Ankle twisting trails, Italian Pizza, Pieces of cake, and sunlight in the Peach State

Headed out to the Peach state to get in some trail racing and also visit a good buddy who also happens to be a pretty quick trail runner. I wanted to try something new so Georgia was the perfect place. I have been there before in the winter/fall for training and I love the technical trails, sunlight and also the variety of cuisine in Atlanta. Race of choice was the Georgia State 10k Trail Running Championships put on by Tim from Dirty Spokes Productions. Known for putting on many races in the Southeast Tim and his family again put on a superb event. They have a history of putting up great course markings and today they proved that yet again. Along with a smooth event you can also witness a great passion for trail running from the orginizers as well as a unique positive energy. I can honestly say this may be the only race that I have had the actual race director pace the field out as well as meet me at the finish line. The trail was rugged so Tim the RD definitely looked like he has some mountain biking experience.

Hanging with the knowledgeable Inov-8 Rep, Dwight at the Inov-8 booth post-race

Weekend got started off nicely. Warm climate, which is pretty common in the South as compared to the Northwest this time of the year so I was pumped to be racing in warmer conditions. My friend I was staying with Chris W. took me on a small tour of what Atlanta had to offer in terms of trail running. After a short run at Stone Mountain I could see the trails are definitely more rooty than the Northwest. Less elevation gain however, the roots make up for the lack in elevation gain as you must really focus and maintain balance over technical terrain while also running fast. Not easy. My buddy Chris is great at running these types of Terrains. Currently a Masters, but don't be fooled, he will blow by younger faster road athletes on terrains like these. Lets fast forward and employ a series of old Batman and Robin comic book tokens like "bam" and "wham" and of course random jibberish to boot===>

Post race with Tim (RD), Chris, and myself

Got lost morning of the race, guess that's what we get for using mapquest. Lesson learned. Finally arrived, we all stood at the can for an extended period of time, probably due to a mixture of nerves, too much to drink, or possibly because Chris' navigation skills elongated the trip (: You're still my boy Chris! After the warm up, typical of Georgia it didn't stay cold long as the sun rose along with the heat, gloves popped off and WHAM, we're at the starting line. The usual stares at the line in an attempt to figure out how so many insane trail runners could be in a park running a race at 8 in the morning, I assume all runners do this? One last check down at the 190's to see if they're laced and ready to rock. BOOM, gun goes off and suddenly I find myself wondering how my ankles would feel after 10k of tight corners, ankle twisting roots, hills, descents, tree limbs and fallen branches. Followed by the questioning, "why do I do this"? After about the first k Chris and I pulled out to the front. As I look back on one of the many switch backs I see a pack swarming around my buddy. All I could think was I hope he holds them off. A final quad burning climb with a nice drop to the finish line caused a separation between the top three runners. Tim put together a great course with a handful of challenges as I was only able to run just over 33 mins for the win. 

After the race I of course had some eating to do while visiting Atlanta. Chris has his own pizza business, but informed me I had to check out a place that would blow my mind so we set off for a small Italian pizza restaurant nested in a small neighborhood across from Georgia Tech. He picked the Diavola for us, which means "Devil" in Italian. You can guess, it was probably gonna be spicy. Fresh peppers I could not identify, but not too spicy and lots of flavor. Not mozzarella, but mozzarella di bufala (Buffaloe Mozzarella)! Thin crust and of course the sauce was on point. I personally find myself a fan of Chicago style pizza, but this one definitely made me reminisce of pizza I've eaten in Susa & Turin, Italy, very authentic spot. However, if you are in Atlanta OZ Pizza is the place to go!

Next we set off to a place I heard about recently that specialized in Southern style cakes. Supposedly the cake shop known as "Piece of Cake" has been featured on TV shows and visited by celebrities in Atlanta and worldwide. I was told it would be good, but I have learned to lower my expectations when it comes to food as we don't all have the same taste in dessert.

I chose to go with Red Velvet and Pumpkin. After one bite I knew the hype definitely met the taste to a "T". A mouthful of blissful, moist, pumpkiny flavor hit me and I was hooked immediately. I'm already thinking about coming back to Atlanta just to eat here again....seriously

I leave Atlanta with one regret, not buying a whole cake. Stay tuned, Cross Country action coming up soon...

 Special thanks to the Wiley family for the great hospitality. Had a blast with the three lil Wiley's as well!