Dreams come true #6: I ran in the Publix Georgia half-marathon

For the first time on March 17, 2013, I ran in a major race. I ran a half-marathon for the first time and loved every minute of it. I took part in the Publix Georgia half-marathon on the morning of St. Patrick's Day and saw how the day changed from dusk to dawn. My journey started in Downtown Atlanta at Centennial Olympic Park. I ran down Marietta Street, north on Piedmont Avenue, and then Eastbound toward Virginia Highland. I ran up Moreland Avenue through Little Five Points, and I desperately wanted to see The Vortex up my route. I wanted to see the skull-like entrance to that fabled restaurant. I passed it, but I didn't see it. It would be the only disappointment of the day running the race. After running through Little Five, I went westbound on Freedom Parkway and ran through some neighborhoods to get to Piedmont Park. When I entered Piedmont Park, I ran at least nine miles of the 13.1 of this race. In that moment, that was the most amount of miles I've ever run in one moment. I never ran nine miles on the treadmill or outside before. This was a huge "milestone" in my running history. What kept me going was people in the CBS Atlanta News cheerzone propelling me through Piedmont Park. CBS Atlanta's Jeff Chirico was my biggest supporter of the day when he cheered me on. I kept going, and then I saw the 'dreaded' hill that was the westbound portion of 10th Street in Midtown Atlanta. I didn't walk, but I slowly ran up the hill as I was doing my best to maintain my ten minute a mile pace. I believe that I would have to settle for an 11 mile a minute pace instead after that stretch. After surviving 10th street, I ran through Juniper Street, and that was a little uphill too. The last third of the race seemed like it was all uphill, but I was determined to finish no matter what the cost would be to me. After finishing off Juniper Street, I went eastbound on 5th street and crossed a bridge over the Downtown Connector (I-75/I-85) and saw yet more supporters and drink stations to fuel me up and keep me running. Next I ran southbound on Techwood Drive. I don't remember much about that portion of the run other than seeing Bobby Dodd Stadium to my right (home of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' football team). Running down North Avenue and Tech Parkway were the last two blurs of my memorable run. Somehow, I remember the M&M's that I ingested to power me through the final mile of the half-marathon. Now that i remember, when I saw "MILE 12" on Tech Parkway, I could taste the finish of this race. In that final mile, I ran nearly all of it on Marietta Street en route to the finish line at Centennial Olympic Park in Downtown Atlanta. That run seemed like it was slightly uphill. Deep down I was conflicted for the last 5,280 feet. I wanted to sprint and go all out, but I did not want to pull a quad or a hamstring. I would have been so disappointed in myself if I did not finish what I started. As I was running down the last 4,000 feet, I had to look at the big picture and finish the race. As I was heading down the last 3,000 feet, I tried to countdown the number of steps it would take to finish so that i could keep my mind active and keep myself running. As I kept moving down the final 2,000 feet, I wanted to count the number of green flags to the right of me. As I was traveling down the final 1,000 feet, I stopped thinking and kept running. Finally, I could turn the corner going left to see the finish line. As I saw the finish with the time clock moving, I raised both of my hands and said "I DID IT", "I DID IT", "I did it!!!" I cried right before I crossed the finish line and the last thing I remember besides the crying was that I finished the race. I saw the time as "2:35:46". I got my free water, my free chocolate milk, free sweat, and a free heat bag to keep me warm after I ran 13.1 miles. A few of my friends came over to congratulate me and take my picture of me after the race. I feel bad that I didn't think to take a picture of me before the race. I finished the race in 2 hours, 22 minutes. That time exceeded my prediction of wanting to finish in 2 hours, 30 minutes. I ran in the half-marathon for myself, my wife, and our cat Gadget. I ran for myself to prove that I could overtime my asthma and my condition of being out of shape. I ran for myself so that I could overcome the times I failed to run the mile in 4th grade, 7th grade, and ninth grade. I remembered the times that I ran the mile, or at least failed to run the mile without stopping or feeling myself go out of breath. Running the mile scared me in 4th grade because that would be something I would fail in 1985-1986. In 7th grade, I finished dead last in the mile run in a track meet. The worst part of my failure was the kids in the bleachers made fun of me when I was way behind everyone else. That has stuck with me to this day, and I use that as motivation to keep going on the track or the treadmill. I ran for my wife who believes in me and loves me. I ran for Gadget M. Cat who was recovering from surgery to remove a mass in his stomach. I ran for Gandalf who is a cute little kitty cat. Next year, I want to run this race and finish it in under 2 hours and 15 minutes. 2:15 has a nice ring to it.