Me & 55K other people

Ran the P'tree race this morning....it was a blast and I did GOOD....lots better than I imagined...
Thanks to #1 Niece the stress of the Marta Transit ride was a breeze...She, the kids & I took a trial run yesterday to the Marta Station and got my tokens so I won't have to do that this morning and so I could make sure I knew where to go to catch the Marta since I've never rode it by myself before...this had been stressing me out more than the actual run...
Soooo anyway I went to a BBQ at some friends last night and got home about midnight...got all my stuff ready for this morning and went to bed to get some sleep...usually I don't sleep at all the night before a race but I slept right up to the alarm at 5...threw my stuff on and drove straight to the Marta..no problem...was extra glad I had gotten my tokens yesterday because there was a really long line waiting to get tokens..lots & lots of people wearing race numbers...and I got to go right past them right to the train with no waiting...I figured it saved me at least 15 mins if not more....sat next to a really nice couple and the train didn't really get crowded...we figured it was early enuff...got to the race site and found the port-a- pottys and waited in that line for 15 mins....you can always tell the newbies at racing once they hit the port-a-potty...tooo funny...then I went to my corral...yep they actually put corrals with a fence up for each group...did my stretches and got ready to wait for the starting gun to go off...Now this race is really more of an event than a race because as I said there are 55 THOUSAND people in this thing...and all along the sidelines there are people cheering us on ...bands playing ...and all sorts of things that you normally don't see, ALL in the middle of Atlanta....
Once I got out of the crunch and could run I felt pretty good....it's all flat or downhill the first 3 miles...and I had no problem with running, except for all the walkers that kept getting in my way...but that didn't even bother me...at 3 miles we came to what they call "The heartbreak hill" or Cardiac Hill...I've been hearing all kinds of things about this hill forever so was already planning on walking it since I thought it would be a straight up hill...but truthfully it was no worse than the climb at Hartwell Dam, which was a steady incline that killed me...and the good thing was once you got to the top of it then you got to run on an flat and a couple of downhills so I was able to make up my time and catch my breath....
I finished in 67 mins which wasn't bad at all for ME...and I feel pretty darn good about it...I got my T'shirt and headed back to the Marta station...met some really nice people...got to the Marta Station and who's there but the same couple that I had rode with on the way...and I met up with some freinds from the gym...how cool is that?
This is Another big goal reached for me....which is good since I'm doing so bad on the weight part...I'm glad it's behind me. Now I get to start looking for another challenge...