ING Georgia Marathon!

It's kind of difficult to express in words in this kind of format how amazing/fun the ING Georgia Half Marathon was. Running this all started when my parents and brother came up to Ann Arbor for my graduation. I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate graduation by running a marathon (that was ambitious). But basically the whole Fam signed on and Mom and Dad began a very impressive exercise regimen. Alex is busy training for triathlons and I was trying to get some runs in on the tread mill because the idea of slipping and breaking my face on ice in -25 degree weather sounded like about the worst ever. So, in the midst of training my mom unfortunately fractured a bone in her foot and had to wear a special brace thing plus could not run for a few months! :(

Anyway, Dad, Alex, and I all made it to the start line right before 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 25th (thanks to Mom dropping us off right there and being our ground crew). We all got to start together right at *Park* Ave. in downtown Atlanta. Some highlights included around Mile 10 when Alex and I were in front of the Flying Biscuit, Alex made a comment to the effect of, "This is point in the race where I think training would have really helped." At which point this woman overheard and basically did a 180 to face us and laugh. Oops! Other highlights included running past some of my favorite Atlanta spots including Little 5 Points, Virginia Highlands (where I got my wedding dress), Piedmont Park (where David proposed), our favorite 10th Street and Piedmont Ave. intersection, and even our old condo on 14th Street. It was a bit of a run down memory lane and quite nice!

Alex & I (mostly me) struggled through the last 3.1 miles as I realized that the entire race was somehow a slight incline and my hip flexors basically wanted to die. I now am about to loose 2 toenails and was unable to walk correctly for a few days following the race. My dad (this was his first-ever road race and, yes, he started at a half-marathon) ended the race smiling and feeling great. He actually trained. Now starting to realize the great benefits of said training. ;)

Anyway, it was a great experience and I'm so glad I was able to make it down to Atlanta to run it. Hopefully we have some more races in our future...