! I went to Michael's to buy glow in the dark bracelets and wouldn't you know it, I must have gotten a package that had been there for three years. Those things did. not. glow.
Angela and I, for various reasons, ended up walking most of the race, which was entirely contained in Piedmont Park. That made it kind of a tough course, since parts of it are really narrow for the number of people who showed up for the race.
Despite that, this is a race Angela and I will laugh about later, you know, on the fly.

Komen at 10 Years

I ran Komen Race for the Cure Saturday as a 10-year survivor.
What was nice about this race is it really never even occurred to me. I never thought 10 years ago that I would not really thing about cancer. It's a wonderful feeling.
It was a great race morning. Low humidity and temps weren't so bad. Nice for Atlanta in early May!

This is what 10 years looks like

I ran the race, which is pretty hilly. Although I thought I hadn't do pretty well, I did better than last year.
I also ran into my friend Carolyn, also a survivor, who is running a marathon in all 50 states.

Carolyn and me

Two running buddy survivors. Thankfully, I think of Carolyn as a running buddy now, not really as a survivor. It's a nice place to be. Runner rather than survivor.
I also ran into my friend Jill, who was my physical therapist shortly after all of my cancer surgeries. She's also a survivor. Or rather a cancer thriver. I like that term better.

Jill and me

We received survivor medals again this year, and they were sun catchers. My third sun catcher finisher's medal!

Sun catcher finisher's medaal

I'm honored to run Komen for a 10th year as a survivor. Let's hope we all make it to 20, 30, 40, 50 and beyond!