Start planning now for your best Peachtree this July 4th!
What are your plans this July 4th? Grill hot dogs and burgers for family friends? Smoke a rack of ribs in the Big Green Egg? Take a dip in the local lake? Or gaze at the night sky as fireworks streak across the blackness light shooting stars? All of these ideas are amazing.
First, you should rise with 60,000 other friends to run the iconic AJC Peachtree Road Race. Though the event is a few months out, March is a good time to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of preparing for your first 10K distance. Let’s hit the highlights for AJC Peachtree Road Race Prep in the month of March.
Register
First of all, register. If you are an Atlanta Track Club member, registration is open from March 1st through the 14th. If not, the lottery is open from March 15th through the 22nd. Names drawn from the lottery will be notified on March 25th.
As you go through the registration process for the race, think about In-Training for Peachtree, a twelve-week program with weekly pace group runs and mid-week workouts. Attendees will also receive a training log, training emails, a training shirt, and the option to upgrade for Mizuno running shoes. The Big Peach Alpharetta and Kennesaw locations will be hosting In-Training for Peachtree for 2018. Registration for In-Training for Peachtree closes April 30th.
Revive
In addition to registering, get fitted for running shoes. We talk about this a lot, but the right pair of shoes makes all the difference. Is your foot, shin, knee, butt, or back hurting? How long have you owned that pair of running shoes? It may look fine from an aesthetics standpoint. Perhaps the outsole is still intact too. But the midsole is what matters most.
Hundreds of thousands of steps slowly break the midsole down to the point of no return, and its ability to protect your feet from impact is no more. So, revive your feet with new kicks. The Big Peach fit process is complimentary, and the right shoe will deliver protection from impact, provide a stable platform, and accommodate your unique foot characteristics.
Run
Finally, start running! Yes, this is an obvious observation, but preparing for a 10K race on July 4th will require running. And two types of acclimation: outside running and outside weather. Many runners revert to minimal running in the winter months or opt for the treadmill.
As the Peachtree Road Race is held on the streets of Atlanta, now is the time to gradually begin exposing your body to the harder impact of asphalt. Think about the weather too. While spring is a stellar season to run, it will inevitably give way to the heat and humidity of a Southeast summer. In short, acclimate to the warmer temperatures.
Suffice it to say there’s more helpful information to come as March is still many months out from July 4th. But these three simple steps, registering for the race, being properly fitted for shoes at your local Big Peach store, and acclimating to the outside, can commence now.
Austin Bonds is a Guest Advocate at the Big Peach Suwanee location.
