Atlanta Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

As soon as the start was signaled, the clouds opened up and it started to pour. Whew, what a way to kick off a race! I was soaked pretty early on and stayed that way the entire race. Ran the first mile straight through since it was pretty crowded. Couldn't keep up with Trish and her friend though, so I dropped back and settled into pace. Mile 1 - 11:36. Yup, a little too fast!

We had a bit of an uphill and then the road settled flat for awhile. I just enjoyed the crowds and tried to warm up. Pretty soon, Mile 2 clicked by with a nice pace of 12:15. Still a little fast for what I planned, so I tried to ease up a bit.

We headed into Brookhaven and Buckhead and I was feeling pretty good. This is one of my favorite parts of the race since it's so familiar. I had picked up some Luna Moons at the expo and decided to try them. I planned it out pretty well and had lots of water. They were awesome! Smaller than Shot Bloks and took up much less room. I hit Mile 3 at 12:36, and this was a much more comfortable pace.

Headed into Buckhead and ran towards Lenox Mall. This is where the Peachtree Road Race starts, so I started thinking just running a 10K to get through the next 6 miles. I had some great tunes on and hit Mile 4 at 12:47. We continued down Peachtree towards Piedmont and then to Buckhead Village. This is a nice flat stretch and feels pretty good. I started to feel a little looser and more comfortable. Hit Mile 5 in 12:55. Slowed a bit, but was feeling really good and heading towards a nice downhill section. That's pretty obvious with the next 2 mile splits. Mile 6 - 12:32 & Mile 7 - 11:55.

This is where things get interesting! There's a pretty long stretch of uphill from Peachtree Battle to Peachtree & Collier. I just tried to dig in and get past it quickly. You can tell I slowed down though.
Mile 8 - 13:51. We crossed over I-85 and hit another uphill stretch that goes all the way up Peachtree past 14th and finally seems to level out at 5th St. Mile 9 - 13:24. I started having trouble with the velcro on my race belt and kept having to grab it when it would fall. It was getting really annoying. Since the rain continued, I didn't have much of a break from that. Oh well. Music was still pumping me up and I was ready to get Downtown! Hit Mile 10 in 12:57. Just a 5K to go! And yes, I did say that last year too at this point ;).

Finally we were leaving Midtown and heading Downtown. I felt pretty good at this point, but I think I took a few extra walk breaks as we headed down Peachtree and Andrew Young Int'l. Mile 11 - 13:15
Mile 12 - 13:10.

This last mile is fun. We had a nice downhill at Mile 12 and then we turn and run up the hill that they call 'Capital Punishment'. It really isn't as long as Cardiac Hill, but it's rough when you are right at the end! I just pushed as hard as I could up the hill and signed with relief when I reached the top. At this point, you turn onto Capital Avenue (Hank Aaron Dr.) and see the Olympic Rings, but you still have a ways to go. I kept looking at my watch thinking that I was going to PR in a big way. I knew it most of the run, but I was trying to stay conservative about it and not get too excited. I had seen some of my tri club friends just before the big hill, so that got me pumped to push through it and get this thing wrapped up. I knew I wouldn't make 2:45, but I would definitely be under 2:50 and that had me so excited. But man, that road never ends!! Finally!! Mile 13 - 11:44 and that last little stretch that feels like forever - .1 - 3:16.

Chip Time - 2:48:14

Giddy Up. 10 minutes and 28 under last year.

Not too much, I don't really want to practice running in soggy shoes!

Headed back up the street to Marta and headed home.


The run sucked, but I don't think I'd have run much faster if it hadn't been raining.


I absolutely love this race. This was our third year running it and we'll continue the tradition. ATC does an amazing job on a day when it has to be hard to get volunteers. They ran a great race, even in the pouring rain!