The Peachtree Road Walk

As stated in earlier posts I walked the Peachtree Road Race this past Friday, the fourth of July.

I actually have a lot to say, but will try to keep this short because most of this will just be complaining. To say it in one sentence: I don't think I will ever walk the Peachtree Road Race again. I highly doubt that I will Do the Peachtree again if I cannot run it.

We left a bit earlier than last year and arrived at Marta around 5:30. We were able to park up close and had no trouble getting on the train and making it comfortably over to the starting point. When we were walking towards the starting areas there was a lady looking to buy a number. She saw me, saw my number, and saw that my arm was in a sling. I could tell the hope in her voice when she said "You aren't going to run with a broken arm are you?" I quickly said no, but I am still walking. Her hope quickly fell. It was kinda funny to watch.

It was nice to walk it from where I was in timegroup 1A, the people were kind to me and didn't give me a hard time for still starting in the timegroup 1A even though I was not running. Near the beginning of the race they let the 1A and 1B groups kinda melt together. I was no longer at the back of all the runners in the timegroup I was in, I was now in the middle of the pack. I didn't keep walking back, I stayed right where I was. When the race began, I quickly worked my way all the way over to the right and believe I stayed out of everyone's way.

Here is where the negative stuff begins. Once we passed where all the fences where on both sides of the road I saw hundreds if not thousands of people lining both sides of the road with numbers on, ranging all the way up to the 9's. At first I thought these were just people that were watching the start of the race, and then were going to walk back and start with their group. I quickly found that this wasn't the case as they all started jumping in all around me. Some running, but most of them walking. This went on for the first couple miles although diminishing as it went on, with people still jumping in to run just the last mile. I should have been one of the first walkers all the way though. I am sure I would have been passed at some point by a walker, but I should have seen mostly runners the entire race. I wasn't in competition, and I wouldn't have cared if thousands of runners were starting around me if they had the right timegroup, but for these people to cheat and not do the entire 10k absolutely ruined the entire experience for me. I got more upset as it went along.

My thoughts are: If you can't run the entire race, run and walk it. If you can't run at all walk it. If you can't walk the entire distance than this event is not for you..... let someone else that wants to do the entire distance register instead of you. Train up to the distance and do the entire distance next year. End of my thoughts.

I did take the opportunity to get my free donut from Publix along the way. I also got a Vitamin Water and was able to get a T-shirt from Chick-fil-a since I was just walking and not running. All things I wouldn't have even thought about had I been running.

My time was not official even though I had a timing chip from the 1A timegroup. I crossed the starting line with it over the strip, but the finish line strip was removed before I crossed the finish so I do not exist if I try entering my number to check the stats. This is OK, I understand. You have to run less than 55 minutes to get in timegroup 1 so you should be able to do it on race day at least close to an hour. I am not sure when they pulled the strip up, but it was before I crossed the line in 1:41:40. It was funny, when I went to turn in my chip the guy said he was getting bored. If I had actually run I would have taken offense to this, but since I only walked I understood.

I finished the race/walk in 1:41:40 with an average around 16 minute miles. I was more sore at the end of the race, and still today than I have been in a long time. I guess that is because I am using different muscles than if I was to run it. I am sure looking forward to getting back to running soon.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Edit 7-8-08: Some pics are now available of this one armed bandit: pics

Off to the races

Well..... kinda.

Tomorrow I will be up bright and early and out the door by 5:00 AM to head for the 39th running of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta...... but I won't be running.

As strange as it all seems right now I am excited to be getting up early in the morning - to be fighting the Marta crowds - the 55,000 race participates - and later the sweaty stinky ride home. Excited that is, to be able to attend and walk, even though I would much prefer to actually be running. It is very strange to be only walking. I am setting out all my race gear just as if I was going to run, mainly because it is habit, knowing that I will probably be the most prepared walker tomorrow.

In case you are joining my blog for the first time, the reason I am walking the Peachtree can be found in the earlier posts on my blog here, here, and here. I look forward to enjoying the Peachtree from a different angle, an angle not concerned with time, position, or any of the other normal race concerns. You won't be finding me at the starting line stretching, drinking lots of water or Gatorade, or making one last dash to the port-o-potties, but you may find me looking for a free cup of coffee. I am going to take this opportunity to take in the surroundings, and if those surroundings include free donuts, t-shirts, or anything else being handed out along the way, I will take the time to indulge in what otherwise would be passed by quickly by any half-way serious runner.

In March I ran a qualifying 10k and finished in 48:03. That time qualified me for a 1A time slot at the Peachtree, the best you can get behind the elite runners. I was really excited about being able to start so close to the front. I was looking forward to a nice clean run without having to deal with the trash and everything else of the 20 - 30 thousand runners and walkers that had gone on before. Tomorrow I will not be able to use that time slot to it's full extent, but still plan on using it. I will be lining up at the very back of time group 1A with my 10521 number and my left arm in a sling. I will proudly walk the right side of the road out of the way of all the runners. I am sure most of the time groups 1B, 2, 3, 4, 5, and maybe 6 will pass me at some point along the way, but that is OK..... I will beat most of the walkers :)

If you are running the Peachtree tomorrow, give me a shout as you pass me by. I will be the bald headed guy, wearing black shorts, a white tech shirt, and my left arm in my nice blue sling. A simple shout will be nice, please don't come by and pat me on the back, as even though it is my arm in the sling, it is my shoulder that hurts. :) Oh... and by the way, if you are running, good luck.... especially with the new uphill finish!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

WOW - 2nd Overall..... and a New PR!

I really just don't know quite what to say.

Today was just awesome. You have to understand that 1 year ago, the Inaugural Saratoga 5k Fun Run was my very first race since I had run back in high school. To put that into perspective.... I am 38 now. Last year for this race I was 50 lbs heavier and came in dead last. You can see last years results here. You can see more about my running journey here, and my overall journey here, but for now back to the race.

Yes, you read that right.... I came in SECOND OVERALL! It was not a really big race, but it more than doubled from the first year when I think there was a total of 27 runners. Today I think the total runners was somewhere in the 50's, which is not bad considering this is a very hard and hilly course. It really and truly is the hardest course I have run. To give you an idea, here is a shot of the elevation:

I started the race near the front of the pack, and the Chik-Fil-A cow was there and was starting off the pack. I was following him and trying to go around him when he stepped over right in front of me and I ran into him.... that had to be a sight to see! I almost fell over! I ran for the first 1/2 mile with a pack of runners and then started to pull away a bit from them when we got to the first hills. When I was almost to 1 1/2 miles I started to round a corner when one of the course volunteers said "you can catch him"...... What? Him? not Them? I was pleasantly surprised, but I had thought there may only be one in front of me. I ran the rest of the race kinda watching my shoulder to make sure nobody was coming up on me..... It was so much fun! The first place finisher finished in 21:xx and my time was 23:23.

I haven't run a 5k since January because my training turned towards my First Half Marathon. I have only run one 10K during that time as well. One of the cool things is that this race set a new PR for me! 23:23! And that was on a very difficult course to boot! I can't wait to see what I can do on a normal course. I heard a couple people mention that this race was 4 minutes longer than a 5k they ran just the week before. And I think they were in the 20's so that is quite a difference. I don't think it would be that much of a difference for me, but maybe a minute or two.

Here is my splits on my running log: link Robbie said the race results will be up tomorrow, I will update the post when they are posted.

Well, the results are in and my 2nd place stood :) Here is the results from today >> link and some pics as well >> link Hey..... I even got honorable mention on the front page. Thanks Robbie!

First Half Marathon - 1:55:46

OK, that is not the official time, but I started my watch when the gun went off, even though it took me about 20 seconds to get over the line. There is still a lot up in the air, but as you will see in the picture that yes in fact that is me (in the white and black) crossing the finish line, and there is the clock..... what more can I say? Whoooooo Hoooooo!!! (OK, so you can't quite tell? Click the picture I uploaded it in full size so there would be no question) I will put a picture up in a little bit when I was walking out the door so you can see the same black and white - that will be proof for sure since nobody else wears white and black.

First off, I have to start with the weather, we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a little humid but you couldn't tell because with the 50 degrees and cloudy skies it was just perfect.

I started the morning at 6:00 AM, that is one of the good parts to a local race, I didn't have to sleep in a hotel, or get up really early to drive. The drive took me about 5 minutes.

I had a cup of coffee, a half a banana, half a piece of wheat bread, and a small cup of Oatmeal..... oh yea, and some more water.... like I haven't drank enough of that over the past 24 hours!

My wife got up to give me a good luck kiss, even though she is not a morning person. She decided that she and the kids would get there to watch me finish since it wouldn't be a whole lot of fun to see me stand in a pack and then have to find something for she and the kids to do for ALMOST two hours.... not two hours - but ALMOST two hours. :) She took a picture of me as I was headed out the door. Watch on arm, cell phone and license on my arm, and gu in my pockets. I was ready to run!

The other beauty of a local race was that it didn't take long for me to find some people I knew. This helped me pass the hour wait I had till running time. Some of them were running the shorter races, but at least two people I knew were also running the half.

Well, to get this part out of the way since I am SOOOOOO excited and thankful for this. My ankle didn't give me one bit of trouble, not even a twinge the entire time!!!! Not a peep from the legs, ankles, or feet the entire race other than being just flat worn out in the last few miles.

I started the race back in the pack a little bit trying to force myself to take off slower. Well, that was my first mistake. It took me quite a bit of dodging to get around the slower runners which was quite frustrating. The first mile I felt like I was crawling, I was just sure I was going to see at least a 10 minute pace by the end of the first mile. Imagine my surprise when the watch said 8:20, and that was with 20 seconds to cross the starting line. CRAP! I did what I didn't want to do, I started too fast! Well, the past is the past and I did my best to just try to get into a comfortable cruising speed that I could maintain throughout. I just kept at what I thought was a comfortable pace, and the second mile came in at 8:11. Now I knew my body was just messing with me and was going to get the good laugh at the 10-13 mile mark.

I continued on with the first half of the race and felt really good, I opted for water at all the stops that I took anything. I used my first gu at about mile 5 1/2 as I was coming up on the water stop. My first 6 miles had been at an 8:30 pace, a full 30 seconds faster than what I was shooting for.... but I still felt good. I knew I would pay for it at the end of the race though.

I made the half way turn and knew I was under an hour, not just under an hour, but well under an hour. I was elated! I used my second gu about mile 9, and things were still going good. My pace started to decrease in mile 10 as I figured it would since I had not run the first half where I should have. It was closer to the pace where I needed to be for the Sub 2 so I knew it was still well within line of my goal.

Mile 11 was a difficult mile, it was one of the three hills that were the worst of the entire race. These were the hills everyone was talking about. They don't seem near as bad when you drive them... go figure.

Mile 12, and mile 13 absolutely killed me. After running the race I had so far I was not ready for the hills in these two miles. I ended up having to mostly walk up the 2 hills, one in each of the last two miles. I just didn't have enough to get me to run those two hills. I guess this is why everyone I talked to that had run it before had told me it was a difficult course and that the hills were a killer..... because they were! I didn't recognize any of the other hills, they were there but didn't bother me, but these last three were enough to do me in. My pace showed it in these last two miles especially where they were 10:11 and 9:53 respectively. Now, does it bother me that I had to walk these hills? A little, but not enough to keep me from being elated and wearing my medal with honor!

Coming up over the hill they threw me for a loop. I saw the starting line and was excited, it is almost over! Well, at the beginning of the race the start/finish line were at the same place. But once the Half Marathon and 10k were run they got it ready for the 5k. To do this they had to move the starting line up. So, when I saw the starting line and was happy I was almost done, I found out that they had moved it and I still had another .2 to go.

My legs were tired and felt like jelly, but as far as pain the only pain was pain of actually running a half marathon, not of injury. Muscle pain feels good after a good hard run!

At the finish line, my wife, and kids were there to cheer me on. They brought me a towel and my son gave me a hug. My wife and daughters pulled away when I tried to give them a hug. When I got back to my car I noticed I had a little bleeding as is common amongst us men with perky and well defined pectoral muscles - how do you like that explanation? :) When I got home my one daughter said - yea I noticed that but I didn't want to say anything because other people were around. :) I am happy to say as I sit here typing the worst pain I am experiencing is pain from my nipples :)

Well, that is the story of my First Half Marathon...... and I am pumped!

My splits can be found on my log

Update: The official results are in. The results on their website and active.com point to the 2007 results so I am not sure when that will be fixed. The race results for the men were in the Gwinnett Daily Post this morning and show me at 1:55:48 and 186 out of 280 men, and 242 out of 448 total finishers. I was 32 in my age group.

Stress is a four letter word

OK, stress isn't a four letter word, but it is not one of my favorite words right now either. However, My life right now could have a little less of it right now.

Work is really stressful right now as I have a big project that I have been working on for months that is due on Monday. I am a Application Developer and my life has been wrapped up in this current application while trying to learn a new technology to complete it. Needless to say this has caused a lot of delays, and stress. I have been working most nights, in addition to all day every day, including some weekends over the past couple weeks. This weekend will be one of those weekends that will require work as well.

Now enter race weekend. I am not sure how things work out the way they do sometimes, and why everything has to hit at the same time, but I guess it is to make us stronger. I had a very good run this past Sunday, and was feeling really good about this coming Saturday's race. Tuesday I went out for my 4 miler, and things seemed to go OK, but the first mile my ankle was bothering me a little bit. Not bad like last time, and it didn't bother me at all the rest of the run. However, it is feeling a bit weak still this morning. I am stretching and icing, and it doesn't feel horrible, but I am concerned.... and yes stressed on how it will hold up this Saturday.

Yes, I am fairly confident that this ankle pain is a result of me not replacing my shoes yet. I know I have too many miles on my shoes (based on recommendations) but I didn't have the extra $ back a month ago when I realized this, and by the time I got the $ it was too close to race day to try and switch to new shoes. I think I am paying for that now, when in fact I should have literally paid for them back a month ago. I know there is nothing I can do about this now, but I know what I will be doing once I get through the race this Saturday. So, now I am wondering..... do I run my last 4 miles on Thursday, or do I let my ankle rest till race time....... Hmmmmm, not sure what I should do.

Yes, I am getting the pre-race jitters. Everything is not going bad, but the stress at work with this new stress of my ankle acting up has got my head spinning. On a brighter note, the forecast has again changed and shows the rain holding off until Sunday. I think we are close enough now that this will probably not change too much, so I am happy about that. The forecast is calling for cloudy and 63 with 20% chance of precipitation. I don't think it could be much better than that. So what is the ankle forecast? I won't know till race day... :(

**Edit** I wanted to edit this post and include a picture of my shoes. I am not sure what they looked like when they were new, but they look like they are slanting to the outside. Based on the wear on the bottom of the shoes that is where the wear is also. I am sure this means they are way overdue for replacement, I just didn't realize they were this bad. I have probably close to 450 miles on them. I have logged 325 miles, and I trained for and ran a 5k and 10k before I started logging. I am sure based on how they look that they are the reason for my ankle problems and probably all the other little aches and pains I have been having recently. If only I would have done what I knew I should have done a month ago. :(

Fast Recovery &Thinking About Race Day

Following all my previous runs of longer than 8 miles I was always hurting the following bad quite a bit. The muscle soreness felt good, but was always making itself well known. I know this was because I was going distances that I had not previously gone so I knew to expect it.

Well, today I woke up, somewhat expecting that same soreness, but I had no signs of putting in 12 miles yesterday. I guess that I am starting to reap the benefits of the miles I am putting in and the distances I am putting in. Since this was 12 miles, and I have done 13, and 14 on other occasions, this is telling me that my legs are starting to get used to these distances. I am sure on race day that will all change :) but that is to be expected.

I am really starting to think about race day a lot more now. I want to push myself but I don't want to overdo it at the beginning and cause myself to pay for it in the end. I really don't know what to do, it is different than any smaller race where if you mess up and go out to hard you only have to pay for it for a few miles, nothing like 13.1. I really would like to hit the sub 2 hours, but I am trying to keep myself convinced that this is my first, and just crossing the finish line will be a great reward itself.