spontaneous adjustments

“Each of us is faced with the same challenge; to put on our shorts and shoes and get out the door” – D.E.

Earlier in the week, a co-worker mentioned he had an extra 10k race entry if I wanted it for today, Saturday. I accepted. I got up this morning, with full intentions on running the 10k race called The Possum Trot.

Morning began with a BAD cup of coffee. Yesterday, I shopped at Dekalb Farmers Market. That is THE place for cheap, healthy, organic food. It is NOT the place to buy coffee beans. I learned the hard way. 😦    (In 3 weeks, I will travel to LA and get some damn PEETS, THANK GOODNESS)

So, i dumped out the coffee and had a little green tea along with my Clif Bar. Then, i looked at the clock & it was 6:50am. YIKES. Race start was at 7:30am and I had at least a 20 min drive.

Well, off I went. Drove up to Roswell in search of race location. I found the area but then had to get re-routed because some roads were blocked off. By the time I found the parking lot, it was already a few minutes past 7:30am and I still couldn’t even see the starting line or anything.

So…i decided to just leave and go run somewhere else. My friend was also not running the race so I was not leaving him in the lurch or anything.

While driving back into Atlanta, I remembered that some people would be out running the traditional “Peachtree Prep Run” and so I figured I would join in somewhere along Peachtree. In case you DON’T KNOW, The PEACHTREE ROAD RACE is held annually on 4th of July in Atlanta. It is the largest 10k in the United States. 55,000 people. Running on July 4th in the Atlanta heat & humidity. The prep run is done a couple of saturdays in succession prior to race day. It’s pretty cool to go out and see so many people running along Peachtree as they gear up for the race.

I parked about 1.5 miles into the race route and started running. It was 80 degrees & 80 percent humidity by this time, 8:00am. Still, I was happy to find some people out there even if I said no words to anyone. I do most runs solo, by choice, but it’s always good to mix it up a bit. I ran along the course for 2.5 miles, incorporating the biggest hill leading up to Piedmont Hospital & then turned around and went back…this way, i would get the longer hill back to where my car was parked. I ended up only running 4.5 miles but since it was this particular route, i was fine with the outcome. It was brutal out there, but i still managed less than 10 min mile pace even with the hills. I added another mile walking around a neighborhood I had never encountered before.

One of the coolest things about the Peachtree Road Race that I was reminded of today is that ANYONE & EVERYONE participates; elite runners, casual runners, people who are overweight or obese are out there walking/running, military folks dressed in all their gear & boots, wheelchair racers, children, people who have never run before, people who run everyday…it’s a race for everyone…running does not discriminate.

Whoever you are, I support you to get your sneaks on and get those feet movin’. Get that blood pumpin’. This is life, baby! THIS IS LIFE!!