Another (and Almost Definitely Last) Peachtree Road Race.....

Last year on the 4th of July I wrote about participating in my first ever Peachtree Road Race, item #19 on my 50 Things to Do list.

I don't have a good explanation of why I chose to do it this year. Perhaps it's because when the race lottery is posted in March, the 4th of July seems forever away and all things seem possible. It could also be due to the psychological factor of "winning" the lottery to get in the race.

(Seriously? We WON something? Then why do I feel as though someone BEAT me?)

Because my friend Sara, the one who participated with me last year, gave birth on May 18th of this year, I talked Katydid into doing the race with me. We agreed to walk, not run, just so she could enjoy suffer endure the experience. And get the t-shirt. It's all about the t-shirt.

(I chose NOT to model the t-shirt. You can thank me later.) I wasn't crazy about the color, either off-white or cream. I like the colorful logo, but the background color was underwhelming.

The ubiquitous porta-potties.

This isn't at the race start. It isn't even at the race pre-start staging area. This is just walking TOWARD the race and looking for our start wave.

Huge American flag at the start line. With the view blemished by: A) the crane holding it up; B) the wind blowing the flag; C) the street signs; and D) the STOP/WALK sign held by a volunteer letting the group know when to move from one cattle pen staging area to the next. 

Waiting for the race to start. They suggest getting to the start line an hour before your start wave. There's a lot of waiting. And walking.

The race rules specifically state that participants are not to wear costumes, but how do you police that? I know the guy in this shot in the American flag costume had to be miserably hot. I was assigned to start wave "N," but Katydid was in "P." You can move DOWN, but not UP, so I left with the "P" group.

Another attempt at getting a shot of Old Glory in all her ... glory. Almost all the flaws of the previous shot, with the addition of shooting into the sun, which I realize is a photography no-no. And I'm not even capable of yes-yes shots, so I should have known better than to take this one. Just to show you the real me, warts and all as my mother would say.

I am really bummed about the picture above. This was my favorite sign all day long, and the words don't show up. I not only laughed out loud, I turned around and went BACK to take this (admittedly crappy) photo. The sign said, "Worst Parade Ever." Love it.

This was also a favorite. (Am I allowed to have two favorites? I hope so, because like children, I really don't want to have to choose.)

I don't know why the race hurt so much more this year than last, but I have a few theories.

• Last year I had done several 5K races, and I had run in the park a few times. This year, because my hips got so sore last year, I haven't run ANY, and I've only done a couple of 5Ks, both months ago. I've continued to cycle and walk in the park, but perhaps I need some occasional running if I am to do a 10K race. Which I probably won't be doing anymore anyway.
• I wore the same shoes as last year, which means they've got quite a few miles on them, and that means they are pretty much broken down and someone with a college education should know better than to walk 6.2 miles in them. But I've got a painful corn between two of my toes (sorry for the less-than-pleasant image), and my other two good pairs of shoes are very uncomfortable on that toe. 
• This might be a stretch, but perhaps WALKING the race was worse on my body than RUNNING. Sure it was less impact, but it also made the overall experience significantly longer. 
• The weather was warmer than last year, although it eased somewhat from the dangerously high temperatures in the 100's that we had last week. Race conditions started at a "moderate" level, but they were changed to "high" during the race, meaning heat-related incidents were more likely to occur.

Something else was different from last year, and I'm going to have to do some research to verify it. After the race ended today, signs directed us back to the MARTA train station. I'm pretty sure it was AT LEAST another 4 miles that we walked, and I'm pretty sure Sara and I didn't walk that far last year. Maybe she and I found a different station last year, and this year Katydid and I simply followed the signs. That walk back to the train station was more painful than the whole rest of the race put together.

And I think I'm done with Peachtree Road Races. It's not like I'm going to take up running on a regular basis, and doing this one race a year isn't worth it. It means I miss most of the 4th of July festivities with the family (even if it IS Hubby's family), and like I told Sweet Girl, I don't have the energy to take up another obsession. I'll stick with BRAG and other cycling events and leave the Peachtree Road Race to the youngsters.

And the Kenyans and Ethiopians.

From Yesterday.....

My 65-Mile Bike Ride

Once again I created a route on the computer, and this time I was very careful to select roads that looked like "major" roads without being state highways. That's hard to do when you're not that familiar with the territory. I uploaded the route into the bike's GPS, which beeps and shows a pink line to indicate a turn. There were at least three times when the turn I was supposed to make was on a dirt road. Therefore I was forced to go off the route, not sure where I might end up but confident that with the GPS at least I wouldn't be permanently lost. (I did have a moment of horror when it occurred to me that if I ever lost the GPS signal or if the battery died or something else happened, I would be out there all alone and clueless as to which way I should go.)

To make a long story shorter than the ride I'm talking about, the route I had planned was 51 miles long, but I wound up riding 65 miles. It's hard to put an extra 14 miles in your brain when you thought all along you only had to ride 51. But I lived, no catastrophes occurred, and I'm at least a tad smarter than I was. It doesn't mean, however, that I won't repeat the same mistake again.

Wildlife on the Ride

Not long after I started riding, I saw a woman on the side of the road with her camera or cell phone. She pointed to a small pond and said, "There's a gator out there." It was kind of far off, but there was indeed a small gator sunning himself (herself?) on a piece of stump in the pond. I didn't take the time to stop and take a picture, and I thought it would be rude to say to the woman, "Sorry, I don't do gators." Later I saw a blue heron taking flight, and that I would have stopped to photograph, but it was gone before I had time. I gave a large snake a wide berth, risking an oncoming car in favor of giving the snake his own lane. I saw a box turtle or snapping turtle (not sure I would know the difference even if I stopped to inspect), and there was a cat off in the woods that was probably as startled by me as I was by it. There were NO houses around, so I wondered if it were a feral cat. I lost count of the number of dogs large and small who chased me, some with greater intent than others. Does NO ONE in Mississippi feel the need to keep dogs in fences?

Any Stores Out Here?

I left with a full bottle of water and a full bottle of Gatorade, thinking I would stop at a store when those ran out. I just thought WE lived in the country. The folks in that part of Mississippi could teach me a thing or two about living in the country. You want to know when I finally found a store? (One I had also visited in November when I first rode my bike from the casino.) It was at mile 49. I was completely out of liquid, and it was around 80 degrees yesterday. It seemed I could never catch up on fluids last night.

Three-Card Poker

 I enjoy playing three-card poker, and for some reason I always do well at it. There's no skill involved, so it's not like I'm "good" at it or anything. Last night was no exception. It seemed I was hitting every other hand or so, and my pile of chips built up quickly. Then we had to go to the dinner and awards ceremony for Hubby's tournament, and when I returned to the poker table afterward, the mojo was gone. It seems to work that way - if you leave on a hot streak, it doesn't come back. I think it's punishing you for leaving. I wasn't really into the game after dinner anyway, so I went to the room fairly early and left Hubby at the craps table. I decided I would come home with $100 more than I took with me, and that was almost as good as winning a jackpot.

The 5K Today

I was almost sorry I told Hubby I would like to be home by 2:00 today so I could run in a 5K that is a fundraiser for the baseball team. He's all about getting up early to come home, even if he has only had three hours of sleep. It was a 6-hour drive, but we made it home in time for me to change clothes (NOT enough time to take a nap, though) and go to the high school for the 5K. I set a new personal best (it WAS my second 5K, after all) and shaved five minutes off my previous time. I came in first place in my age division - the first time it has actually been a GOOD thing to be 50. If I had still been 49, I would have come in fourth. Running is taking a toll on my hips, though. I don't know why it only hurts my hips, and why it hurts at all, considering all the other activities I have been doing. Zumba, now THAT should hurt the hips. When I stand up, the pain is excruciating, and going up and down the stairs is a preface to what I'm sure Hell will be like. I'm going to have to reevaluate my future as a runner.

The Rest of the Story

I will omit the parts of the story dealing with Hubby's middle-school behavior and my vegetarian day. I'm not sure I can sustain the vegetarian thing. I am much too fond of chicken. I'm not a fan of steak, although I do enjoy a homemade hamburger every now and again. It will take some careful planning for me to be able to go a whole week without eating meat (#25 on my 50 Things to Do list).

Three more Mondays.....I can do this. I predict a very early bedtime tonight.