It was 32 degrees at the start line of the Callaway Gardens marathon.
The race announcer kept prattling on about the temperatures and a warming trend forecast as the day continued. Mom made an aside comment that this guy was really into the weather; moments later he revealed he was the local affiliate’s meteorologist which explained a lot.
Frankly, he must be a pretty good meteorologist as the temperatures did rise with the sun. By the second loop of the course, it was pushing 60 degrees and I had shed my sweatshirt. At the halfway point, I passed it to my cheering but cowbell-less Mom. She and I both under packed for this 36 hour jaunt to Pine Mountain, GA. We made do without our forgotten items; I in my running shorts rather than sweat pants and mom resolved the cheering issue by cheering louder. It all worked out great in the end.
As I mentioned, this was a two loop course. And it turned out to be a beautiful place to be running… Albeit light on spectators and cheering fans. But I had my Mom so what more did I need?
We ran through a recreational area, complete with picnic areas, beaches, golf course, and remnants of the holiday lights strung through the trees. Two minor hills that took a bit out of me (especially the second time round where I swear they increased the incline and resistance like it were God’s treadmill). Here then are a few photos from the course:
The thing about loops is the first round can be disheartening to see the double mileage — mile 4 is also marked as mile 17 and you can’t help but wish it were like a Chinese menu. I’ll take column B’s mile 17 thanks!
The real benefit of the loop was that Mom knew right where to cheer me on at the halfway point. With the quiet solitude of the majority of the run, it was a massive energy boost to have her there with words of encouragement. As I stopped to grab a selfie with her, the area’s newspaper snapped a photo and apparently talked to Mom for a quote after I headed out on the second loop. So we may have made the Ledger Post Columbus, GA, sports section!
And so despite a rocky, restless night at an area hotel with dodgy heating, I actually really enjoyed the run. I struggled a bit in the second loop and couldn’t quite pull off the negative split I was hoping as I grew familiar with the course. For example, when I saw the wheat fields on the second loop I knew I was close to the course turnaround point and was headed into the final 5+ miles.
The finish itself proved to have the biggest pizza I’ve ever seen. Mom measured it using her hand and reckons it was a 38 incher. I snapped a pic for my Team Pizza Racers stats.
I also bumped into the 50sub4 President Bob Kennedy and grabbed a shot at the finish for the club Facebook page.
And before we headed out for the numbingly long ride back to Florida for the Celebration Marathon on Sunday, we grabbed a few last minute shots, highlights of which appear below.
All in all, not a bad way to start a Saturday.
POST SCRIPT UPDATE at 9:17 PM: The majority of this post was written on my iPhone as we drove back from GA to FL. Typos and autocorrections are courtesy of Siri and my lack of proofreading as I’m headed off to bed to wake up at 4:10 AM to head to the Celebration Marathon.