For a few months now, I have had this race marked as a "goal race" for myself - the Chattahoochee Road Runner 5K. I bonked at my last two 5K PR attempts in the Fall and was ready for redemption. In 2016 I 10K PR'ed this race by 4 minutes just a day and a half after being in a major car wreck, but totally crashed and burned at the 5K last year.
After 9 days at Disney and a 8 hour car ride home, I was prepping my race day stuff before I even unpacked the night we got home. Even though I would have given about anything to stay in my warm bed just a bit longer, it was race morning.
After 9 days at Disney and a 8 hour car ride home, I was prepping my race day stuff before I even unpacked the night we got home. Even though I would have given about anything to stay in my warm bed just a bit longer, it was race morning.
The course is a point to point course with the finish line being just a 5-10 minute walk or so away from the start line. Due to construction in the area, parking was prohibited at the start area, so we parked at the finish line and took the short walk to the start. Despite being told numerous times about the walk to the start (and emails leading up to race day), many runners did not realize that the start was not where they parked. There was a mad rush of runners coming up to the start just as the horn went off - and some even missed the start.
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Chattahoochee Road Race features a 5K and 10K with both races starting together. Even with several hundred runners between the two distances, the course never felt too crowded and everyone really started themselves correctly in the starting area by pace.
I surprisingly felt great - I thought I would be totally exhausted from the past week (especially the drive home yesterday). The first mile actually ended up being my fastest race mile ever! The 5K made a u-turn at about the 1.5 mile mark to head back towards the finish while the 10K continued ahead for another 1.5 miles before making the turn to head back. The course is pretty amazingly flat for Atlanta standards, but the true beauty of the course is that the last 3/4 mile is slightly downhill (with a small hill in the middle of it).
With my fastest mile the first mile along with two consistent miles for 2 and 3, I crushed my PR by a minute! FINALLY! Third attempt was the charm. What is funny is that this was an official PR attempt for me. While I was trained for my PR, I mentally didn't think it would happen due to my exhaustion. It is funny how your body works sometimes though.
I surprisingly felt great - I thought I would be totally exhausted from the past week (especially the drive home yesterday). The first mile actually ended up being my fastest race mile ever! The 5K made a u-turn at about the 1.5 mile mark to head back towards the finish while the 10K continued ahead for another 1.5 miles before making the turn to head back. The course is pretty amazingly flat for Atlanta standards, but the true beauty of the course is that the last 3/4 mile is slightly downhill (with a small hill in the middle of it).
With my fastest mile the first mile along with two consistent miles for 2 and 3, I crushed my PR by a minute! FINALLY! Third attempt was the charm. What is funny is that this was an official PR attempt for me. While I was trained for my PR, I mentally didn't think it would happen due to my exhaustion. It is funny how your body works sometimes though.
After crossing the finish line I got some post race goodies including chips, soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. There were also a few other vendors in the finish area as well as a DJ and race awards happening.
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It is a great course to run and get your qualifying times for future races or a new PR on. While I got a one minute 5K PR, I am ready to come back stronger in 2019 for a new PR (and hopefully will be a little better rested, fueled, etc before race day). I am not sure quite yet if I will be taking on the 5K or 10K....
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