it’s that time of year, ladies and gentlemen. race time! with spring upon us, the city of atlanta comes alive as a running town, folks taking the park, sidewalks, and beltline wherever their feet may carry them. well, this year a few of us joined in on the organized fun by running the publix half marathon and full marathon.
let me tell you now, nothing wakes you up like a 13.1- or 26.2-mile run early on a sunday morning, especially when it’s cooler and rainy. yep, that’ll definitely do it. i got to centennial olympic park a touch early (i don’t think arriving at 5:45 a.m. was totally necessary, but whatever), and i wish i could say i was feeling motivated. the precipitation and temperature weren’t thrilling me, but at least the sight of the ferris wheel cheered me up a little bit. hey, whatever it takes, right?
i was accompanied by bank, liz, and behrle soon enough, and before i knew it, we were dropping off our bags at gear check and heading towards the start line. i had debated greatly whether or not to take my sousa rain jacket, but that thing is all kinds of insulated, and even though it was cold at the moment, i guessed i might not need it once the running got started.
behrle trotted to corral d, bank found a spot in corral i, and i just kind of joined the end of the pack. i mean, my time didn’t begin until i crossed the start line, so what was the rush? i kid you not when i say there’s absolutely no rush in beginning a multi-hour run. nope, not even a tiny bit!
i had run this course back in 2013 with mild success. i hadn’t trained as well for that race, and my results suffered. i had to walk the last three miles and ended up with a final time well over the three-hour mark. although it’s still quite a feat, i wasn’t personally satisfied, so this year i was coming back with a vengeance, determined to show this course who’s boss. or is it baus?
regardless, i began my race right after the seven o’clock hour and set off into the dark morning. i like to keep myself at a steady pace, so i gladly let other runners pass me left and right. my goal for this race was to run the entire thing and get done in under three hours. i’ve done it before at my first half marathon in athens, and i wanted to prove to this one that i could do it again.
kelsey v 