Day 2,153: The Atlanta Half Marathon

After moving our stuff from our rental house to our new house, I really wanted to sleep in on Thanksgiving Day.

But this morning was the Atlanta Half Marathon, a race that I've participated in the last five years.

This year was different. With our baby K., my mileage has been consistently down to 20-25 miles. Plus when I do run, it's usually with a stroller, and pushing 50 pounds of rolling stock can mean slower times. My longest run since the March Publix Georgia Half Marathon has been about 4.5 miles.

Yet I was still game for it. I ran in the 1999 Centralia Half Marathon with my longest run being 4 miles. It hurt after Mile 10 but I did it.

So this year I told myself to take it easy. Unlike in previous years, this year the Turner Field lots charged $5 per car for parking. It was annoying because I had to stop at an ATM on my way to the race -- while it was still dark -- but after that it wasn't too bad.

The weather was pretty good -- it was 48 degrees by the time I got out of my car. The announcer was saying that people could get PRs during the event and he characterized the course as "hilly but fair."

I decided to just take it easy through Mile 7 after the course exits Piedmont Park -- and when the real hills start.

I did just that and was happy to have good acceleration up 10th Street. I was also running pretty good along the rolling hills of Juniper. I felt it was good to know the course pretty well.

At Mile 8 they gave out Sport Beans. I've always taken them because in the 2008 race when I finished in 2:30, they were out of Sport Beans by the time I got there.

This time, I decided to eat them. I usually bring a GU gel to eat at Mile 9, which I did.

I usually don't drink water during the race but at Mile 10 I had some sports drink, which spilled all over me.

After Mile 11, I could feel my legs getting strained, but I also thought a lot of people were feeling this way.

On the last hill -- the I-20 overpass, I tried to kick but felt a slight cramp in my right calf. I let up and made my way to the finish line.

I was happy with my race time. It was my slowest since 2009 but of course nothing like the 2:30 that I posted in 2008. I think I'll try to run longer runs if I'm preparing for a longer race like this but otherwise had a fun race.

Time: 7:37 a.m.
Temp: 48 degrees
Gear: Long sleeve T (Shamrock run), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 28/A.