What to write about, what to write about, hmmm…

How about races? I ran/walked my first race of 2013! It was the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K in Atlanta, GA [ooh, now you know what state I live in!]. There were NINETEEN THOUSAND, yes, I said thousand, 19,000 participants. TWO TONS of chocolate and ELEVEN THOUSAND gallons of hot chocolate! You should have been there, I would have given you mine! What you say? You don’t like chocolate? What’s wrong with you? I get asked that ALL the time! Well, if there’s peanut butter involved, I’m in!

Ok, so back to the race. 19K participants, 2K chocolate and 11K gallons hot chocolate all for a 5K/15K. Apparently, I just like typing K! Can you imagine? I know, if you run the Boston Marathon or the NY Marathon you can, but this was a lot of people. The most people I have participated in a race with is the Peachtree Road Race. For those of you who do not know it’s one of the largest 10Ks in the world. People who have been running it since it’s inception in 1970 come to Atlanta every year to run the race.

It started July 4, 1970 with 110 runners, by 2011, they capped the number of race bibbs distributed at 60K [or 60,000] and you now have to participate in a lottery to get a number. A secret…if you join the Atlanta Track Club, you are guaranteed a number [you still have to pay to register, but you get a number]. My friend CKM and I volunteer and give out numbers at the expo the day before the race, it’s fun – we get to meet all sorts of people who are participating in this event. Some of the runners, it’s their first time and for some, it’s their 40th. You get a t-shirt for volunteering, a pin commemorating that year, a Home Depot apron and a Waffle House discount card. [Told you, it’s all for the swag]…We have volunteered for 3 years now and in 2 more years, we get the cool 5 year volunteer pin, pretty cool.

This is the only race I have participated in that you do not get your t-shirt until you cross the finish line, the design is always a secret. If you’d like a little more history on the Peachtree Roadrace: http://www.peachtreeroadrace.org/event-information/history.

The Hot Chocolate was so much fun, there were so many people of all ages, kids, adults, grans, big kids [hint hint] there were some great costumes: oompa loompas! and hershey’s kisses just to name a few. CKM and I did the run together and it was fun to walk a little, well a lot, run a little, talk a lot and just enjoy the perfect weather! It was almost 70 degrees! Yes people, you heard me right, SEVENTY degrees in Atlanta in JANUARY! [I know, CAPS mean SHOUTING, but this is a good shouting! I’m excited! and I want you to feel it!]. Layers came off of a lot of people, hey, watch it, this is a family blog!

After you cross the finish line, you go to get your chocolate goodies. There was hot chocolate for drinking, chocolate for dipping and a marshmallow, banana, pretzels, wafer cookie and a rice crispie treat, all the things perfect for dipping. We sat with new friends and chatted and watched people sitting and enjoying their chocolate goodies, admiring some of the costumes and did my favorite, look at all the different shoes people were wearing [we were sitting on the ground, it was easy].

After the race, we went to get some breakfast, it was only about 11am and by that time, we had accomplished a lot! The cool part was, there were people already there and coming in and out that had run the race as well. I know you’re asking – Peaches, how do you know they just ran the same race?” I’ll tell you dear friends… they were wearing the fabulous swag that we got! A wonderful and very warm sweatshirt and maybe the hat as well. We give each other a smile and the nod, you know, the one that guys give each other when they’re saying “s’up” and it really doesn’t look that cool, but when we do it, we rock! We greet each other and ask how we enjoyed the race, did you do well, did you have fun, how did you like the chocolate [that last one will only be for this race, you don’t normally get chocolate at the end of a race] what’s your next race. It’s nice, a kind of camaraderie that only comes from knowing what the other person just went through!

So, my fine friends, I completed the first race of 2013, but definitely not the last. I have races scheduled all the way through September and I know I will be telling you about all of them! I try to do at least 2 each month, keeps me motivated and as I have said and been told “it’s all for the t-shirt”. I enjoy the swag, but what I like is accomplishing something. By 9am, I’ve done a lot that day already! I have done mostly 5K’s, the Peachtree is a 10K and I did one half marathon in October, that’s 13.1 miles [why do they list them in miles instead of kilometers, not sure]. My goal this year is to run a full 5k [no more walk/run for me!] and to complete a 10K and possibly another half marathon. I said I did it [I have the jacket, medal and belt buckle to prove it] and I wouldn’t do another one, but who knows what the future holds. Could be like tattoos, you can’t do just one!

While I do these runs and walk or run about 2-5 miles per day several days a week, I haven’t found the love of running, I am hoping to, but I have a feeling either you do or you don’t and I may just continue to participate in the races because it keeps me active and I can tell when I’ve gone too long between runs or walks and I love the swag, but I love the sense of accomplishment I get from just doing it.

I will just tell you what I tell people when they ask how I like running. My plan is to keep doing it until I like it!