Category Archives: Running & Fitness

To the midtown miles…

22nd August 2014

I’ve officially crossed Peachtree, up the stairs at 14th and back into the Promenade for the last time. After four years, my company, Moxie, is moving to a bigger office space. Which while exciting, is sadly no longer in midtown. I could list on and on the experiences I have 1230 Peachtree Street to thank for, but it feels the best to start and end with running.

midtown running

If the UGA Botanical Gardens were my meet cute to my run relationship, midtown is where I feel in love. Over the past four years, I’ve logged hundreds of miles on the streets here, learned to love hills and trained for my first (and second, third, fourth and fifth) half marathon. I’m sure I’ll be back, but it most likely won’t be several nights per week.

A la Jimmy Fallon…

Thank you, to that stretch from Monroe to Beverly to Peachtree for teaching me what it means to climb a hill and how it feels to make it to the top without dying.

Thank you, Ansley Park for your extra wide streets, allowing me to steal an extra mile when the fall sunset came too quickly without fear of being hit by a car.

Thank you, midtown neighborhoods to your Halloween and Christmas decorations, for well, just being plain pretty.

Thank you, Atlanta Beltline for the always smiling faces and the search for the Beltline cat or that lady that pulled her dog in a wagon to kept me entertained on those hot, no shade afternoons.

Thank you, Piedmont Park for an endless array of leaves for crunching. It seems fall in Piedmont is allowed to go on three times as long as anywhere else in the city.

And finally, thank you, to the running community of Atlanta for being out there with me during a pop-up thunderstorm, blooming of spring flowers or even the ever elusive winter flurries that sent the rest of the city into hiding.

Midtown running 2

To midtown making me into a runner. Thank you.

Counting down to the Peachtree Road Race

1st July 2013

First Peachtree Road RaceIf you’re looking for a reminder as to why running can be such a fantastic way to stay in shape, build a community or challenge your personal self, look no further than Peachtree Road on a warm Fourth of July  morning. In a few short days, nearly 60,000 of those people will hit the streets for 6.2 miles of Atlanta’s finest heat, hills and humidity, but what makes the Peachtree Road Race so special is so much more.

Maybe I have a sentimental spot because this is the race that introduced me to running. I crossed six miles for the first time on this course only three years ago.

Maybe it’s because no where else will you pass people that range in age from just barely into double digits, to those who will soon see the light of three numbers to their age. Or spot a group who takes this whole thing a little less seriously, by cheering beers and shots for every mile … while running.

Maybe it’s the unforgettable flag at the starting line or waking up to the roar of helicopters overhead P’s parents’ house just before dawn. Or the group of Marines carrying full gear in the scorching heat.

The first mile seems to fly by and before you know it, you’re rounding mile number two where you’re greeted by a flicker of holy water from the Cathedral of Saint Phillip. Mile three brings the assent up cardiac hill, and even though I’ve lived along this thoroughfare for nearly three years, it never seems to get any easier. The furbus greets you at mile five, without whom getting past the Brookwood split would be the hottest, most sun drenched and draining leg of the race.  And onward to midtown, where I’ve logged more miles in the rain, sun and even on occasion snow, than likely any other one place in this city.

The Peachtree Road Race holds quite a few sentimental trophies (or coveted t-shirts) near my heart and I know I’m not alone in the feeling. In three days, I’ll be back at the starting line, ready to add 6.2 more miles to my running relationship. And I’ll finish it along with 60,000 other people, who I hope uncover the same excitement in celebrating what makes running, Atlanta and our country great every step of the way.

The road to recovery

17th June 2013

My running relationship has been a rocky one for the past six weeks. Here’s the rundown: take a three week break,  get impatient, run three times, think my knee might explode again, take two more weeks off, survive an early morning Peachtree practice run with friends, another quick two miler with the BF and today on my first solo adventure out the door this happened…

(Actually, that photo is from another storm a few weeks ago. Trust me, you don’t want to see a selfie of what I looked like after this one, just take my word that there was a lot of running mascara involved and the cloud that monsooned on me for three miles was just as dark.)

Sometimes it simply amazes me how wonderful those little winks are from the big Guy. Running in the rain is my absolute favorite. Even more so when I’m already out the door. Even more, more so when I’m soaked to the bone and get hit with a tidal wave of water from a speeding car on Peachtree Street.

Thanks for the welcome back to running. I’m looking forward to keeping this up.