After dinner, I headed out to LAX for a red eye flight over to Atlanta, Georgia. Once again I parked at the Renaissance Hotel which I had prepaid with SpotHero. My flights for this trip were with American Airlines. I used my WorldMark credits to pay for the airfare. I had been looking forward to this trip primarily for the US Olympic Marathon Team Trials. I had already completed a marathon in Georgia with the Rock n' Roll Savannah Marathon back in 2011, so this would be a repeat State. The coronavirus had just began to make its way through the US, so there were a lot of people wearing various kinds of face masks. I was one of the few that was not wearing a mask while in the airport and on the plane. Unless you're wearing a N95 masks, other masks are only good for preventing sick people from spreading their germs.
Friday 2/28
The plane landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at about a quarter after 6 am. After getting off of the plane, I made my way over to the SkyTrain to take me over to the Rental Car Center. I had a reservation with Alamo Rent-A-Car. As I walked through the airport I noticed a stark difference between here and LAX, hardly anyone was wearing masks in Atlanta. It was pretty quiet at the car rental counters, so I was able to get the paperwork taken care of rather quickly. I then went into the parking structure to pick my car. I went with a black Nissan Sentra.
Alamo Rent-a-Car
Rental car
Since my Chick-fil-A Backstage Home Office Tour wasn't until 9 am, I drove over to visit the famed original Chick-fil-A, Dwarf House restaurant over in nearby Hapeville. It was breakfast time and the place was packed. The drive-thru line was long and the parking lot in the back was pretty full. Since it was my first time, I wasn't aware that the restaurant was split into 2 sides. One side was a sit-down diner and the other side was a regular Chick-fil-A. Unfortunately I had already placed my order on the mobile app, but I wandered into the diner section. Thankfully the waitress told me where to go. I'm sure that they're used to dealing with newbies like me. I ordered my usual Chick-n-Minis meal with hash browns and a small coffee. After finishing my meal, I hung out for a couple of hours before making the drive over to the Home Office for the tour.
Dwarf House
Chick-n-Minis meal
It was a short drive over. Once I exited the 14 highway at Buffington Rd, there was a long line of cars waiting to make a left turn onto the road leading up to the Home Office. There was a cop directing traffic. Once I got to the gatehouse, they gave me a guest parking pass after confirming my tour reservation. It was a nice scenic woodsy drive up to the parking lot. After finding a parking spot, I headed over to the building while following the signs. They had a person stationed outside to welcome people there for the tour. After going through the metal detector, I checked in and got my visitor credentials. Since I was among the first ones there, I checked out the gift shop before heading inside the video room for the start of the tour.
Gift shop
After a brief video and an introduction by our tour guide, Shelley Riso, it was time for the walking portion of the tour. Before heading out, we each picked up an audio device to make it much easier to hear the guide. The tour was quite thorough and informative. I enjoyed learning more about the company's humble beginnings. At the end of the tour, we were each given a gift card good for 1 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich or nuggets. If you ever get the chance and are in the area, you should come here and take the tour. On the way out, I bought a visor in the gift shop.
After the tour, I thought about visiting the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. However I was feeling a bit tired for that, so I drove up to my hotel to see if I can get an early check-in. My hotel for this trip was the budget friendly Microtel Inn located all the way up at the Perimeter Center. It took about 40 minutes to drive up there. Thankfully as a platinum Wyndham Rewards member I was able to get an early check-in. I was able to relax a bit in my room for about an hour before heading back out.
Instead of driving, I left the car at the hotel and walked over to the Dunwoody MARTA Station to take the rail into Downtown Atlanta. I purchased a 3 day pass for $18. The rail would be my primary mode of transportation for the rest of the trip. I got off at the Peachtree Transit Center Station. The trip took about 30 minutes. From the station, I walked over to the Georgia World Congress Center to pick up my race packet at the race expo. It was pretty cool to see the Centennial Olympic Park being set up for the Olympic Team Trials tomorrow.
Just as I entered the expo hall, I picked up an America's Marathon Weekend magazine which I found to be quite informative. The race packet pick-up process was really quick and well organized. We could go to any booth as bib numbers were assigned on the spot. That was followed by receiving a nice looking thin long sleeved race shirt.
Georgia World Congress Center
America's Marathon Weekend magazine
Assigned a bib number
Shirt pick-up
Race long sleeve shirt
Next it was time to check out the vendor booths. I ended up spending most of my time in the USATF section to check out what items that they had for sale. I ended up buying a pretty plain white US Olympic Team Trials t-shirt for $35. I bumped into a few familiar faces while waiting in the long line to pay for the item. I made it out of there with a sample can of Dasani water and a polyester tech-towel. It looks like there is a push to move away from using plastic for single use water containers.
US Olympic Team Trials t-shirt
Expo freebies
After exiting the expo, I walked over to the nearby Chick-fil-A for lunch. Man, this location was super busy! Fortunately for me, I wasn't a newbie and was able to skip the very long line by placing my order on the mobile app. I went with the usual Cobb Salad with grilled nuggets.
Cobb salad with grilled nuggets
I was feeling pretty wiped out, so after finishing lunch, I started heading over to the Five Points MARTA Station to catch the rail back to my hotel. Prior to the station, I ducked into the nearby CVS to buy some drinks for the weekend. The Broad St Plaza between Marietta St and the station was nice and spacious, but unfortunately it was flooded with aggressive obnoxious homeless people. Hard to feel sorry for them when they're hurling unprovoked unsavory insults at you.
I took the MARTA rail over to the Sandy Springs Station. From there I walked back to my hotel. After going through my race packet, I relaxed a bit and took a nap before meeting up with my friends for dinner. We met up at the nearby Tin Lizzy's Cantina. I'm not a fan of Mexican, Tex-Mex, or Flex-Mex food, but this place was pretty decent. We shared the Three Amigos tortilla chips which came with salsa, guacamole, and queso dip. For my entree, I ordered their shrimp skillet and grilled mahi mahi taco. Both had good flavors and probably way too many calories. :)
Three Amigos: salsa, guacamole, queso
Shrimp skillet and grilled mahi mahi taco
Saturday 2/29
Normally the day before a marathon, I usually do nothing and just lounge around in my room. However every 4 years, I look forward to watching the American professionals run the US Olympic Marathon Team Trials. This would be the third team trials that I have spectated in person. I went to Houston in 2012 and Los Angeles in 2016.
After I got ready, I went down to the lobby to pick up some food for breakfast. I got a Yoplait yogurt and a banana. Once I was done eating, I drove over to the Dunwoody MARTA Station to take the rail into Downtown Atlanta. It was nice that parking in the station parking structure was free so long as you're there for less than 24 hrs. If you park at least 24 hrs, it would be $5 per day.
Hotel breakfast
Dunwoody Station
Just like yesterday, I got off at the Peachtree Transit Center Station. Today, I tried to take a more direct path over to the Georgia World Congress Center to check out the expo again. However I got turned around a bit and was heading too far South. It was nice to see that the course was already set up for the marathon team trials. It was quite a windy day. I bumped into a fellow Marathon Maniac (#22) after I went through the expo.
From there I walked over to the Chick-fil-A for breakfast. Along the way I bumped into a Facebook acquaintance that was also heading there. It was a pleasant surprise that while I was placing my order on the mobile app, I was given a free breakfast item just for visiting the Hall of Fame location. For my free item, I got the Hash Brown Scramble Bowl with Grilled Filet. I got a small coffee with it. There was a bit of a wait for the coffee as it seemed like everyone was wanting coffee and they were completely out and had to make a new batch.
Small coffee
Hash Brown Scramble Bowl with Grilled Filet
After I was done with my breakfast, I checked out the start line area for the marathon. They were in the process of setting up the timing mats. While checking things out, I ended up talking to a local guy named Baker who was also there as a spectator. He told me that he was supposed to volunteer as course marshal at mile 24. I told him that I would keep an eye out for him on Sunday.
I was fortunate to bump into Paula Radcliffe with Jordan Hasay as I was walking over to the restaurant to meet up with my friends for an early lunch. They were headed into the start area for participants to get ready for the race.
Checking out the start line
Paula Radcliffe and Jordan Hasay
My friends and I got an early reservation for lunch at Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria. We were all there a few minutes before the restaurant opened at 11 am. We shared an order of the garlic knots and crispy polenta fries. Since I had just eaten breakfast, I only ordered Max's minestrone soup. The garlic knots were not bad. I do love garlic, the more the better. I also like polenta and those fries went well with the 2 different dips. The soup was okay. However the portion was pretty small so not really worth it. My friends ordered 2 pizzas to share: one was meatballs & goat cheese and the other was arugula & prosciutto. My friends didn't finish their pizza and didn't want the leftover slices, so I had them boxed up so I could eat them later.
Garlic knot with marinara sauce
Crispy polenta fries with Calabrian chili ketchup and basil pesto aioli
Max's minestrone soup
Top: meatballs & goat cheese; Bottom: arugula & prosciutto
After we settled the bill, we headed outside to spectate the marathon team trials. It had gotten quite crowded all along the street! We walked Southeast down Marietta St trying to find a good spot to catch the start of the race. My friends found a spot in the median near Forsyth St which was a bit crowded, so I found a spot by Fairlie St.
After the men and women ran by, we met up with another group of friends. I ended up staying with the other group at the corner of Edgewood Ave as my original group wanted to walk over to the Atlanta Olympic Cauldron Tower. It was much easier to spot my favorite runners as they started breaking up into lead and chase packs. It was pretty awesome to see two very pregnant runners out there! They were still moving pretty well! However I believe they both eventually dropped out.
Early men's leaders at about 38 mins into the race
Chase pack
Women's lead pack
2 very pregnant runners, bravo!
Men's leader about 1:18 into the race
Galen Rupp chasing down the leader
Women's lead pack
Once the women ran through one last time, we headed over to Andrew Young International Blvd to catch the finish. We found a spot near the 200m sign just across from the Georgia World Congress Center. We were in the shade, so it was cold and quite windy! It was pretty cool to see the top finishers come through to earn their spots. For the men, as to be expected, Galen Rupp came in 1st for the win. Jacob Riley came in 2nd followed closely by Abdi The Black Cactus for the final 3rd spot! I was not familiar with the top 3 finishers for the women. Aliphine Tuliamuk, Molly Seidel, and Sally Kipyego finished 1, 2, and 3 respectively. In 4th was fan favorite, Des Linden. We stuck around a bit for some of the other finishers before we all left to go our separate ways.
Galen Rupp coming in 1st
Jacob Riley coming in 2nd followed closely by Abdi The Black Cactus for 3rd!
Aliphine Tuliamuk coming in 1st
Molly Seidel coming in 2nd
Sally Kipyego coming in 3rd
Des Linden coming in 4th
Sarah Sellers
Men's Team
Women's Team
I headed over to the Five Points MARTA Station to take the rail back to my hotel. Once I got back to my room, I polished off the leftover pizza since my room did not have a mini fridge. I then vegged out and relaxed until it was dinner time. Unfortunately I wasn't very hungry once dinner time rolled around. Still I headed over to nearby McDonald's to get my traditional pre-race meal. They had a deal for free medium french fries with a purchase of a McFlurry. I used the mobile app and ordered a snack size Oreo Shamrock McFlurry to get the free fries. Apparently if I placed my order and paid for it with the app, it would also enter me for a chance to win The Golden Shamrock Shake.
After getting back to my room, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's marathon before hitting the hay.
Flat runner
Sunday 3/1
I got ready and left the hotel about 5 minutes before 5 am for the short drive over to Dunwoody Station. There were a few other runners also taking the MARTA into Downtown Atlanta for the race. I arrived at the Peachtree Center Station at about 5:30 am. That was plenty early for a 7 am start as the starting area was still pretty empty.
I might need that seat after the race! :)
I thought about ducking into a nearby hotel, but it actually wasn't too cold. Thank goodness the wind from yesterday was absent today! Eventually other people started showing up in the Group Village inside the Centennial Olympic Park. I found the Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics area which was really close to my starting corral out on Marietta St. While waiting I met Brian from Alabama and Dennis, Filipino from Houston, Texas. One of the perks with having a group in the village was that we got to use one of those fancy restroom trailers. That's always nicely to use than those standard portapotties. As the start of the race approached, we began gathering for the obligatory group photo. After that I got my stuff together and stored my gear bag in one of the containers brought by the MM/HF local ambassador.
Marathon Maniacs
I headed into my assigned starting corral, wave B. That was for those running at the 8 min pace range. One day, I'll get myself in shape to hold that pace for the entire race. I could definitely feel the energy from my fellow runners. Everyone was eager to get the race going. It was cool that prior to the scheduled 7 am start, they brought out the elite runners that had earned a spot on the US Olympic team minus Galen Rupp. I guess he had somewhere else to be.
Pre-race
Starting corral
The race started on time. I went out with the 1:45 half marathon pace group. That first mile was a bit quicker as it was mostly downhill. The course was every bit as hilly as described. If you weren't going up, you were going down. After about the second mile, I got into my own comfortable pace (~8:30 min per mile) and watched that pace group slowly run away from me. That first 5k was about the only hard effort that I put out for this race. The rest of my race was to enjoy the scenery and finish somewhere under 5 hrs.
As I was approaching mile 5, making a turn onto Edgewood Ave, I passed a group of ladies all dressed up as Elsa.
Elsa x4!
I reached the halfway point at about 2 hrs.
At almost mile 19, I reached the Atlanta Olympic Cauldron Tower at the corner of Capitol Ave and Fulton St. As I was curling around Pollard Blvd, I came up to a guy that was struggling to walk, I could tell that he was dealing with leg cramps. I could definitely empathize. I told him to take deeper breaths and to find salt or something salty to eat at the next aid station.
Unfortunately I also started having leg cramps, so my pace really slowed down. A couple of my fellow Marathon Maniacs (Todd and Heather) caught me prior to reaching mile 21.
Heather caught me on Atlanta Ave.
I was really struggling with the leg cramps when another Marathon Maniac (David S) caught me near mile 22 as we took a lap around the track at Cheney Stadium. I came up to the Atlanta Olympic Cauldron Tower again as I was nearing mile 24 heading North on Hank Aaron Dr.
Another fellow Marathon Maniac (David D) caught and overtook me along Marietta St with less than a mile to go. He was encouraging me to run with him, but my legs were toast. They were really cramping up on me when I made that last turn for the final stretch to the finish line. I didn't want to walk it in, so I forced myself to slow-jog it. The calves would lock up as soon as I crossed the finish line and stopped. Ouch!
Cramping up to the finish line
Finish line
Finish: 4:51:06
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was quite relieved to have finished this marathon in under 5 hrs. I would rank it as one of the more difficult courses. The finisher medal that I received was a nice looking medal. My friend waited for me at the finish line. We chatted a bit as we made our way over to the Marathon Maniacs group area. Along the way we received several post-race drinks as well as a throwaway hooded poncho. Those are always nice to keep for a cold and rainy race.
Finisher medal
Fellow Marathon Maniac, David D
Post race drinks
Post race throwaway hooded poncho
I ended up chatting a bit with David H and David S about our races. They both had much better races than me. The latter David also had a better memory than me. He was able to recall that we had met on the course at the Madison Marathon back in 2014. I waited a bit for my leg cramps to subside before I started making my way over to the MARTA station for my ride back to the hotel. I first made a stop at the mobile restroom. Man, it was pretty disgusting how dirty the place had become compared to earlier this morning!
Along my way over to the Five Points Station, I cheered on the runners heading in for the finish line. I was fortunate to spot my friend. Good to see that my friend was still smiling and upright. These marathons don't get any easier!
Just like the day before, the homeless people that were around the Broad St Plaza were hurling insults at me as I walked towards the MARTA Station. I had to mind my own business and pretend that I didn't hear or understood them. I know that it is hard to show unconditional love towards strangers, but lately I've been coming across many that make it quite hard to show them any compassion. Not only do they ooze this aura of entitlement, they also seem to go out of their way to make you feel threatened. :(
Marcia!
After I got back to my room, I drank some of the post-race drinks and got cleaned up. I then relaxed and took a short nap before it was time to get some food for dinner. Since I was on a tight budget, I went back to McDonald's where I got a McChicken and cheeseburger for a dollar a piece. I also ordered the Quarter Pounder with cheese with a deal on the mobile app for 40% off. I took my order back to my room where I vegged out for the rest of the evening.
Monday 3/2
After packing up and getting ready to check-out of my room, I noticed that the McDonald's app had notified me that today was National Egg McMuffin Day. They were giving out a free Egg McMuffin sandwich with no purchase necessary! They usually make you order at least $1 for free give-away items. So back to McDonald's one last time for breakfast. Along with the free Egg McMuffin, I ordered a small coffee.
National Egg McMuffin Day!
After finishing breakfast, I made the drive out to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. It turned out to be a great day to visit as there was light rain for most of the morning. The entrance fee was $12 which I paid in the souvenir shop. Although he was regarded by a lot of people as being one of the worst US Presidents, I thought he was a good man with a strong moral compass. All of the work that he has done since leaving the White House shows just how much compassion he has for his fellow man in need. I spent nearly 2 hours here. This was only the 2nd presidential library that I've visited. The other one being the Clinton Presidential Library out in Little Rock, Arkansas. I will need to make a better effort in visiting the rest of them in the near future!
After I was done with my tour of the presidential library, I hopped in the car and drove out to the Dwarf House for one last meal before heading to the airport. Since I got there right at noon, the place was again packed. Fortunately for me, I found an empty spot at the counter. I ordered their chicken waffle and coffee. If I had to choose, I would eat on the side with table service every time.
Chicken waffle
After I paid my bill and hopped back in the car, I drove to the CITGO gas station that was practically next door to fill up the gas tank. Man, gas is so much cheaper here without so many taxes. Thank goodness I didn't have any problems this time with getting the gas door to open. I'll try to stick to Japanese rental cars from now on.
After taking the SkyTrain over to the airport, I got in to the line that I thought was for passenger TSA security screening. Apparently I had gotten into the line for airport employees. Good thing I asked. One of the employees jokingly asked me to stay with them as they needed all the help that they can get. :)
After getting through the TSA security screening, I plopped myself down at an open seat and waited in Concourse T as I had a few hours to pass before my flight home. At about an hour before my flight, I stopped by Bojangles' to eat an early dinner. I was kind of in the mood for some more Chick-fil-A, so I ordered their Grilled Chicken Sandwich hoping that it would be comparable. I got the combo with some dirty rice as my side. For my drink, I went with the usual unsweetened tea. The drink station was a bit of a mess. Well, the sandwich wasn't as good as a Chick-fil-A sandwich, but it made for a decent meal. Maybe next time I'll just go with their famous chicken and biscuits. It took me a while to find a spot to eat my food. I found an empty table at Uncle Maddio's Pizza where they had a large dining area. That turned out to be really convenient as it was located right across from my gate.
During the flight home, I finally watched Knives Out. For the longest time, I would not watch it despite hearing all of the many great reviews. Why? Because it was written and directed by Rian Johnson. Yes, the same guy that created that dumpster fire, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Unlike TLJ, this movie was well crafted and quite entertaining. It made me wonder what he would've produced if he was allowed to create the entire sequel trilogy instead of having to follow on the coattails of that unimaginative hack, J. J. Abrams. That formula was an absolute disaster! J. J. Abrams is definitely more suited for making reboots. Disappointed Star Wars fans wanted new stories and ideas, instead the entire sequel trilogy was wasted on a poorly contrived reboot. :(
The plane landed at LAX at about a quarter after 8. I was pretty eager to get back home, but I ended up having to wait about 30 minutes before a Renaissance Hotel shuttle showed up to take me to my car. Once I got off the shuttle I went to the valet stand to pick up the usual exit ticket, but the guy told me that that wasn't necessary. He informed me that they're in the process of switching over to a new system, so the gate arm should already be up. Indeed it was.
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