Road to a Healthy Atlanta

The Peachtree Road Race opened up registration this past weekend, and for a few minutes the website had so much traffic that it crashed. It was up and running soon enough and registration commenced and was closed last night. If you didn’t get a chance to register don’t worry though. Traditional paper registration is still an option. The registration form will run in this coming Sunday’s paper and 10,000 slots have been held.

The largest race in the United States, the 10k Peachtree Road Race will have 55,000 participants! So Atlantans are getting healthy in preparation. As the weather stabilizes Atlantans will slowly come to surface and litter the pavements in their running shoes. But so much more goes into being able to run a 10k in Atlanta’s July sun. Training involves stamina, not just speed. While the fast time recorded was a Kenyan man clocking in just less than 28 minutes, most people pride themselves in just finishing.

Atlantans will surely start training in their neighborhoods, or gyms but for those of you that need a change of scenery as I do don’t be discouraged. Atlanta is filled with pavement and dirt tracks to clear your head or take in some fresh air. Chastain Park is a beautiful paved trail that has a 2.5 mile loop, while Atlanta Memorial Park has a 1.9 mile dirt loop. http://smcadam.tripod.com/trails/ is a great website to find details on trails ITP and OTP. Another great resource to help you stick your running is a running group. to find one in your area contact the Atlanta Track Club.

Once a routine is fixed for running one should be set into place for diet. Healthy eating can mean the difference between a couple minutes off your time or finishing the race at all. Atlanta actually has a heap of options when it comes to healthy eating. First and foremost is and Atlanta favorite, the Flying Biscuit! The Flying Biscuit has taken traditional southern comfort food and slashed calories, cut down fat, and still kept the entire flavor. Local healthy hot spots also include Green Sprouts, an Asian wonder, R Thomas Deluxe Grill a figure friendly dinner, and Ria’s Blue Bird, a homey little place in the city. Happy trails.