Every September one Sunday in the month The Super Speedway becomes a race venue for runners! The Start & Finish lines are located on the track at the beginning and end of the 'straightaway'! It is so awesome to run on the track past turn one then up the brutal ramp thru the grandstands and around the outside of the venue! The course takes you through the main entrance straight down the tunnel that the NASCAR drivers come barreling through then back onto the track at mile 10.5 for the Grand Finish on the track! There are only two words to describe the whole day: totally cool!
In spite of the race being on foot there is SPEED! Today the Top male finisher took the checkered flag at 1:13:18. Top female finisher clocked in at 1:33:40. In anybody's result book that is fast! I honestly don't know how anybody can run 13.1 miles that darn fast! For the record we were no where close to that kind of speed! We were more in the caution flag category! CAUTION:Slowpokes on the course!
In spite of the track being cool it's a fairly difficult course! The track is hard to run on. It's not flat! Even at the lowest shoulder it's on a little bit of a slant. There is no passing on the high banks. You can't stand up! You quickly realize it is sheer speed that keeps the race cars on the road. If they ran slow they would fall in the turns! The asphalt is hot in the Alabama sun! It felt like 100 degrees when I hit mile 11. No shade! Sun & Asphalt on an unlevel surface! I was definitely out of gas at that point!
My favorite part of the track is the Alabama Gang Stretch right before turn 4! There is a huge banner sign that seems to stretch from end to end that says This is Talladega! I love it! You can just feel the thunder of the race car engines when you see it! I've been to a few NASCAR races there. You can feel those engines as they fly by!
Today was our halfway point in our marathon training. We were both disappointed! I was slow! I struggled with the first mile and then again with miles 11 & 12. I don't know why. I just did. Johnny had a great run starting out then struggled at mile 9 with cramps. We have a long way to go to get to mile 26. We have a lot more miles and a lot more training and a lot more running ahead of us. We will get there though! The Pace Cars were looking really sweet to us today! It's so much easier than running!
But today is in the books. It's a done deal. It is what it is! It's Dega Baby & it was still totally cool! I'm sure we will see ya next year at the track!
Peace out! Grandmary
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