I think a lot of the frustrations from the past day made me really push hard. The night before the race, I went to Buckhead for literally ONE beer for St. Patrick's day. After hopping a few bars with Katy and Angela, I walked back to my car at their apartment. Stupidly, I had forgot to display the parking pass on my rearview, and I was welcomed by a boot on my car and a notice. My phone was almost dead, it was 10pm already, and I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning for the race. After an hour, I finally got the boot off and paid a nice little fine. There was nothing I could do about it.
Getting to bed at 11:30, I was harshly woken up by my 4:30am alarm... buzzing again and again relentlessly telling me it was time to go. I rolled up and out, grabbing my bag, number, ipod and a quick breakfast: oatmeal, apple sauce and a few strawberries. I had really debated the night before skipping the race, but when I got there I was happy I made the right decision to go.
If you have never been to Centennial Olympic Park, it has one of the best views of Atlanta, surrounded by building like CNN, the GA World Congress Center, World of Coke, the Aquarium, and my favorite, The Westin. I checked in my gear and just sat in the field, with all of the buildings glowing in the still very dark early morning.
I tried to find the 2:00 pacer, but she was difficult to find. I think she didn't get there until late. So, I paced myself, making sure I was hitting 9:09 per mile. The first few miles I was a little over, but gradually the time kept climbing down. At mile 8 and 9, runner's high hit and it felt so great! Then my feet started aching the last 2 - I could feel the blisters. I was ready to be done, but kept pushing thanks to my motivation of hitting under the 2 hour time.
I finished finally - clocking in at 1:54:21. My trainer was also running, and I may have checked her time. She ran 1:52:36, so I felt pretty great with my time comparatively! I'll be happy telling her my time tomorrow. I also saw some AWESOME runners today, 3 of which really stood out:
1. The man running in a full fireman's uniform: suit and tank
2. For weight loss motivation, one man had a photo screened on his back. It was him probably 150 pounds heavier, and the shirt said "never again"
3. Finally, the most amazing was the man who had no legs, and was using running prosthetics, defying the odds.
Those people are the kind that keep you motivated. Right now, I have the urge to do another. I know I need a break, and luckily marathon season is winding down due to the heat kicking up. I experienced some dehydration today, so having a break sounds like the perfect idea, but I can't wait for bling season to start up again in October.
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