February 29, 2024: Leap Day 5K

Last night at dinner after a Tucker Running Club group run, Judy Tennell mentioned that she was running a Leap Day 5K race on the Eastside Beltline. That sounded fun, I thought. I normally don't put any significance on events such as Leap Day. But four years ago to the date, Atlanta hosted the 2020 US Marathon Olympic Trails, so I guess it was a good day to commemorate with a race. Once it was clear that I could finish the today's work by mid-afternoon, I registered, 5 or 6 hours before the start of the race. I needed only a 15 - 20 minute drive from work to park near the start, so I arrived early enough to pick up my bib without a wait, and then warm up with a few drills and dynamic stretches. 

With fellow Tucker runners Judy Tennell and Tiffany Haney.
This was taken after the race, holding our medals!

At the announced start time of 6 pm, most runners were still on the New Realm Brewery patio overlooking the Beltline. After nearly 10 minutes, the race organizers brought the group of runners to the Beltline, exactly 80 people (based on finishing numbers), and explained the route and the process for the run. Originally I had thought it would be a timed start, and was wondering how we would work our way around the other Beltline walkers / runners / bikers / rollerbladers / scooter-riders during our race. The organizer announced "It's a time trial. Line up, and as I record your number, you'll begin running, one at a time." That made sense given the narrowness of the Beltline, and sharing the trail with others who probably had no clue that some of us were running a race. I began walking toward the back of the line, and was probably more than halfway back when I finally took a spot in the line. We slowly stepped forward, then I could see that runners were taking off one at a time. Then it was my turn! On his laptop the organizer typed my bib number "282", and as he hit the return key, said "Go!"

A popular bar and restaurant on the Eastside Beltline Trail

In line, ready to run as soon as I reached the front of the line. 

I took off like a shot. After a moment, I realized that I was running faster than I had in awhile, and checked my watch to see a 7:50 min / mile pace. "Too fast" I thought, but since we were running north, downhill, I decided to keep going at a quick clip. Around 2 minutes in, I caught up to Judy who had started ahead of me. "What did you get me to sign up for?!" I said as I passed her. I was working pretty hard. After about 4 minutes, I recognized that this pace was unsustainable for much longer, and I deliberately slowed down. I probably did that just in time to avoid over-exertion with 2-1/2 miles still to run. Around 5 minutes elapsed, a couple of people with dogs stopped to talk ahead of me, on the right side of the Beltline which was out of our way, except their dogs began running around aggressively, so I had to navigate around that dog fight. Around six minutes elapsed, the first runner came back having turned around at 1 mile, near Monroe Avenue. With the out-and-back course, it was fun seeing people that had started ahead of me, some running quickly such as Jacque Hartley, and others who had started near the front but were taking it very easy, all cheering each other on as we passed. Around seven minutes elapsed, two bicyclists riding wheelies (on the back wheel only) were coming toward me. The one in the middle of the lane, closer to me, seemed to have less control over the front of his bike. He managed to straighten it out at the same time that I was darting over to my right. Such is life on an early spring evening on the Eastside Beltline. (It will be downright crazy in summer.)

Approaching a green cone marking the turnaround point on the side of the trail, I followed the other runners in making a 180 degree turn, which was pretty tough to manage while trying not to slow down. Immediately after the turnaround, I felt my left shoelace come loose. Within a few seconds it was slapping around wildly. We were now running south-bound and uphill, which would last for the middle half of the total race distance, about 1.5 miles. Mile 1 alert sounded at 8:15. Even though I was running uphill, I didn't feel that I had slowed very much. I briefly thought about pulling over to retie the shoe, but in a 5K race, I felt I couldn't afford the time, after I had run so quickly to this stage. I just hoped that the shoelace wouldn't trip me up. Arggh, if I had only felt this good running uphill in the half-marathon on Sunday! Shortly after passing New Realm Brewery, where we had begun the race, the Mile 2 alert sounded, around 17 minutes elapsed, so 8:43 for mile 2. Even though all of that mile had been uphill, I had run faster than my goal half-marathon pace of 9:09 per mile. 

I ran the last 2 miles with the left shoe untied. 
What's annoying is that I had carefully adjusted the tongue and
re-tied the laces on both shoes about 5 minutes before the race. 

My heart rate had stayed around 160 beats per second, probably thanks to the crisp 50 deg F temperature. But as we continued to run south and uphill, I could feel myself finally slowing down, now in the 9:20 min/mile pace. "Just hold on, only 1 mile to go." Running through the John Lewis Freedom Parkway underpass, where a drummer was providing solo entertainment, I began looking for landmarks, since I heard that the second turnaround was at the Highland Avenue bridge. Ahead of me were two women runners at approximately my pace, and I managed to keep up with them. Then, one of them, Jessica Rudd, took a walk break. Jessica is a little faster runner than me, and she runs many more miles per week than I do, but .... if this race was the final few miles of Jessica's long run, then maybe I had a chance!  Making a gentle right turn, seeing the old Parish restaurant under re-construction on the left side of the trail, the Highland Avenue underpass came into view. Another green cone marked the second turnaround. Jessica was walking the turnaround, so I was going to pass her, but she was also watching out that she wasn't in anyone's way. But a woman, not in the race, walking her dog, was coming from the south. We were about to occupy the same spatiatemporal location. Fortunately she slowed down a little, I slowed down a little and made my turn pretty sharply. I might have turned a foot or so before reaching the green cone, but more importantly, a kinetic two-body collision was safely averted! 

At 21:30 elapsed, heading northbound once again, and downhill, I tried to pick up some speed, but I couldn't move as quickly in this direction as I had in the first mile. Then I realized that Jessica was right behind me, drafting off of me. I began picking up my pace, not so much hoping to lose Jessica, but I was worried that she would pace off me and then kick past me 100 feet before I reached the finish line. By the time I had cleared the Freedom Parkway overpass, I was running 8 min / mile pace. I could tell that I was opening a gap on Jessica. Since making the turn, people that I knew were calling "Go Frank!", followed immediately by "Go Jessica!". But then the interval between cheers increased to a couple of seconds, then 5 seconds, then I could no longer hear anyone cheering for Jessica. I took a quick look at my watch at 24 minutes elapsed, and saw that my heart rate was red-lined, over 180 bpm. But with only 3 minutes to go, I kept moving quickly, just focusing on form so that I might continue at the current pace with less effort = lower heart rate. I didn't check in the moment, but Garmin records showed that my heart rate dropped to 170 bpm, around the same time that I picked up a burst of speed. 

I didn't look all the way around, but I no longer saw Jessica and it seemed like there was no one close behind me. I was tempted to slow down, but since this was a time trial, I had no idea how I was doing relative to someone who had started far ahead or far behind me. Then I heard footsteps rapidly advancing on me from the right. A women drew even with me, wearing the distinctive yellow with blue accent Boston Marathon jersey. "OK, she's really good, don't worry that she is passing you." She pulled ahead, but I think I picked up my pace a bit more. Mile 3 alert in 8:44, 25:40 elapsed. If the course was true, I was only one minute from the finish, and from the landmarks, that seemed about right. I kept pushing myself, the sign marking the right turn for the finish line just off of the Beltline came into view. I made the sharp right turn, a few more steps, and I was over the finish line. A staffer from the race company recorded my finish, officially 26:38. I was winded, but recovered quickly. That was a good race - but it showed me just how hard I currently have to work to run a sub-27 minute 5K. 

People began to congratulate me. I assumed it was simply because they thought that I had run a good race. But then Jacque Hartley showed me the results on her phone: I was 3rd place overall master. Technically I was the fastest senior master (age ≥ 60), but since master is better than grand master is better than senior master, I was ranked in the more prestigious master group. 

It was fun to win a medal, but what made me really happy was seeing that no one older than me outran me. It was close, however: a 68-year-old man who had started and finished a couple of minutes before me, ran a chip time of 26:47, just 9 seconds slower. He was awarded the first place grand master award. 

18th overall out of 80 finishers

Positions 12 through 24, so you can see where I rank among other mortals.

My own stats from Garmin

February 25, 2024: Publix Atlanta Marathon Relay (first half)

The Publix Atlanta Marathon weekend began for me on Friday evening, February 23, when I joined several hundred members of the Atlanta running community for 2.23 miles, in memory of Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered four years earlier during a run. Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud's mother, spoke briefly, as did a few local officials and leaders of Atlanta running clubs, including Tes Sobomehin Marshall. It was a solemn evening, and was important for me to join in solidarity, noting the worst consequences that can occur when racism goes unchallenged. I ran my miles at an easy pace, chatting with a few other runners along the way, during a final shake-out run. 

Wearing the shirt from the Run with Maud 5K race in May 2023

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery's mother

Tes Sobomehin Marshall,
founder of runningnerds and co-founder of The Race

Walking to the Beltline from our gathering spot 
at the Lee + White development

On the Beltline trail

On Saturday, Bonnie and I woke early to go to the Expo at the Home Depot Backyard (adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium), and to cheer on the 5K runners. The temperature had dropped from the mid-60 degrees on Friday evening to the low 40 degrees, but the skies were clear and the atmosphere was festive. The first part of the race was the USATF Masters 5K Championships, for runners 40 and older. My age group was won in 18:19 (5:54 min / mile pace) with last place in 21:42, nearly two minutes better than my all-time personal best (23:30 in 2018). I was really impressed by the 70-74 men's winner, crossing the finish line in 19:30. 

Atlanta skyline continues to rise. 
The race expo was in the white tents below the new Hilton hotel. 

Masters championship women's start

and finish, April Lund in 16:58

Masters championship men's start

Jay Stephenson won, followed by Luke Mortensen,
but their times haven't been published,
although I think they were both under 16 minutes. 

Then the "mass participation" racers began arriving. Quite a few of the people that I knew were also registered to run the half- or full-marathon races the next day. I've learned the hard way that it's better for me not to run two races of any length on consecutive days. After most of the runners had finished, we walked over to the expo. It wasn't extensive and I wasn't tempted to purchase anything, but we had a bit of fun. The highlight was Brenden Minor winning his heat amongst the 4-year-olds in the 50 meter dash. In fact, as we jogged together to the beginning of his race, Brenden wasn't slowing us down at all. I said to his father Brian "It's not gonna be long before he's outrunning both of us." 

 Beverly Minor making the same turn to the finish line that 
Brian and I would make the next day. 

Brian and I posted our collective goal time.

Brenden Minor joined us for his Championship pose

My goal time was 1:59:59, hoping to reprise my performance in the Thanksgiving Half, on a course that ran much of the same general terrain. Brian and I had run three training runs, including each-half of the marathon course (as published a month ago), and also three races as part of our training regimen. In the past week, I was feeling more confident. Perhaps that was after the second time I had taken the black currant potion and was convinced that there were some benefits. If I could run my part in sub-2 hours, Brian then had a good chance to bring us to the 3:59:59 team goal. 

Sunday morning, race day! I woke up shortly after 4 am, before my 4:30 am alarm. I had a light breakfast and oatmeal and blueberries, and cappuccino. I mixed up a concoction of a new product that I had heard in an ad, "2Before", which is black currant for antioxidants and caffeine as a stimulant, dissolved in a few ounces of water. I had tried it in a few recent workouts, both of which had gone well. Since it was supposed to work best if taken 1 hour before competition, which was to begin at 7:15 am, I waited until 6:15 am on our drive downtown to drink it. We parked without difficulty by 6:30 am, walked to the Backyard, and I began looking for the porta-potties. They were close to the end where the runners would gather for the race, but hidden behind tents and a large Publix truck, so it took me a few minutes to find. I got in line at 6:45 am, and wasn't too worried about the line at first, but at 7:11 when the National Anthem was playing, I was still waiting, although now very close. I was in the porta-potty at 7:15 sharp when Ronnel Blackmon sent wave A on their marathon / half-marathon journeys. 

Let's see if this works better than beet juice
(which I gave up on years ago).
At least this product tastes much better. 

Not as nice as Centennial Olympic Park,
but apparently the track club can no longer schedule events there. 

I was planning to run with wave C, where the 2:00 pacer was said to be located, but having to push through the crowds already gathered in waves G, F, and E, I was fortunate reach wave D. No problem, I thought. Unfortunately, I had left with Bonnie my gloves, handwarmer, and a half-bottle of Nuun that I had intended to carry for the first 6 - 7 miles. Somehow in the rush from the porta-potty to the start line, I lost my (inexpensive) sunglasses that were perched on top of my cap. I texted Bonnie that "I have everything essential, I'll be OK" and then put away my phone for the start. Ronnel Blackmon started our wave, I had an opportunity to give him a high-five as I crossed the starting mat, and we were off! 

Race route: similar to the first half in many respects,
but the new start-finish location required losing 2 miles on the old course.
I think they did successfully discard a few of the more challenging hills. 

Before we had started, I had tightly retied my new shoes, a pair of Brooks Hyperion Elite 4. That purchase was after seeing an ad that C. J. Albertson had endorsed. Albertson made an incredibly strong push in the last two miles of the USA Olympic Marathon trials earlier this month, and just wearing the shoes made me think about the prospect of running a negative split today. But half-a-mile in, I noticed that the left shoelace was flopping around, the shoe was feeling loose, so when I found a safe place to pull to the side, I had to stop and retie. That was a 10-second break that I wasn't planning on, but at least I didn't have to remove gloves, although my fingers were already frozen. Still, I managed to get to the mile 1 marker in 9:39 (+39 ft, - 12 ft). Good start to a negative split race, and I had plenty of time and distance to trim that down. Mile 2 proceeded along Marietta Street, and then made the left turn onto Piedmont Avenue, following the long-standing start of the marathon route. Approaching the mile 2 marker, I remembered that there would be a water stop. I had intended to take a gel right before starting, but in the haste I had forgotten to do so, and anyway I didn't have any water to wash it down in the starting corral. Here was my chance: I pulled out the first gel, was still squeezing it down when I reached the water stop, but accepting both water and Powerade, I was able to finish and wash down the first gel without a problem. Mile 2 in 9:01 (+20, -62), and a walk break! Now things were going in the right direction. 

I received quite a few compliments on the shoes this morning! 

This year's race route trimmed about a mile by turning right onto Ralph McGill, instead of heading all the way to North Street. I remembered a steep downhill, and took good advantage, although was careful to stay out of the way of a Kyle Pease run duo, who rightly wanted to bank some time on the downhill. Of course pushing uphill is the tough part, and I passed them a moment later. A turn onto Central Park Drive put us back on the old route. They saved the uphill section for us, thank you very much. Then a left turn on Highland Avenue, and the mile 3 marker, 9:09 (+71, -58). I crossed the 5K timing mat at 29:01. I was expecting closer to 28 minutes, but again, I figured I had time to make up the gap. 

Turning right onto Jackson Street, then left onto Irwin Street, I looked around as we passed through the middle of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. This road wasn't as historical as the traditional route on Auburn Avenue, a block to the south, but trimming a couple more north-south blocks was probably required. Approaching the intersection with the Eastside Beltline, I walked through the water station. Mile 4, 9:17 (+40, -46). That walk break probably kept me from another 9:09 goal pace mile. Still, I wasn't concerned. Running up Lake Street was nice, renamed to Austin Avenue after crossing Elizabeth Street, passing the Horizon Theatre where we attended several plays last year with two other running couples, Alice and Tom Pate, and Caroline and Paul Dunn. There were quite a few spectators on the streets as we ran into Little Five Points. Mile 5, 9:16 (+48, -52). Hmm, I should be going a little faster. Turning onto Moreland Avenue, we were running gently uphill, so I just shortened my stride, tried to maintain consistent form, and concentrated on midfoot strike, where the Supershoes might give me a little more bounce. But these were a little different from the Adidas Adizero: they were light and felt good, but I never did figure out what part of my stride gave me an advantage from the carbon plate. Maybe it's just supposed to be the whole shoe experience that helps. Too bad I had only one run in the shoes, 8 miles, where I did establish they were very comfortable and definitely half-marathon suitable. Left onto Freedom Parkway, which was slightly downhill, then right onto Highland Avenue, heading uphill. Thank goodness there was a water station was coming up, as planned. I opened my second gel and began consuming it about a minute before seeing the water station, so that timing was perfect. Mile 6, 9:25 (+49, -42). 

Now I did need to make up some time, since I knew that the next two miles were almost all gently downhill. Soon I crossed the 10K timing mat at 57:52. So the 2nd 5K was 9 seconds faster. I was now a minute behind my plan, and needed to pick up the pace. But as I've heard in other sports, you don't try to make up a deficit all at once. "One mile at a time" or "Run the mile you're in" were my mantras. There were more crowds near the intersection of Highland Avenue with Virginia Avenue, I ran the tangent perfectly, and was now making good time. This was where Brian and I had started and finished our course run two weeks ago (free street parking, compared to the official start-finish area downtown!). At the right turn onto Park Avenue, the mile 7 alert sounded, 8:57 (-59 feet). By the way, my watch was just a few seconds ahead of the posted mile markers, so I was glad that my watch was closely aligned. Park Avenue began with one speed bump but once we crested that, we were running gently downhill once again. Crossing Monroe Drive, heading into Piedmont Park, I soaked in that this was always my favorite mile in this race. I wondered if there would be a Mimosa Station this year on the bridge. There wasn't, although there were plenty of spectators. The memorable sign was "I just finished a Netflix Marathon!" Once we were in the park, we had a little out-and-back that I had not remembered from previous years. I guess it was a good place to get the distance precisely correct, without the limitations imposed by the street grid. I took advantage of the out-and-back to scan for faces of people that I knew, but didn't recognize anyone, which was a bit of a surprise. Turning south past the bridge, we came to mile 8, 8:51 (+7, -76). With elapsed time of 1:13:34, I could definitely cover 5.1 miles in 46 minutes, after all I ran the Jerome Scales 5 Miler last month in less than 44 minutes. 

Sadly, mile 8 was my fastest mile today. I took a walk break before leaving the park at the water station. Then we were up onto 10th Street. I knew that this would be nothing but uphill, but that really took my breath away today. I remembered in my Thanksgiving PR half-marathon 4 years ago, I bargained successfully with "Fatigue" settling onto my shoulders. Today I tried to talk Fatigue into flying away, but while it loosened its grip, I was still carrying some of Fatigue's weight. Actually I think it was the 20 extra pounds I'm carrying that was to blame, and I couldn't get that to disappear for the next few miles with a mantra or some wishful thinking. Left onto Juniper Street, still going uphill, but no surprise here. The surprise was that I finished mile 9 in less than 10 minutes. 9:59 to be exact (+98 ft uphill). I told myself, it's just a few blocks to go before the turn onto 5th Street, one more uphill to reach Peachtree Street, and then there will be some nice downhill into the Georgia Tech campus. I picked up some speed once we crested Peachtree Street, made the quick right and then quick left at West Peachtree Street, congratulating myself on running both of those tangents quite well. Up ahead was another water stop. I took my last gel within a block of the water station. The first thing offered was a piece of banana, which I happily accepted from a volunteer. I began to peel it while simultaneouslyaccepting a cup of water, and fumbled the banana. Oh well, I probably didn't need the fuel, but it would have been nice to taste a bit of natural fruit. The Georgia Tech students greeted us loudly as we approached the left turn onto Techwood Drive. It was as if Taylor Swift was running 50 feet behind me, the young women were so exuberant in their joy! I picked up my pace, approaching Bobby Dodd Stadium, with the mile 10 alert sounding on my watch at 1:32:54 elapsed. 9:21 for mile 10 (+31, -81).

OK, I can definitely run a 27 minute 5K. I just wish I didn't already have 10 miles on these legs. And turning right onto North Avenue, it was uphill, just like it was in the Hot Chocolate 15K three weeks ago. For this race, we continued straight past Luckie Street. Still uphill. My watch, which resets pace per mile at each mile marker, was reading 11's! I pushed myself, but after making a right turn on State Street to get to Tech Parkway, we were heading uphill. By now my watch was showing 10's, still too slow. But turning left on Wallace Street, looking uphill toward Marietta Street, I lost my resolve to keep running. 

An unscheduled walk break. 

I had fumbled away the 2 hour finish. 

But then I realized that I can't slow down just for myself. Every minute I add by walking or slow running is a minute that Brian has to try to make up. I didn't want to let down the team, so I pushed myself forward as best as I could. Marietta Street is uphill. Normally this CAN be the triumphant final mile for the half-marathoners, but this year, we still had more than two miles to run. Mile 11, 10:28 (+81, -8), elapsed time 1:43:22. C'mon Frank, surely you can tick off an 8 minute mile. Go for it! But running uphill, even a gentle uphill, I was lucky to keep the pace under 10 minutes. My heart rate had been redlined for awhile now, but I didn't feel too badly, but my legs were heavy. We passed Centennial Olympic Park, I took in the sight of the left turn that used to take us the last 100 feet to the finish line, but not today. Finally, we reached Ted Turner Drive, for the first of 5 right turns to the finish. Mile 12, 9:56 (+47 feet), 1:53:18 elapsed. But I knew that Martin Luther King Drive was at the top of the hill, and then it would be downhill all the rest of the way to the finish. Here is where I thought, once again, that I might pop out an 8 minute mile. But not today. I did manage to speed up a bit, but so did everyone else around me. Right turn onto Mitchell Street, I was gasping for air, trying to take advantage of the gentle elevation drop. But it was too gentle to make much difference. Bob Wells of the Atlanta Track Club rode by on a bike, cheering me by name. I waved and said "Thanks Bob" surprisingly strongly. Maybe I can push a little more, I thought. But it just wasn't possible. I think that I was now moving close to goal marathon pace speed, but there wasn't going to be enough left in my tank to claw back any time. Turning onto Northside Drive, it was uphill at first! Arrggh, I knew that was the case, but didn't expect it to hurt as badly. Mostly psychic pain that I was forced to slow down. Here the signs were pointing marathoners to the right, half-marathon straight ahead on Northside. I asked about the "marathon relay", knowing we were going straight, wondering if I should stay to one side or another of the lane, but didn't receive any extra information. I saw the mile 26 sign: 2 minutes to go. Then the 13 mile sign, 1 minute to go (9:20, -30 feet descent). 

From this map, I thought that I would hand the relay bib to Brian,
standing somewhere to my right, before I crossed the finish line.
It wasn't even sure that I should cross the finish line, although
probably it wouldn't hurt as long as I had already transferred the bib.  

I turned right through the open gates of the Backyard, and began to unclip the bib belt holding the shared relay bib. I knew from the course map that the relay exchange zone began soon after making the last turn, but had never received clear instructions on exactly how that would work, despite asking. What was worse, yesterday when we tried to rehearse, we had figured out that Brian would be to my right where I would pass the bib. But my mind was so addled by this point that I was looking to .... my left. There were cones separating the left lane, I figured it was for the marathon relay (turns out it was for the full marathon finishers, coming up just a few minute behind me). I was insanely holding up the bib and belt, scanning the crowd to the left for Brian. I never saw him, and just kept running fairly quickly toward the finish line. That mistake was 100% on me, it would have been different if I had been looking to my right. I crossed the timing mat, slowed down, looking every which way, calling "Brian! Brian!" Finally a volunteer, I think it was Donna Roberts, saw me waving the marathon relay bib in the air. I felt like it was high above my head, but in reality I probably couldn't raise my arm above eye level. Donna rushed over and escorted me to the right side of the finish area. Then I saw Brian to my right, waiting to begin. Due to my long wait for the porta-potty before the race, that was the first time that I saw him today. I tossed the bib to him. Actually, I probably dropped it with just a little forward motion, but it was just enough for him to catch. 

Right there, there was an opening in the fence, probably not intended for me to exit, but I stepped through before anyone stopped me. I saw the soft grass, and collapsed onto the ground, challenging Sara Hall's disappointment finishing 5th place in the Olympic Marathon Trials. Then I remembered to stop my watch, 2:04:11. Four minutes slow! I just lay there trying to absorb my disappointment, but people were asking if I was OK. "Yes, it was just too hard, too hard" I moaned. I was complaining about the race and my performance, but then I realized that one of the people asking was a medical person, and rightly she was concerned that I might be in serious physical distress. I had better stand up before people got so worried that they would take me to the medical tent. Once I stood up, I guess I didn't look like I was in mortal danger. It took a couple of minutes for me to realize that as a finisher, I should have actually walked left to pick up heat sheet or jacket and water. I slowly shuffled my way through the finish area. 

Not the run of a champion. 

Now to wait for 2 hours for Brian. Originally I was going to jog over just 1/2 a mile, where second-half marathoners would be completing their 3rd mile, but I was not up to that at all. I did manage to keep walking around slowly, to keep things from cramping up, and eventually found the recovery beverage and food area. I began to calm down. The combined 3:59:59 finish was still possible if Brian had a really great day. And most importantly, I wasn't injured or sick, just extremely tired. Eventually, as the time for Brian's finish approached, I walked to get a good vantage point for runners entering the Backyard from Northside Drive. At 3:59:59, I noted that Brian's tracker read 0.94 mile remaining. I wasn't sure how accurate the tracker would be, but the sub-4 hour finish was officially gone. 

Brian appeared about 5 - 6 minutes later. He definitely sped up when he saw and heard me shout his name, and I managed to catch him on video. Official finish was 4:07:06, so Brian also ran around 2:03. But when we checked mileage afterward, Brian had run 0.42 miles as a free bonus. So he did cover 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours, and with the disadvantage of the temperature growing much warmer over the second half. I caught up with Brian resting under an umbrella, came to sit down next to him, and said "What the hell did we just do to ourselves?!" 

Actually, Brian wants to do this again next year, with him running the first half and me taking the second half. That's probably what will happen. But first, I need to decide if I ever want to run again. 

(I'll finish this up with some editing, more photos, and links, but it might be a few days or even another week, so I wanted post this initial essential version this evening.)

February 4, 2024: Hot Chocolate 15K

Training for the Publix Marathon relay is going well. Last weekend Brian Minor and I covered nearly 12 miles of the second 13.1 miles of the course that Brian will run on February 25, and the next weekend we plan to run all 13.1 miles of the first half of the course that I will run. In between, we decided to run the Hot Chocolate 15K this weekend. We resolved that it wasn't a "mano-a-mano" race, but rather a chance for us each to try out our half-marathon pacing, on a race course in the same part of town as the Publix Marathon, including several sections of the same streets. 

At the expo yesterday, I heard that over 10,000 people were registered, so it would be important to arrive early. I made it to the Georgia World Congress Center "Red Deck" without much traffic. Brian's ETA at his home was only 5 minutes after mine, but shortly after I had parked and left the garage, the streets were badly clogged. What a difference 5 minutes made: I had plenty of time before the race, whereas Brian had to rush and only made it into the corral about 10 minutes before we were due to start. 

Starting corral selfie from Stephanie Batson, with Brian Minor

The temperature was 45 deg F, so I opted for my 2021 Chicago Marathon short-sleeved shirt under the 2017 Boston Half Marathon long-sleeved shirt, as well as tights and a cap. It was fairly windy, and so I hoped that I would be warm enough. I had intentionally left my gloves and skullcap in the car. I figured I wouldn't need them once I had warmed up. I did wear the SuperShoes, hoping that they would help. My half-marathon pace goal was sub-9:09 min/miles (1:59:59 total), so I planned to try for a range of 9:00 to 9:09 minute miles. That could also get me to the finish line in a range of 1:24:00 - 1:25:30, which would be a new personal best for a 15K race distance, having run 1:26:58 last May. Conveniently, there was a 9:00 pacer at the back of corral A. I wasn't sure that I was a corral A runner for this race, so the back of the corral was exactly where I wanted to start. 

"No walkers" - not very inclusive....

A moment before the start, the runners surged closer to the starting mat. Had missed the start? Then everyone stopped short of the starting banner. Countdown: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, airhorn!!!!" I was over the starting mat within about 15 seconds, and running next to the 9-minute pacer. Brian was right behind me, and Francoise Levinson just ahead. We ran south on Ted Turner Drive (formerly Spring Street). Once we had cleared the first block or two, Brian and I ran that section together, about 20 feet behind the 9 minute pacer. It was really windy, and I pulled my cap more tightly onto my head, saying to Brian "I'll be lucky if I finish this race without losing my cap." We made a left turn onto Mitchell Street, heading toward the State Capitol Dome. About 5 minutes into the race, the 5K runners peeled off to make a right turn. At that moment, it seemed like the 9 minute pacer "was on the mark" as I said to Brian. We passed the mile 1 marker around 8:45, then I heard my watch record mile 1 at 8:59 (21 ft ascent, 53 ft descent). 

Starting at sunrise

Making a left onto Capitol Avenue, at the intersection of the new state Supreme Court building, we headed toward Center Parc Stadium. Turning right onto Pollard Blvd, we were on mile 19 of the Publix Marathon route, which Brian and I had covered together last weekend. That was a nice downhill stretch between stadium parking and the interstate highway. Left turn onto Georgia Avenue, running across a large "F" marking the finish line of the Thanksgiving Half Marathon. The mile 2 sign had blown down in the wind, but my watch sounded shortly afterwards, 8:42 and 17:40 elapsed (51 ft descent). Whew, that pacer was running "hot". 

Net downhill, but constant rollers from start to finish

After crossing Hank Aaron Drive, I walked through the first water station, as I had planned, counting to 30 seconds. Somehow I had gotten in front of Brian, and he caught up with me as I resumed running. We continued straight on Georgia Avenue through the heart of the Summerhill neighborhood, making a beeline for Grant Park. The pacer had opened some distance during my walk break, but he was still clearly in sight, probably only 100 feet ahead of me. Occasionally other runners were passing me fairly strongly; I think that they were probably corral B runners, who should have swapped places with me in the starting corral. After passing the Cheney Track Stadium, we began our first real uphill climb, to cross what is appropriately named Hill Street. I slowed down a bit, Brian was probably 20 - 30 feet ahead. After we reached the top of the hill, I and the other runners around me all sped up. Suddenly I saw a man near Brian veer off to the right, then rolling into a fall. There had been quite a few road hazards all along the route. Now we had a casualty - then fortunately he popped back up on his feet. We slowed down to check on him, a woman to the right called "Do you need for us to call someone?" Remarkably, he began jogging again, as I passed. In the meantime I had carefully stepped over a rather big seam in the road, undoubtably what had tripped up the other runner. Remembering when I broke my collarbone 10 years ago, it could have caught me as well if I hadn't been looking for it after his fall. I tried to point it out to the people behind me. We could see a policewomen up ahead at the intersection with Cherokee Avenue, so the runner who had just fallen didn't have far to go if he needed help. We passed the mile 3 sign, also blown down - or perhaps intentionally set down so that the signs wouldn't blow away. I picked up some speed running north on Cherokee, mile 21 of the marathon, where Brian and I had begun our long run last weekend. I had nearly caught up with Brian, and could still see the pacer, although the distance was growing. I checked my watch as we approached the 5K timing device: officially 26:29. It wasn't until 26:55 elasped that my watch actually registered 3 miles, so something was off. 9:13 on my watch (50 ft ascent, 50 ft descent). 

My mind began dwelling on the possibility that I was running a course that would be shorter than 9.33 miles. The way it was going, I might reach the finish line before my watch registered 9 full miles. My obsessive-compulsive disorder had kicked in at that point in the race. It didn't help that we were now steadily running uphill, over the I-20 overpass, continuing uphill onto Bryan Street, then in just one block, turning northward toward Memorial Drive. The police were holding back quite a bit of traffic on Memorial Drive, as we turned back toward the center of town. The road seemed fairly level in this section. I recall Oakland Cemetery to my right, as I began to regain a bit of speed. We passed the mile 4 marker, before turning right onto Grant Street. Just in time, I remembered that I planned to take a gel before the mile 4 water station. As I ripped open the gel, the runner who had fallen on Georgia Avenue caught up to me. I said "Are you OK? You had a bad fall back there." He just said something that sounded like "Yep" and moved ahead as I walked through the water station. I wonder if what saved him from more serious injury was his clothing. Not only was he was wearing tights and a long-sleeved jersey, so his skin had some protection from severe road rash, plus he was wearing a bubbly-jacket that may have protected his torso in the fall. I was glad to see that he had recovered, and I didn't mind at all being passed by him. Mile 4 on my watch, 9:32, 36:27 elapsed (58 ft ascent). 

15K race route

We turned right onto Decatur Street, running in the opposite direction as we had in mile 12 of the Thanksgiving Day half. This was definitely uphill until we crossed Boulevard Street. And my mind became acutely aware that we were still running away from the finish line. Up ahead I could see Brian make the left turn onto Bradley Street. I began counting, up to 30 seconds before I made the turn myself. Whatever happened to "we're not racing"?! Anyway, Bradley Street was uphill. I recalled that it seemed uphill in the other direction on Thanksgiving Day? Up ahead was Edgewood Avenue. If we turned left, we would be making our way back toward the finish line. Instead, we turned .... right. There was another mile marker, for mile 5. Then left onto Randolph Street, again following the Thanksgiving route in reverse. By this point, I couldn't see Brian any longer. I sped up a bit as we had a short gentle downhill respite. My watch didn't sound the mile 5 alert until I was approaching the intersection with Irwin Street: 9:26, 45:53 elapsed (31 ft ascent, 18 ft descent). My overall pace was now at 9:10 min / mile. How quickly I had lost the time that was banked in miles 1 and 2. 

Crossing John Lewis Freedom Parkway, I noticed a famous quotation from Martin Luther King. At the modest speed I was running, I could easily read: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Words from 60 years ago, words we really need right now. Somehow that reflective moment improved my attitude. I had been concerned that I was already struggling, before I had even completed the first 10K. Turning left onto Highland Avenue, running due west, a runner to my right said "Finally we're heading in the right direction." I laughed and replied "I've been thinking the same thing." Having climbed to the "Highland", I now picked up a little speed on a gentle downhill section. We passed the mile 6 marker before making a right turn onto Central Park Avenue. There were some irate drivers laying on their horns. I said to someone "I wish that honking made me run faster!" I recalled that there would be a water station there: indeed it was, just in time for a welcome ~30 second walk break. With the 10K timing device ahead, I resumed running before 30 seconds were up. At the same moment, my watch alerted me for mile 6: 9:17 (46 ft ascent, 99 ft ascent) and 55:10 elapsed (officially, 55:07 at the 10K mark). So my watch was off by 0.22 miles. That's a huge difference. 

My plan had been to speed up for the final triumphant 5K. Crossing Ralph McGill, I heard the music of a band from a building across the street, trying to pump us up. I tried to find a higher gear, accelerated a bit, until another roller uphill forced me to slow down. We were running mile 3 of the marathon route, but in the reverse direction. Around this time, I recall Francoise Levinson catching up to me. She's a smart, experienced runner, so I'm not surprised that she caught up with me. I tried to pick up my pace to stay even with her. I was hardly able to even say hello, but she was saving all of her air for running. Before long, we turned left onto Pine Street, and then right onto Piedmont Avenue, heading north. I remembered that when running on a parallel road from Piedmont Road to the south, the road was uphill all the way to 6th Street. Turns out, running to the north, it was also uphill all the way to 6th Street. What was worse, as I crested a hill, the wind was blowing from the north so strongly that I could hardly move forward! There was a mile 7 sign near North Avenue. More importantly, I saw Erin McGerald and Chris Carino cheering us on. I held out my left hand and received an energy boost from Chris as we touched hands. The mile 7 alert was three blocks later, 9:20, 1:04:30 elapsed (28 ft ascent, 43 ft descent). 

By now I was assuming that the course would be short, in fact I was actively hoping that the course would be short. Then I might have only about 2 more miles to run, not 2.33 miles.  

As I write this afternoon, I'm kicking myself for not preparing for today's race with some positive mantras. I don't think "relax and glide" entered my mind at all in today's race. The one thing that I did right in my mental preparation this morning was to listen to part of an interview on "Ali On the Run" from late January, with Fiona O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe won yesterday's Olympic marathon trials in a spectacular debut at that distance, and will represent the USA in the Paris Olympics this summer. I had heard the interview a week or so before the trials, but listening again today knowing the outcome of the race, I can now hear this quiet confidence. O'Keeffe was very well-prepared, and was expecting to surprise some people. Congratulations to Fiona O'Keeffe, and the five other great runners that will represent our country in the final event of the Olympics. 

Back to the race: left turn onto 6th Street, and a couple of blocks of serious uphill running until we crossed Peachtree Street. I began to pick up some speed, a quick left onto West Peachtree followed by a right onto 5th Street, heading toward the Georgia Tech campus. I thought that I remembered that there was a water station on the overpass crossing I-75/85. And I thought I could see a sign for it in the distance, indeed it was there! Every single runner ahead of me passed the water station without taking anything. Volunteers weren't handing out cups but were cheering, as I picked up a cup. Perhaps I was sort of like a professional picking up their water bottle from their table. Except my cup had only a few milliliters of water. Thank goodness I had carried my own water bottle to this stage, so I was using the water stations more for the walk break than for hydration. As I resumed running, a man caught up to me and said "Glad you're running again - I've been pacing off of you!" I guess that was my Zack Panning moment. 

Yesterday Zack Panning led the men's race for the first 23 miles, pacing Connor Mantz and Clayton Young to their 1 - 2 finishes. I don't know that Panning had intended to help Mantz and Young. When they passed Panning, one of them said something that I would like to think was "Thanks for getting us this far, let's race in together so that all three of us go to Paris." Panning held on for a while, but in the final miles was passed by a few others, to finish 6th. It was a shame after he had run so well. On the other hand, I was very happy when I saw Leonard Korir finish in third place, because he had finished in 4th in 2020 and didn't get to run in the Tokyo Olympics. 

There was a mile 8 sign at the corner with Techwood Drive. Just 1.33 miles to go. I took a quick glance at my watch: 1:12 elapsed. If the sign was in the correct place, I had a 15 minute span in which to break my personal best. As tired as I was, I was confident that I could run sub-10-minute mile pace for the rest of the way. I was already speeding up, trying to take advantage of the gentle downhill that I had earned in the earlier miles. I could see that we would make a sharp left-hand turn into the Georgia Tech campus, and just one block ahead I could see the runners ahead of us returning to Techwood Drive. As we made the turn, the runner who I was inadvertently pacing said "It would be so much easier to just run straight ahead and catch up with them." Not revealing that I had been thinking exactly the same thing, I said "Then we would be the cover story on Marathon Investigation." Around this time, my watch sounded the mile 8 alert: 9:04, 1:13:34 elapsed (26 ft ascent, 80 glorious ft descent). By this stage, I had noticed that the distance of the difference between the mile markers and my watch alerts was not increasing. I started to think, perhaps the race distance will be correct. I remembered from the Atlanta marathon experience that sometimes, my watch did not record accurately at the start of the race, when we were in downtown Atlanta. 

We emerged on the back side of Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. I was thinking "it's now a straightaway to the finish". Even though it was uphill, I knew that the route would flatten out and I would enjoy a downhill finish. Then, to my surprise, we turned right onto North Avenue, following mile 11 of the marathon route. "Oh, snap! The finish is from Luckie Street." That's just one block, but uphill the entire way. Finally, we turned left onto Luckie Street, in front of the Coca-Cola Headquarters building. This part of the route is very familiar: the final mile of the Atlanta's Finest 5K, and what can be a brutal last mile in the Hotlanta Half Marathon. It wasn't long before we passed the mile 9 marker. My watch showed 1:20-and change had elapsed. Only three minutes to the finish line? From memory, I was pretty sure that we were more than 1/3 mile from the finish. Still I was going to beat my previous 15K time. The mile 9 alert sounded on my watch shortly thereafter: 9:36, 1:23:10 elapsed (77 ft ascent, 18 ft descent). 

I went out a bit too fast in the first two miles

Suddenly it seemed that my watch was almost correct. I estimated that I was still 2 minutes from the finish, as we had not yet crossed Ivan Allen Blvd. Staying to the left, I had to dodge a few pedestrians, including people who had completed the 5K and were walking north. To my right, I saw the walkers in the 5K race, which was a huge group. I became acutely aware that they were looking at me, taking in my suffering even though I raced past. I remember having a feeling of sympathy the first time that I watched people approaching a half-marathon finish line. 

In yesterday's women's marathon, the first two finishers, Fiona O'Keeffe and Emily Sisson, looked strong and confident. Then the cameras moved back a couple of minutes to watch the intense race for 3rd place. The difference in prize money was $10,000 between 3rd vs. 4th place, and --- running in the Olympics vs. watching the Olympics from home. Dakotah Lindwurm earned 3rd place, staying in front of strong challenges from Jessica McClain, Sara Hall, and Caroline Rotich. Sara Hall, who in the 2020 London Marathon had run an amazing finish moving up from 4th place to 2nd place in the final mile, yesterday collapsed to the ground after crossing the finish line in 5th place, missing the team by just 35 seconds. 

Right before crossing the finish line - and I didn't lose my cap!
Brian is in the background, taking a video of my finish

Then I had to focus on the here-and-now as a huge gust of wind blew in my face, from the south, nearly pulling off my cap. I passed the race photographer with my hand on my head as I pulled the cap down as tightly as possible; unfortunately I haven't received that photo. Fortunately we were running downhill, so I may have accelerated a bit, even running into a stiff wind. From the Atlanta's Finest and Hotlanta races, I remembered turning onto Baker Street and then having to run 100 feet uphill to the finish line. Today, I saw the finish banner as soon as I began to make the turn, so I was seconds from finishing. I saw Brian waiting with his camera just to the left of the finish line - wow, he must have had a great race to have cooled down enough to return. The official race clock showed 1:25:30 as I finished! 1:25:17 on my watch, and 1:25:11 officially! A new personal best for a 15K race by over 100 seconds!! 

Thanks to Brian for taking this video of my finish! 

I was tremendously fatigued, but happy to accept the medal from a volunteer. Then I heard "Frank!" "Frank!" I thought I was hearing things, but a volunteer caught my attention - it was Elizabeth Harrell, who had completed the 5K, and was now waiting for her sister and friends in the 15K, cheering me in. She asked "how was it?" I collapsed on the rail, mumbled "really tough, but I ran a new PR" and she gave me a congratulatory hug. Then I needed to move on, to find a bottle of water, and walk slowly into Centennial Olympic Park for the post-race party. The chocolate sauce and hot cocoa were both warm, just perfect after finishing a race in the cool and windy temperature. I caught up with Brian, who had run 1:23 flat. His watch measured 9.35 miles, so I think that the course was the legitimate distance. I'm still not sure if the mile markers were in exactly the correct locations for the distance, but overall I believe that my watch was not accurate, so I'm happy to claim this run as my legitimate new personal best. 

Sigh: I managed 9:09 average pace, but from the way I was slowing down with each 5K,
I wouldn't have made it under 2 hours for the 21.1K length of a half marathon.

The race was well-organized and I'm sure that I'll run it again, although perhaps not every year, now that I own one of the sharp Hot Chocolate jackets. 

January 20, 2024: Jerome Scales Southside 5 Miler

"Sooooo Cold!!!" as I rolled out of the car this morning, around 6:45 am, 18 degrees F. I was wearing two layers, and carrying two heatwarmers, but after picking up my bib, ran back to my car to add a hoodie for my third layer. Brian Minor and I had agreed to run a few miles before the race, to get 8 - 9 miles total in our training for the Publix Atlanta Marathon Relay, five weeks from tomorrow. 

I saw this one on the Internet earlier this week.

We left for our warmup run from the start-finish area for the race, following the cones that the Atlanta Track Club had already set out for the 5-kilometer and 5-mile races. I wanted to take it very easy, run-walk, just to get some time on my feet. Also, I didn't want to wear myself out before our mano-a-mano race! Brian was wearing the green fluorescent hoodie that he had worn for the first two miles of last weekend's Livvy's Love race. I was wearing a Coach Carl blue hoodie. Brian asked if Bonnie was here: "No, she was soundly sleeping under 3 - 4 blankets when I left the house." After a minute, remembering how Bonnie had taken care of Brian's hoodie last weekend, I added "You know, Bonnie won't be following us on the course to take your hoodie mid-race, you'll have to leave it on the side of the road!" We had a good laugh about that one. We effectively ran-walked the 5-kilometer race route in reverse, in about 34:30 elapsed. It was a good warmup, really, it was the best thing we could have done for ourselves before running the race. Even though the thermometer read just as cold when we finished our warmup, I didn't feel terribly uncomfortable after I took off my hoodie to run in just two layers, yet I had saved enough energy to have a good race! 

Before - and after

Brian took a last-minute port-a-potty break and shed his hoodie as well. I jogged to my car, sat inside for a moment while I took a gel and a few swigs of water. The instructions read "For Best Results: One packet 15 minutes before activity." I checked my watch: 7:49 am. Talk about scientific precision, my wave was due to start at 8:04 am! There were only about 600 people in both races, but it was the hardiest folks that showed up today. Perhaps none of us were quite sane to run outdoors in this cold weather. But as the old saying goes, we outran everyone that stayed in bed this morning. The MCs this morning were two people that I didn't recognize. Then I discovered that my favorite MC Ronnel Blackmon was running today's race in wave C, so we might have Ronnel's encouragement throughout the entire race, not just the start and finish! While we waited near the front of wave C, I saw old friends Colleen Curran and Linda Bode Phinney. The MC encouraged us to jog in place to stay warm. The airhorn wasn't working due to the cold weather, so we just started with a verbal command: "Runners set ..... GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!" 

With Brian a couple of minutes before our wave started the race. 
At some point during the warmup run, I lost my face covering,
a freebie from another race. Fortunately I finished without frostbite! 

Brian and I crossed the starting mat together. I had wanted to keep Brian in front of me where I could see him, but in the chaos of the start, I immediately lost track of him. Linda was ahead and to my right, and I remembered that she ran this race well last year, so I thought I would run alongside her in the beginning. We hadn't gone far before Bryan Greenberg caught up to me, wearing his distinctive Maryland race kit. Bryan G. and I ran together for awhile. I remembered that his son had run his first race here last year, but not today due to the cold temperature. I said that would have been "cruel and unusual punishment" and added "we're grown adults who should know better." On East Main Street, Bryan G. snapped a quick selfie of us, then he gradually moved ahead of me. Mile 1 was 8:58, perfect for practicing half-marathon pace. 

Thanks to Bryan Greenberg for posting this on Strava!

In the second mile, we turned right off of East Main Street toward Woodward Academy. There was a water station on the right but they had no takers. I chatted to a runner next to me, "No one stopped at the icicle station" which drew a laugh, before we turned left. At the next intersection, a volunteer was rhythmically calling "5 Mile to the left, 5 K to the right, 5 Mile to the left, 5 K to the right..." rocking his body to and fro with arms alternately pointing to the left, then to the right. Probably it was the only way that he could stay warm. By the way, MANY THANKS to all of the volunteers who braved the cold for our race. As challenging as it was to run in the cold, at least the runners were moving: the volunteers who were sitting still giving out bibs, or standing still at corners to direct traffic and serve the water stops, they were the real heroes of this frigid morning. Mile 2 in 8:57, 17:55 elapsed. Talk about consistent pacing! 

We were back on East Main Street running north, heading gently downhill, so I picked up some speed. As we turned the corner onto Willingham Drive, someone called out "Hi Frank!" With everyone covered up, I had to ask who it was: "It's Donna!" (Donna Roberts, who had volunteered before the race). "Oh hi Donna!" As I passed, I said "Give me a holler if Brian passes you!" I was running with a couple of Hot Hands handwarmers, but it was so cold that the handwarmers had turned into cold rocks! With a little difficulty, I stuffed one into each pants pocket. While I was fooling around with the defeated handwarmers, Linda passed on my right. I didn't know who it was at first, but then I recognized her blue ski cap from the start. Fortunately I didn't have trouble keeping up with Linda. Bryan G. was about 20 seconds ahead. I wondered if I might eventually catch up with him. Around this point in the race, my heart rate monitor was showing >180 beats per minute. What?! Not again?! I quickly surveyed my breathing, my physical state, and I felt fine. In today's race, I think that my heart rate monitor was inaccurate due to the cold temperature, which prevented dry skin from making good contact with the sensor on the back of my watch. Mile 3 in 8:36, 26:31 elapsed. That was a bit fast, however that mile was 38 feet net descent. 

We made a couple of right turns to get into a residential neighborhood. Somehow I got out in front of Linda on the turn. The cones marking the race route were down the middle of the street, and I was running near the middle, just to the left of the cones to avoid the camber, and to save a few steps anticipating a left turn up ahead. Then a couple of cars came down the street in the opposite direction of us runners. I realized that the police couldn't completely close off a residential street, so they were gradually letting cars travel on one lane. I moved over to the right side of the road. We made a couple more turns, again approaching Woodward Academy. We passed another water stop; a volunteer was picking up a few cups from the street, so there had been some takers, but not many. At least once I looked behind me to see if I could spot Brian, but my eyes were slow to focus and I couldn't afford to take more than a quick glance. My heart rate monitor was still reading dangerously high, except now I was quite certain that it was a low temperature malfunction. At Madison Street, we made a left turn, to rejoin the 5K runners and walkers to our common finish line. A fellow running in front of me in the 5-mile race initially ran straight instead of making the turn, but from last year's race I had remembered to make the turn. I can see that it was a little confusing, since the cones continued straight ahead for the 5K runners coming in the opposite direction, and a truck was blocking the left lane on Madison Street so we couldn't see runners ahead to our left. Fortunately the other runner realized his mistake by the time I had reached the corner, and quickly spun around to get back on route, running alongside me. "You almost added another mile for yourself" I joked. No answer. I said "It happens to the best. I still feel bad for last year's Peachtree (Road Race) leader who made a wrong turn right before the finish." No answer, he moved ahead. No problem, it was cold, and I was wasting energy chattering away. Mile 4 in 8:54, 35:25 elapsed. That was a little slow, but had covered 48 feet net ascent, and was still on goal half-marathon pace. Fortunately the hills today had been gradual and manageable, compared to the Stone Mountain loop last weekend or the extremely hilly Westside 10K last month. 

Just past the mile 4 sign, we began running downhill. "It's GO TIME!" I said to myself, and increased my speed. From our warmup on the 5K route, I had a fresh memory of the route, even though we were now running in the opposite direction. Crossing Virginia Avenue, there was a more substantial downhill. What was the old phrase - "Make hay while the sun shines"??  I've never made hay, so I don't know, what does that actually mean?? Anyway I bounded ahead as fast as I could. I saw Bryan G. ahead and in the distance: he had increased his lead so that there was no way I would catch him. (Bryan G. finished the race about 45 seconds ahead of me.) Approaching Princeton Avenue, we had finally reached the bottom of the hill, and there was a 6-foot "speed bump". Fortunately I remembered that short hill from the warmup so it didn't slow me down. But now we had two blocks to go before the next-to-last turn onto Columbia Avenue, gently but steadily uphill. I worked my way up that hill without slowing down too badly. But as we made the right turn, I was rudely reminded that the hill continued upward, fairly substantially. Finally I really slowed down. I remembered from last year's race that I had run this section more strongly - but last year this race was part of a marathon training run so I had run the first 4 miles substantially slower than today. 

At that stage I heard footsteps behind me. I looked back, it was Brian Minor, catching up to my left. "Brian, were you drafting off me for the entire race?" I didn't hear his response but later I learned that he had fallen behind, barely keeping me in sight, but he began to close the gap around mile 4. He told me that he had to really work to catch up to me, since I didn't take any walk breaks. I thought, surely I can keep up with Brian, when he pulled ahead. Then I caught up to him. This time I was on Brian's left, just in time to make the left turn toward the finish line. Being to Brian's left, I had the advantage of the inside lane, but the Brian put on a sprint for the last 100 meters to the timing mat. I couldn't find a matching finishing kick. Brian crossed the timing mat: I began counting: "One, two, three," and was over the mat at the count of "four". Approximately an 8:15 pace for the last mile, although I had to estimate, because I didn't stop my watch until several seconds had passed. Official time: 43:29. 

Only 3 seconds apart! 
(But based on age grading, I totally "smoked" Brian.) 
I also outran a few people on this list that usually outperform me. 

Even though I didn't win the race with Brian, I was really happy with my performance. My plan was to practice half-marathon pacing for the first four miles, and that went perfectly. I had enough energy in reserve to speed up in the final mile, which was a lot of fun. Brian had to work hard for the win, but he managed it, so that was satisfying, actually for both of us. "We're in good shape getting ready for the marathon relay!" I said to Brian. He asked if I wanted to run a bit more, I guess to finish a full 9 miles. But I was so cold, I only wanted to get back into my car to warm up. And thank goodness he didn't push me today! 

In the middle of my age group. To quote George Costanza: 
"Right in that meaty part of the curve. Not showing off, not falling behind."

Next weekend: a 10 - 11 mile training run on part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon course.

February 4: We're both running the Hot Chocolate 15K. I don't know if we will actually race each other, but I think this will be an excellent practice run for holding half-marathon race pace for ~70% of the total distance. And if I succeed, I'll have improved on my 15K personal best from last May!