Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Georgia Marathon - The beat down

It never stops amazing me how much I still have to learn about running and racing. It seems so simple: Lace up your shoes, place one foot in front of the other, and go! Oh but how much more there is........

I signed up for the Georgia Marathon almost a year before the race. Right after the 2010 race, they lost their sponsor (ING) and offered some incredible deals to go ahead and sign up for the 2011 event. I think I paid 25 bucks.........too good to pass up.

Fast forward 11 months. Gee, I guess I gotta run this thing! You see, I haven't been running many road races. Actually, it'd been like 18 months since I had run a road marathon. A few shorter distance races and lots of longer trail runs, but road marathons had kinda fell outta favor with me.

The great thing about the location is that I can park at work and just walk 1/4 mile to the start. A perfect day to run.....mild temps and slightly overcast skys promised a fun day. I was equally excited to hear that Delane was going to come down and join me at the finish.

Back to the learning thing; What was I thinking choosing racing flats for a 26.2 mile road marathon? I hadn't been training in them. I hadn't even been doing that much road running. I am used to running 4-5 hour races and feeling good enough to go for a recovery run the next day. I couldn't barely walk for 4 days after this thing! Those flats really put a hurtin' on me.

As for the race; Excellent day for me. I really like this course! It isn't easy, but I like the changes in terrain (down, up flat) and the trip through the scenic areas of Atlanta are amazing.

Very pleased with my time, however. 2:55:59, 10th OA, 2nd Masters. Even won some prize money.....a nice surprise!

No comments: