Running the Peachtree Road Race

Yesterday was the Peachtree Road race here in Atlanta. It is America's largest 10K. And it's awesome. The history behind the race is super cool.  Here's a link if ya want to read about it. It started in 1970 with just 110 runners. In 2011 they expanded the capacity to a total of 60,000 runners. Yep.....folks that is a heck of a lot of runners. Oh, and wheelchair racers. Which is beyond amazing to watch. Due to its demand for the bib numbers each March you put your name in a lottery and hope your name gets pulled. This year I surprised my Dad and registered him. And his name was pulled! He said he's been wanting to run this race since it started, but never tried to get in. Well, leave it to me do get that bucket list item checked off Dad.

Friday night was a night of storms. NON-STOP storms at our house actually. So our power went out. Which means my alarm didn't go off. Which means my hubby woke at 6:15 and started yelling at me to get up I was going to miss my corral! Which, I did. You see to get to the race we have to drive to the Marta train (which is Atlanta's version of a subway) ride to Lenox which is about a 30 minute ride, get off and walk a ways to the start line. Where 60K of your running friends are hanging out waiting on ya. It's so awesome to be amongst all the runners. Runners are happy people.

Well, like I said I missed my corral. So I walked with Dad and left him at his corral and ran forward to catch the first one starting. They put a certain number of people in each corral I think based on running times so you stay kinda as a pack running down Peachtree. There's a method to the madness for sure. Each corral is spaced 5 minutes apart as well. As soon as I got up to the starting corral the announcer came on and said we were in a holding position due to weather and to hang on. Then they went over the speaker and asked us to walk through the start line and seek shelter. Lightening had been spotted so they had to stop  the race and wait 30 minutes from last strike before beginning again. Talk about pandemonium, evacuating a race? 1st there weren't enough volunteers to help corral us to the parking deck safety, honestly I don't think they were really prepared for this sorta thing. It was really strange. In addition runners wear music ear buds so half of the corral wasn't listening so when we started moving to safety half just took off running! Which was a bad idea because they had stopped the chip times. Anyhoo...they moved us to a parking deck where we waited out the lightening. My Dad back in his corral decided to go shopping at Dick's. LOL...he bought himself a hat. I told him he'd want one to keep the rain outta his eyes. Finally they moved us back to the start line and I got to go! Woohooo....

Under normal circumstances, the streets are lined with over 150,000 spectators cheering the runners on. I've done the race 3 years now and only had one sunny race, which was last year. So I got to experience the crowds and their antics. They hand out everything from Popsicles, watermelon, candy, beer, shots, beads...its NUTS! People hang off their balconies yelling and screaming at the runners to keep going. Then the runners, well you see folks in costumes, full firemen gear, military uniforms, tu-tu's gallore! Running in a tu-tu is something you shall never see, but I do appreciate the enthusiasm. :) As you can see above the weather was not even near sunny. Boo. The course is a slight uphill the entire race, which to translate a 10K= 6.2 miles uphill. In fact one hill is called "heartbreak hill". It's bad. But I love the hills because at the top you get to kinda relax. I am a weirdo like that.

This year Billy and my Dad's wife Barbara drove up and parked in his office lot which is like one block from the 10th street turn in the race. It's the point where you KNOW the race is about to end AND it's all down hill. WOOHOOOO!!!! It's the turn you make and then start the sprinting to the finish. I was SO HAPPY to see them at that curve. Billy was just a smiling when he saw me. Dripping wet he loves me still. They were awesome to stand in the pouring down rain waiting for us to make that turn. It's such a warm fuzzy feeling to have your people in the crowd of 150,000 waiting on you. It really is.

And here is the coveted shirt. That's another cool thing about the race. Each year the AJC has a contest for the shirt design. The top 5 are chosen and voted on and no ones knows the winner until the day of the race and you get your coveted shirt. This one is the best so far I've gotten and the softest too! My neighbors have run the race 13 times and have theirs hanging like art in their basement. Love that. I am thinking about making a quilt out of all my running shirts. I certainly have collected a few over the years!

After the race I was STARVING. But first, had to get a drinkie-poo from a fun bar on the race route. Then off the Yeah burger...my favorite burger joint. My sweet Billy insisted. He knows how much I love that place. AND then...we stopped at a new ice cream joint on Howell Mill called "Vintage Custard". Is their logo not cute? I got plain old vanilla. It was the best vanilla I ever had! Billy had vanilla with some banana caramel sauce. Yumm too. After we got home it was finally sunny. Finally. So we went to the pool and I fell asleep. hehehehe....

So another race bib is on my hook and another 4th has come and gone. I am already excited about the next Peachtree. Wanna join me? OH and BTW....the female winner ran the thing in 33:28 minutes. I mean what the what? To give you some relative normal folk time I ran it in 1:07. A little slower than my usual time. One day I wanna get under an hour. But for running with soaking wet clothes, socks and shoes, stopping for photos and to hug my family I think 1:07 is purdy darn good for an old lady like me! The overall winner ran it in 29:30. That is just whack. I would die. Like finish and lay down and die.

Well...off to finish my ecourse up today. It launches tomorrow folks!  Woohoooo!!!

The Race

So you know I posted about the race that might not happen here.  Seriously it was like one hurdle after another.  The leg pain was intense....it was.  Billy broke his ankle running and couldn't go with me.  Which meant the kids couldn't go either.  Mom was sick.  Dad is expecting another grandchild any day and couldn't go last minute either.  There were lots of road blocks and reasons to say, forget it.  One friend said why not ask a girlfriend to go with you?  Guys honestly, a race weekend is not really a "girl's weekend" unless all the girls are running.  Early to bed Friday night without much dinner and a 4:15 wake-up call can easily place a wedge in a friendship!  The crazy bus shuttles...the waiting for me to finish the run.....the can't find the shuttle back to hotel issue.....the seriously I'm the last shuttle stop? issue.  Yeah.  It's a weekend that was better to just take alone.  And being quite independent and determined to run the race that I'd registered for in APRIL...I was going.  I really enjoyed being by myself honestly.  I mean how many times in your recent adulthood have you had a weekend...by....yourself?  Dang. That was nice.

So why did I run when the doctor said not to?  Well, on Wednesday prior to the race I took matters into my own hands and visited an acupuncturist.  Holy cheese cracker with a side of squeeze cheese!  It was amazing.  No really.  She alleviated the calf pain enough that I was able to run the half marathon with ease.  Yeah, I did listen to my body and took the 13.1 mile turn off.  I hated it.  I cried.  Crying and running do not mix either.  In fact the combo of those two can make you pass out.  Not that I did, but I did have to stop and gather myself and set the eyes straight ahead to the finish line.

The race itself was super fun.  Band stages were set up the entire course.  Rock n' Roll the whole way.  The finish line had a huge stage with bands playing all day.  And of course, on our race bib were tickets for beer.  Can this get any better you ask?  The weather was perfect for running.  I didn't even sweat.  In fact, I told Billy I just kinda glided over the finish line not even winded.  I suppose when you train for a marathon and then run a half your body is used to the distance.  In the past 10 weeks I've run over 14 miles every Saturday until the last 2 weeks.  The most I ran during the training was 18.

So today I feel pretty good.  I ate like I was never going to get to eat again ever yesterday.  Funny.  The leg pain is very annoyingly persistent though.  I just want to run.  And not hurt.  So I'll take it easy and hopefully build back up to the distances again.  And yes, I am already looking ahead for the next race. 

That Road

The year year was 1990.  A magical year in the life of Jenni Adkins.  It was my senior year of high school.  I have so many fond memories of that year and all that it entailed.  My family was still intact.  We lived in a beautiful blue house on the Kendall Court cul-de-sac hill.  My room was decked out in Laura Ashley flowers, white walls and cotton candy pink shiny painted trim.  I had several boyfriends....from the cute boy with surfer blond hair to the ruggedly handsome Edward with curly black hair.  A straight A student with a best friend named Amy.  My car...a hot red Jeep CJ-7 with black soft top.  College bound to Randolph-Macon Women's College....life was good.  I had it all..for an 18 year old wide eyed young woman.

On graduation night I gave a speech as Senior Class President using this poem as my guiding light:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

You know it well I'm sure.  I bet Robert Frost never imagined his words would affect so many lives.  Especially those transitioning from high school to college or college to adulthood.   That night with stars in my eyes and a full-life ahead of me I couldn't have even dreamed that my life would lead me here.  To this place.  To this life.

As I was running my 17 mile training run Saturday I passed this wooden path into the woods off the golf cart path.  And yes, I took it.  Because that's what I do.  I jump at opportunities to go the road less traveled.  Like training for a marathon.  My husband thinks I'm crazy. 

Last Tuesday-Saturday I ran a total of 31 miles.  2 miles short of what I was supposed to train.  I ran for a total of 5 hours and 30 minutes.  That's a lot of time spent in quiet reflection.  Honestly the time flies.  I listen to music, day dream, let time go by without thought.  It's the only time in my day where someone isn't saying "I'm finished.  Now what do I do?  I need help. Mrs. Horne...Mrs. Horne... Mom, where's my this...Mom what's for dinner?"  You get the big picture right?  The other day someone asked me if I was a real runner.  I said yeah...well, what do you mean really?  He said, a true runner runs without looking at his watch or worrying about the distance.  Funny, although miles are important to me right now in training, I do just run.  In fact most night runs I get to the end and am like, "Oh, I'm done."  Cool.  And then I practice my shadow puppets in the street lights. I wonder if the neighbors ever notice me out there.  Sure to be a sight. 

23 years after giving that speech I am here.  On this road.  Using the body God gave me to run faster and longer than I ever imagined.  Wearing down the grass.  But never my soul.  I'm glad this is the road I've chosen.

Beautiful Breeze

Today as I was running around Lake Peachtree I found myself listening carefully to the sounds which surrounded me.  I am not using my ipod these days so I can allow my mind time to rest, time to cleanse my head in a way.  As much as I'd like to meditate in it's pure form, the act of stillness has not been perfected by my body.   I find running to be a way for me to meditate. 

The sounds which surrounded my 4 miles were the rhythms of my breath, beating of my heart, my feet hitting evenly on the pavement, the singing of  birds, the rustling of the tree branches, an occasional train whistling, the wind whistling in my ears......slowly the rhythms began to orchestrate a beautiful song.  And allowed my mind the freedom it needed from the day to day life. 

I wrote this quote some time ago in my journal, and thought how appropriate to add it to this particular painting. So sweet is the imagery placed with the gentle words. If you have the time, and a bit of patience, take yourself outside and sit and listen, or better yet run and listen. A song will find its way to you as well. And hopefully it will help you to cleanse and free your mind, preparing it for what it really needs to hear and see.   What lies ahead could be amazing.



In the "Zone"

Last night I told my husband that I was going to stay up late and try to get some painting done. With all the changes in my life over the past month, I have to say that getting a regular routine going has been difficult. I don't know how I balanced everything when I worked full-time, honestly! And my inspirations have been a bit off kilter too. A funk you could say. I am not a last minute person. Nor do I work well under short deadlines. I like to plan ahead, make lists, check things off, and go to bed early the night before a big event. I never crammed for tests the night before...never. So this art show is throwing me for a loop. Dead line drawing near, get a tent, need a credit card machine, do I have what will sell made, getting the stuff loaded and to Norcross, hotel reservations, and the list just piles and swims in my head. Especially at night. Last night however, I'd finished up my run of paintings (I like to draw a series, then paint them all at once) and went to bed on a creative high you could say. Visions of the bike painting were coming together, I theme I've wanted to try for awhile now. So I went to sleep peacefully instead of my head swimming.I woke, I jumped out of bed, got the kids to school and went for my morning walk/run with Lily. Usually I run about two mailboxes worth. Then walk the rest. But today, by golly I ran and ran until I ran out of neighborhood. Not sure exactly how far, but I'd say about 3 miles. I was in the "zone". Feels good. Now I'm ready to tackle that bike painting. I'll let you know how it goes. For now here are two newbies. The top one is called "Fall is Coming", the bottom one is "Triplets in the Fall". I let my daughter Mailey help me with the names of my paintings, she gets a total kick out of it. When she saw the three birds she said, "Mommy you've got to call this one the triplets, like our friends at church." We have not one but two sets of triplet friends at our church by the way! Have a creative day!