I woke up at 6:15 this morning to run the Big Peach 5K in Brookhaven. I was supposed to meet my friends Jaime and Amy at the registration table at 7:30. While I was waiting for them, I ran into Mark and almost immediately after that, Kristy and her husband. My friends showed up and we waited in line for the portapotties before the race. Unfortunately, I was having a bit of stomach trouble. And that’s all I’m going to say about that, but you can figure it out.
We lined up for the race and crossed the start line about a minute after the gun. The race, while well-organized, was very crowded in the beginning. There were a lot of jogging strollers and lots of people walking and we had to do a lot of weaving in and out. I lost Amy in the very beginning but Jaime and I ran together for a while. The first mile and a half were fun and fast. Then came the hill. I knew there was going to be a hill in the middle and I tried to will myself to run up it but my legs just didn’t listen and I stopped to walk while Jaime ran ahead. I don’t know what my deal is with hills; I just hate them! After two hills in the middle of the course, the last .75 miles or so were a straight, flat shot down Peachtree so I tried to make up for lost time.
I ended up finishing with a clock time of 31:00 and a chip time of 30:11 which is a 9:44 pace. Not my best race, but not bad. As long as I finish under a 10:00 pace, I’m usually pretty pleased with myself. Afterward, we walked around and grabbed some free food. Big Peach puts on a great race and the finish line area was packed with all kinds of food – bagels, oranges, apples, bananas, cookies, donuts and even some free pizza from a local pizza place. Despite the hill, I actually really liked this race. It was well organized and parking was easy. I’d do it again. And the hill, one day I’ll learn to appreciate them. Maybe. Amy and I talked about doing some hill runs in Decatur so maybe that will help. I can’t conquer the hills if I don’t practice, right? Painful as that sounds to me.
Jason made me a nice breakfast when I got home and we watched The Office and I took a short nap before getting ready for my lunch date at World Peace Cafe. And who was I meeting for lunch?
Tina! Tina suggested we do lunch when she realized that she couldn’t come to my birthday party last weekend. Neither one of us had been to World Peace Cafe but it was kind of in-between our houses so I thought it would be a good place to meet. The restaurant is all vegetarian and vegan. You order at the counter and then can sit on one of two levels or outside.
We chose to eat outside since it was warm. I got the salad with a hot ‘n spicy veggie burger on top. Unfortunately, it had blue cheese on it. I forgot to tell them not to put it on there. I hate blue cheese. Other than that, though, the salad was good and the company was even better.
Yikes, stomach trouble at a race is never a good thing– I think that’s a GREAT race time, considering!
Great race! Yeah, I will definitely do that race again. So much fun, and I love it when the parking is close and easy. Looks like a great day!
I was very pleased with the parking situation. I hate it when race parking is difficult. (Ahem, all Silver Comet races)
I really liked this race(yes, even the hills)! It seemed to be very well organized, except for the start. I can only blame myself for that one, though, for starting towards the back. Best part was meeting people like you and Kristy.
Nice job with the race! It looks like it’s a gorgeous day out there… hope you’re enjoying it!
Atlanta is one of the places I want to visit mainly because I am nerd and want to see the CDC. A veggie burger on a salad? Seems so simple yet I have never tried it before.
Good job on the race, and the lunch date sounds fabulous!
Oh, I’m so sorry you didn’t feel 100% during the race. Running with stomach issues is the absolute worst!
Sounds like a fun lunch! I love seeing two people, whose blog I both read, show up on each others blogs. It’s almost like you are real people!
haha
Looks like it was a perfect weekend. Great effort at the race!
I really liked the Big Peach 10K last fall, andI had my alarm set to run the race on Saturday. I turned it off and went back to sleep. Still trying to come out of my racecation malaize
I’m extra bummed I missed out now. They put on nice races.
Great job on the race! I love that Jason cooked you breakfast as a reward!
Awesome race! I don’t know if I’ll ever learn to love hills. I live in such a flat area that any time I see a hill during a race, I die a little on the inside!
What a fun bloggie meet up – that place is very cool!
Hey Lee! I found your blog again and I just wanted to say “hi!” I seriously fell off for awhile (from blogging and healthy living). Your blog keeps me up to date on all of the cool 5Ks around town…I wish that I had done the Big Peach! Oh well…next time! Hope all is well!!!:)
I wondered what happened to you! Glad to see that you’ve started a new blog. Have you ever looked at rungeorgia.com? That’s where I get all my race info from.
THANK YOU for the tip! I’ve used active.com…but that’s about it. I’m super excited about Run Georgia! I need to find a race for May. Thanks again!!!!!:)
I am a new runner and hills are my biggest problem. I lose my will to run when I see an incline! Good job on the 5k girl, you did a good job despite the tummy troubles.
Good job on the race
I hate blue cheese too. I like stinky cheeses but not blue cheese (it’s in the same category of hatred like mayo).
I don’t like stinky cheeses either. Or mayo. It’s my fault though because the menu clearly said blue cheese (it even said order without cheese for vegans) but I forgot.