Hills, Hills and More Hills: A Recap of the Publix GA Half
[caption id="attachment_1463" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Thanks to this lady who helped me finish! "]
Chowing Down Before the Race
Let me preface this race re-cap by saying that I completed about 85-90% of the training for the half. I won't make excuses, but let's just say that I paid for it on the course. Let me know also say that this was my first half marathon. My nerves (and stomach) started being uncooperative as soon as my husband and I landed in Atlanta. However, it wasn't just the half marathon that had me feeling "unsettled'. It was was everything. I'm a worry-wort by nature, so if there was anything I could worry about, I worried about it.
Let's fast forward to race morning. The night before, I laid out all of my gear. I don't have a type A personality, so my husband knew I must be freaked out if I was prepping the night before. I called it an early night and woke up promptly at 5am to get ready.
After stopping by the hotel cafe to pick up some eats, we headed to the the BGR! tent near the start line. I have to say, once we got there and the other BGRs started to arrive, the nervous balls of energy finally disappeared! There was so much positive energy flowing, there's wasn't an opportunity to be nervous, have self-doubt or, better yet, have a mental breakdown. We stretched, we ate, we laughed and then we headed to the start line.
Now, I have to give the race DJ a shoutout (if there is such a thing)! It was the perfect playlist to get the runners ready to go. Who wouldn't be ready to run after dancing to "Hey Ya" by Andre 3000 and "Boom Boom Pow" by the BEPs. I was hype, jazzed, siked and all the above.
I have to say I definitely like corral starts better. I wasn't rushed at the start and I did a pretty good job of keeping my pace. Most of the race went very well, except for the hills. They just kept coming, one after the other. Although, it was pretty hysterical to hear everyone shout expletives at the same time as we caught sight of each mountain before us.
And then came mile nine. I hit a wall. I never knew what that felt like until that morning. It sucked. It was the worst feeling ever. But, I knew I had to push through. I knew that if I didn't, my husband and Ashley wouldn't find me laid out in a ditch.
Chowing Down Before the Race
Let me preface this race re-cap by saying that I completed about 85-90% of the training for the half. I won't make excuses, but let's just say that I paid for it on the course. Let me know also say that this was my first half marathon. My nerves (and stomach) started being uncooperative as soon as my husband and I landed in Atlanta. However, it wasn't just the half marathon that had me feeling "unsettled'. It was was everything. I'm a worry-wort by nature, so if there was anything I could worry about, I worried about it.
Let's fast forward to race morning. The night before, I laid out all of my gear. I don't have a type A personality, so my husband knew I must be freaked out if I was prepping the night before. I called it an early night and woke up promptly at 5am to get ready.
After stopping by the hotel cafe to pick up some eats, we headed to the the BGR! tent near the start line. I have to say, once we got there and the other BGRs started to arrive, the nervous balls of energy finally disappeared! There was so much positive energy flowing, there's wasn't an opportunity to be nervous, have self-doubt or, better yet, have a mental breakdown. We stretched, we ate, we laughed and then we headed to the start line.
Now, I have to give the race DJ a shoutout (if there is such a thing)! It was the perfect playlist to get the runners ready to go. Who wouldn't be ready to run after dancing to "Hey Ya" by Andre 3000 and "Boom Boom Pow" by the BEPs. I was hype, jazzed, siked and all the above.
I have to say I definitely like corral starts better. I wasn't rushed at the start and I did a pretty good job of keeping my pace. Most of the race went very well, except for the hills. They just kept coming, one after the other. Although, it was pretty hysterical to hear everyone shout expletives at the same time as we caught sight of each mountain before us.
And then came mile nine. I hit a wall. I never knew what that felt like until that morning. It sucked. It was the worst feeling ever. But, I knew I had to push through. I knew that if I didn't, my husband and Ashley wouldn't find me laid out in a ditch.
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At mile 11, I thought I was going to die. Literally. Then an angel appeared (see the lady in the light blue shirt). She grabbed my hand and told me that I could do it. It's moments like this, that make racing so special. The camaraderie is amazing! We're all just runners just trying to make it to the finish line.
I pretty much looked (and felt) like crap, but i would do it all over again. While I wasn't wowed by my time (2:42), I have a base and can now work on shaving off time. I'm actually really looking forward to running my next half marathon. Although Atlanta, had lots of hills, I wouldn't mind running the city again.
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