Georgia Marathon Race# 23

Atlanta, Georgia
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Time: 4:34:08
Overall Place: 723/1381


Friday, March 18, 2016

What a difference two weeks make.  I'm feeling really good after that back to back in South Carolina and Tennessee. 

On my way to Atlanta for a race right in the downtown area.  It is going to be nice to get one hotel and stay there for three nights.

Had a big surprise this week from West Jet.  I now have to sit at the Toronto airport for an extra three hours and get into Atlanta three hours later.  Change of flight plans.  Very unfortunate.  I'll have to make the best of it.

Nice clear flying day to Toronto.  Had a Coke and pretzel snack.

  Lost my first game to Maria in Yahtzee, not a good start.  I'm coming for her.

Okay, finally beat her on my third try. 

So pretty much every flight I have taken, I take the window seat and I can't figure out why.  I think I have this need to see outside, ignoring the problems it causes such as asking two other people to get up so I can go to the bathroom.  It's even worse on the way home when I need to walk around and I can't because I'm buried in my row.  Isle seating would be much more convenient.

For the many times I've been to Toronto I'm always discovering new areas.  This is a very large airport. 

So I went to the Delta Departures Desk to see if I could get a quicker flight to Atlanta.  Turns out they cancelled the three o'clock flight which is why I got bumped to the 5:45 flight.  Not being one for a long wait I would just have to make the most of it.

I made my way to the gate and found a nice table with the most comfy chairs to sit in.  Anyway I met a young lady, her name was Franklin and she was from the St. Catherines area on her way to London England.  She came to the airport at about 3:00am to catch a flight to Washington DC and then to London.  Only problem was their automated system for taking the luggage was down.  She missed her flight and got rerouted to Detroit and wouldn't leave till 7:00pm.  That is about a 16 hour wait.  We kept each other company for 3 hours till she left for Detroit.  We had a great visit.  I love meeting people, they all have a story.

Finally got on my flight to Atlanta.  What a small plane, but I scored big with Exit seats.  What a lot of leg room.  

Ah back to Delta snacks.  Nice!

Great flight to Atlanta even arrived 6 minutes early.  This is a huge airport and very busy but very well laid out.

Found my way to Marta quite easily.  (Atlanta subway system)


Got off at the right station, turned right then found my street the hotel was on.  Turned left instead of right.  Of course I had the wrong direction.  Turned around and went the other way about five minutes. Bam, there's my hotel.  Wow I can even see the start/finish line for the race.  I couldn't get much closer.

This is a very vibrant city, and it's all downtown.

Talked to Heidi before I went to sleep.  We have a very simple process.  I text her the hotel phone number and then she phones me and it doesn't cost us anything. 

Off to sleep. 

Saturday, March 19, 2016

I wanted to sleep in as long as I could so it ended up being around 8:00.  That's the best I could do.  

Expo didn't open till 10:00 so I didn't have to hurry.  

Made my way to the Peachtree Center about 7 minutes away where they have a food court.  Ordered a Chick-fil-A breakfast.  Not too expensive and tasted great.

Went to the WGCC (World Georgia Congress Center). Of course it was the last hall out of three.  This place is massive, biggest convention center I have ever seen.  

The Expo was nothing to write home about and they had no speaker series given the size of the event.  Did pick up some freebies though.

 

Didn't spend much time there so I decided to taken in one sightseeing thing.  I decided on the World of Coke.  For those of you that don't know, Coke originated in Atlanta by a guy by the name of Pemberton back in the late 1800's.  It is so entrenched here that you would think it’s the only beverage of choice when it comes to pop.  If you ask for Pepsi they look at you like you’re nuts.  Anyway it was a great tour.

 

 

What was left of the day was just spent walking and sightseeing and watching college basketball in my room. It was great.  There really is a lot to do in Atlanta and I thought it would be a nice return trip to see more of the city and do the marathon again in the future.

Evening came and I just lay around and rested and talked to Heidi.  It was a good day and time to go to sleep.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

I had a wakeup call for 5:00 with a 7:00 race start.  Yeah it worked.

Felt pretty good, it was nice to have that two week break since the last race.  

The morning temperature was plus 7 C so it was perfect running weather with a high expected around plus 13 C and sunny.  This is what I like to run in.  

I did my usual stretching and eating and was already to go by 6:15.  Arrangements had been made for a Maniacs picture near the start line for 6:30 so I wanted to be there for that.  When I got outside I didn't realize how much cooler the wind made things feel.  Couldn't wait to get running.  

Yes the guy in the middle runs with no shirt on.  I've met him at several races and he hails from Kentucky

The start line was sectioned off in five corals and I was in C.  We were mixed in with all of the half marathoners as well so it made for a nice cozy group.  

It's always neat standing and waiting because you find out who are the most nervous.  Those would be Chatty Cathy and Chatty Charlie.  You quickly find out their whole life story within seconds.
The gun went off and they released runners per coral.  We started about six minutes after gun time.  The course started with a slight uphill, here we go!  I was expecting hills and I was not disappointed.  Before long we were going up or going down with very little flat sections except around mile 14-16 there was a little bit of reprieve, if you want to call it that.  The hills were different then some of the more recent previous races.  These hills were not as steep but they were longer.  Some were around a mile long.  Much easier to run.  

So we went through several different neighborhoods and universities as well.  We hit Emery University, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State.  There was also a cute little college that we ran through in Decatur.   I love running through these campuses because they quite often have the students providing the water and food.  Not to mention that they are quite enthusiastic.  I met several other Maniacs on the course and it's always great running with them.  For the most part we are all alike.

I ran really strong for the first 23, and was looking at about a 4:20 finish time but then the hills really did me in.  The last three miles seemed to take forever, but I was not alone. 

Love the fans in Atlanta

 

Finish line was great as they really pump up the crowd for the runners.



Feels good to finish number 23.

I grabbed my post-race sustenance and headed back to hotel which was about a two minute walk. It took me awhile to get stretched and cleaned up.  After a few hours I need to get something to eat so I headed over to the CNN Center for Subway. It was nice to walk around again, I spent a couple of hours just walking around the area.

It was soon time to talk to Heidi again and then off to sleep, but not before watching some more March Madness.  Love that college basketball.

It was a great day.  Very thankful to be feeling as good as I do. Now for a little rest for this weary body.

Monday, March 22, 2016

Woke up this morning as scheduled at 6:00.  Flight leaves at 9:10 so that gives me enough time to shower, grab Marta and get through Security before getting to the gate.  I needed all of this time because getting through security is not quick.  A lot of people moving through this airport.

I booked through West Jet but they are in partnership with Delta.  I'm on a Delta flight on the last seat in the back of the plane.  Twenty rows at 4 seats per row.  It's tight.  Ah, but here come the Delta snacks.  You can also count on them. Score, it's great being at the back of the plane.  I got my own can of Coke, yeah.

Nice flight to Toronto, right on time.  Just enough time to get through customs, security, have some lunch and board.  A very efficient day.  Traveling 6-7 hours is way better than 12. Anyways, had some great wings for lunch.  Yummmmmm.
On the plane headed for home to see my lovely wife.

Looks like we've got some strong west winds we're pushing in to.  Will take a little longer to get home.  Arrived home right on time around 3:15.  Coming down the escalator there was Heidi standing on the Hug Rug.  That’s right; they have a rug at the bottom that says Hug Rug.  Never noticed it before. It was nice to be home.

Well, it's four weeks off of races now.  Next one is in Olathe Kansas, just outside of Kansas City.  No more flying for a bit until we go to Calgary at the end of May.  I'm going to miss flying.

It was a great trip and a great race.  Such a privilege to run in support of Siloam Mission.  I was in Atlanta ready to come down an escalator when I noticed on either side a couple of homeless people trying to keep warm sleeping in a corner.  I couldn’t have been more reminded that homelessness exists everywhere.

Chattanooga Marathon Race# 22

Chattanooga, Tennessee
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Time: 4:47:05
Overall Place: 345/529

 Sunday, March 6, 2016

That was a long drive in from Columbia and it didn't leave us much time to do anything except go for a swim and order in some pizza. 

This was a great hotel room.  I had a king size bed all to myself and Stephanie had a bed all to herself in the main part of the suite.  It's amazing how someone can fall asleep with the TV running.  I don't know how she does it.  I know I can't do it. Well, each to their own.

Sunday morning started off the same as the day before.  I got up right at 6:00, and Stephanie hits the snooze button a few more times.  We needed to catch a shuttle to the start line which was only about five minutes away at the finish line.  We were only a short walk to the finish line so this was very convenient.  We arrived at the start line which was very busy with the hustle and bustle of nervous runners.

Stephanie and I decided that we would just go on our own since the split was only about two miles into the race.  This race was much larger so it was nice to know I wasn't going to be running alone.  The Columbia Marathon had 185 finishers and this one was supposed to be about 1500, or so I was told.  I’m not sure where they pulled that number from but they weren’t even close.

The gun went off and away we went.  I felt the way I kind of expected to, tired but not sore.  The first 9 miles were hilly but nothing too severe so I felt pretty good.  We made our way to the Tennessee River and crossed over.  The next seven miles were very hard, but very beautiful as we traversed the hills.  This is where the wealthy lived. 

 

There were a lot of really long hard climbs during this portion of the race. At around mile 16 we crossed back over the river through much of the downtown area including the very beautiful campus of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.  At this part of the race I was just exhausted and the hills never really let up but they were nowhere as severe as the middle section.  I took it one mile at a time always moving forward.  As hard as it was and I will be quite honest with you the thought of quitting actually did cross my mind, but like they say, suck it up buttercup. 

 

 

What a relief to see the finish line and Stephanie there waiting for me.  All in all I was more than happy with my time of 4:46.  Not bad for just having completed a marathon the day before.  Best part of the morning though was Stephanie coming in just over 2:01 and missing her PR by about 6 seconds. It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperatures were perfect for running.  This race was playing mind games with me.  The mileage on my watch was different than the course markings.  At the rate we were going we would have been short by about a third of a mile which would have meant I couldn’t get credit for the race.  Funny how that last mile was almost a mile and a third. We got our free meal, and visited with some of the other runners.

Always and honor to run in support of Siloam Mission.

 

We ran together in the Columbia Marathon and then met again after the Chattanooga.

 

We decided to take in some of the sights of Chattanooga.  The first place we went was the Chattanooga National Cemetery.  We had passed this on our run and we both decided it was a must see.  This cemetery is the second largest in the US and is used for the armed forces for the last 150 years or so.  The second place we went was where the marathoners ran across the river and amongst the big mansions of Chattanooga.  The third place we went to was Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls.  Ruby Falls is a natural phenomenon with a natural falls inside the mountain.  We went down an elevator about 176 feet and then we walked about a half mile through these underground caves to the falls.  This was well worth the time.  Lookout Mountain also gives a great vantage point to see the surrounding area including Chattanooga.  

 

Chattanooga National Cemetary

 

Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain

 

After our excursions we grabbed a quick supper at KFC and then took the long drive to Atlanta where we needed to catch our flights for home the next day. 

A very tiring but rewarding day.

Monday, March 7, 2016

I woke up at about 6:15 in the morning to catch the 9:05 flight. First to Washington D.C., then to Minneapolis and finally home. 

 

I left Stephanie still sleeping and headed to the airport where I needed to return the car and get checked in.  Why did I leave without Stephanie?  Her flight wasn’t till about 5:00 and she wanted to go into the downtown again and do some sightseeing.  I caught my flight which was on time and flew to Washington and had lunch while I waited for the next flight to Minneapolis.  There I had some time to kill and had some supper.  The flight home was right on time and it was nice to be home again.  By the way these were all Delta flights and boy do they run on time.  They do have a funny way of loading their planes though.  First it’s those needing assistance.  Then it is the parents with children.  Then its families with young children.  Then Executive members, you know the people you sneer at as you walk past the business class.  Then next to enter are the SKY members, and then Zone one.  Lastly with about ten people left to get on are zones two and three.  That is where I get on.  I really have to check into getting a Delta preferred membership.

What a special trip this was.  What made it really special was having Stephanie with me.  She was great to travel with and I have said it before, anytime I can travel and do this kind of thing with my family it makes it all the more special.  I think there will be more trips like this in the future.

 

Run Hard Columbia Marathon Race# 21

Columbia, South Carolina
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Time: 4:26:18
Overall Place: 98/185

Thursday, March 3, 2016

On the road again.  This was a quick turnaround, I just flew home from Phoenix on Monday and was back on the road to Atlanta, and a short drive to Columbia for the first of two marathons on the weekend.  I was looking forward to meeting Stephanie in Atlanta who agreed to come and join me on this trip. I was feeling okay but not great.  Really curious to see how the body will handle two marathons on the same weekend after having just run one the week before.  That’s three marathons in the period of eight days.

Just an observation, but Delta beverage cups are bigger than Air Canada, and they have great cookies, just saying.

Bad start to the day, I lost the first 2 out of 3 games to Maria in Yahtzee.  I got kicked.  Ouch

Well that was interesting, as we started to get off the plane in Minneapolis I realized I was sitting around the Manitoba Moose hockey team.

Next up flight to La Guardia in New York City.  Yes it's a milk run.  Good thing I like flying.  

Sitting beside a girl that's having twins in June.  One last little trip for them before it gets impossible to travel.  Or even move for that matter.  Cute couple.

Well that was a nice flight. I played Yahtzee, and slept most of the way.  Coming into New York was cool though.  I got to see a little of it since I was on the wrong side of the plane.  What I did see was impressive.

Spent some time in the airport walking around.  Then I parked myself for over an hour and a half.  Sat at an iPad/charging station.  Starting to see this more at the bigger airports. Found out our next flight was about 15 minutes late, no big deal.  

I liked the last plane we were on. There was a lot of leg room.  The last flight between New York and Atlanta was a newer plane and way tighter. 

How do I feel today now?  Actually not bad.  I did take an Advil because I have a real tight left calf.  It feels much better now.  I know my recovery was not long enough.  The last time I did this I had four weeks rest before the double.  This time only a week.  We'll see. 

It has been neat communicating with Stephanie in Atlanta, Heidi and Jennifer in Winnipeg, Wendy in Calgary, and me in New York.  How technology has made communication so much easier and brought us together no matter where we are.

Made it to Atlanta, now the trick is to find Stephanie.  When we touched down I checked an app the iPhone had which allows you to track another person that has the app activated.  Sure enough, I found her in the airport waiting for me as I came out to the general area.  Stephanie spent the afternoon in the downtown and then came back to the airport.  We headed over to the car rental area which was a tram ride away.  Met a nice guy at the Hertz car rental counter. 

Got our car and drove 2 hours east to Augusta, Georgia.  It was raining the whole way but at least it wasn’t snowing.  Just a short drive left for tomorrow but not before we go see the golf course where they play the Masters.  

It was a good day and the best part was watching an episode of Hogan’s Heroes, a show I grew up with.  Did that bring back memories.

 

Friday, March 4, 2016

I woke up rather startled as Stephanie tried to shake me like I was dead or something.  It was a great sleep though and I felt well rested.  We got dressed and headed down for breakfast in the dining area. It was the usual scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy.  They also had a choice on cereals and pancakes, so a lot of great food.  

We had driven about two hours out of Atlanta last night to a town called Grovetown, Georgia which was right beside Augusta.  Home of the Masters Golf Tournament.  We drove out there in the morning to get a look at something that we could recognize.  We found the members entrance and walked over to it.  This course is heavily fortified and security is tight as well.  We got as far as the gate and could see down the main drag which was lined with magnolia trees.  The Masters is in about a month and everything will be in bloom.  It will be very beautiful at tournament time.  

This is the member entrance which goes to the clubhouse. 
The three posts in the road are lowered into the ground to let the members car go in.

We had about a seventy minute drive to our hotel so instead of taking the interstate we opted for the back way.  Georgia is known as the peach state and we saw orchard after orchard.  We also saw many fields of pecans.  It was a nice drive to see a different side of life that they live in South Carolina.  Wait a second, I just realized we were in South Carolina the whole way today.  Okay, lots of peaches there too.  

We got to our hotel and wondered where the Expo was until we walked right by it in our hotel.  We checked in and then came right back down to the Expo.  It was a small Expo but very nice.  We talked to a lot of people at the booths and had a great time.  

After the Expo we wanted to get out and explore a little so we walked through the University of South Carolina to a shopping district called Five Points.  Kind of like small shops and quaint bars and restaurants.  We had some lunch at a Chick-fil-A.  By the way did you know that Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant which is not open on Sundays?  They also have some very healthy meal choices as Stephanie was very impressed with.  We went back to our hotel via the State House and a Starbucks.  

By now it was supper time, so we found a mall about 15 minutes away.  We had some Chinese food and Stephanie got to ride on a white tiger on the carousel in the food court. 

It was a great day and time to get some sleep before race number one tomorrow morning.  It's been great having Stephanie along.

 

Saturday, March 5, 2016

The day was very simple, wake, run, drive, crash.  

I got up at 6:00 for the 7:30 start. Stephanie got up at 6:00, 6:10, 6:20, and 6:30.  It's called snooze button.  The morning was a cool plus three or about 38, so I had a throwaway shirt.  We got to the race about 7:15 which was great timing. It's not a big race, maybe 1000 for both the half and the full.  

 

Our plan was to run the first 10 miles together and then Stephanie would leave me and go for a strong finish.  The course was anything but flat, but somehow it was easier to run than my last two races.  I felt good and Stephanie was also running strong.  It's nice to see what some hard work will do.  We ran through some very nice neighbor hoods which Stephanie really enjoyed.  Along the way we met two girls from Seattle who were also Marathon Maniacs.  One of the girls was originally from Victoria, BC, but had moved to Seattle.  They went ahead as they were stronger than us. It was great to meet them.  As planned Stephanie took off at just past 10 miles and finished very strong.  I followed in behind a few minutes and continued to run the course again.  I felt stronger in the second half but continued to run comfortable.  I only started to tire in the last three miles but finished strong.  We met after the race and I stretched out at the race because she had checked us out of the hotel already. 

We had about a 6 hour drive to Chattanooga.  We did well and made it right on time to pick up our race kit.  It was quite the drive and I found it amazing how fast the drive.  I don't think they worry about getting caught for speeding because everyone does between 10 and 15 MPH over the speed limit.  There was a bulletin on the HI way that said there were over two hundred deaths on Georgia HI ways this year alone.  I believe it.  We got held up by two accidents along the way.  Anyway we arrived safe, ordered some pizza and went for a swim.  It was a great day.