ING Georgia Marathon

Ok, so another month, another TDY, this time to Boston, and a lot to write about...

I'll start with a race report for the ING Georgia Marathon:

Traveling down to Atlanta from Boston proved comfortable as I was sitting first class on a Delta flight. If I were only so lucky on the return trip! I flew down the night before the race so I could make the expo, pick up my packet, and meet my friend, Chelsea. Little did I know, she wasn't able to make it, so I had to find one of her friends, Renee, at the expo, and split a room with her. The expo was good, tried some Almond milk, bought some shorts, looked at stuff. Fun times. Found Renee and it was off to dinner with her friends at a Japanese Hibachi place. After that, we returned to the hotel, got our stuff ready for the race, and turned in for a good nights sleep before the race.

Which didn't happen, I tossed and turned all night...

Race day came with temperatures in the 40's. Not knowing anyone there not running, I decided to just brave the cold in shorts and t-shirt, which was smart. After the national anthem, we were off, and I started to warm up. I said farewell to Renee and wished her luck about a half mile into the race, and took off.

I quickly caught up to a group of 3 guys with a ton of energy, laughing and yelling at everyone. Knowing there was still about 4 hours of running left, I decided to stick with them for however long I could. Turns out they were all from Pensacola and we had a good time until mile 7, where the half marathoners branch off the marathon course. My new friend, Leo, and I continued on, talking about anything and everything that could possibly come up, and the miles flew by. We were ready to break a 4 hour race when I suddenly cramped up at 22.5 and had to stop. I wish I could have finished with him, but these things happen, and I wasn't about to kill myself on a training run.

The race had way more hills than I expected, which if they weren't there, I could have easily broke 4 hours I think. I would have loved to PR, but it wasn't in the books this time. My post-injury PR is 4:10, and that's the one I'm gonna go with from now on, and I finished in 4:12! So close on a harder course! Maybe Nashville will be better. I quickly returned to my hotel, sat in an icebath for ten torturous minutes, took a shower, and headed for the airport, where my flight was cancelled and I had to sleep in the airport until the next morning to get back to Boston! I wasn't doing to hot Monday to say the least... It was a fun time, met many new people, and I'm itching for the next one!

With that said, I returned to Boston, finished my work, and finally returned home, just in time to relax for a week before the Croom Trail I'm Not A Fool 50K! My first attempt at an Ultramarathon in 3 or 4 years. Am I nervous? Yes, of course I am! Will I finish? Barring injury or doing something stupid, yes, I will finish. It's only 5 miles more than a marathon, but those 5 miles might be pretty tough. I know there will be tough times and I know it will hurt, but I've been waiting for this week for years, and it feels like the time is right for a spectacular comeback!

Oh, I ordered some pictures from the marathon, and I'll probably order pictures from the ultra, so I'll post those when I get them... Next week I'll be heading to Philly to see Emily, which will be great, but hopefully I can squeeze in the long run that weekend... might have to wake up early!