Day 2,225: I've signed up for the Charles Harris 10K!

DECATUR, Ga. -- Today I had to check on a cache in town, so I packed up the kurokitten and we went on a stroll along the PATH trail.
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 On the way back, I stopped into the Big Peach store and signed up for the Charles Harris 10K. This will be the fourth year I have run in it. It's very popular with people trying to get a fast qualification time for the July 4th Peachtree Road Race.

I have one more year before my Group A qualification expires. To get it, I had to run a PR in the 2010 Charles Harris race.

This year I am not sure I can do it. I ran a 52-minute 10K in the Eastside Beltline race. After being outkicked near the end of the race, I added a 5.4-mile route as my main training route, eclipsing my older 4-mile routes that used to be a staple of my weekly miles.

So we will see. In any event, it should be a fun race to do!

Day 2,192: Six consecutive years of running!

It seems like the year came and went. Today I needed 5.34 miles to get 100 miles for the month.

More importantly, it marked the end of my sixth year of my running streak! During this time, I've logged 7,630.84 miles!

My legs were sluggish -- that's usually the way they are after a long flight or after a road trip -- and we ran along the Beltline trail. It started off cold -- maybe 35 degrees -- and I came bundled for it, wearing running pants and a thick cotton hoodie. But not too long into the run the hoodie came off.

With baby K. being born, I had no idea how much running I would get to do. It's been great to be able to stroll him -- and having a pretty much flat Beltline path is even better.

No goals for this year other than to see what races we will do in 2013!

Day 2,169: Inman Frosty 5K

I should say first off that overall I enjoyed this race. I ran a PR in one of the race's previous incarnations a few years ago.

This year, the 5K took advantage of the new Beltline path. This was a plus and a minus!

We signed up for this one because it was so close to our new home. When we went to pick up our race bibs, a number of hiccups came up.

First there were only two places to pick up pre-registered race bibs -- something like A-M and N-Z. Even in other small races that I've participated in there are more than just two areas. So there were two huge lines that snaked back into a crowded staging area in front of the middle school. It might have been better for them to have used a good portion of the school's parking lot.

Next, it wasn't really clear where the start was. People assembled on the sidewalk in a huge line back. Virginia Avenue should have been closed off here, or at least half of it for people to gather before the race. We spilled over on Park Place.

Then the race began. I couldn't believe the other half of Virginia wasn't blocked off or coned off for cars -- it was just open space for runners and cars! This could have been dangerous.

 As I mentioned in last week's blog on the Beltline 10K, the Beltline is a nice place to run but can get pretty congested with lots of runners.

The race course used the Beltline path for runners coming -- and going. I could tell the fastest runners were a little irritated that younger runners were in the same lane that they were returning in. But really no one could tell which part of the path people should run in -- it wasn't coned off for the return trip.

When the race came near the turnaround through the Old Fourth Ward park, it followed the sidewalk path, which made for a very thin space for more than three-wide.

Because it really was just a community fun run I don't expect things to be perfect. And it was a very enjoyable run. It was interesting to see these kinds of situations pop up when other small runs in the community seem seamless.

Time: 10 a.m.
Temp: 56 degrees
Gear: Technical T, short (Rock'n'roll Chicago 1/2 marathon), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 28/A.

Day 2,162: Eastside (Beltline) 10K

I signed up for this at the last moment, or at least on the last day before the $38 entry fee went up. Now that we live in a new house, the Eastside Beltline trail is one of my home routes.

I've gone the length of this section a few times with Mr. K. before -- it's about 1.7 miles. This time around, you start south of Inman street near the Krog Bar. As can be imagined, the Beltline trail is not very wide, causing huge gridlock at the beginning of the race.

No matter, I thought. I'll just take this easy.

By the time the Beltline hits Monroe Avenue, there was more running room. But then the race continued on the Beltline north of Monroe -- onto a rocky trail. Here, it was evident that people weren't used to running on this kind of surface. Luckily the wife opted not to run in this also -- it would have been a disaster for a running stroller. Maybe by this time next year the path will be paved but as it is right now really not a race for strollers.

After the dirt section, the course goes up an insane part of a hill for just a little bit until it can meet the turnaround. Then it's through the new part of Piedmont Park back to 10th Street and to the start of the Beltline.

I felt pretty good along this stretch, although at the very end I was outkicked by four guys. I'm not saying it would have happened before but I just didn't feel like I had much of a kick at the end.

Still it was my fastest 10K race since the February 2011 Charles Harris 10K, which I made a PR in. The postrace goodies were really great, and they included a pint of Sweetwater 420 beer and a turkey and avocado sandwich from evoo. Whole Foods made great fresh cranberry granola bars.

I think I'm hooked to this series -- just seeing the neat shirts from other races in the series made me jealous -- and I can't wait to see what's next.

Time: 10 a.m.
Temp: 49 degrees
Gear: T-shirt, short (Claddaugh 5K), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 28/A.

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.

Day 2,142: Another pair of shoes!

It looks like this time every year it's time to order another pair of shoes from Nikestore.com.

It takes me about a year to gather 2,000 points on mcr.com via drinking lots of Diet Coke to get a $50 gift card for Nike.

This lets me typically order a pair of Nike running shoes for about half the cost of what's normal. The rest of the year when I don't have the $50 coupon code, I just go online to see what's cheapest and usually get shoes for about the same price.

I've done this on Nov. 9, 2010 and Nov. 24, 2011. And now today, with an order just placed for a pair of Air Pegasus+ 29s.

Getting a new pair of shoes before the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day may be just what I need, as my feet felt a little sore yesterday when I ran in the Yogli Mogli 5K.

But today when I ran to Decatur and back to meet friends for the Falcons game, my shoes felt fine throughout the 7.8-mile round trip distance.

Day 2,141: Yogli Mogli 5K

It's not every day that you get free frozen yogurt after a race.

Today we ran in the first Yogli Mogli 5K, benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, outside the Emory campus.

We were lured in by the complimentary yogurt after the race and the event did not disappoint. It also happened to be the first race we've done without the little one in the stroller, since my in-laws coincidentally were here this weekend!

So we both got ready for a faster race. What I remember about this race is that almost immediately you get some pretty decent hills, with the course spilling onto North Decatur, up Lullwater (like in the full ING Georgia Marathon course), but cutting over onto the By Way and then to Oxford before going back over North Decatur.

The finish is a screaming one, nearly all downhill.

Part of the way through the race the bottoms of my feet felt sore, something that may have to do with the impact of the race and the age of my shoes, which have more than 400 miles on them.

At the end of the race the muscles in front of my shins were sore, something that nearly always attests to hills and not being used to racing.

But we both had fun. We learned almost immediately that the wife placed second in her age group. Only later on in the afternoon did I look up the results, finding out that I also placed second in my age group -- and was beat out for first by a mere 13 seconds.

I guess that's something to always think about, that first place might never be too far away.

All in all, it was a decent race in a beautiful neighborhood and one that I'll do again.

Time: 8 a.m.
Temp: 45 degrees
Gear: Long-sleeve T (Brookfield Zoo Run Run), shorts Nike Air Pegasus+ 28/A.