February 8, 2014:
Atlanta Track Club Hearts and Soles 5K
Goal: A 5K time of 25:54 or less
Today’s race is
the first in a trio of February races.
Next Saturday Bonnie and I will “Run the Reagan Parkway 5K” in
Snellville, and the following Saturday I will take on the “Charles Harris 10K” down
Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker, an event that has excellent on-line ratings
and one of the last 10K qualifiers before registration for the Peachtree Road
Race opens in March. The 10K Peachtree
Road Race is my major running goal for this year. Based on my times in two December races, I
now qualify for start wave D in the Peachtree Road Race, but I’m hoping that I
can move up to wave C with one of the February races. Based on last year’s standards, a 5K time of
25:54 will qualify for wave C.
Last fall, I
joined the Atlanta Track Club. The main
motivation for paying the $35 annual membership fee was the guaranteed
acceptance into the Peachtree Road Race on Independence Day, but they also
offer free events for ATC members. Today
will be my first ATC event, the Hearts and Soles 5K, in the Panthersville
neighborhood on the south side of Decatur, in the southeast quadrant of the
metro Atlanta area. The race route will
begin and end on the Decatur campus of Georgia Perimeter College, with a
turnaround at Cedar Grove Middle School.
Prologue: I arrive shortly after 7 am. I have a little trouble finding the location
in the dark, but then spot a sign for parking and see a bunch of people dressed
in running clothes, and figure that I’m in the right location. The temperature is about 40 oF, so
I’m wearing the long running pants that Bonnie has given me, a ski cap, and a
running jacket. Following the other
lemmings down the sidewalk, I reach the race registration and bib pick-up
area. Pinning the number onto my jacket
with cold fingers is a challenge, but on the second try I manage to place it in
the middle of my chest.
I’ve expected
that this will be an athletic crowd, and I’m not disappointed. Several track teams and organized running
groups are present, and quite a few runners are doing some impressive
stretching. I manage a nice-looking one
leg quad stretch balanced on the right leg, but can’t maintain balance when I
try it standing on the left leg. I
gracefully step out of it, acting like I don’t really need to repeat that
stretch after all. I don’t want to look
like I’m in my rookie year in front of the other runners. I take a short jog around the parking lot,
kicking up my knees. It’s good to move
in the cold air, and my legs feel strong.
For the past
couple of months, I’ve had some pain in my left heel, probably a little plantar
fasciitis. In my last training run on
the previous Saturday, my left ankle was quite sore, perhaps from protecting
the heel too much, and then I had to cut short the workout when a little twinge
started in the right knee. To avoid
turning either of these tweaks into a significant injury, I decided to do my
best to refrain from running at all this week.
I had not been able to maintain that resolution previously, but it
turned out that my schedule was so busy this week that I really couldn’t find
the time to run during daylight hours.
By Saturday morning, I’m feeling pretty good, but a little concerned
that my conditioning may have regressed a bit.
So today will be an important test of conditioning vs. rest.
Around 7:45
am, runners are beginning to migrate to the starting area. Wave B is for runners expecting to finish
between 25 and 30 minutes, and will start at 8:02 am, so I resolve to begin in
the middle of wave B. Although I ran the
Phidippides 5K in 25:57 in December, I haven’t run nearly as fast in recent
training, so middle of the pack is probably better for me. As I pass the runners gathering at the
starting line for wave A, there is one man without a shirt. He looks really cold, but I guess he wanted to be unique. At 8:00
am, wave A begins the race, and a moment later we begin walking forward to the
starting line. After a pause, I check
the RunHelper program on my phone to ensure that it’s cued up. The person carrying the wave B sign moves to
the left side of the road, and then we begin moving forward in earnest.
The race has begun!
The first
kilometer: As usual in these larger races,
I feel that the group is starting too slowly.
I’m jogging, definitely not running, but whenever I can, I pull my arms
to my side and dash through any gaps in the slow-moving crowd. Next time I will have the confidence to begin
the race closer to the front of the wave.
The group turns left onto Clifton Springs Road. Most runners are staying to the left of the
cones to run the shortest possible distance, but several of us find that we can
move more quickly if we occasionally dart to the right of the cones to pass a slower
runner (or walkers! – why didn’t you start in wave C?). The unsportsmanlike thought dissipates as we
reach Wildcat Road, and the group makes a left turn. The runners are now spread out a little bit
more, and I find that I can stay to the right of the cones with the rest of the
runners, without difficulty. The road is
now a gentle downhill stretch, so I pass quite a few people. I want to take advantage of this easy section
of the race, as I know that it will be uphill on the way to the finish. The road gently curves to the right, and I’m
now running at a good pace. After the
first ¼ kilometer, which took more than 90 seconds to run, I’ve now cut the
time down to a 5:28 pace by the end of the first kilometer. Good start overall, and I think that the next
kilometer will be faster.
The second
kilometer: The road is now flat, and
everyone around me is running at about the same pace. I’ve warmed up and I feel that I’m in a good race,
and work on diminishing the pace by at least one second with each ¼ kilometer
alert. The mile 1 marker comes up on the
right, with a volunteer calling out times.
I can only hear the seconds (48, 49, 50) and wonder how many
minutes. Shortly afterwards, the lead
runner passes on the return leg, with a police escort. He is really zipping along, and has opened up
at least 100 meter lead on the second place runner, followed by the third runner. Then there is in a steady line of fast
runners, as we pass the marker for the second mile of the return leg. The volunteer calls out 11:40. For a second I’m disappointed, as I have
hoped to cover 2 kilometers in that time, and then I realize that I can shave 2
minutes from the announced time due to the wave B start. RunHelper indicates that I have finished the
second kilometer in 5:00 flat, on a 5:14 pace.
Great! By the way, there is at
least one guy in the first several dozen runners that is considerably older
than me. I’m really impressed.
The third
kilometer: We approach the grounds
of Cedar Grove Middle School to our right.
The number of runners on the return leg is now quite large. People racing with me are calling out to
their faster friends on the return leg. I
think that the turnaround will be coming soon.
But as we pass around a corner of the school building and follow the
road curving to the right, the two streams of runners extend as far as I can
see. We enter a traffic circle in front
of the school, probably at the main entrance, and that must be the turnaround. But no, it’s still up ahead somewhere. We turn right again past the next corner of
the school building, and finally, there it is, the turnaround, on the back side
of the school. I’m running on the left
side of the lane next to the cones, and I make a tight turn at the cone without
losing much speed, as I hear a volunteer calling out encouragement “Halfway
there!” Finally, I’m on the return
leg. I’m still feeling quite good and
running well, and occasionally passing people.
As we pass around the school again, I see a man with a military buzzcut about
10 meters in front of me, and I think that I may be gaining on him. That will be impressive if I can pass a man
who has done long runs in the Marines, or whatever branch of service he might
be in, but then it becomes evident that he has picked up the pace a bit as we
move back onto a long straight stretch of Wildcat Road. RunHelper signals the third kilometer in
4:56, with pace at 5 minutes, 8 seconds.
That means a 25:40 finish, if I can just keep up the pace.
The fourth
kilometer: As I leave the school
building behind and back onto the straight stretch of Wildcat Road, I see a
girl with a long ponytail, probably about 10 years old, running to my
right. I catch up to her and several
adults in the same pack, and then pass them on the left before reaching the two
mile marker. I’m not sure but I think
that the volunteer calls out a time of 17:50.
Remembering to deduct 2 minutes, that would put me at two 8-minute
miles, if I heard her correctly. There
are quite a few people in the first leg heading for the school, mostly jogging
but one man is race-walking. (How
ridiculously inefficient he looks!) Shortly
afterwards, we pass the one mile mark for those on the first leg. I don’t hear the volunteer’s time, but one of
the runners shouts “That’s not our time, that’s for the first group.” I think, just subtract 4 minutes, don’t be
mean, and then I snap back to focusing on my own race as the girl with the
ponytail dashes past me, seemingly passing under my left elbow! She quickly moves about 10 meters in front of
me. The slower group in the first group
is now all walkers. At the end of the
walkers, there is a police escort behind an older gentleman. He’s moving slowly but at least he’s getting
out and participating. I later learn
that he is 87 years young. I hope that I
can do as well if I’m fortunate enough to reach that age. After passing him, the road begins a gentle
upwards slope. I try to pull even with
the ponytailed girl but she dashes back out ahead of me, as I hear the four
kilometer signal of 5:16, overall time 20:40.
The fifth
kilometer: I attack the hill with
everything I have, but stronger runners are passing me as the road curves
gently uphill and to the left. Honestly
the hill isn’t as difficult as in other races, but perhaps this is an
indication of slight regression in my conditioning. One runner has an inspirational quote on the
back of his shirt, something about giving it your best effort at all times, but
I can’t keep up with him for long enough to read carefully. Then I hear someone behind me rhythmically
shouting. At first I think that he is
encouraging or coaching another runner, but then he passes me on my left and I
realize that he is pushing himself forward with the shouts. I myself have let out a few involuntary gasps
and grunts as I go up the hill but I can’t afford to waste energy on a loud
shout. Finally I see the police lights
at the intersection with Clifton Springs Road, at the top of the hill. I am now really tired, but there isn’t far to
go. And even though I’m out of breath, my
ankles and knees all feel fine, so the decision to rest instead of run was
definitely a good choice, even if my conditioning suffered a bit. I still want to finish with a good time, and
I try to get back up to speed as I turn right onto Clifton Springs Road. Thankfully the rest of the race is flat, but
I’m passed on both sides by several other runners who are also taking good
advantage of the flat road for their own strong finishes. Ponytail is still several meters in front of
me and showing no signs of flagging.
With every runner that passes me, I push a little harder and faster, to
keep them from opening as much of a gap on me.
There’s the 3 mile sign on the right side of the road and then the right
turn into the parking lot, followed by a quick left turn to the finish
line. There’s the clock! But I’m disappointed to see that the time ticks
forward from 27:59 to 28:00. By
subtracting 2 minutes for the wave B start, I’m running at about 26 minutes
overall, so probably not a personal record today. Nonetheless I push myself as fast as I can
manage for the last few meters, and see 28:09 on the clock as I cross the
finish line. I’m really tired, legs are
burning with lactic acid, and I’m just trying to keep walking to gradually cool
down. That last kilometer has taken a
lot out of me. Two or three more minutes
have passed before I remember to stop the RunHelper, but I see that I finished
the last kilometer in 5:14 and the total elapsed time to run 5 km was
25:54. I just wish that I had checked
RunHelper immediately after crossing the line!
Epilogue: I slowly walk to a long table with Gatorade
and water cups. There is a crowd of
people at the Gatorade end of the table so I go to the far end of the table to
get a cup of water. I really needed
that. Then there are a bunch of bags
from Einstein’s Bagels, and a volunteer hands me a cheese bagel. It’s my favorite flavor but I can hardly manage
a bite. I go back to the water table and
get in line for Gatorade from the cooler, which helps more than the water
did. My heart is gradually returning to
a normal rate, my strength starts to return after a few more minutes, and I’m
able to enjoy the last half of the bagel.
I watch some
of the other runners finishing in the 35 – 40 minute range. There are a couple of race workers manually
noting times on what looks like an adding machine, and I wonder why, when there
is an electronic timing system. Before
leaving around 9 am, they are already announcing the awards for the age group
winners (I’ve missed the overall winners), and I recognize a name in the 40-44
male age group. He won this age group in
the Eastside Beltline 10K in December, but only third in this race!
Official
results were posted later in the evening: clock time 28:34, tag time
26:14. Of course for me it's a great time, but not good enough to move up to wave C for the Peachtree Road Race. I’m not sure that the clock time
is correct, as I’m pretty sure that I finished no later than 28:10. There was a delay in getting several dozen of
the scores posted, including my own time as well as that of the person who
actually won my age group (did he not get his medal?). I wonder again if there was a problem with the
electronic timing, and perhaps someone manually collecting bib numbers missed
mine, as I was in a group with several runners finishing close together. It turns out that the course is not
USATF-certified, so I probably can’t use it as a Peachtree Road Race qualifier
anyway. Whatever the time, whether it
was the reported time or 20 - 25 seconds quicker, it was a good race for me, and I
feel more confident that I will do as well in the Reagan Parkway 5K next
Saturday.
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