Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon - Run


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Atlanta, Georgia
United States
Atlanta Track Club
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 42m 30s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

First time running a race on Thanksgiving Day! Weather was cold, 42 degrees with wind chills in the 30s to start, so I was bundled up. Left the house at 5:40 to get on the 6:01 train to get on the 6:52 bus. Anything to not have to drive and park myself (#ATLtraffic). The first bus I got on was broken down, so they moved everyone to a new one fairly quickly. I was surprised only two other runners were using this option. Busses are scary I guess.

Saw the Atlanta Tri Club tent right away so ducked in there to huddle with friends. Took the group photo then stood in line for the porta potty. 25 RIDICULOUS MINUTES LATER, I barely made it to the start line with 5 minutes to spare! Shivering, grateful and ready to run 13.1.
Event warmup:

None.
Run
  • 2h 42m 30s
  • 13.36 miles
  • 12m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Couldn't wait to get moving it was so cold. I kept my hood up for the first mile and would have kept it up longer but the wind blew it down. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do my run/walk interval or walk up the hills or what, so I decided to try to get to mile 6 before intentionally stopping to walk. I felt really good, and only walked a few steps up hills and at aid stations before an actual walk break at mile 7.5. Took a Clif gel at the mile 8 aid station and it hit the spot. Shortly after that I had a runner's high/gratitude moment, feeling so lucky and grateful to be doing this, and I loved running so much in that moment.

For a few miles around this time, I got seriously stuck in the 2:45 pace group. They were doing a 1-minute run, 20-second walk, and I kept passing them and getting enveloped by then. For probably two miles, haha! The group was so big that it became a challenge to find my own space. And I got irritated that I could hear their leader yelling and hollering over my ear buds. I mean, yay strangers, I'm proud of you! But can you not scream every 5 seconds kthx! Finally I think they got ahead of me on a hill so I was in the clear and calm again. They had started in the wave before me, so I wasn't concerned about making or not making the finish line with their pace time.

Took my gloves off finally at mile 9, now it was a little warmer but I was very comfortable in all fleece lined attire otherwise. Felt good in every mile, nothing hurt or gave out on me. My nose ran a lot and got a little raw, but that's the worst of it!

The finish was pretty cool, they routed us into Georgia State Stadium and you finished on the field. And, this was officially the final day of my Thanksgiving 2018 to Thanksgiving 2019 run streak - 372 days total. A great way to end my streak!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked out of the stadium, then the 1.4 miles to the train station, through a little bit of ghetto-y but empty streets.

Event comments:

Great Thanksgiving morning race in the A! So much fun!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2019-10-10 12:00 AM
Running
02:42:30 | 13.36 miles | 12m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5