Thoughts on my 1st Peachtree Road Race

I first began running on a somewhat regular basis during the 2009-10 winter season and did pretty well through the spring, however I completely fell off the wagon over the summer. I hated the humidity, the heat, the sweat, everything. But I LOVED the feeling I had when I finished a winter run, especially when the temperature neared freezing, and so I started getting back into it in December of last year. In February, we got the news that Avery was on her way, and in line with many fathers-to-be, I decided to take getting in better health more seriously.

With the help of the Couch to 5K training program, I ran my first 5K in May and then turned my focus on today's race. Having lived here in Atlanta for 19 years, it was about time I ran the Peachtree. I've always felt a twinge of jealousy every time I see someone wearing a Peachtree Road Race t-shirt, so this year was going to be MY year. So after running the PRR today, here are some thoughts from my first experience with it:

• I'm not sure there's a good way of getting to the race. Everything in print says to take MARTA because you're talking about getting to and leaving a 60,000-person race. I took MARTA, and while I'm sure parking at Piedmont Park would have been a nightmare, getting back to MARTA after running 6.2 miles STUNK!!! I'm guessing it was about 1 mile to walk back to the 10th street station and the majority was walking up a hill that was worse than ANYTHING on the actual race course.
• Speaking of hills, the rumors of "cardiac hill" (also known by some as "heartbreak hill," "pill hill," etc..) are fairly true in that it's no fun at all. That being said, I didn't think it was any worse than the other hills, they're all absolutely no fun.
• Guys, if you have Sherwood Forrest on your back, shoulders, arms, legs, and heaven knows where else, sleeveless shirts are not kind - to you OR anyone else.
• Walkers, I'm going to try to show some restraint here......WALK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!! (Right as in the "right-hand" interpretation, not "right-correct") There is plenty of room on the road for people to run and walk, and it is clearly stated on every website and print instructions pertaining to the PRR that walkers are to stay to the right. Seriously, the most. annoying. part of the whole experience for me were the people who insisted on walking side-by-side on the left side of the road where we were running.
• Very fun atmosphere. Bands and DJs along the whole route, spectators cheering the entire way, plenty of water and misters. Aside from the aforementioned walkers, it was pretty fun to be out there with the crowd and it wasn't too hard to settle into a comfortable pace.
• My goal was to finish the race in 1 hour and 15 minutes. My official time was 1:14:59. Wow.
• I got my t-shirt. That might be the best part of the whole experience for me. Every bit as good as a trophy to me.

When I first started running in '09, I said that I just wanted to experience what it felt like to finish a race. I've finished two now and it's pretty cool. Gonna take the rest of the week off and figure out what I'm going to do next. One option is to begin working up to a half-marathon. I've got some good momentum now on the running and I really don't want to lose  it, especially after how hard it was to start up again this past December. On the other hand, I've been thinking about borrowing the P90X program from one of my friends. I don't know anyone who's finished the program, but I figure it's worth a shot and who knows, it could possibly help with my running. I'll decide later this week and get at it next week.

C25K

Going back to one of my new year resolutions, I have started making progress on my resolution to run a race this year. Last week my wife wrote a post about the running plan she has started and I have decided to undertake the same plan.

Couch to 5K

I'm big on researching before buying/starting anything. I was all ready to go with the "Nike+ Walk to Run" program on NikeRunning.com. It seemed like a pretty good plan to get started. Sarah, on the other hand, started on the C25K program and as she was telling me about it, I realized that the C25K plan would probably have me ready to run a 5K race MUCH sooner. By the Nike plan, it would take me about 24 weeks to be ready for a 5K. Maybe that's good for some people, but I'd like to progress a little faster. C35K's 9 week plan sounds much better to me.

A popular question is always, what gear are you using?

The shoes: Asics Nimbus 11

One of the perks of working for Hibbett Sports is that I get a pretty nice discount, which I must say I've taken pretty good advantage of. Another perk of the job is that I get to spend a LOT of time trying on different kinds of shoes so that I can know how to describe them to customers, while at the same time learning which ones I prefer. It came down between the Nimbus and the Mizuno Wave Creation. The Nimbus is probably the most comfortable shoe I have ever put on. I've now been running twice and have had no trouble with shin splints. That's a big deal for me.

Under Armour

I just can't justify UA's standard prices, so yep, there's my employee discount being used again. However, being that the temperature has been in the low-40s both times I have gone running, these two items have been life-savers. I'll be straight up with you - I don't like skin-tight clothing. At. All. But I have to admit, these work. I'll have you know, though, that I am mindful of the general public and wear a t-shirt and shorts over both.

For those of you keeping score at home, I've added a box on the right where you can track my progress and times. Call it a way for you to keep me held accountable.

As for my next run which is schedule for Friday, I'm looking at anywhere from 98-100% chance of rain. All. Day. This ought to be fun.

New Year resolutions

My first questions is, who has made a new year resolution in the past and actually kept it? Seriously, I'm looking for success stories here.

By and large, I've pretty much come to look at NY resolutions as set-ups for failure. This is predominantly because of personal lack of success. Over the past couple years, I've made a point of not making resolutions. Looking back, I think that was weak. So I'm attempting it again, and since this is public, we'll be able to keep track throughout 2010.

Because its the system I am most familiar with, each of these are intended to be S.M.A.R.T. goals. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound)

So without further adieu, in 2010, I will:

1. Successfully RUN an organized race - I am not being specific about what race because I don't know where I'll be at different points of 2010. That being said, the Warrior Dash or the Peachtree Road Race look to be good races for a first-time runner. This resolution is in place of the typical "exercise" resolution because in order for me to run in a race, being that I am not currently in the practice of running - I will, by default, be exercising in preparing.
2. Graduate from Kennesaw State University with a 3.5 GPA. Right now, I am sitting with a 3.49 GPA. This coming semester, I have 13 hours, followed by a summer internship that counts for 12 hours. (On a side note, my GPA actually fell after this last semester, during which I made 5 B's.) The fact that I'm above a 3.0 makes me happy when I remember my GPA when I left Harding U.
3. Educate myself a little better on Biblical history. Over the past few years, I've come to feel worse about the fact that I can hold my own in a conversation pertaining to baseball, yet when a Bible study turns to the historical stories that I should remember from my childhood, I can't really offer anything because I don't know. As long as I can remember, I've been more interested in the New Testament - the nuts and bolts of how I need to live. I know this resolution isn't really specific, because I'm going to talk to my preacher about this and get his recommendation. I'll update this one within the coming week hopefully.
4. Make a final decision on whether I am going to use my guitar or sell it. I've been waffling on this for the past couple years. I bought my guitar from a church friend back around 2003 I think. I started off taking lessons regularly, but then ran out of money and stopped. Since then, I have yet to really apply myself with it. Each time I've come close to listing it for sale however, I've failed to pull the trigger because I really want to learn to play it. So if, by the end of 2010, I have not taken up a course of study with it and have not made significant ground on learning to play - I will sell it.
5. Purchase a life insurance policy. I've known about the importance of this ever since Sarah and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Stupidly, I've dragged my heels in actually doing it. Sarah has one through work, but right now I've got nothing, leaving Sarah unprotected if something bad happened. (Do not use this to infer that Sarah is pregnant, this is just something that I need to do, period.)

So there you have it, my 2010 resolutions. Are you making resolutions this year? What resolutions in the past have you successfully followed through on?