Experiencing the 13.1 Atlanta

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I once again was able to enjoy the 13.1 Atlanta, however this year was a little different than the previous two years.  I was really looking forward to running this year and trying out the new course, but alas it was not meant to be.  It is crazy how fast you can lose fitness while injured and eating too much, I just wish I didn’t know so much about it.

The Time Has Come For Many – But Not For Me

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I have been talking a lot about the 13.1 Marathon Atlanta both so you could have a chance to win race entries and also because it has been one of my favorite races to run these past two years.  I won’t go into a lot of details today, but sadly I won’t be running it this year.  I waited this long because I was hoping that I would be able to somehow get ready for it, but I am not in the condition I need to be to run a half marathon.

Peachtree Road Race 2011

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I normally do not admit to this, but this race report is way over due.  Work and life has been very busy and very stressful and this race report has suffered the consequences.  This Peachtree Road Race will always be a special one because I was able to line up and run it with both of my daughters, something that may or may not happen again.

As with every Fourth of July for the past 5 years my day started off much earlier than any sane person would allow.  I have been awake and out running earlier than this, but always with a reason that I was training for a marathon or something impressive like that, but the Peachtree Road Race gets me out of bed that early so I can make the trip to Lenox by 6:30 to prepare for a 7:30 race start.

Why I Run The Peachtree - Video Edition

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I will go into much more details soon, but I have to share this while it is still available on CBS Atlanta.  Watch till the end and you will see in my own words why I run the Peachtree Road Race each Fourth of July. They interviewed my daughters and I just 10 minutes before the start of the race from our Wave A corral, but I was sad to see my they didn’t make the cut in the spot they aired.  We saw them after the race as well and they continued the interview a little bit and Payton’s t-shirt did make the cut as you will see.

Father’s Day 4-Miler With All My Kids

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With today being Father’s Day what better way to celebrate the weekend than to run the Atlanta Track Club Father’s Day 4-Miler with my kids – all three of them!  The race was run Saturday morning at 7:30 starting just outside Turner Field in downtown Atlanta, and finishing between first base and the Atlanta Braves Home Plate along the dirt track.

Last year my daughter’s Ashlee and Payton ran it with me, but this year took it to the next step when my 9 year old son Brady joined us as well.  This was the first time Brady had run 4 miles so I anticipated there would be a few walk breaks to get the distance, especially considering the hills in the course.

Brady’s First Peachtree Jr. 3k

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This past Saturday Brady ran the Peachtree Jr. 3k put on by the Atlanta Track Club as part of the Peachtree Road Race that will run as always on the 4th of July.  He had a great time, and ran a great race.  It was cool enough, but very humid with a chance of thunderstorms.  Luckily the thunderstorms never came and the only ran we felt was right as we were getting to Piedmont Park shortly after 8 am.

Brady hasn’t been running lately.  In fact just last week when he ran a 5k run with me, it was the first time he had ran with me for around a year.  Since he had not been running I hadn’t even thought about entering him to run the Peachtree Jr. this year, but when a friend of mine contacted me on Friday saying that his son wasn’t going to be able to run I figured…. why not?  Their last name is also Wilson so I didn’t figure I would have any issues picking up the number, Brady would just have to be 10 instead of 9 and go by a different name this time :) Thanks Kevin and Noah!!!

Publix Georgia Half Marathon - The Results

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The night before a marathon or half marathon is one of the key times for me to prepare for what the next day will hold.  Last night wasn't much different other than the fact that I put it off till the last minute.  I didn't start any of the planning till after 9:00 pm which is when I needed to start winding it down to get some much needed sleep before the early morning wake up call.

I did get everything ready and drifted off to sleep shortly after 10:00, but only after setting the alarm for 4:45 am.  I needed to leave by 5:00 and I had everything ready so I could do a quick grab and go.  This is kinda typical for me for the big races that require a really early departure time and it has always worked fine for me.

Let's Run The Publix Georgia (Half) Marathon

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Let me start by wishing everybody that is running the Publix Georgia Marathon or Half Marathon tomorrow good luck.  And to prove that I am not a Marathon Snob, good luck to everyone else running any other marathon, half marathon, 10k, 5k, 1 mile, training run, walking the dog, or any other activity that gets you moving.  It is not important what event you run, or even that you run an event, what is important is to get active and get moving!

Running Should Look Like It's Hard Work!

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Anybody that says running is easy is either lying or they are not doing it right.  I am sure I will get all kinds of people that come down on both sides agreeing and disagreeing with that point, but in my opinion if running is done right it is hard work.  Sure the elites make it look easy, but if it wasn't hard work wouldn't they all be faster?

Recently I was at a track meet and I was watching all levels of runners do their thing.  Sure I enjoy watching the fast runners kick it and blow by everybody else, but I also enjoy watching the ones that happen to come in last place, and all the ones in between.  In the front of the races the runners all look the same, they are giving everything they have and leaving nothing on the course.

Run The Reagan 2011 - Volunteering Style

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The first two years I ran the Reagan, but last year it didn't quite work out that way.  The first year it was my first Half Marathon, while the second year it was a nervous first 5k back after recovering from my broken collar bone.

This year, once again we are volunteering.  Both my daughter's and I will be at the finish line handing out medals for the half marathon finishers, picking up people who fall over, or just about anything else they can find for the slave labor to do.

I am really looking forward to helping.  The Run The Reagan is a very local race for us, and one that I look forward to every year, regardless of whether I get to run or just volunteer.  It runs past many places that I train nearly every day.

If you are running, as many that I know are, Good Luck and see you at the finish line!

Soldier Marathon 2010 - 3:58:03

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My second marathon, The Soldier Marathon, is now in the books, with both a PR, and a Sub 4 hour finish.  If you would have asked me throughout my training how I thought I would do you would have gotten so many differing answers depending on when you asked.  If you would have asked me at the beginning of the training you may have gotten an unsure answer of, I may be able to do better than last year.  If you would have asked me in early September, about midway through my training, you would have gotten a much more up beat answer and probably a goal somewhere around 3:45.  Once again, if you would have asked me just 2 weeks later you may have gotten the answer that I may not even be able to run it given that I had just pulled a calf muscle.  Of course, even though we don't believe it when they happen, injuries do heal and we do get back to running.

My views once again started to change and become more optimistic when I ran the 13.1 Marathon series Altanta Edition.  This race once again gave me hope that I would complete the marathon.  It wasn't till my taper and just one week out from race day that I actually set my goal of sub-4  My calf and Achilles was still bothering me somewhat and I knew I had missed a key long run, but I knew if I didn't set a stretch goal I would never make it.

A PR Like No Other

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Last night was the big ending to the Fleet Feet Tuesday Night Group Runs. It was an end of the year race, with official race numbers, official course with police at every corner keeping the roads clear, and official timing. It was obviously low key but was also very well done with a great attendance. Age group winners got some really cool prizes, many of which were a new pair of shoes...... no I didn't win my age group.

Coach Wood Invitational

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The Cross Country season is drawing to a close and it just keeps getting better.  This is how it is supposed to be isn't it?  The last official regular season meet for my daughters was this past Saturday when they ran the Coach Wood Invitational at Gainesville College. The day was an awesome day for running.  It was a little cooler in the morning for us spectators, but by the time the running started the weather was great.

The course is a two loop course and is laid out pretty good, especially for the spectators.  We are able to watch the runners at multiple locations, especially if we want to do some running ourselves.  The starting was laid out a bit wrong this year and it ended up putting a protruding manhole directly in the path of some of the runners at the start.  Of course one of the lucky teams was Brookwood.

13.1 Marathon - Atlanta 2010

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Today was the second running of the Atlanta edition of the 13.1 Marathon series.  I have been looking forward to this race since I ran it last year and set a new Half Marathon PR....... that is, until I injured my calf just two weeks ago.  Once I injured my calf I released any hope of another PR this year and just focused on getting my calf back to 100%.  I wasn't sure until about a week ago that I would even be able to run it.  I decided then that I would run it for fun, and intentionally take it easy since I didn't know if it would start acting up, and didn't want to risk re-injuring as I enter the last month of marathon training.

The morning started early, as most race mornings do, and we hit the road at 5:30 to make the trip down I85, over to Peachtree Road, and into the closest parking place we could find near Oglethorpe University.  I rode down with my neighbors who were also running the race.  The morning was very cool at 55 degrees, which felt even colder in Atlanta with the wind that didn't seem to let up all morning.

Peachtree Road Race 2010 - 48:29

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This past Sunday morning the 4th of July was my fourth attempt at the Peachtree Road Race, the worlds biggest 10k with this years just over 50,000 finishers.  The Peachtree is always a fun event, and always brings something new each year.  This year the something new was much more personal in that it was the first year my daughter Payton ran it with me.

The morning started much like the other Peachtree's I have run at 4:40 Sunday morning.  We had everything ready to go the night before so we could get up and out the door in 20 minutes when our neighbors (our ride) were leaving.  After about a 30 minute drive we found ourselves sitting on the Marta waiting to be whisked away to Buckhead and the start of the 41st annual Peachtree.  The weather was awesome, I think I heard that it was high 60's to low 70's at the start with some humidity.  The best weather for the Peachtree in 10 years from what I understand.

Fathers Day 4 Miler Race

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Last Saturday, the day before Fathers Day, my two daughters, Ashlee and Payton, and I ran the Atlanta Track Club Fathers Day 4 Miler.  We are members of the ATC so this was a free race for us and so it wasn't a big deal when we decided to just run it as opposed to racing it.

Both Ashlee and Payton have been dealing with borderline injuries and had an official time trial race for XC less than a week later so I suggested that they not do it.  They both still wanted to do it, so I told them that as long as they ran it like any other training run, and didn't race it we could go ahead with our plans.  They understood and agreed.

The Fathers Day 4 Miler started right outside of Turner Field, ran around the Atlanta Zoo, and finished up on the warning track right beside first base inside Turner Field.  This was very cool, however, the one thing that would have made it better would have been if they let us finish by sliding into home plate.......  I am guessing the Braves wouldn't go for that, plus there would have been a lot of injured old people (like me) if they would have tried :)

S.W.A.T. Trot 5k - How did it go?

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The S.W.A.T. Trot 5k has just added another "fond" to my memories of running.  You are aware, unless this is your first time here, that all my memories of the S.W.A.T. Trot have not been fond.  Last years race was a fond memory as it was my daughter Payton's first 5k, but the year before was not quite as fond.  I won't bore you with all the details here as I feel like I have said more than enough about it over the last couple years.

If you read my kinda blah post on Saturday before the 8:00 pm start time of this race you will know that I didn't have big plans for this race.  I had pretty much decided that I would just run it for fun and not try to set any PR or even come close.  I had told my neighbors that I would probably run with them.... if they weren't going to fast.  My left thigh was not hurting, but was not 100% either and I didn't want to end up pulling it.

Not going to Race it..... But I will Run it

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Tonight is the S.W.A.T. Trot 5k.  This will be my third time attempting to run it.  Last year was very cool because it was my daughter Payton's first 5k, and the previous year was quite interesting to say the least.

This time is really turning out to be blah.  I was hoping that both my daughters would run the 5k with me tonight, but things have changed.  My oldest daughter Ashlee is having trouble with her thigh (an over-use injury) and so we didn't even sign her up.  I did sign up both myself and my younger daughter Payton to run and was looking forward to setting a new PR.

Over the past week+ Payton has been having some issues with her shins.  We are pretty sure that her issues are being brought on by her shoes needing replaced so I have ordered her some new shoes.  That doesn't change the fact that she should not run it, and was told absolutely not by her coach when she asked if she could still run it.

The Fourth Annual Saratoga 5k

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The forth annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run was this past Saturday and it lived up to it's hills just like it has every other year.  The race was well attended and much like it was two years ago when there was almost 50 runners.  One of the differences than previous years was the larger number of fairly decent runners that made it out to race this year, which knocked me down a little bit in place.


I didn't get the time I was shooting for.  I was hoping to get down in the 23's (hard for me for this course) and was even hoping maybe a new PR.  My current PR is 23:23 and was attained at this race two years ago.  I have since that time broken my collar bone, taken some time off for healing, ran a marathon, and put on a few post marathon pounds..... the last of which is probably the biggest reason why I was going to struggle trying to set a new PR.

Running The Reagan, After The Race

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The Run The Reagan was still ran today and was a great race. The race was delayed 4 hours due to the 4 inches of snow that was dumped on us last night, but somehow the Reagan was clear enough to run on even though all the other roads around were an absolute mess.

As I mention in my post yesterday I didn't run it, but I did volunteer and enjoyed it. It was very cold and very windy (for those of us that were not running it) but we were able to hang in there. Everyone seemed to enjoy running it and the first place 1/2 marathon finisher mentioned to the Gwinnett Daily Post writer that there were only slick spots in a few places, but the rest was clear.

After finishing up with volunteering I came home and got my one daughter and we went back up and ran 4 miles on the still closed Parkway. While we were running we were coming up behind the final two walkers in the 1/2 marathon. There was an ambulance hovering behind them, and as we passed them the ambulance turned on "Free Falling" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the loud speakers. It was very cool running on the Reagan Parkway since it is a no pedestrian road normally.... except for this one day, it made it even cooler having it pretty much all to ourselves with no cars and very few runners/walkers.

My right calf is still a little tight and not 100% but it does seem to be coming around.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow blog - virtual4now