Friday I drove downtown to pick up our Peachtree numbers and encountered gridlock near the CFHOF. Made it to Turner Field early enough to participate in the Star Wars parade. Hung out with John Parkes for a while. Before the parade my friend Rob and I got to stand in the right field gate and watch BP. Phillies pitcher Luis Garcia threw balls to the two kids with us. Later I sat with Chad Eaton for an inning to chat. He brought his family to town for the race and Lenox fireworks. My car was running hot but when I left the game I drove to Cumming to fetch M who was watching fireworks at the fairgrounds with McKinnon.
Woke up early Saturday for the race. Ceil chickened out, making it more problematic for me and Will. I drove down 400 and dropped him off at the Buckhead Loop then parked at 5th and Myrtle – right next to my co-worker. Rode MARTA back to Lenox and sold my number to a young guy who would run a sub-one hour race, which will give me a good placement for next year. I wore a cheap plastic poncho in the constant rain, which was sometimes light and sometimes heavy. I started with the E group at 7:50 am and pretty much walked 16 minute miles the entire way. In Buckhead we saw a flash of lightning and thunder. Behind us the race waves were delayed starting the race.
At SPdL the only person I saw was Steve Head, so I shook his hand. Drew Kelly had already left to pick up Rob at the finish. Later I saw pictures of Dock and Charles handing out water. Overall the spectators were fewer in number due to the rain. On the uphill sections my pace was faster than many. I wore a pair of New Balance shoes I'd run the Peachtree in before, with thick socks, but for some reason my feet were sliding around inside the shoes. The shoes actually fit better after they were waterlogged. I carried Ceil's old phone in a ziplock bag to take pictures, but by the time I made it past Peachtree Battle the phone was so wet I couldn't work it without my glasses. The rain kept me cool so there was no need to stop for water. I was tempted to grab a chicken taco a restaurant near the West Peachtree intersection was giving away, but didn't.
I pulled off the poncho after I turned off Peachtree onto Tenth. When I neared the finish line I saw I could make it under the race clock's two hour mark, so I ran the last tenth of a mile. This also kept my finish time under 1:40:00, which was nice. Grabbed a T shirt and found Will near the stage. His knee was hurting, so we left immediately for the car. On the way we ran into MC's uncle, who lives near the park. Made it home by 10:30. I was tired and sore. After a trip to Kroger for Ceil I took a long nap.
At 6 pm we went to the Earharts for a small group cookout. Fourteen. Burgers, dogs, chips, salad, ice cream. We decided to not walk the hilly mile to watch fireworks, which was fine by me.
Sunday I went to JFBC. Bryant wasn't preaching but his teaching pastor fill-in did a good job. Also had communion.
Ceil stayed home to cook Will's birthday dinner: steak and chicken on the grille with scalloped potatoes and salad, and homemade apple pie and ice cream. Later Will went to play golf and C drove M to PCC. I took a nap, did some laundry, and picked up M.
This morning's doctor's appointment was uneventful – the blood clot hadn't dissipated enough to do a vein scan, so all I got was another ultrasound.
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