It’s an Atlanta Independence Day tradition. The largest 10K in the world.
Growing up, I watched my ultra-fit older brother run the Peachtree. Other members of my extended family have run it at times throughout my life. Five years ago, inspired by my sister-in-law, I decided to join in.
The Peachtree is a festive, social event as much as it is a fitness test. I look forward to running the Peachtree with family and friends. Sometimes our running partners shift a bit. Every year, I’ve had my youngest daughter with me. How we both have changed since that first run! See the pics below for glimpses of us through the years.
Some years are harder than others. My first year, I was doing some walking and jogging at home when race day rolled around. We completed that race during a thunderstorm. I knew I had to do it again since I didn’t really get the “Peachtree experience” of silly signs, live music, and fifty-nine plus thousand other runners and revelers along the way due to the weather.
Other years presented challenges due to heat, travel schedules, and my level of training. My time has gone up and down. In 2018 and 2019 I didn’t train specifically to run the race. I just relied on my overall CrossFitness to carry me through.
This year I felt as strong as I ever have throughout the race. I am still slow and steady, but I ran for much longer stretches than I have before, and my slow may be slightly less slow than my previous paces.
My goal this year was to complete the race in less than 1 hour 30 minutes, and I beat that goal by over 3 minutes. I shaved over 8 minutes off my time from last year, and more than 23 minutes from my very first Peachtree result.
Even better…at the end of the race this year I felt like I could keep running, another first! And afterwards, I was ready to walk back up the very long hill to catch our ride back to the car. The stairs we I to go up and down didn’t bother me. I’m usually stiff and spent for the rest of the day once I cross the finish line. I was a little sore the next morning, but not too bad. I got up, went to the gym, and went on about my daily routines.
Overall, this year’s Peachtree was a great personal success. Having a benchmark to look at makes a big difference in seeing how I’m coming along, year after year. What fitness traditions do you enjoy?
2 Chicks and a blog 