I did not run one single day this week. I did rest as much as I could while getting things ready at school for my days off. Since I was planning two days worth of work for the substitute teacher, I decided to also work on my sub tub/emergency plans. While I did finish my sub tub, I did not finish my emergency plans. Oh well, next time.
Friday morning I took a 7:10am flight to Atlanta. It was a quick flight and landed earlier than expected. Saw this at the airport and just wanted to share it with you.
I shared an Uber with another Oiselle friend from Ohio. It took us maybe 20 minutes to get to the hotel (we stayed at the Atlanta Hilton). We quickly got our key and then went to get something to eat. There we met up with our roommates. There were a total of 5 of us. I was sharing a room with one of them and the other 3 were in another room. Then we went to the expo to get our bib and to listen to a panel discussion. The discussion was moderated by Mary Wittenberg and featured Alison Desir, Kara Goucher, Kara Finley, and Sally Bergesen.
I was not impressed with the expo. Hardly anything but why am I complaining since I rarely buy anything. I did sign up for the Clif Bar newsletters and I got 3 different bars. As I was leaving I saw Kim and Charlyn.
Then we went back to the hotel. It was cold and windy. Oh, and lots of hills which I knew but still made me nervous.
That evening we went to Monday Night Brewery for a casual get together with other Oiselle friends. I wasn’t planning to stay too long since I was tired, but we ended up staying till about 9pm. I had one beer and a beef brisket sandwich and they were both yummy!
The next morning there was a shakeout run with Kara Goucher sponsored by Clean Sport Collective. I did not run but there were so many people there.
Then it was off to spectate! Spectating a race is fun. Spectating a marathon gives me chills. Spectating the Marathon Olympic Trials is a very different feeling. Unbelievable. AMAZING. Lots of goosebumps. Chills. Yep, you name it. I will post pictures and videos so you can see for yourself.
The way the course was set up allowed us to see the runners six times. Yes, 6!!
There were so many runners. What made me more happy was that there were twice as many women than men!!!! I was rooting for Desi to make it on the team but that didn’t happen. Hard to believe she missed it by 11 seconds. I will be rooting for her at the Boston Marathon next month.
This morning I will be running the half marathon. Maybe by the time you read this post, I would have finished or will still be running. I have no finish time goal but just to finish it and to have fun. Did I mention it is a HILLY course? I read that there are 23 hills in the course for the half marathon.
Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.
I hope your half went well! I was thinking of you this morning as I did my half. Although at that time you were hopefully still in bed! 😊
Awesome videos of the trials! Thanks for sharing.
It was a tough race but got it done.
Good luck this morning!
Thank you!
That is so exciting. Lucky you.
Good luck today.
Thanks! It was a fun day.
Sounds like an incredible experience. Hope the race went well!!
It was incredible. So glad I went to spectate.
I hope you had a fantastic and fun day out there! Looking forward to reading all about it. Thanks for linking up
I wasn’t sure what to expect but am glad I went.
I was bummed Desi was so close and yet missed an Olympic spot. Oh well. Hope your race went well!
I know what you mean. Only 11 seconds!
I hope you had a great time at the race and that the hills weren’t as bad as you feared.
Those elites just glide, don’t they? They’re amazing!
The hills were brutal! So hard. Yes, they just glide. It truly amazes me.
Unfortunately you only get to see the elites at our big women’s race if you spectate. 🙁
Here too. Sometimes you see them at The Shamrock Shuffle or at the RnR Chicago.
How exciting to watch the trials! I feel bad for Desi. 4th place has to be the worst! I saw your half on Strava, congrats! Looking forward to the recap.
It was a tough race but am glad I did it. Not every race will be a great one, right? I said it in one of my posts. 🙂
I have 3 friends who are in Atlanta this weekend too. Hope you had a great race. You got to see an very exciting Olympic trials. It looked cold for the spectators. I watched it on TV. I will be rooting for Desi in Boston too.
It was cold and windy! I was in the sun so that warmed me up but in the shade it was cold. I wonder if the runners were cold at all.
Hope the race went well! That’s a lot of hills for “just” 13.1 miles 😉 I bet it was really exciting to see the Trials in person!
It was exciting to see them! Meeting an elite in person is exciting but seeing them run is just something else too. Oh, and yes lots of hills. It was brutal.
I didn’t watch it live (I was watching people’s Instagram stories, lol), but the women’s race looked so intense!
Yes it was!
Hope your half went well.
Chris McClung who founded Rogue who I trained with was co-hosting that Clean Sports meetup/shakeout. I like Running Rogue but really need to listen to Clean Sports. That panel sounds amazing -I <3 Alison Desir
There were so many people at the shakeout. I didn’t know about it till one of my friend told me. I have heard that their podcast is really good.
Can’t wait to read all about your Half! How awesome that you were so close to those runners! I get chills watching marathons on TV and can only imagine what it must be like to be close to so many elites pushing hard for that finish. I love that there were so many more women runners!
It was wonderful being there and am glad I went. The women’s race was intense!
I hope your half went well! I was rooting for Des too and she was so close. I’ll be rooting for her to do well in Boston 🙂
What a bummer but hopefully she’ll do just as well in Boston. I mean 4th place is still awesome!
Wow what an exciting weekend! Thanks for sharing all of those photo and video – i felt like I was there 🙂
I was in awe being there. It was a great experience!
I hope your race went well! We went to a watch party for most of the Trials. Rooting for a guy who I coach with! It was super exciting when I saw him on TV. Your weekend looks amazing. Did you try the Clif bars yet? The names sound yummy!
Yes, I saw your post! I did not try them yet and the names do sound yummy.
What a fun experience to watch the trials in person! I watched on TV and even that was amazing. Hope you had a great race!
It was incredible being there!
Wasn’t it amazing how many events there were to attend this weekend – both at the expo and sponsored by companies? So much to do! And it was so cool to see so many runners out there!
Your definition of how watch the trials felt is how I felt too. I am still giddy about it.
I loved running in to you at the expo and race! I look forward to reading your recap!
It was funny that we finally got to meet. 🙂 I know during the Chicago Marathon there are also many events taking place. Of course it isn’t like the Trials but yet still fun.
I laugh that everyone was so surprised by the hills in Atlanta! I’m glad I ran my Georgia race in Savannah, where it’s much flatter LOL!
What an experience, though. Watching the women finish, it’s amazing how long 11 seconds is! But how hard they all fought!
I knew Atlanta was hilly. Then when I got there I couldn’t believe how hilly it was. Running was something else. I was cursing. Glad I got it done and it was quite an experience.
sounds like an amazing time!! bummer that the expo was not so great though. I hardly buy anything but I like to look! spectating something like this is just so inspiring!
hopefully you had a good half on sunday!
I like to also look but really there wasn’t much to took. Haha. I love spectating races! The Chicago Marathon is my favorite one.