Callaway Gardens, GA
January 30, 2021
4:54:00 57/76 Overall 2/4 in 70+
Jodi-Half 2:02:28 46/97 Overall 2/8 in 50-54
Jodi and I flew into Atlanta on Thursday and then drove south just over an hour to Callaway Gardens. We enjoyed dinner at Eatz on the Corner where we ate catfish and grits and shrimp and grits. This was the first of many fun meals that we enjoyed “down South”. Our shakeout run on Friday morning was in 32-degree weather and we got “badges” on our Garminss for running at a freezing temp. (Tollie Bibb who runs with Wascally Wabbits saw that and wrote in Facebook: “My wife and I love Callaway Gardens. We lived in the Gardens from January through April 1975 while in mission orientation for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board which we served in for 13 years. You should see it in the spring when all the Azaleas are in bloom.” So, it was fun to learn that interesting connection.)
Fortunately, Saturday was a few degrees warmer at the start and settled in mid 40s most of the morning. The sun was just rising as I started at 7:30 to do two 13.1-mile loops of the spacious grounds of the resort. (Jodi’s half started at 8.) The rolling hills of the grounds include views of lakes, golf courses, and trees (barren in winter). I mostly did run/walk intervals of 4/1 but did adjust to walk up steeper hills and run when going downhill. My overall pace was 11:13, but most of my running segments were in the 10:15-10:30 range with some downhills getting down around 9. I felt strong throughout and finished feeling ok. It helped to have Jodi come out and run some of the last miles with me after she had finished her half and gotten some food and rest.
In the post-race area, I got slices of pizza from one of the biggest pizzas I’ve ever seen and picked up my 2d place plaque. (I moved up from the 3rd I got there in 2006. Read the write-up from 2006 pasted below this one to see how things compare.) After an ice bath and cleaning up, I was hungry, so Jodi and I went to the nearby town of Pine Mountain and ate at Lubell’s. We had amazing chicken and dumpling soup and chili followed by home-made peach cobbler ala mode. I was revived and ready for our further adventures in Georgia.
Those adventures had begun with a Friday visit to the Biblical History Center in LaGrange. We took a self-guided walking tour that included seeing a sheepfold, a millstone for grinding, and a tree like those used for crucifixions. While in LaGrange we saw the home of the Callaways (who made their money in textiles) called Hills and Dales and the bell tower that is modeled on one that we had seen in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. We had lunch at Charlie Jones (we had to eat outside here), a classic 75-year-old hot dog joint. After seeing the statue of General Lafayette of Revolutionary War fame in the town center, we found a place for pasta called Mare Sol and shared yummy ravioli and a 3-salad sampler.
On Saturday afternoon we drove out to see the FDR Little White House. Because of his polio, FDR loved to come to the Warm Springs area and get some relief and enjoy the beautiful countryside. The museum included a large display of canes that people had sent him and a walkway with flags and symbolic rocks from all the states. We took in the view of the countryside that he loved at Dowdell’s Knob. For dinner we went to Steak ‘n’ Shake, a place we like, but do not have in Fresno.
Sunday, we drove into Atlanta after having breakfast at one of the numerous Waffle Houses in the area and throughout the Southeast. We toured the Coca-Cola museum which was great fun and included seeing the history of Coke and sampling some of the many variations made to be distributed in other countries. We saw the vault where the secret formula is kept secret. From there we saw Centennial Park and the large Ferris wheel which were both symbols of the 1996 Olympics. We did ride the Ferris wheel and got great views of the city.
One of the famous battles in the Civil War was the Battle of Atlanta where General Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground (see Gone with the Wind). The battle is memorialized in a cyclorama which has a circular painting with 3-dimensional figures in the foreground. These cycloramas were popular in the late 1800s before moving pictures came along. So, I wanted to be sure that Jodi got to see this unique display (I’d seen it on previous trips); it also had been modernized and updated so I wanted to see the new version, too. While in that area of Atlanta called the Buckhorn District, we also saw many classic southern mansions. They are quite spectacular to see. For dinner we wanted steak and found it at a perfect place called Longhorn Steakhouse where the food tasted great and prices were reasonable.
Our flight home had been moved back to 5PM so we had some time Monday to go into Atlanta, but it was 37 with “feels like” at 27 because of the strong winds. We had breakfast of at Thumbs Up with eggs and amazing grits and homemade biscuits and peach jam. We went to check out the old Turner Field where the Braves used to play and found that it is now used by Georgia St. for its football and baseball games. We also saw the capitol and hoped to see the College Football Hall of Fame, but it was closed on Mondays. We walked a few blocks in that area and decided it was too cold to be walking around so we went to the airport early. We noted that even on Monday the whole downtown was like a ghost-town with few cars; the only people to speak of were the homeless ones.
This was Marathon #170; 32 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.
Marathon photos: VIEW ALBUM
“View Photos” link will take you to Shutterfly where you can sign-up for free account to view the slideshow. Hold Ctrl and Click “Enter” to go to website. The pictures will show the items that I briefly mentioned in the write-up. Below is my 2006 story; that was a lot of states and marathons ago.
Hughston Orthopedic Hospital Marathon @ Callaway Gardens, GA- 1/29/06
This marathon was a landmark in 2 ways: it was my 75th and the lst time in all these years that I won some hardware in a marathon. I was 3rd in my age-group and won a plaque, so I was pretty excited to finally place after 25 years of trying. If you go far enough way and find a small enough race….
When I checked-in to the Callaway Gardens resort property, the gal in her southern accent asked, “You came all the way from California to run this marathon?” “I’m upgrading you to a suite.” So I had 2 rooms, 2 TV’s, and 2 bathrooms as well as a couch. Wow!:) Nice to have all the room, but a bit of an overkill.
The day of the race dawned with the rain pelting down. By the time the race started at 8, the rain was a light, steady shower. Temp was about 50 so they weren’t bad running conditions. The course was over rolling hills with beautiful trees, gardens, and golf courses to see as we went around on paved paths. The race consisted of 2 - 13.1 mile loops. During the first half there were a lot of half-marathoners to run with. When I started on the 2nd loop, I was starkly alone. The good news is that it stopped raining & we even saw a bit of sunshine.
I ran 4:06:40 with splits of 2:02 and 2:04:40 and felt strong the whole way. I walked only at some aid stations for 10-30 seconds and ran strongly the last 6 miles passing what few people I could find and having no one passing me.
After the race I drove to Atlanta and visited the Capitol, Coca-Cola exhibit, Underground Atlanta, and saw Georgia Dome. On Monday morning I toured Turner Field and went to the Cyclorama before catching plane at 3 which actually left at closer to 5. I got home 3 hours later than scheduled at 9:30 PST so I had lots of time to read.
For those counting along with me this was state #28.
