Before this weekend, (having never been there), when I thought of Atlanta I thought of this:
Nightclubs…
Freeways packed with cars, blanketed in humid steam…
and Martin Luther King Jr.
But after my three-day visit for the Peachtree 10k, thanks to the hospitality of the Atlanta Track Club and others, my view has evolved to include:
Greenery and gorgeous historic neighborhoods…
the Running Community…
and, the future.
Context:
This year has been a debut (lowercase d) road race year for me, and Peachtree was my second 10k after the Oakley NY Mini 10k three weeks ago. In the Mini I raced scared. I let the top pack go right away, and hid in the safety of splits I felt confident I could hit without dying. I finished with a PR, but I never really “raced” anyone. Plus my PR was from the one and only 10k I did “for fun” 10 years ago. The Mini was a general step forward, and a great experience, but my performance felt a little hollow. In my prep for Peachtree I felt ready to risk something.
A Rough Start:
I woke up with exploding sinuses two days before the race, and dragged my sorry ass out of bed to get on a flight with my teammate Mel to Atlanta. Having not been sick in over two years, part of me wanted to punch the airplane window, and the other part of me thought maybe it would miraculously disappear, which was the mindset I decided to take. Within 24 hours I felt 95% normal, and by race morning, totally fine. Denial of illness while simultaneously doing everything in my power to get well (sleep, hydrate, etc) has worked several times for me now, and I’m starting to think there’s something to it.
One critical part of my race prep strategy was to freaking sleep, so I left Jude at home. He proved to be less than helpful at the NY Mini. I fantasized for days about how much sleep I was going to get in my hotel. As Mel and I tucked ourselves into our pillow-top mattresses around midnight, I felt like a bag of bricks. With a three hour time change, I figured I’d have no trouble sleeping until 11am EST. To be sure I wouldn’t miss my ride to the Expo autograph session at 12:00, I set my alarm for 11:30am.
Ha.
Ha.
Ha.
The phone rings at the equivalent of 4:30am PST. I’ve been randomly selected for drug testing! I stumble around the room mumbling about USADA and peeing, and tell Mel to go back to sleep while I get tested in the hall. I later found out Mel thought I was sleeptalking something about “Hassan” and “peeing myself” before disappearing outside in my pajamas.
They drew blood, right outside the elevators, at the viewing pleasure of several hotel guests as they went about their morning. As an enthusiast of clean sport and transparency, I didn’t have a problem with that, but of all mornings DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS MORNING?!?!?! It was literally my only day to sleep in for the entire trip. Dammit.
I met fans at the EXPO, which is always super fun. I’m 99% sure Snoop Dog came up at one point (not really but holy doppleganger). I sat next to a giant poster blow up of my Runner’s World Cover shot, which was helpful because at these kinds of things, strangers commonly mistake me for a volunteer and ask where the bathrooms are.
The Race:
I had committed in advance to taking some risks, and I did. I went out with the lead pack off the line and went through the mile in around 5:10. Then they started to pick it up and I couldn’t really gas it more than that due to fitness limitations, but I stayed within throwing distance of the leaders and tucked into a chase pack for another 5:10, and another. The first three miles are downhill, so I didn’t freak out that I was 40 seconds faster through 5k than in NY. Then came the hills.
The course climbs for over 2 miles at this point, and I struggled. Bad. People would pass me on every single hill, but when we’d reach a little dip or flat spot I would attempt to close the gap. But after completing half the climbing I was shattered. The doubts started to creep in, and then take over. Athletes I didn’t know started passing me and I couldn’t respond, and then I lost the will to even try. My competitive spirit evaporated and I started going into survival mode. Maybe I don’t have what it takes anymore. It’s probably time to retire. At the very moment I needed my strong spirit to propel me upward, I felt like a week-old birthday balloon, sagging and outdated.
That’s when Desi (Davila) Linden came up on my shoulder. Desi is an American hero if you don’t know her, and most recently finished 10th in the Boston Marathon in 2:23. Normally she’d be duking it out up front, but she is just starting to get back into the swing of things post-marathon.
“Come on, go get em,” she said to me as we crested the last big hill onto a flat section. Shocked, I surged to stay with her and then pulled slightly ahead. On another microscopic slope I again sagged and she pulled up on my side. “Look ahead. They’re all strung out in front of you. Go pick them off.”
What the frick? I didn’t really care about my race at that point. I was exhausted. It would take a super-human effort to change gears the last half mile of the race. What’s the difference between 15th and 18th place really? But Desi-Freaking-Linden challenged me, one of my heroes, and I wasn’t going to be a wuss. She put to words the things my own brain used to think, before Jude, back when I was super fit and feisty and in the hunt. The attitude I’d have right now if I were up in 5th place. I tucked my head down, engaged my core, and started to drive. Just because I’m not in the place I want to be doesn’t mean I can’t race like the champion I am inside. As I felt myself flying down the hill, the finish line started to barely come into view. It was still a long way to go. But I wasn’t slowing down. I pounded and leaned forward and drove my arms. Runners started coming back to me. I felt a weight lift off my heart that gave me one more gear. This is who I am. Winning or not.
I’m especially proud of this one.
Special Thanks:
First of all, thank you to Elizabeth and all the race organizers for making me a part of the event, and to German and Andy and all the Atlanta Track Club people behind the scenes for the hospitality! It was an important race for me for many reasons, so thank you.
THANKS TO ATLANTA! For having a gigantic road race. For bringing 60,000 people. For waving the American Flag to start it all. For having the most amazing fireworks I’ve ever seen. For not being insanely hot and humid for my race.
Thanks to my support team from home for patiently getting me healthier and stronger, and thanks to Josh Glass at Georgia Sports Chiropractic for filling in with on site body work.
Thanks to Genie and her team at West Stride for having me and my teammates as special guests in your running store and introducing us to the community you’ve built. We had a great time!
Thanks to all the fast women who create a competitive environment that doesn’t extend off the road. It was fun seeing old friends and making new ones.
Thanks to the Oiselle Birds who came through with smiles, good energy, hospitality, and love. Bringing twitter into real life is surreal. And amazing. I’m so lucky racing allows me a way to make these connections in real life.
And thank you to my three teammates who lined up on the start line with me, Caitlin Comfort, Mel Lawrence, and Kara Foster. The four of us felt the most like a cross country team as I’ve experienced in 10 years, and it made me extremely happy. Eating burgers, joking around, bunking up in hotel rooms, and watching the fireworks might have even been more fun than the actual race. 🙂
I think it’s telling that this is my most liked photo ever on Instagram. Love these crazy chicks. Mel, Caitlin, and Kara.
So proud of you! Great story and love this line: “Just because I’m not in the place I want to be doesn’t mean I can’t race like the champion I am inside. ”
I am nowhere near being a sports psychologist, but I have an idea and it’s something I tired to do when making important life decisions with a great worry storming in my brain. Sign a contract in your head to take retirement “off the table” for a year or some length of time, or during highly emotional situations like races. If there’s no impending deadline to this decision, and it’s not something you can solve in a short amount of time anyway, don’t let it prevent you from giving your all-out effort! You can asses the data from a better perspective later when the contract’s time is up.
Easier said than done of course, but the visual “contract” helped me.
I almost laughed out loud in my cubicle when I read your initial impression of Atlanta – I had the same impression before I moved here a few years ago. So glad you had a nice few days here. I was one of the people who got to meet you at West Stride on Saturday. It was so awesome of you girls to come hang out 🙂
Also – other than the kick-ass elite times and being at the front of the pack, I would have thought you were narrating my race at the Peachtree! My “Desi moment” happened during mile 5. As I was questioning why I willingly choose to run races for fun (and even worse, my first marathon looming in December), I remembered reading something you wrote a few months ago. You wrote that you summoned up some extra motivation in a race because “trying hard matters.” That resonated with me in the moment I read it, and I drew on it during the race. The last miles of the race were my fastest – better than the downhill miles. Wise words to live (and race) by. Thanks for sharing them with us.
What a great story, as always you are keeping it real for the rest of us! I am now even more glad and proud that Desi signed my Boston bib this year!! Hang on to the feeling of pride you have from kicking hard, hoping it keeps any future doubts at bay!! #stillachampion #lionheart
Now I know who the brainy one is, I’ll keep loonikg for your posts.
Love this so much. Love that you’re actually human AND superhuman at the same time. And the story of the connection between you and Desi mid-race. Champion, lion, gigantic heart…you got it girl, whether you’re racing the best in the world, or just being human. Thanks for welcoming the rest of us into your world.
Way to go Mom! (That’s what your boy will be saying when he starts squawking!)
You’ve really impessred me with that answer!
reading your race recap gave me goosebumps and had my adrenaline pumping – i love your honest story-telling.
it’s so nice being able to relate to your psychology durning the race, even though we run at different levels. i have had those same thoughts of complaicency during a race and to be able to rally back (whether it comes from within or from some awesome support, like you had with desi) is the stuff of champions.
i am certain that as you continue to get back into fitness, you’ll find that stong spirit within is as fiesty as ever. keep at it, mama, you’re an inspiration!
This post made my heart happy! I love Atlanta so much and I really feel like I have to defend it to everyone who’s not from around here as they usually think of the same things you mentioned, plus fried chicken. Except the fried chicken is awesome here, so they can keep that one.
Getting to meet you and Mel was such a highlight of my year so far, and I can’t believe you were so gracious even when your head was exploding from sinus issues. Juuuuuuust in case you have a ton of spare time and feel like reading yet another running blog here is where I talk about how awesome it was to meet you two and why I think you and all other professional female runners are the $#!t, check out: http://chicksdigrunning.com/wp/?p=644
On a different note, I am pretty sure I saw that Snoop Dogg doppelganger on a bus one time. There can’t be more than one, right?
Anyway, I am so happy you loved the Peachtree and your time here! Don’t worry, those hills make everyone feel like a freaking crippled old lady (I actually have been having that distinct feeling since I was a teenager so it’s not just you!). You rocked it, and we’re all happy you came.
Come again next year!
Lauren – the inspiration we often get from other athletes is an amazing aspect of our sport. Desi probably could have surged by you and made you feel even worse. Instead, she inspired you! At the very least, I hope you send Desi a gift case of Picky Bars!
AMAZING story! I have talked to so many runners who down play the hills of the Peachtree Road Race. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who struggles with those hills. Your story let me know that even the best runners sometimes struggle with the hills. And your quote, “Just because I’m not in the place I want to be doesn’t mean I can’t race like the champion I am inside,” really spoke to me. Not matter what place you are in, never give up!
I so enjoyed meeting you at the Expo! Thanks for autographing the magazine for me 🙂
And it is this kind of thing that makes you so spectacular and admired. A great athlete and person in every sense. Thank you for being freaking awesome!!!
Wow, that was great to read and relate with you on so many things…all except your killer pace!! That is funny what pictured of Atlanta…thanks for putting that in, it made me laugh! How cool that you got some girl time too while here!! As a mom, I know how rest is cherished and rare with little ones!! Thanks for the great race write up, it was good to hear the challenging thoughts as it hurt more and know even elite, kick butt runners think those things too!! Very cool of Desi to come up and encourage you!!! Wow, that really made me love the sport even more :)! Glad you had fun in Atlanta at our PRR, and hope you come back again and enjoy our awesome running community and race again!! Keep it real…love it and thanks!!
Way to push it, Lauren. I’m an Atlanta native currently re-located to Virginia. We make the trek back to the ATL every July 4th to see family and run the race. I was a full 11 minutes behind you, but I think we felt similarly along the course. Negative, ready to give up, who cares about this race, but finding something to push for at the very end. It was a good year for a fast race there (cooler temps), but I sure didn’t have it this year. I’m so glad you experienced the positives of Atlanta, and on behalf of ATL runners everywhere, we hope you’ll come back next year!!
Great recap of your race, the challenges you faced, and how you dug deep to finish strong and be proud of your accomplishment. It’s another building block and you’ll take off of this step and jump to the next. And just so you know from the viewer side the women’s race was a joy to watch on TV with really great 11Alive coverage and commentary by Carrie Tollefson. Best televised women’s race at Peachtree that I’ve seen yet. It was a great event for you to be part of and we were glad you were here. Come back soon y’al hear now!? (that’s southern talk)
Thanks Kelly!
before that picture I didn’t know who you were after that picture I am now following you you have become sort of an inspiration for me never quit don’t give up are the result of your efforts I finished in 45 minutes like I had said next year I’ll do it under 40 my friends Mandy and Tiffany really appreciated autograph magazines
Fantastic. Keep going for it Eliyah!
Hey, that was a great read, thanks for sharing your story!
also, great quote by Martin Luther King at the beginning 🙂
Best ending ever! I love how Desi set your mind straight – such awesome sports(women)ship. I’ll be thinking about this for sure in my next race, “Just because I’m not in the place I want to be doesn’t mean I can’t race like the champion I am inside. ” Thanks for always being honest and motivating!! Love it.
Hey lauren I was just at a distance running camp and one of our guest spekers mentioned you and how inspirational and amazing you are just by readung this I can already tell that I look up to you and hope to someday run as well as you(well maybe not as well because you are REALLY good) but better then I am now.
I’m so glad you were able to run the Peachtree in Atlanta! I’ve run it many times, and each time is unique! I love the crowd that comes out to support, and I think it is a great way to celebrate the 4th of July. This was a good year for it, too, because it wasn’t too hot.
Inhisgts like this liven things up around here.