Date of Race: 02/06/2011
Total Time = 1h 52m 01s (official)
1h 47m 42s (from my watch)
I don't know why the official time is more than 4 minutes different than the time on my watch. I started my watch at the start of the race. Weird
Pre-race: I carpooled up with Robin, an Atlanta Triathlon Club team mate, that was volunteering at the event. I woke up early, had bowl of cereal w/banana & a cup of coffee. We arrived really early and as Robin went off to setup the first aid station, I waited in the car to stay warm. About 45 minutes before the start of the race, I ate a Cliff Bar and drank half a bottle of Gatorade.
Warm-up: Some light stretching and met up with other ATC team mates. We took a couple pictures and chatted before the start of the race.
Run: First 3.5 miles are all double track and relatively flat or rolling terrain. After the first aid station, you get into single track and get into the hills. Considering we had gotten a lot of rain this past week (about 3 days raining), the trails were in really great shape. Very little muddy spots and no puddles. I ran up all the hills and only walked 2 right before the last 2 aid stations. I was never really dehydrated, but I felt thirsty through out the course. I didn't carry my normal fuel belt with Gatorade and kind of wish I had, but I don't think it hurt my performance. I ran a strong and comfortable pace. I never got really tired until mile 8 on the hills. The only reason I walked was because I didn't know how far the next aid station was and I wanted to conserve some energy. Luckily the aid station was right after the hills. I felt great and if I can pace myself like this for the Publix Georgia Marathon, I may end up with a new PR.
Total Run Time: 1h:47m:52s
Post Race: I had a banana and a cup of hot chocolate while waiting on the rest of our team mates to come in. I switched out of the wet clothes that was making me cold while standing around. Afterwards, we all went to Cracker Barrel for lunch/breakfast. Good meal and less than $10 for a lot of food.
Rate your overall experience with this race: This is a great course and as I already mentioned, they were in great shape after the rain this week. I heard they were serving plates of eggs & bacon, but missed it since we left to get our own breakfast. I thought it was very well organized. If it was electronically timed, it would make it a better race.
Below are a couple images of me during the race.
Here's our pre-race group photo.
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