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How was your marathon day?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Congratulations to the 15,000 runners in Sunday’s ING Marathon and Half Marathon, (including at least nine AJC runners)!
Despite the weather it was an exciting event and wonderful to see such a diverse mix of folks. Some folks came prepared for the cold and rain and some men went shirtless.
Did you see the guy running barefoot?
It was a good race for me, especially considering my legs were weak from the start. And unlike last year when I vomited shortly after I crossed the finish line. This year I cried.
I was happy to get this race under my belt. And I had a network of support ranging from my brother rooting me on - as well as my nephew and his girlfriend who ran the half marathon - to my other brother in Alaska and friends tracking my run online.
Once again the cheering zones helped energize runners too. Sometimes I needed to hear ‘Your doing great,’ or ‘You’ve got this, just stay strong.’ Many neighbors held out donuts or fruit to give runners sustenance. I lucked up on a blueberry cereal bar around mile 14 that gave me a boost through mile 23.
How did you make out? Did the weather affect you?
And maybe it’s me but from mile 20 on, there seemed to be a hill around every corner. Share your ING experience.
MORE: PEACHTREE ROAD RACE INFO. State of the Art Marathon Training. USA Fit/Team Spirit. Active Trainer. Atlanta Track Club. Road Rules. ING Georgia Marathon.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution You’ve got months of training under your belt. Now it’s time to get to steppin’…er, running. Sunday’s ING marathon is already shaping up to be an interesting day weather-wise. The forecast predicts rain and temperatures in the 50s. A colleague told me he ran in rain during last Thanksgiving’s Atlanta Marathon, and it was not fun, he said. Nevertheless, there’s half a weekend before race day. How are you going to spend it? Do you have any pre-race rituals that put you in a good frame of mind? Marathon weekend is once again a family event at my place. Folks are in from out-of- town, including my 13-year-old nephew who questioned my sanity last year for wanting to run 26.2 miles. If it indeed rains this year, he will really think I’m nuts. (Also my older nephew and his girlfriend are running the half marathon for the first time.) Like last year I’m going to have a nice steak dinner on Friday. And on Saturday I plan to mostly relax, load up on carbs and pray that I complete the race in official time without injury. Here’s a few race day tips from authors Danny and Katherine Dreyer’s book, “Chi Running.” — Start warming up 20 minutes before the race with a slow easy jog. — When the race starts, don’t take off too fast. It’s OK to lose a couple of minutes up front. — Check your pace in the first mile. Don’t get lulled into a comfort zone if you’re faster than your projected time. You’ll pay for it later, so slow down. — Drink before you’re thirsty. Take in electrolytes before you cramp. Adjust your form before you get tired. Share your race day tips with us. (And on Sunday’s late day running blog, post comments on your race experience.) MORE: PEACHTREE ROAD RACE INFO. State of the Art Marathon Training. USA Fit/Team Spirit. Active Trainer. Atlanta Track Club. Road Rules. ING Georgia Marathon.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The countdown is on for Sunday’s ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon. Rendell Jackson, 33, Atlanta Race: Half marathon Running Story: Students at King Middle School set the stage for Jackson’s half marathon run. The physical education teacher guided 170 students as they logged 12 running miles in ING’s Run for Something Better Program. The program, for middle school students in Atlanta and Dekalb, was set up to help children become more physically fit by running the distance of a half marathon over nine weeks time. Atlanta Falcon Keith Brooking will lead nearly 400 middle schoolers from the program on the final 1.1 mile at the ING race. “I want to run to further inspire them and lead by example,” said Jackson. The former CFL and Arena football player said any run over 200 meters is a stretch for him. Cheer him on: His bib number is 20433. At Seven minutes per mile Jackson will likely reach his halfway point at the Carter Center between 7:45 and 8 a.m. and finish the race about 8:30 or 8:45 a.m.
Sherry Coulombe, 30, Dacula Race: Half marathon Running story: When it comes to endurance, The Dyer Elementary School teacher is well-equipped. She started running after gastric bypass surgery in 2003, when her weight had reached nearly 350 pounds. Now she competes in triathlons and is 170 pounds lighter. “Running is something I never thought I’d be able to do,” she said. “When I first started I didn’t think I could get to a half mile but I made it to two miles.“ Coulombe decided to change her lifestyle through exercise after the surgery. She ran the Strong Legs 10K in November 2004. And jumped to the Chicago Marathon in 2006.
“I got that runner’s high and from that moment on I felt, if I can do a 10K, what else can I do,” she said. She can do triathlons. Her most recent was Ironman Florida last November, where she swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and ran 26.2.
Cheer her on: Her bib number is 18388. Running 10 1/2 to 11-minute miles, Coulombe should reach Carter Center just past mile 6 between 8 and 8:15 a.m. and finish the race about 9:15or 9:30 a.m.
Todd Sherwood, 50, Anchorage, AK
Race: Marathon Running story: Adjusting to Atlanta’s hilly unfamiliar streets should be a piece of cake for Sherwood. He and his 18-year-old daughter have jogged along Anchorage running trails at night with flashlights, he said. And there’s the bears to think about. “I have personally had to do a 180 on a running trail in an Anchorage park because a black bear stepped into my path,” said Sherwood, a municipal attorney for the North Slope Borough in Alaska. He’s currently on active duty as a Judge Advocate General (a military attorney known as a JAG) at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla. When Sherwood learned about his 60-day assignment, he searched the internet for marathons in close proximity. In April he plans to compete in the Beach Blast Triathlon in Mexico Beach, Florida. Sherwood started running six years ago. He runs year round, often in Alaska’s snowy climate. “Running on fresh snow is like beach sand,” he said. Some folks put spikes on the shows to manage icy terrain, he said. Cheer him on: His bib number is 1682. Sherwood’s goal is to run a nine-minute mile. At that pace he should run past mile 12 on the Agnes Scott College Campus at about 8:45 a.m. and finish the race just after 11 a.m. Helen Klein, 85, Sacramento, Calif. Race: Half Marathon
Running story: A six or 10 mile morning run is routine for Klein, a retired nurse. She started running at age 55 and has run nearly 100 marathons and 140 ultra marathons. Klein followed her husband Norman into the sport to avoid worrying about him during races, she said. She trained for her first ten-miler on a track that Norman mowed for her on the side of the house. “I was embarassed to go out [in public] in running shorts,” she recalled. “I ran twice around it the first day. I had good strong quads and back from lifting heavy patients. Aerobically I had difficulty breathing but I added one lap every day. At the end of 10 weeks I could run 12-minute miles.” She continued running to stay healthy. Her running career includes a 145-mile stage race across the Sahara Desert and a five day 100-mile stage race in the Himalayas.
Norman, 70, runs less often because of injuries, Klein said. “I have no health problems whatsoever except for allergies,” she said.
Klein, who will appear at the ING Expo, said she had planned to run the full marathon but has felt hampered by allergies that flared up during the Napa Valley Marathon earlier this month. As much as Klein runs, she’s certain that her pace has slowed in the last year.
There’s a difference between age 84 and 85, she said. Cheer her on: Her bib number is 3606. Running about 11-minute miles Klein should pass Carter Center just past mile 6 about 8:15 a.m. and finish the race about 9:15 or 9:30 a.m. MORE: PEACHTREE ROAD RACE INFO. State of the Art Marathon Training. USA Fit/Team Spirit. Active Trainer. Atlanta Track Club. Road Rules. ING Georgia Marathon.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ING Race director Victoria Seahorn, who has run 30 marathons, recently summed up what many runners feel during and after a race. She said, “People get out there and you’re sucking wind thinking, ‘My God, let me get through this.’ And then at the finish line, you say, ‘I want to do this again.” The feeling is that great. Your goal is fulfilled. But after the celebration, do you get the blues because the intense training and race is over? As Seahorn said, I quickly knew at the end of last year’s race that I wanted to do it again. I was gonna miss that huge goal of 26.2 miles in front of me. For some of you Sunday’s ING event is prep for other upcoming marathons or ultra marathons. It’s training for when blogger John Tackett runs the Boston Marathon in April. And it’s prep for two colleagues here at the newspaper who are training for a marathon in Cleveland, in May. Others like me will settle back into a normal routine. In the book “Run Your First Marathon,” author and nine-time New York marathon winner Grete Waitz says, people don’t always realize that running a marathon is both psychological and physiological, so feeling a little low after accomplishing such a big goal is natural. What do you when the race hoopla is finally over? UPDATE: Read reporter Leon Stafford’s story, “Workers Remove Glass from Centennial Park Before ING Race.” MORE: PEACHTREE ROAD RACE INFO. State of the Art Marathon Training. USA Fit/Team Spirit. Active Trainer. Atlanta Track Club. Road Rules. ING Georgia Marathon.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution I’m getting hyped for Sunday’s marathon. A year ago today was the inaugural ING. The pre-race excitement of hanging out at Woodruff Park with my family is coming back to me. It was dark that morning as people gathered. The weather was already balmy. The Kenyan runners were doing practice runs around the park. And I was bouncing on my toes humming the theme to “Rocky.” Are you ready for Sunday? When is your last run before race? I have slight soreness and a small knot on my thigh and don’t plan to run again until the marathon. My brother, who’s my primary race adviser, has ordered me to get a massage, and for peace of mind have a doctor check out my leg. (Regular doses of Advil have already helped too.) As we’ve said before, trainer Gayle Barron recommends two to three massages before marathons to release built-up lactic acid. She’s also big on ice baths after long runs to relieve soreness. “If you fill the tub with tap water and then take a bucket of ice from the fridge and gradually add it in; it will take all the soreness out of your muscles,” she says. “It’s hard to stay in there but you will be rejuvenated.” You all will have to tell me about that one. I flee from extreme coldness. Atlanta Chiropractor Dr. Norman Eng, who’s volunteered in medical tents at New York City marathons, advises ING Georgia runners to be mindful of common issues that kick in when they hit the “wall” late in the race. He recommends at least 15 minutes of lower extremity stretches before and after long runs. “Those are the areas where I worked on most during the race,” he says. He also urges runners like me who lose a lot of sodium while running to carry salt packs and gels. “In basic terms, If you are drinking too much water and sweating a considerable amount, your salt levels drop and you can get sick,” Eng says. [Or vomit like I did at the end of last year’s race.] For more info click this link to the New England Journal of Medicine. MORE: PEACHTREE ROAD RACE INFO. State of the Art Marathon Training. USA Fit/Team Spirit. Active Trainer. Atlanta Track Club. Road Rules. ING Georgia Marathon.
What are your pre-race rituals for marathon day?
Four Runners
Every serious marathoner has a story that speaks to their love or respect for running. Here are four participants in Sunday’ run.
Race start time is 7 a.m. Runner’s are staggered by estimated finish times. Take note of their bib number, follow the map on the race website and cheer them on.Do you get the post-race blues?
Ready for the marathon?
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imqkpvxzy ambuz hrvszfiy sdoha qebowfmcv mwfelonh povtns... read the full comment by kdrhgcj zcsvbhao | Comment on Do you get the post-race blues? Read Do you get the post-race blues?
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this is really great. there are too many kids over weight and are need of help. how can i get my middle school involed?... read the full comment by Frannie Craig | Comment on Four Runners Read Four Runners