Adventure # 2- Complete. I got out of bed at 6:45 yesterday morning to attend my very first 5K in Oakland Cemetery's annual Halloween Run Like Hell. I was very lucky to have the support of my best friend Kim, who originally didn't get a number but came with me for moral encouragement. I have never been to Oakland Cemetery. In 1850, the city of Atlanta established the new cemetery on farmland away from the bustling center of town. Today Oakland it lies in the middle of downtown Atlanta. Walking through the gates, you feel like you are taking a step back in history. Some of the headstones are so old, you can barely read the year or state. It is the final resting place of many Confederate soldiers; Maynard Jackson Atlanta's first African American mayor, Ivan Allen, Jr., and Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. Many of Oakland’s graves are etched with familiar names borne by Atlanta parks, streets, neighborhoods and businesses. For every beautiful monument marking a prominent or wealthy family, there are hundreds of small, simple headstones. Not far from some of Atlanta’s best known sons and daughters are paupers buried at public expense. It is truly a melting pot of Atlanta history. It would be a perfect day exploration adventure.
The interesting and fun aspect of this race is that it's on Halloween and there were SO many people dressed in costume. We saw everything from a guy dressed as a Bee Hive and he had 4 or 5 bees surrounding him to a woman dressed as Dog the Bounty hunters wife. There was children dressed as smurfs and toilet seats. It would have been fun just to go and watch the race. When we got there, luckily there was a table selling extra race numbers and Kim got to get a number!!! It was very exciting to do my first 5 K with my best friend. I planned to walk the entire thing, so we started out at the end, but as we got close to the start line, with the energy of everyone, we just had to run it (A LITTLE). *side note- I had not eaten breakfast or dinner the night before, not my smartest move. We were doing really well and ran/walk the first mile in about 15 minutes. Since we started so far back- I'm gonna say we probably ran/walk it a little faster than that. The course was very diverse- up and down hills, through neighborhoods, over interstate 20, and of course through the cemetery. During the second mile, I tweaked my ankle a bit (damn uneven payment), AND I dropped my Point and Shoot camera- It threw me off. So we definitely slowed down a little. Kim was always ahead of me, she is super awesome athlete all-star, but she was always very encouraging and tried not to get too far ahead. We were saving the "run" part for getting back back to the cemetery. Once we hit those gates again...there were SO many people there encouraging- saying "Way to go", "You are almost there," It's just around the corner. I was running with Kim, but I was really running out of gas. I didn't see this corner that everyone kept referring to. :) I had to walk a bit, run a bit to keep up with Kim, got a little dizzy (should have ate breakfast), and I finally saw the corner. It was UP another hill. Kim, being the bestie that she is actually got behind me and was literally pushing me....It was hilarious. Once we got up the hill- she grabbed my hand and was like "We are finishing this together." We were actually running, holding hands. This must have been funny, because the guy with the bullhorn was like- "Look at them go, Holding hands. Calhoun, GA." I had my cousin's wrestling sweatshirt on so I was representing the hometown. We finished at 49:00. But we think It was probably in actuality 45:00, because we were so far back in the actual line. The race closed at 1500 runners, but Kim was 1555.
I am proud of myself. I think Kim and I are gonna make it a tradition. I will definitely train a little more for the next one. I plan to run one completely by the end of the year. I can only improve. It was a great time...and even better by celebrating at Flying Biscuit!
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| The band was playing Thriller to start us off |
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| After the race, Kim wanted me to do the #1 dance |
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| After the race |
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