Thanksgiving with the Sharps

As with most years, the Sharps (as well as Rhian's family) have lots for which to be thankful. We all have our health and we all remain close. As is tradition in the Sharp Family for over 25 years now, at least one or more Sharps participate in the annual Atlanta Marathon/Half-Marathon in downtown on Thanksgiving morning. Dad started it back in the early 80's by running the marathon and the rest of us would be out there to support him. When the 90's came along, Mom and I would join Dad and we would all run the half marathon. Rhian would eventually start running it and on two occasions, Karen would run it.
This year, Rhian, Mom, and I would run it and Dad would be our transportation to the start and at the finish. The weather at the start this year was a clear and crisp 33 degrees with no wind. This was a stark contrast to the start of last year's race, which began at a humid 65 degrees with rain, wind, and some lightning. Those that know me at the races know that I am usually shirtless when the temperature is at or above freezing. I don't do this to bring attention to myself like those at a Green Bay Packers game in January, I do it because when I run, I generate enough heat to warm an entire house! ;o) I would start the race with a long sleeved shirt, but it would soon be gone at the first mile. Of course I would garner many looks at comments, as I didn't see one other person shirtless the entire race. What I noticed while running shirtless (while everybody else was in tights, gloves, and ski caps, (and this is by no means a generalization, only my observations from THIS race), but White people would just look at me (or look at each other, as if to say "Don't look too quick, but look at that guy with no shirt!")and then I could hear them make their comments after I would pass. Not one would say anything to me directly. Black people were more honest, and said things such as "Aren't you cold?", "Where's your shirt?", "You're crazy not to have a shirt!" and "Do you want a shirt?". While running up cardiac hill at the 7 mile mark, one guy said "That's what I needed to see! Someone running shirtless to help me up this hill!". I don't know why people feel that they can't be honest and say what they want to say! Anyhow, that was my non-biased observation from the race. Well back to the race. My goal was to run a 1:57, or a 9 minute/mile pace. I would hit the first mile in 8:45 and the second in 8:40. I kept thinking to myself that I need to slow down, that I can't keep this pace for 13.1 miles, but I would through the whole race and finish in 1:55:14, a 14 minute improvement over last year. The nice thing about this year's race was that there would be mylar blankets provided to all finishers. What would be poetic would be the person who would hand me my blanket at the finish, Gerald Miller. A top age group runner/race-walker for years, Gerald is notorious for running all the Atlanta Track Club races shirtless, regardless of the temperature. Rhian would finish in 2:09:51, an improvement of 27 minutes over last year! Mom would finish in 3:01:23, an improvement of a minute and 30 seconds.
We would go home and all 4 of us would take naps before heading over to my parents house for dinner. Unfortunately Christian was sick with a bad cold and a 102 fever and wouldn't eat. We all had a great meal and would go outside and watch the annual lighting of the lights.

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