Gun Time
27F and pitch-black dark!!! I wish I had more time to chit-chat with everyone, but we stayed in the car until the last possible second to stay warm. None of us expected it to be this cold!

Ten minutes before the race, I hit the porta-potty. Luckily, I had my Go Girl with me, making peeing in the pitch-black dark on frigid, shaky legs a cinch! From there, we joined the runners huddled around a small fire that Lia and Eric started, thank goodness! I’m sure I looked a sight: preggo belly, tank top, and a running skirt. 😛 Being this is our last babe, I refused to spend tons of money on pregnancy gear, so I paired my outfit with arm warmers and compression sleeves. I forgot gloves, but luckily Lara came packed with the kitchen sink and had a spare! WOOT!

Eric gave last-minute instructions, and each runner had a laminated, wallet-sized card of the turn-by-turn directions.

Course:
At 7 a.m., with dawn approaching, we headed down Senoia’s long, winding, country roads. The first third portion of the course is deceiving because the hills are hiding in the last two-thirds of the course. The first 10k portion takes you into the town of Senoia, where they filmed the Walking Dead.

Janet, a die-hard Walking Dead fan, decided to toy with the security guard for a minute or two, in an attempt to get a decent shot of the current filming area. I could only stand back and laugh. Janet would go to the left, and the flustered guard went to the left. To the right, to the right. To the front, and this is where the dancing stopped, and he took steps towards her. I mean, kudos to him for taking his job so seriously, rofl. After toying with the guard for a minute, we picked the pace back up. Funny because the second guard on the other side must have been like “Awwww hell nah! It’s too cold!” ‘cuz he stayed right in his car. 😛 Or he probably realized we weren’t a threat. 😛

We continued on towards the aid station, where we tried to get the attention of a couple of girls, who missed the course turn. Forgetting it was 7:30 in the morning, we yelled at the top of our lungs to no avail. When the quiet of the morning hit us, I realized that we probably just woke up at least a dozen people. 😛 Better start running again before they turn into the walking dead on steroids, which is what people are without their morning coffee, when lunatic girls are standing outside your house, yelling “YOU! MISSED! THE! TURN! IT’S! THIS! WAY!” …opps…

(Despite the above, the course itself is well-marked. Yes, you definitely need to follow the turn-by-turn instructions on the card given to you, but also pay attention to the yellow arrows spray-painted on the road and to the small signs that will be near them. Between the three, you’ll be absolutely fine!)

Majority of the race is held on roads with rolling hills that wind through the outskirts of Senoia. There are several spots to grab some awesome pics, and you get 3-4 breaks from running along the shoulder of the road by going down gravel-filled, logging roads. The race is fairly self-sufficient, so bring along whatever you enjoy.

I know you’re just dying to hear the rest of each turn-by-turn, spine-tinkling detail of the run, but I’ll cut to the meaty parts instead. I know, bummer, right? 😉

Top Moments
I took my first poop in the woods, because when you’re pregnant, nothing digests properly or in a timely manner. Those two cups of coffee at 4 a.m. did diddly-squat until two hours into the race. When I came out of what I thought was the woods, I realized it was part of someone’s front property…another opps. I also thought my snug, Pearl Izumi arm warmers were going to have to sacrifice themselves to the cause, but once again, Lara came to the rescue with an ample supply of tissues! You definitely want this girl with you!

Know how runners just look pissed when they are standing on the side of the road waiting for cars to stop? Well, apparently preggo bellies are AWESOME at stopping traffic! Later in the race, we went back through town again around mile 17-20 and came to a crossing without a traffic light and not a single car wanted to stop. Janet joked that I should step out. She joked, but I decided to get in front of Janet and Lara and just poke my belly out a bit. Whaddaya know??? Worked like a charm! 😀
Sometimes, by the end of the race, you just don’t care where you go to the bathroom. We were literally 1.5 miles from the finish, when the urge to go to the bathroom was just so strong, I had to stop. Look to the left. Look to the right. Crap. Nothing but flat, farming fields. :/ So I did what any preggo gal would do. Peed on the side of the road. Lucky for me, my Pearl Izumi Fly Skirt kept me covered. Running skirts truly are God’s gift to ultra-chicks.

Aid Stations:
The aid stations were filled with your normal ultrarunning fare: salty chips, pickles, M&Ms, cookies, fig bars, water, and sports drink. Lara made some cookies and scones that she donated to the race, YUM! The aid stations were adequately spaced out at approximately 5.5-6 miles or so apart. They alternated between unmanned stations (water) and manned stations (ultrarunning buffet). It was nice because since we were taking it nice and easy, I only filled my pack with what was necessary to get to the next aid station. Normally, I fill my pack to last 6 hours, and that’s it. I don’t stop at aid stations.

We each brought along our normal training fuel. I packed my Hammer Espresso and Nocciola gels, Orange-Vanilla Perpetuem Solids, and Endurolytes. Replacing sodium is tricky for any runner, but especially tricky during pregnancy. There’s a fine line between too much and too little. By the third hour, my hands had swollen and looked ridiculous. We contemplated my next step. Janet suggested backing off the Endurolytes; that my body could be holding in too much sodium. If that didn’t do the trick soon, I’d have to pull the plug. Luckily, about 1-1.5 hours later, the swelling went down significantly. I had taken in too much for our relaxed pace. Granted, I still had swelling, but it went nothing beyond the normal swelling any other ultrarunner would experience or that any pregnant gal would experience. Out of the red zone, we picked the pace back up.

Bathroom Breaks:
If you read through my Top Moments above, you’ll realize I never made mention of a porta-potty. That’s because the only porta-potties are at the start/finish. You’ll have to get creative and lose any shyness you may have. Majority of the race runs along country roads, so there are areas when not many cars will pass by. Pair a running skirt with a Go Girl, and my ladies are set to go! Men, you’ve always had it easy. 😛

Volunteers:
The few, the proud, the Running Dead volunteers. We loved seeing their smiling faces. Their cheerfulness helped, especially when you hit the last third of the race. They were more than willing to assist you in any way they could from assisting in filling your pack or offering to get food for you.

Also, gotta give a shout-out to Eric for riding out and checking on us several times. That was awesome and much appreciated! Plus, he knows a lot about areas to look out for that were used in filming the Walking Dead.

Shoot to the Finish
My legs were officially out of steam at mile 27. The longest I’d run on pavement was at Stroll in Central Park. Running on pavement versus trail is a different beast completely and not to be underestimated. Luckily, my feet were in pretty good shape thanks to my Thorlos JMM Running Socks. The well-padded cushions saved my feet on the pavement! With half-mile left to go, we picked up the pace and grabbed hands when we saw Eric waiting for us at the finish.

We outran the Zombies!!!