Left at 5:30 this morning and drove about 10 miles when we parked and rode the MARTA into Atlanta. The subway was packed with runners. My sister-in-law, niece and her friend were walking. As soon as we got to the Lenox mall we hit the port-a potty. Took us forever. I almost thought I wasn't going to make it. There were so many people there I couldn't believe it.
Jamie was in the first group so he had to push and squeeze his way to the front. I was in the second timed group. I should have squeezed my way to the front but settled for the middle of the pack. It was a chip timed race.
My first mile was around the 8 min mark because there were so many people. It was a huge four lane road and it was basically wall to wall people. After the first mile things got a little better I decided to push my way through. It was flat and downhill for the first 3 miles then it was pretty much up hill the rest of the way. I was mad at myself for not charging my i-pod up last night. It died on me about mile 4.5. Had to run the last mile and a half uphill with no music. Probably could have gone a bit faster if I hadn't tried to fiddle with i-pod. It was 75 degrees with about 60% humidity. There were tons of people on both sides of the street. People and business were handing out t-shirts to runners on the side of the road as people ran by I didn't stop. There were also quite a few unique costumes. One guy passed me wearing a full suit. Long pants, shirt, tie, jacket, and had a attache' case. I saw other people completely covered in red/white/blue body paint. I sprinted to the finish with the goal of finishing under 48 minutes. After the race all the runners were herded down the street like cattle. (LOL) We got water then they took our time chip off and then through lines to get our t-shirts. I had carried my cell phone so I could call Jamie and we could hook up. Off to the side of the road we saw these booths that had fruit and bagels. We just walked in and started eating. It wasn't until about 15 minutes later we realized it was a private party for Georgia Power employees that had run the race. This volunteer even took our picture. LOL
We walked down to the civic center and waited for Koni, Kim and Kelly to finish. We texted them about 9 a.m. and they hadn't even started the race yet. We just sat in the shade and waited for about 2 hours for them to finish. Although I really needed a shower. I hated feeling all sticky and gritty but I tried to use a little water to rinse off.
We rode the MARTA back to the car and then went to lunch at this deli. Came back to my brother-in-laws and crashed for a couple hours. I am so glad we don't have this type of humidity.
It was a great race. Can't believe how many people there were. Not sure of where I fell in the rankings. Will have to wait until the results are posted online.
Time: 47:30
Avg pace: 7:33 | 