First day of March and it decides to snow. It rained all day yesterday and a little bit this morning. The rained turned to snow about 11:00am and didn’t stop until there was about 3 inches on the ground.
Mason and his buddy from down the street had a great time playing in the snow. It was wet enough to make snowmen but too hard for snowballs.Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday, July 6, 2008
My first Peachtree Road Race
I am 42 years old and have lived in Georgia all my life, in the Atlanta area for almost 25 years, and this is my first time ever to run the famous Peachtree Road Race. Over 55,000 runners braved the humidity and new tougher ending route for the 39th running of the PRR. I made the short 30 minute trip to Atlanta with the Peachtree City Running Club in one of two chartered buses that promised to drop us off near the start and meet us at the finish.
Being still in my first year of running and not knowing many people in the runing club I thought it would be a good chance to meet some more people. I rode up there in the party bus which was not much of a party bus at 5:30am. Most people slept or were very quiet on the trip to the big city. We were dropped off at the intersection of Piedmont and Peachtree which is about a 1/2 mile south of the Start Line. The race course is not a loop but a one way route south on Peachtree Road from Lenox Mall down to 10th St where this year it took a right turn on Juniper, south to the Finish on Ponce De Leon Ave.
My normal running buddies had no interest in running this race and you have sign up early to even get a number. We had about 1 hour before the race started and I made my way to the runner staging area where runners were stretching, warming up, and making the normal long queue to the last pit stop before heading to the start line.
My bib number was 22013 which put me in group 2 just behind the sub seeded runners. To get a sub seeded bib number and a timing chip for the race you have to turn in proof of a previous finish below 54:59. I didnt know this when I ran my 10K back in March which I completed in 55:29. Thirty seconds from being able to get a chip for my first PRR. I turned in my time anyway and that gave me a position in group 2 which I found out after the race made the race a lot more enjoyable. When I made my way in to the Group 2 holding area I recognized 4 runners from Peachtree City. The running club seems to have a lot of runners that have been running for more than 25 years. This was the clubs 27th trip as a group to the PRR. I chatted with Anne Shoemaker and her son while waiting for the race to start. Her son, Adam was planning to run the race in a hour and that sounded like a good pace to me so I thought I would run with him. Anne had a bum knee and was planning to walk the 10k.
Being in group 2 we ended up starting about 7 minutes behind the seeded runners. Later I found that some runners would not cross the start line for almost another hour. The race course is pretty flat for the first mile. The course is lined up and down Peachtree with thousands of spectators, family, partiers, and volunteers. I didnt want to start too fast and when I got to the first mile marker my time was 9:15, which I thought was pretty good. I decided to leave the heart rate monitor and garmin at home and go with just my lap timer on my timex. I have tough time keeping a steady pace. I fear burning out and not being able to finish strong. When I got to mile 2 my lap time was 8:55. I felt good but I thought it might be too fast. Between miles 2 and 3 was all downhill, but that is when the course gets tough. The famous Cardiac hill that is between Peachtree Battle up to Collier Rd is said to be the toughest. I think I had benefitted from the hill training becuase I passed a lot of people on the hill. On the hill you pass the Shepherd Spinal Center. The patients from the center are lined up on the street cheering the runners up the hill. It was quite a tremendous lift to have that support from people that were going through so much. There was no way I was going to stop and walk. After getting over the hill I knew at about mile 4 my sister who lives on the route was going to be waiting for me to come by. I saw her, got a cheer and a high five and the boost I needed to go hard on the next hill. The hill from Deering up past Spring I thought was the toughest for me. I still didnt stop but I was concerned about going to hard because I didnt want to run out of steam. After you pass Spring, Peachtree Rd makes a big turn and you still have a gradual grade till you get almost to 10th Street. My mile 5 pace was my slowest at 10:15. The old course use to turn left on 10th and head downhill to Piedmont Park. Due to the drought the course now turns right on Juniper, uphill to the finish at Ponce De Leon. I had seen the Juniper hill before when I ran the Half Marathon in March so I knew what to expect. My mile 6 split was 8:44, my fastest of the race and I was passing a lot of runners on the hill. I ended the race with a clock time of 1:04:38 and a net time of 57:38 based on my watch. Not a PR, but considering the tough course I was pleased with my time.
After the finishing I had to find the meeting spot for the running club, which based on the directions we got were a few blocks from where the race festivities were being held. After walking around lost for a while I spotted another club member, also lost, and we both finally found the group. We rested in the shade of the park for about an hour for everyone to complete the race and then got back on the buses and back to Peachtree City. Next year I will run with a chip! And lets just say the the party bus was a little wilder on the way home.
Being still in my first year of running and not knowing many people in the runing club I thought it would be a good chance to meet some more people. I rode up there in the party bus which was not much of a party bus at 5:30am. Most people slept or were very quiet on the trip to the big city. We were dropped off at the intersection of Piedmont and Peachtree which is about a 1/2 mile south of the Start Line. The race course is not a loop but a one way route south on Peachtree Road from Lenox Mall down to 10th St where this year it took a right turn on Juniper, south to the Finish on Ponce De Leon Ave.
My normal running buddies had no interest in running this race and you have sign up early to even get a number. We had about 1 hour before the race started and I made my way to the runner staging area where runners were stretching, warming up, and making the normal long queue to the last pit stop before heading to the start line.
My bib number was 22013 which put me in group 2 just behind the sub seeded runners. To get a sub seeded bib number and a timing chip for the race you have to turn in proof of a previous finish below 54:59. I didnt know this when I ran my 10K back in March which I completed in 55:29. Thirty seconds from being able to get a chip for my first PRR. I turned in my time anyway and that gave me a position in group 2 which I found out after the race made the race a lot more enjoyable. When I made my way in to the Group 2 holding area I recognized 4 runners from Peachtree City. The running club seems to have a lot of runners that have been running for more than 25 years. This was the clubs 27th trip as a group to the PRR. I chatted with Anne Shoemaker and her son while waiting for the race to start. Her son, Adam was planning to run the race in a hour and that sounded like a good pace to me so I thought I would run with him. Anne had a bum knee and was planning to walk the 10k.
Being in group 2 we ended up starting about 7 minutes behind the seeded runners. Later I found that some runners would not cross the start line for almost another hour. The race course is pretty flat for the first mile. The course is lined up and down Peachtree with thousands of spectators, family, partiers, and volunteers. I didnt want to start too fast and when I got to the first mile marker my time was 9:15, which I thought was pretty good. I decided to leave the heart rate monitor and garmin at home and go with just my lap timer on my timex. I have tough time keeping a steady pace. I fear burning out and not being able to finish strong. When I got to mile 2 my lap time was 8:55. I felt good but I thought it might be too fast. Between miles 2 and 3 was all downhill, but that is when the course gets tough. The famous Cardiac hill that is between Peachtree Battle up to Collier Rd is said to be the toughest. I think I had benefitted from the hill training becuase I passed a lot of people on the hill. On the hill you pass the Shepherd Spinal Center. The patients from the center are lined up on the street cheering the runners up the hill. It was quite a tremendous lift to have that support from people that were going through so much. There was no way I was going to stop and walk. After getting over the hill I knew at about mile 4 my sister who lives on the route was going to be waiting for me to come by. I saw her, got a cheer and a high five and the boost I needed to go hard on the next hill. The hill from Deering up past Spring I thought was the toughest for me. I still didnt stop but I was concerned about going to hard because I didnt want to run out of steam. After you pass Spring, Peachtree Rd makes a big turn and you still have a gradual grade till you get almost to 10th Street. My mile 5 pace was my slowest at 10:15. The old course use to turn left on 10th and head downhill to Piedmont Park. Due to the drought the course now turns right on Juniper, uphill to the finish at Ponce De Leon. I had seen the Juniper hill before when I ran the Half Marathon in March so I knew what to expect. My mile 6 split was 8:44, my fastest of the race and I was passing a lot of runners on the hill. I ended the race with a clock time of 1:04:38 and a net time of 57:38 based on my watch. Not a PR, but considering the tough course I was pleased with my time.
After the finishing I had to find the meeting spot for the running club, which based on the directions we got were a few blocks from where the race festivities were being held. After walking around lost for a while I spotted another club member, also lost, and we both finally found the group. We rested in the shade of the park for about an hour for everyone to complete the race and then got back on the buses and back to Peachtree City. Next year I will run with a chip! And lets just say the the party bus was a little wilder on the way home.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Chattanooga Stage Race 2, Raccoon Mountain
Yesterday, My buddy Ed an I drove to Chattanooga early in the morning to run stage 2 of the Chattanooga Stage Race put on by Rock Creek in Tennessee. Stage 2 was suppose to be the easiest of the 3 trail races. It was 18 miles and described as fairly flat. After our trail race in May we thought after reading about the race decription and distance this was a good goal for June and fit into our Marathon training plan. This run / walk was my longest distance yet. I was prepared endurance wise but I had no clue how difficult the terrain and sense of surroundings would affect me mentally.
There were about 40 runners. Most of the runners had run the previous day and were making a long weekend of running all 3 races on 3 different mountains in the Chattanooga area. For June the weather was very nice. Heat was not a factor at all. Most of the running was done in deep cover of the trees. In fact I felt better when it opened up and I could see the sky. At the start of the race the trail was fairly flat and or downhill. We ran a while with 2 other runners at a good easy pace for the first 5 miles to the first aid station.
We decided to slow it down and let the other runners go in front of us after the aid station. The trail was pretty narrow and not easy to pass. I did well the first 8 miles to the 2nd aid station - then going into the small intestines trail. The trail was designed for bikes and given the name Small intestines due to the numerous turns and switchbacks. My feet were soar from the pounding on the rocks. I was wearing my normal trainers and my bottom of my feet felt bruised. I found it difficult to stay so focused on watching for roots, sharp rock and small stumps in the trail. I took a spill about halfway through the small intestines. Luckily I fell into a soft part of leaves and brush and not rocks. Another runner helped me up and made sure I was OK and that I kept going. We had to start walking the hills out of the small intestines - although not very long hills they seemed to be many. My sense of direction and distance really affected me mentally. Not being able to see any real landmarks and several times I felt like I had been down the same path before. My buddy Ed, he turned 56 yesteday was having a real tough time. His stomach was bothering him and I wanted to stay with him. When we started walking the hills I found it very hard to keep a steady pace. Especially since the hills and and downhills were so short.
After the last aid station we walked most of the way up the mountain. I found very little spots where I could get a good pace for a run and my feet hurt when I did start running on the rocky terrain. I started talking to someone on the last stretch who had run the previous day- we didnt help each other mentally. He told me the previous day was easier and he was already out there longer today and was glad he didnt sign up for stage 3. I could only run one of the stages and chose stage 2 because it fit into my training schedule for the marathon and it was described as flat. I dont really think that flat was a very good description : )
I think I finished in about 4 hours. Not sure of time and my Garmin GPS was pretty useless for tracking the distance due to the cover of the woods. I have learned a couple of things - one is I need some real trail shoes. I believe my road trainers didnt do me any favors yesterday. Also I think I went out a little too fast to pace my self consistenly throughout the race and that being in the woods on unfamiliar terrain affected me mentally. Not something I had experienced during any of my training.
Im glad I did it. Not sure I would do it agian today but maybe next week : )
My official time was 4:08:15. Official race results posted on Boonies message board.
There were about 40 runners. Most of the runners had run the previous day and were making a long weekend of running all 3 races on 3 different mountains in the Chattanooga area. For June the weather was very nice. Heat was not a factor at all. Most of the running was done in deep cover of the trees. In fact I felt better when it opened up and I could see the sky. At the start of the race the trail was fairly flat and or downhill. We ran a while with 2 other runners at a good easy pace for the first 5 miles to the first aid station.
We decided to slow it down and let the other runners go in front of us after the aid station. The trail was pretty narrow and not easy to pass. I did well the first 8 miles to the 2nd aid station - then going into the small intestines trail. The trail was designed for bikes and given the name Small intestines due to the numerous turns and switchbacks. My feet were soar from the pounding on the rocks. I was wearing my normal trainers and my bottom of my feet felt bruised. I found it difficult to stay so focused on watching for roots, sharp rock and small stumps in the trail. I took a spill about halfway through the small intestines. Luckily I fell into a soft part of leaves and brush and not rocks. Another runner helped me up and made sure I was OK and that I kept going. We had to start walking the hills out of the small intestines - although not very long hills they seemed to be many. My sense of direction and distance really affected me mentally. Not being able to see any real landmarks and several times I felt like I had been down the same path before. My buddy Ed, he turned 56 yesteday was having a real tough time. His stomach was bothering him and I wanted to stay with him. When we started walking the hills I found it very hard to keep a steady pace. Especially since the hills and and downhills were so short.
After the last aid station we walked most of the way up the mountain. I found very little spots where I could get a good pace for a run and my feet hurt when I did start running on the rocky terrain. I started talking to someone on the last stretch who had run the previous day- we didnt help each other mentally. He told me the previous day was easier and he was already out there longer today and was glad he didnt sign up for stage 3. I could only run one of the stages and chose stage 2 because it fit into my training schedule for the marathon and it was described as flat. I dont really think that flat was a very good description : )
I think I finished in about 4 hours. Not sure of time and my Garmin GPS was pretty useless for tracking the distance due to the cover of the woods. I have learned a couple of things - one is I need some real trail shoes. I believe my road trainers didnt do me any favors yesterday. Also I think I went out a little too fast to pace my self consistenly throughout the race and that being in the woods on unfamiliar terrain affected me mentally. Not something I had experienced during any of my training.
Im glad I did it. Not sure I would do it agian today but maybe next week : )
My official time was 4:08:15. Official race results posted on Boonies message board.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Dauset Trails 15K Xterra Trail Race
To keep our training steady Ed and I have been trying to plan one race a month. After the 1/2 marathons we ran in March and April we signed up for the Dauset Trails 15K to run in May. We also recruited another coworker for our Tuesday/Thursday lunch runs. Steve also signed up for the Marine Corp Marathon with us in October. So the three of us decided to run the trail race. I shortened my long runs in May with the longest being about 8 miles.
My parents drove up from Macon and met us about 7am at Dauset Trails. They brought breakfast for the kids and they toured Dauset Trails while we ran. Thanks Mom and Dad.
The race started on the edge of an open field and followed the edge of the woods for about a 1/2 mile before hitting the trails. Once in the trails it was mostly single track and everyone was pretty much following single file. The trail had a lot of rolling hills and is mainly used as a bike trail.
I saw a couple of people take spills but I was managing the rocks pretty good. Until, one jumped out of the ground and got me too. I banged up my knee but not enough to slow me down. After that I was more careful making sure I was lifting my feet more off the ground.
I was in front of Ed and Steve and didnt know how far they were behind so I just tryed to maintain a good pace. After a couple of miles the trail opened up again to a road and there was room to pass if you could. I met another runner, Danny who was wearing a Marine Corp Marathon In Training shirt. We ran together for the rest of the race. Having someone to talk too made the last miles much easier.
At the end the route took us back around the open field which in places had grass about calf high which made for some high step running. I finished in 1:37:13 and really did enjoy it. So much so Ed and I have planned another trail run in June.
 |
| Dauset Trails 15K Trail Race |
My parents drove up from Macon and met us about 7am at Dauset Trails. They brought breakfast for the kids and they toured Dauset Trails while we ran. Thanks Mom and Dad.
The race started on the edge of an open field and followed the edge of the woods for about a 1/2 mile before hitting the trails. Once in the trails it was mostly single track and everyone was pretty much following single file. The trail had a lot of rolling hills and is mainly used as a bike trail.
I saw a couple of people take spills but I was managing the rocks pretty good. Until, one jumped out of the ground and got me too. I banged up my knee but not enough to slow me down. After that I was more careful making sure I was lifting my feet more off the ground.
I was in front of Ed and Steve and didnt know how far they were behind so I just tryed to maintain a good pace. After a couple of miles the trail opened up again to a road and there was room to pass if you could. I met another runner, Danny who was wearing a Marine Corp Marathon In Training shirt. We ran together for the rest of the race. Having someone to talk too made the last miles much easier.
At the end the route took us back around the open field which in places had grass about calf high which made for some high step running. I finished in 1:37:13 and really did enjoy it. So much so Ed and I have planned another trail run in June.
Monday, May 26, 2008
MCM in training
I've received my Marine Corp Marathon in training gear. I now can look like a real marathon newbie. I dont mind at all looking the part. I am going to enjoy every last bit of the training, sweat, long runs, and did I mention sweat. I hope this summer of training is memorable and one of just many to come.
I have found many runners online that are a definite inspiration and will make my training that much more enjoyable. Podcasters like kimba90 of the podcast, Trails and Tribulations, Nicole and Dan from the podcast 4 Feet Running, and blogger msteechur who just completed a marathon this weekend and is already looking for another in June. I sometime soon hope to be able to run my first marathon with many more to come. Wish me luck with my training.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Quack Quack
These 2 mallards showed up about a week ago feeding under my birdfeeder. They have been coming back 2 or 3 times a day ever since. I live about a 1/2 a mile from the lake, I guess shorter distance by flight.
I've noticed that the male is more cautious than the female. Also the female has quite the appetite. I've been calling the male Curly becuase of the curl of his tail. Don't have a name for the female yet?
I've noticed that the male is more cautious than the female. Also the female has quite the appetite. I've been calling the male Curly becuase of the curl of his tail. Don't have a name for the female yet?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Marine Corps Marathon
First step to my goal of running a marathon is complete. I successfully registered for the Marine Corps Marathon scheduled in Oct this fall. After training for and successfully running two half marathons I'm ready to start training for the full marathon. I have two friends and running partners at work that have also signed up. We have lunch planned for tomorrow to review our calendars and training regimen to make the trip to Washington fun, exciting, and memorable.
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