2011, what a year…  If you would have told me that at the end of this year I would have finished these races, I would have laughed at you.  When we started off, I was really trying to drop about 40 pounds.  I did not expect to do much more than that.  But to be here, to look back, its hard not to get choked up.   This year I ended up finishing seven 5Ks, two 10Ks, Warrior Dash, my first official half-marathon, my first full marathon, Tough Mudder, and more training miles in between than I ever imagined. I am not patting myself on the back, please don’t misunderstand me.  I still have plenty left to travel down this road I am on , however, I have a huge sense of accomplishment looking at this.
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2011, what a year… 

If you would have told me that at the end of this year I would have finished these races, I would have laughed at you.  When we started off, I was really trying to drop about 40 pounds.  I did not expect to do much more than that.  But to be here, to look back, its hard not to get choked up.   This year I ended up finishing seven 5Ks, two 10Ks, Warrior Dash, my first official half-marathon, my first full marathon, Tough Mudder, and more training miles in between than I ever imagined. I am not patting myself on the back, please don’t misunderstand me.  I still have plenty left to travel down this road I am on , however, I have a huge sense of accomplishment looking at this.

whatever-it-takes: gopy - YOU RUN FASTER WITH BACON!! okay, maybe not, but here’s the story… a bunch of friends who weren’t running the peachtree were setting up shop at mile 4 near the i-85 bridge. they made posters and such for all the runners they knew who were running. they were also taking requests for things people might want handed off to them at the cheer section. of course, me being me, i jokingly requested bacon. i mean c’mon, it’s BACON! lol. the weekend before the race, i find out that the group took the request seriously and was actually going to have bacon for me out there. of course, i would never turn down bacon so i was ready whether or not there was bacon. sure enough as i passed mile 4 of the peachtree road race, they had bacon waiting for me! 3 slices of bacon to be exact. the thing was that i was running moderately hard enough that i wouldn’t have the ability to consume the bacon while running. i decided to run with the bacon in hand until the finish (which was only about 2 miles at that point). i remembered they have professional photographers poised near the 6 mile marker so i plotted to pose for them double fisting the bacon with the third slice in my mouth. hence, the photo. fun times! Best Peachtree Road Race photo ever.  Ever.  Dude had an excellent time as well.  Bacon well deserved.
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whatever-it-takes:

gopy - YOU RUN FASTER WITH BACON!!

okay, maybe not, but here’s the story…

a bunch of friends who weren’t running the peachtree were setting up shop at mile 4 near the i-85 bridge. they made posters and such for all the runners they knew who were running. they were also taking requests for things people might want handed off to them at the cheer section.

of course, me being me, i jokingly requested bacon. i mean c’mon, it’s BACON! lol. the weekend before the race, i find out that the group took the request seriously and was actually going to have bacon for me out there. of course, i would never turn down bacon so i was ready whether or not there was bacon.

sure enough as i passed mile 4 of the peachtree road race, they had bacon waiting for me! 3 slices of bacon to be exact.

the thing was that i was running moderately hard enough that i wouldn’t have the ability to consume the bacon while running. i decided to run with the bacon in hand until the finish (which was only about 2 miles at that point).

i remembered they have professional photographers poised near the 6 mile marker so i plotted to pose for them double fisting the bacon with the third slice in my mouth.

hence, the photo. fun times!

Best Peachtree Road Race photo ever.  Ever.  Dude had an excellent time as well.  Bacon well deserved.

GPOY: First 10K edition.  I was doing my best to NOT look like I was dying though not sure how well I pulled that off.
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GPOY: First 10K edition.  I was doing my best to NOT look like I was dying though not sure how well I pulled that off.

2011 Peachtree Road Race Recap

Everyone has told me, this is a race to run for the experience. And they were right. Billed as the world’s largest 10K, it certainly lived up to that name.  What started as something I had not really considered, ended up being one of my favorite experiences so far this year in my journey to being healthy.  An obsessive amount of stuff after the jump.

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The World’s Largest 10K

Hills, humidity, heat, and 6.2 miles in Atlanta is what I will be chewing through this morning.  I have somehow found myself participating in the world’s largest 10k: Peachtree Road Race.

For those that don’t know, there is a lottery to get a spot in this race.  At times, people will sell/give away their slot to others and I have been offered a spot a few times but never took it.  Despite knowing the race is full of history, heritage, and all types of fun, I just was never super interested.  I wish I had a great reason as to why.

A buddy asked me on Monday if I wanted to go and the more I thought about it, the crazier it seemed for me NOT to do it.  My family schedule just got freed up a few days before hand so that stress is gone.  Couple that with Jed’s post about never being ready, and…well… it just made sense. I have lived life reserved for far too long and am sick and tired of missing out on things that I wish I had done.  This is my year.  This is my time.  This is my life.  Time to do it!

PS - If you want some extra cool information and updates about the race, its history, and more, check out the Atlanta Track Club right here on Tumblr.