#tbt Peachtree Road Race

I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I ran (well, ran & walked, okay, a lot of walking) the Peachtree Road Race! In honor of that, I thought it would be fun to share a little throwback/recap of that experience. Even though I was not planning on partaking in it this year, I’m bummed that for the first time EVER it won’t actually be happening on the Fourth. It’ll be on Thanksgiving which is so weird to me! Anyway…let’s take a fun walk down memory lane!

I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever seen the sunrise. Until today. I was up bright and early before the sun & got to watch the sun come up on the way to Marta.

I realized that I am very much the person who’s outfit will coordinate for whatever holiday it is. So I wore red, white, and blue & my nails were painted white & I even did a little flag design on them. I went all out for this race. 🙂

Fun story:

I was actually legitimately training for the Peachtree Road Race. It’s been on my bucket list for years! It’s 6.2 miles and I wanted to be able to jog/run most of it. So, of course, I end up with knee pain. The treatment? Stop running, doing squats, and lunges until it heals. So I stopped training & just planned on walking the majority of it. Oh well! Best laid plans, huh?

My uncle, Andy, who has done the Peachtree for 2 decades hadn’t been training much either & said he’d run/walk it with me. I said, “Thanks but I’m good. I got this. I’ll be fine.” Famous last words people.

Then I got on Marta. Have you ever ridden Marta? (If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically Atlanta’s subway.) It’s one thing to ride Marta when it’s not a holiday. It’s a whole other thing on the 4th of July when you’re riding with DOZENS of other people who make it feel like there’s no more oxygen in there. That might be a little dramatic but seriously, even though we were standing off to the side & not even surrounded by a bunch of people, it still felt that way. That’s when I changed my mind & asked Andy to run/walk with me. Marta, man. It can mess with you.

We get off Marta, fight through the mass of people, and make our way to our wave. Well, my wave. My grandmother, who is in her 70s, has done the Peachtree for 9 years. She does races often & can complete them quickly so she was way ahead of me in wave “L”. If Andy had run in his wave, he would’ve been in “C”. I was in “R” which should tell you all you need to know. Hahaha

You see a lot of things during the Peachtree Road Race.

There’s crazy outfits, people doing crazy poses for photos while waiting for their wave to start and that’s just at the beginning of the race. In the middle of the race, I actually watched people stop and grab a beer &/or a slice of pizza. In the middle of 6.2 miles. I seriously cannot imagine. I assume they finished the race eventually but I have no idea how after pizza. Haha Water & my hydration drink was enough for me!

One super cool thing about having your uncle, who’s done this race for 20 years, run the race with you is that he can tell you what’s coming next & fun stories along the way. I knew what was coming, when to get over for water, when to get over to see the patients at Shepherd’s Center lined up, all of that stuff. It was really neat. A heads up for Cardiac Hill was also nice.

The weather was pretty amazing too! Usually it’s sweltering and brutal by July 4th but today it was overcast, there was a light, cool breeze every now and then, the humidity wasn’t bad, and it wasn’t super hot. Thank you Lord!

WE DID IT!

I ran across the finish line, Andy’s one rule (and mine too!), got my snack, & met up with our group. I’m not gonna lie, actually crossing the finish line, walking through Piedmont Park, and looking around was a little emotional. I’ve had this race on my bucket list for YEARS, I had been prepping (well, I tried) for it for over 4 months & finally, I did it. I completed the Peachtree Road Race. I checked it off my bucket list.

Seriously, though, that knee injury was a blessing in disguise & truly a God thing because had I been fully prepared to run the entire race, I’m not sure I would’ve stopped to smell the roses & fully take in the entire experience.

Let me let you in on a little secret…

What no one tells you about running the Peachtree is that when it’s over and you’ve completed the 6.2 miles (though it’s longer because you have to walk from Marta to your wave & then you walk with your wave all the way to the starting line, and weaving around people during the race but I digress), you then get to walk about a mile to the closest Marta station. Could they be more cruel?!

Well, my mom, dad, and sister were AWESOME & actually drove up to Piedmont Park (where the race ends) & picked us up & drove us back to the Marta station where we started to get our cars.

Fun Fact: I tracked my mileage from the moment we stepped off of Marta until we got picked up at Piedmont Park & I logged about 8.5 miles. Pretty sure that’s the farthest I’ve ever walked in my life!

I obviously HAD to wear the t-shirt I got for completing the race. 🙂

There ya go! It was fun for me to reminisce and put this post together & I hope you enjoyed this throwback!

Love,

More life recaps can be found here & here! Enjoy!