Last February my BRF/Sis-in-law qualified for Half Fanatics by running 3 half marathons in 90 days. We were at the lowest level, Neptune. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check them out here: http://www.halffanatics.com/fanatic-criteria) Through my Coast to Coast Challenge, I was set to "moon up" to Uranus; however, when the opportunity arose to "moon up" to Saturn, we jumped on it. Because, let's face it, who wants to be on Uranus....
In order to land on Saturn, we would need to run 4 halves in 37 days. No problem, we already had the Rock'nRoll Savannah, the Atlanta Half Marathon, and the Jeff Galloway 13.1 lined up. We only needed to add one more in between to get 4. All this while training for our first full marathon. Makes sense, right? That meant that 6 and 7 mile "easy" runs would become 13.1 races, and 17-19 mile runs would become 13.1 races and extra miles when we got home. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this plan, especially for the newbie runner. *Spoiler alert, it worked out, but it probably could have been better. More on that later....
In order to land on Saturn, we would need to run 4 halves in 37 days. No problem, we already had the Rock'nRoll Savannah, the Atlanta Half Marathon, and the Jeff Galloway 13.1 lined up. We only needed to add one more in between to get 4. All this while training for our first full marathon. Makes sense, right? That meant that 6 and 7 mile "easy" runs would become 13.1 races, and 17-19 mile runs would become 13.1 races and extra miles when we got home. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this plan, especially for the newbie runner. *Spoiler alert, it worked out, but it probably could have been better. More on that later....
With stop number 1 at the Rock'n'roll Savannah behind us, we pushed on to stop number 2: the Atlanta Half Marathon. It was a seasonably warm day. Much warmer in comparison to the year prior. The temperatures were cool, but not unbearable. As Triple Peach runners, we were able to seed ourselves in the corrals. It seemed like a long walk to get to the opening in the fence where we could actually enter any corral, but we finally took our place, walked back up the hill we had just walked down, and were off!
It is impossible to run Atlanta without running hills. What sticks out to me most is the abundance of hills on the back half of the course. The first half came relatively easy for me, even setting me up for a potential PR; however, the hills on the second half drained my resilience. Coupled with a blister on the bottom of my foot that started screaming at me, I was all too happy when I saw the iconic Olympic Rings and knew I was done.
It is impossible to run Atlanta without running hills. What sticks out to me most is the abundance of hills on the back half of the course. The first half came relatively easy for me, even setting me up for a potential PR; however, the hills on the second half drained my resilience. Coupled with a blister on the bottom of my foot that started screaming at me, I was all too happy when I saw the iconic Olympic Rings and knew I was done.
Stop number 3 was a small town half in Monroe, Georgia, the Walton Half Marathon. I'll be honest, small halves scare me more than anything. There is fear of getting lost, fear of no support stations on the course, and my greatest fear as a middle-of-the-pack runner: coming in dead last. I know, I know, someone has to finish last, and I believe finishing at all is a great accomplishment, but my own vanity and insecurity get in the way. Whitney, of course, was pumped at the possibility of placing in our age group. (Which she did!!! First place in our age group!!!! GO WHITNEY!!!)
This was also our first race without our faithful chEAR squad. With prior commitments and adult responsibilities, Whitney and I were left to ourselves to run this teeny tiny race. There were 95 runners total. (I finished 79th! 8th/9 in my age group!) The race started at a local elementary school, which means we got to use REAL bathrooms!!! My favorite race perk. Our packets had our names handwritten on the bag. Such a personal touch! We sat in the car until right before race time, then realized the finish line we were looking at was not the start line. The start was actually across the parking lot and down the road. We began walking to it, realized how far away it was, and then ran to it. This was unnecessary as the race start lady wasn't even there. We toed the spray painted line, set on her mark per megaphone, and as she pushed start on her iPhone, we were off. I've run many local 5ks that began this way, but this was a first for a half marathon.
The course was advertised as flat, and since there was little information available on the Walton County Chamber of Commerce website, we didn't know much about it. They did tell us there would be water stations every couple of miles. I took my own water just in case. The course was very flat, and not very scenic. We ran long, straight rows with fields, pastures, and a smattering of houses. Every once in a while a grand house would pop up, and I daydreamed about who lived there. I don't know much about Monroe or Walton, but I gleaned that horses are a major way of life. The course also took us down a strange range that had pigs in a fence. I wouldn't have noticed they were pigs at all except that one of them mounted another as I ran by. #onlyinruralcountry
Along the course, there were water stations, but no spectators. No one came to cheer us on or hold funny, quirky, encouraging signs to drive us on. I had exactly 2 people clap and/or say something encouraging as they pointed me in the right direction for a turn. Spectators make SUCH a difference!!! I have said it before, and I'll say it again, runners appreciate spectators!! A well placed "way to go" or "you got this" can give a runner the push they need to conquer a wall.
About mile 8, my blister started giving me fits, so I slowed a bit. My blister/foot troubles plagued my mind, not for the race I was running, but for the marathon and longest training runs ever that were quickly approaching. At last, I finished to the cheers of two very sweet ladies who loved our skirts, and my supportive sister-in-law who had been waiting patiently in the car after blowing the race out of the water! When I got home, I ran 4 more miles, because my marathon training schedule called for a 17 mile run. 13.1 plus 4 two hours later equals one 17-miler, right? #runnerlogic
This was also our first race without our faithful chEAR squad. With prior commitments and adult responsibilities, Whitney and I were left to ourselves to run this teeny tiny race. There were 95 runners total. (I finished 79th! 8th/9 in my age group!) The race started at a local elementary school, which means we got to use REAL bathrooms!!! My favorite race perk. Our packets had our names handwritten on the bag. Such a personal touch! We sat in the car until right before race time, then realized the finish line we were looking at was not the start line. The start was actually across the parking lot and down the road. We began walking to it, realized how far away it was, and then ran to it. This was unnecessary as the race start lady wasn't even there. We toed the spray painted line, set on her mark per megaphone, and as she pushed start on her iPhone, we were off. I've run many local 5ks that began this way, but this was a first for a half marathon.
The course was advertised as flat, and since there was little information available on the Walton County Chamber of Commerce website, we didn't know much about it. They did tell us there would be water stations every couple of miles. I took my own water just in case. The course was very flat, and not very scenic. We ran long, straight rows with fields, pastures, and a smattering of houses. Every once in a while a grand house would pop up, and I daydreamed about who lived there. I don't know much about Monroe or Walton, but I gleaned that horses are a major way of life. The course also took us down a strange range that had pigs in a fence. I wouldn't have noticed they were pigs at all except that one of them mounted another as I ran by. #onlyinruralcountry
Along the course, there were water stations, but no spectators. No one came to cheer us on or hold funny, quirky, encouraging signs to drive us on. I had exactly 2 people clap and/or say something encouraging as they pointed me in the right direction for a turn. Spectators make SUCH a difference!!! I have said it before, and I'll say it again, runners appreciate spectators!! A well placed "way to go" or "you got this" can give a runner the push they need to conquer a wall.
About mile 8, my blister started giving me fits, so I slowed a bit. My blister/foot troubles plagued my mind, not for the race I was running, but for the marathon and longest training runs ever that were quickly approaching. At last, I finished to the cheers of two very sweet ladies who loved our skirts, and my supportive sister-in-law who had been waiting patiently in the car after blowing the race out of the water! When I got home, I ran 4 more miles, because my marathon training schedule called for a 17 mile run. 13.1 plus 4 two hours later equals one 17-miler, right? #runnerlogic
The last race of 2015, and stop number 4 on our journey to Saturn was the Jeff Galloway 13.1. Whitney and I ran the inaugural JG 13.1 last year and loved it. This year, we got Justin on board our half-crazy train! The race weekend started off with a bump for me. After a hard week at work, we drove to the expo to pick up our packets. Justin and Whitney got in their fast corral line, picked up their bibs and shirts, and were done. I got in my middle-of-the-pack corral line, and my bib was nowhere to be found. Although my name was on the list with my bib number and all, the bib alluded us. No problem, they will assign me a new bib number. Except that my original bib had my name printed on it. Now my bib was nameless, and they hand wrote the change on a piece of paper (I still don't have an official record of my result because of this). As I swallowed my tears (yes, I realize this was a ridiculous thing to be emotional about), I remembered all the times when I've run a race with my name on my bib and spectators and volunteers have called out "go Sarah" or called me by name. That means so much more! Moving on.... Once I got home, I took a sharpie and wrote my name on my bib anyway. Turns out, there were 2 places on the course where the cheer zone called out my name, and the announcer at the end read my bib!!!
This is a beautiful course, and Jeff and his team do a great job of minimizing the hills along the course. This is Atlanta, so there will be hills, but they are more manageable than some courses. I started out with the 2:15 pace team with aspirations of chasing down a PR. The pace teams do the Galloway run/walk ratios, which is how I run. The pace group quickly left me in the dust. The year before, I had started with the 2:30 pace group, and I had left them in the dust until the last tenth of a mile when they caught up to me. This year, like the one before, I found myself running my own race.
Everything was going well until about 9. My blister wasn't feeling to terribly bad; however, I could feel my little toe starting to throb. I knew it had to be a blister forming, but I didn't want to stop and tend to it. I figured, "it's just 4 more miles" and kept running.
Around mile 10, the course circles around a Piedmont Park entrance near the finish line. Last year I had seen my favorite chEARleader and photographer at this point. I knew that Justin and Whintey would be finishing somewhere around the time I would be passing this part of the course, so I figured no one would be there to cheer me on since they would be at the finish cheering on our finishers. I was pleasantly surprised to see Dad here with his sign cheering for me!! It gave me just the boost I needed to power up the hill!
As I finished out the last mile through the Park, Barb Galloway and her running friend came up beside me. We passed each other a few times before they pulled ahead. It was like a celebrity sighting! I was so thankful to see the finish line, and after crossing I took my finish picture with Jeff! Upon inspection of my toe, I found that half of it had turned into a blister. It would be the most painful, persistent thing I've experienced as a runner. I am thankful that this has been my worst "injury."
This is a beautiful course, and Jeff and his team do a great job of minimizing the hills along the course. This is Atlanta, so there will be hills, but they are more manageable than some courses. I started out with the 2:15 pace team with aspirations of chasing down a PR. The pace teams do the Galloway run/walk ratios, which is how I run. The pace group quickly left me in the dust. The year before, I had started with the 2:30 pace group, and I had left them in the dust until the last tenth of a mile when they caught up to me. This year, like the one before, I found myself running my own race.
Everything was going well until about 9. My blister wasn't feeling to terribly bad; however, I could feel my little toe starting to throb. I knew it had to be a blister forming, but I didn't want to stop and tend to it. I figured, "it's just 4 more miles" and kept running.
Around mile 10, the course circles around a Piedmont Park entrance near the finish line. Last year I had seen my favorite chEARleader and photographer at this point. I knew that Justin and Whintey would be finishing somewhere around the time I would be passing this part of the course, so I figured no one would be there to cheer me on since they would be at the finish cheering on our finishers. I was pleasantly surprised to see Dad here with his sign cheering for me!! It gave me just the boost I needed to power up the hill!
As I finished out the last mile through the Park, Barb Galloway and her running friend came up beside me. We passed each other a few times before they pulled ahead. It was like a celebrity sighting! I was so thankful to see the finish line, and after crossing I took my finish picture with Jeff! Upon inspection of my toe, I found that half of it had turned into a blister. It would be the most painful, persistent thing I've experienced as a runner. I am thankful that this has been my worst "injury."
With that, we made it to Saturn!!!!! Now it was time to focus on our biggest runventure to date: the Disney World MARATHON!!!