May 31, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, Week 6

Goal:  Taking on an elevation profile mirroring the middle 4.5 miles of the Peachtree Road Race

With five weeks to go before the big day, our training is steadily increasing, both in mileage and in elevation challenges.  The temperatures and humidity are also steadily rising with each week, and I'm glad for the regular workouts, so that we can gradually acclimate to Hotlanta in July!

For this week, our coaches Lori and Tony have mapped a route that mimics the middle of the Peachtree Road Race.  The Peachtree Road Race will have a 3/4-mile downhill run to Peachtree Creek, followed by the infamous Cardiac Hill, 3/4-mile uphill to Piedmont Hospital.  Today's run had a similarly long downhill stretch to the mid-point of the run, then turning around and running back up the hill.

The excerpt from Coach Curt's e-mail says it all

After stretching and warming up, our group started out at a nice pace.  Rob was back today, and there were three runners in the fast group, me, T. and C.  I was wearing the heart rate monitor, aiming not to exceed 160 beats per minute, so I knew that I might be taking the uphill section more slowly.  But we all moved quickly down Peachtree Road, approximately 1.4 miles to Club Drive where we entered the Brookhaven neighborhood.  (In our first week, we didn't quite get all the way to Club Drive!)  This was the nicest neighborhood that we've run through so far, beautiful houses and carefully manicured yards.  We enjoyed the long downhill at an easy glide.  My heart rate monitor was hovering around 150 bpm, and I was in the lead in this section.  Rob warned us not to burn up too much energy, so that we could make it back uphill.  At about 21 minutes into the run, we reached the turnaround point at the bottom of the hill, at 2.25 miles exactly.

Shortly after crossing the street to turn around and head uphill, a couple of young women passed, moving effortlessly up the hill.  They quickly moved ahead, and I decided that it would be foolish to attempt to keep up with them.  Early in the climb, Curt came down hill to take photos of the lead group, with encouraging words as we gradually worked our way up the hill.

When this photo was taken, I had no idea there were more than three people immediately behind me!  And nearly everyone in this photo passed me before we finished the run.

I kept a fairly close eye on the heart rate monitor, going no higher than 165 bpm, and for the most part staying around 160 bpm.  Although it was a long hill, it was not as steep as some others that I've run.  Coach Chuck and student T. caught up with me and we ran together for most of the way of the hill.  I felt good when we reached the top, at the end of mile 3.

With a left turn onto Peachtree Road, we headed back to Publix for the final third of the race.  Student T. was in front of me on the narrow sidewalk and I kept close for awhile, but my legs began to grow heavy.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky and at one point we were running directly into the morning sun.  I was grateful for the brim of the cap, which I pulled down to shield my eyes.  I also began to realize that the hill had been well-shaded, and the relatively level stretch of Peachtree Road in the sun and humidity was more difficult for me.  Coaches Chuck and Rob passed me, then student C.  To my surprise, then student S. from the second group passed me!  I was determined to keep my heart rate reasonable, and when the rate touched 170 bpm I decided to slow down a little.  At one point I had thought that we were nearly back to Town Center Mall, but as we approached the intersection I realized that we were only at Osborne Road, with another half-mile to go.  I conceded that I had no chance of catching up with the leaders, and since it wasn't a race situation I decided to stay true to my workout strategy instead of attempting to close the distance.  My heart rate slowed to 160 bpm and I had a comfortable final run.

We entered the Town Center mall and I arrived at the Publix garage, having completed 4.50 miles (7.25 km) in 43:39, for an average pace of 10:10 min / mile (6:02 min / km).  It felt really hot in that final mile, although when I checked the actual temperature it was only 70 deg F.  Oh, and 90% humidity.  That's why it felt like it was in the mid-80's.  But with the slightly slower pace and attention to the heart rate monitor, I recovered very quickly this time, more quickly than after the last few Saturday runs.  So any disappointment at not arriving with the leaders was immediately tempered by a good feeling overall.  Unlike previous weeks, I could have run another mile without much trouble.

Splits per mile: 9:25, 9:19, 10:09 (mostly uphill), 9:46, and the last 0.50 mile in 5:00 even.  I am VERY pleased that I didn't slow down too badly on the hill, yet didn't overdo it with the heart rate in that sector.  But running in the sun is clearly now a challenge.  I'm hoping for cloud cover on July 4!

After cooling down and stretching, I headed to Big Peach Running Company to buy a new pair of shoes.  Although my current Adizero pair are still in good shape, probably with only 150 - 200 miles at most, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a relatively fresh pair for the Peachtree Road Race, and to have plenty of time to break them in over the coming month.  I felt so good while shopping that I tried out the shoes (Boost, also from Adidas) with a quick circuit around the entire mall.  In previous weeks I would not have had enough energy left to do that!  And the best part was feeling mellow afterwards from the post-run endorphins.

May 26, 2014: Memorial Day 10K, Marietta, Georgia

Goal: To run a good race with consistent splits, not beginning too quickly.  

I've enjoyed the Peachtree training course, but since our class runs on Saturday mornings, it has meant skipping some 5K races that I would normally have enjoyed running.  So with Memorial Day coming up as a Monday holiday, I realized that the 5K / 10K in Marietta (NW suburbs) was a perfect opportunity to compete in a race without seriously compromising the training schedule.  When I mentioned it to Bonnie, she was enthusiastic about running the 5K, so we both signed up a week ahead of time.  

The route map with elevations

In the days leading up to the race, I had studied the elevation map carefully.  There would be some reasonably challenging hills, especially in the part of the course that the 10K runners would cover.  I focused on the 5% grade hill around the 2 mile mark, thinking that would be the most challenging part of the race.  I remembered in previous 10K races, expending too much energy on hills in the middle part of the race and then not having enough energy to take advantage of downhill sections later in the race.  In the Peachtree training sessions, I had also been focusing on consistent splits, and trying not to begin too quickly.  So my goal for this race was to run each easy 1/2 kilometer between 2:30 and 2:45, and take my time going up the hills.  I was wearing a heart rate monitor, and had resolved not to let my pulse exceed 160 beats per minute on the hills.  Hopefully this strategy would leave me with a bit of a reserve that I could burn after the nine kilometer / 5.5 mile mark, to finish as quickly as possible.

Bonnie took a photo of the crowd shortly before the start

The weather was 64 deg F at the start, which was pleasant but significantly warmer than my previous 10K races in December and February.  There were some fast people warming up for this race, including one young man whose sprints through the parking lot were blazingly fast.  When we were given the signal to line up, we "self-seeded" according to our projected pace times.  I lined up just behind the 9:30 minute / mile sign.  The organizer made a few announcements, none of which I heard clearly over the buzz of excited runners.  Then a horn sounded, and the pack moved forward.  

Mile 1:  The runners around me all moved forward through the start gate - no walkers in front of me this time - and we seemed to be at a good pace.  We made a loop through the L.A. Fitness parking lot, and it was nearly two minutes before we entered the main course going southbound on Piedmont Road.  I felt that I had started in exactly the right place.  A few runners were passing me but I was determined to keep a reasonable pace and didn't try to keep up with them.  Each half-kilometer was signaling me around 2:40 ± 5 seconds.  It seemed like we reached the mile 1 marker fairly quickly (8:31 according to my timer).  Both legs had been sore at the start and it took the full mile for things to loosen up, which was a relief as the soreness dissipated.  And that probably kept me from starting too quickly.  

Right after the start, still in the parking lot

In the first half-mile on Piedmont Road

Mile 2:  This was the beginning of the first hill.  I slowed down a little, making sure that I didn't overexert myself, shortening my stride and remembering to stand tall.  It helped to concentrate on my breathing cadence.  I was staying with the pack, with the alerts signaling around 2:50 per half-kilometer for this section.  I had been running to the left side of the lane, but as we approached the first water station I moved to the middle, as I wasn't planning to take water this early in the race.  I reached the top of the crest, and then saw a truck in the northbound lane setting out the cones for the return leg, followed by the leader in the 5K race.  Now that we were going downhill, I was able to lengthen my stride and increase my speed a bit.  I started looking for the turnaround point for the 5K race.  I was wondering how many runners we would lose at the turnaround, and it was about half, with the rest of us going forward for the 10K.  One runner went past the turnaround, then she heard her friends calling her, and she realized that she had missed the turnaround.  While she headed back, the rest of us ran forward into the longer race.  A runner next to me said "It's tempting to turn back" but I was feeling alright and looking forward to the longer distance.  Shortly after reaching the bottom of the hill, I spotted the 2 mile marker.  8:49 for the second mile, 17:20 elapsed. 

Mile 3:  We started uphill.  This was the 75-foot hill that was promised in the elevation map.  I slowed down here, noting that my pulse rate was at 160 bpm.  It took awhile to get up the hill, and as I reached the top I found the second water station.  I took a cup from a volunteer, and thankfully the water was room temperature.  Even so, it was difficult to drink much of it.  I took a couple of sips over the next minute, then removed my cap and poured the rest over my head.  That gave me a jolt and I sped up as I went downhill.  Then I spotted the lead runner on the return leg of the 10K - it was the same young guy that was running those impressive sprints in the parking lot before the race.  To my surprise, there was another steep hill ahead, and I had to slow down again.  That hill had not looked as significant on the elevation map, but it was tougher than expected in real life.  Finally I reached the 3-mile mark at the top of that hill.  9:14 for the third mile, 26:34 elapsed. 

Heading uphill

Mile 4:  If my plan was correct, I had finished the hardest part of the race.  The uphill sections on the way back should be gentler and hopefully easier, even if they would be longer.  I heard a signal for the 5K alert at 27:34, which meant that I was on pace for a 55 minute finish, as long as I didn't slow down.  Now I would learn if my strategy had worked out.  As we approached the turnaround point, I saw a table and a bunch of water jugs, but no volunteers!  Fortunately I didn't need water, and I was carrying my own water bottle in case of emergency.  I made a sharp left into the turnaround, but found myself making a broad arc in the second left to head northbound.  I hope that I didn't cut anyone off trying to come around me, although I heard no complaints.  We were heading back uphill although this was pretty gentle.  The runner who had talked with me earlier caught up with me again and said "These hills are hellacious!"  I replied "I've heard that the Peachtree is harder."  (Full disclosure: what actually came out was "I (gasp) 'erd (gasp) Peachtree (gasp) hard (gasp gasp)")  After a moment he said "This is harder than Peachtree."  I guess that is encouraging, as everyone says that Cardiac Hill in the middle of the Peachtree Road Race is really tough.  We stayed together for awhile and chatted a little going downhill, although I don't really remember much of what we said.  The highlight was the 4-mile mark: the word "MOTIVATION" on a picture of a man running through a swamp chased by a fierce grizzly bear!  9:30 for the fourth mile, 36:04 elapsed.

Mile 5:  I had thought that the return trip would be a little easier and gentler in the uphill sections.  I was wrong.  I had to slow down again on the hill, and the friendly runner moved ahead of me - I never caught up with him again.  Several other runners began to pass me, and I just made sure that I ran in a straight line so that I didn't get in their way.  I was monitoring my pulse rate and trying to stay at 160 bpm.  But I did pass one young woman who was walking up the hill.  Finally I reached the top of the hill, and accepted a cup of water from the same volunteer as before, now working the other side of the road.  I could take only a couple of sips of water, threw the rest out in front of me, and somehow my right shoulder got soaked.  But at least we were now going downhill.  I was able to speed up a bit, but the young woman pulled ahead of me on my right.  I started looking for the turnaround for the 5K race, which would mark the 7.5 kilometer point for me.  When I finally reached it, it sank in that I still had more than two kilometers to go, and I was already winded.  Even going downhill, my pulse rate was at 161 - 162 bpm, and then there was another hill, so I had to slow down.  But the young woman was walking again, and I passed her once more.  Reaching the top of the hill, I spotted the 5-mile marker, which was a picture of a longhorn bull, and then I could read "Keep mooooving".  9:36 for the fifth mile, 45:40 elapsed. 

Mile 6:  From my study of the elevation map, it had appeared to me that there were no more significant hills for the rest of the route.  But those 20-foot hills were significant obstacles for me at this late stage of the race.  The young woman passed me again going downhill.  I wasn't until I reached the 9 km alert that I realized how badly I had slowed down: 51:25 elapsed.  Even though it would now be completely impossible to finish in less than 56 minutes, I picked up my knees and focused on form as I started to head uphill again.  Then a miracle occurred: the young woman ahead of me had to pull off to the median to tie her shoe.  As I ran past, I resolved that she was NOT going to catch me again.  I kept focusing on form and my breathing cadence, and began picking up some speed.  As I approached what I hoped would be the last hill, I recognized Bonnie up ahead.  She had hoped to finish the 5K before I finished my 10K, and I was a little disappointed for her when I realized that would not happen.  I could have slowed down and jogged or fast-walked the rest of the way with her.  I did call to her as I approached "How are you doing Bonnie?"  She replied "I'm great!"  So being an competitive guy, I decided to run past her, putting on a bit more speed as I focused on form (and maybe showing off a bit?).  As I reached the top of the hill, I could see the intersection of Piedmont with Sandy Plains Road up ahead, and then the turn into the L.A. Fitness parking lot, where the finish line awaited.

The finish:  I could hear footsteps behind me, which I assumed were from the young woman who had passed me several times earlier in the race.  I made the left turn into the entrance ramp to the parking lot (downhill!), then a sharp hairpin loop into the lot itself.  In addition to staying ahead of the runner behind me, I started to close up the distance between the runner in front of me.  Another left turn now running parallel to Piedmont Road, through the starting area.  Where was that finish line?  Then another left turn, where I clipped the pylon with my left leg trying to make the turn as sharply as possible, and there it was, the FINISH!  I was a tiny bit disappointed to see 57 minutes on the clock (but at least it wasn't 60!) and I put every last bit of energy into the finish.  I nearly caught up with the runner in front of me and was definitely not passed!  I saw the camerawoman on the other side of the finish line and raised my arms with a couple of victory pumps as I crossed the finish.   

Bonnie's finish

Whew!  I slowed down and then stopped to let the last volunteer remove the label at the bottom of my bib, and checked the heart rate monitor.  175 bpm.  Above the maximum rate, although I felt alright.  Fortunately my pulse quickly dropped to 143 when I checked it next, after I picked up a bottle of water and a banana.  I went back to the finish line just in time to photograph Bonnie.  My official time was 57:23.  That was two minutes slower than my personal record in the Charles Harris 10K in February, but at least I finished in less than an hour.  The winner was the same young guy that I had seen earlier, who finished in 35:27. 

Splits per mile: 8:31, 8:49, 9:14, 9:30, 9:36, 9:43.

Splits per kilometer: 5:15, 5:25, 5:27, 5:51, 5:36, 5:44, 6:10, 5:56, 6:01, 5:43.

I was a little disappointed to slow down with each mile, but I did find an extra burst of speed at the end.  I also felt a little stronger at the end of the race compared with the other 10Ks that I've done.  We celebrated with a late breakfast at the Marietta Diner before heading home to shower and recover. 

http://www.fivestarntp.com/Memorial_Day_5K_10K.html

May 24, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, Week 7

Goal: 4 mile run in hilly neighborhood

Memorial Day weekend typically begins the summer season, and the weather certainly feels like summer now.  The temperature this morning was a comfortable 68 degrees F, but at least 10 degrees warmer than previous Saturday mornings.  After thoroughly stretching and warming up, we set out on a route exclusively through residential Brookhaven, working our way around the Oglethorpe University campus for the first and last stages of our run. 

Miles in magenta

Rob was out of town this week, so the coach for today's fastest group was Chuck, a recently retired Georgia Tech professor and veteran of a couple of dozen Peachtree Road Races.  With three students in our group, our quartet led the way through a loop around the Town Brookhaven mall, then left at the traffic circle with Hermance Drive.  After a very short downhill section, we began going uphill, with the top of the hill coinciding with the 1 mile mark shortly after we turned east on Windsor Parkway.  Afterwards I checked the elevations and learned that was a 25 meter hill, but while we were fresh, that wasn't too difficult.  (For comparison, the infamous Cardiac Hill on Peachtree is 35 meters high, and begins shortly before the end of the third mile of the Peachtree Road Race.) 

We turned right onto Woodrow Way, and taking advantage of the downhill section of the route, I lengthened my stride and pulled in front of the other runners.  It felt really good to lightly lope downhill, with a gentle enough grade to stay in control while running at my maximum speed.  At the bottom of the hill, we turned left onto Lanier Drive, a nice boulevard.  The route headed uphill, but at a more gentle grade.  The other runners caught up with me at the turn, and we were able to talk a bit while running on Lanier.  

As promised, there was a case of bottled water marking the end of 2 miles, our halfway point.  We turned right to loop around the school in a counterclockwise direction.  There were a couple of relatively steep downhill sections on the loop, and I slowed down a bit to ensure that I didn't lose my footing.  But as we turned south, away from the lake, we were "rewarded" with a 15 meter hill, a 6% grade and the steepest hill of the route.  Curt caught up with us at this stage and took photographs of us laboring uphill.  We retraced part of our route southward along Lanier, turning right at Windsor Parkway.  Because of some traffic, I was running on the sidewalk whereas the others were on the asphalt roadway.  I covered a few extra meters in this section because the sidewalk was not perfectly parallel to the street, but pleasantly curved and shaded.  Shortly before crossing Woodrow Way, we had passed the 3 mile mark.  We knew that the rest of the route was net downhill, with just one mile to go! 

As we made the left turn onto Hermance Drive, I realized that we had lost one of our group.  I had not wanted to spend the energy looking all the way behind me earlier, but on a turn I only had to swivel my head 90 degrees.  Hopefully the following group picked him up.  So it was just a trio at the end, enjoying the long downhill run.  This time I didn't try to pull ahead of the others, and I doubt that I had the energy to do so even if I had tried.  I started looking for the traffic circle, but we passed a couple of small intersections before I saw it, on top of a 10 meter hill!  Remember that very short downhill section in the beginning?  It wasn't that short on the return leg, and I soon lagged at least 10 meters behind coach Chuck and the other student.  But we turned into the traffic circle and into the mall, and we all dashed (relatively speaking) to the entrance to the Publix garage to complete 4 miles total.  We were all soaked with sweat but we had definitely had a good run.  I signed in at the Atlanta Track Club table and picked up a banana, but realized that I had better keep walking to cool down gradually.  After walking to the end of the garage and heading back, I felt my heart rate returning to a slower rhythm.  

Our splits per mile: 9:32, 9:17, 9:39, and 8:58!  4.06 miles covered in 37:59.  It had felt like a hillier route than last week, although there wasn't much difference when I compared elevation maps afterward.  I guess it was the higher temperature today along with the additional half-mile that felt tougher than last week, but overall we ran exactly the same average pace as last week, 9:21 per mile.   

I'm glad that we're gradually acclimating to warmer weather, and the commitment to the training course undoubtably helps.  By July 4, we'll be very lucky if the temperature is below 70 deg F at the start! 

May 17, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, Week 8

Goal: 3.5 miles at consistent pace

Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of our wedding!  We celebrated at the Capital Grill in Buckhead.  We did pretty well, not overeating too badly, although we certainly did enjoy our evening.  A couple behind us was celebrating their 10th, and then at the table in front of us, we witnessed a marriage proposal.  Fortunately for the guy, she said yes! Both families were present, but most, perhaps all of them did not know the future groom's plan for the evening. 

Back to running.  With the benefit of a little restraint last night, I was definitely ready to run this morning.  I had finished a slow 3.5 mile training run on Tuesday evening in 85 deg warmth, but the weather cooled off later in the week, and this morning it was below 50 deg when we began our run shortly after 8 am.  This might be the last week that we will have a cool morning, and it was a great change from the Tuesday evening run.  

Kilometers in blue, miles in magenta

This week Curt planned our route to explore the Brookhaven neighborhood, a pleasant change from simply running up and down Peachtree.  Rob proposed a pace where we would speed up a bit from the first to the second to the third mile.  However, I was pretty sure that we would be encountering some hills on today's run, so I wasn't sure how that would work out.  

We got off to a good start, working around a few walkers in the mall parking lot, but we were out in front shortly after we got out onto Peachtree Road.  The sky was a beautiful light blue, without a single cloud ahead of us.  Our pace was comfortable, and one other student was running with Rob and I.  She has registered for the New York City Marathon on November 2, and is clearly an experienced long-distance runner.  With the road noise, I couldn't hear the RunHelper alerts very well, although I knew that our average pace was just under 6 min/km, so I was satisfied with the speed.  After we turned right into the Brookhaven neighborhood on Osborne Road, the road was gently downhill, as we ran past several new developments to our left.  The sidewalk was rather winding and we ran single-file most of the way.  We passed a small handwritten sign reading "You are awesome!" - however that was probably directed to a recent high school graduate residing at that address.  This part of the run was easy, and we were talking when we were able to run close to or next to each other.  At the bottom of the hill, which was the 1 mile point, we turned left onto Fuller Road.  This was the only stretch without a sidewalk so we ran together for this block.  All of the homes here are relatively new and rather identical, although it is a nice and shady neighborhood.  At the end of Fuller Road we ran uphill for a short distance, then turned left on Mabry Road at the top end of Fuller.  (This was the 2 km mark.)  

The first part of Mabry was downhill, a little steeper than the easy downhill section earlier in the run on Osborne.  Rob reviewed technique on running down hills and up hills, as we reached the bottom of the hill.  As the road curved to the left, we began the first significant uphill section.  I picked up my knees and focused on technique, standing tall and leaning forward just a bit, and moved ahead strongly.  Although I didn't mean to leave the others behind, I was interested in maintaining the pace if possible.  By standing tall and picking up my knees, I felt energized.  I remembered what Dave Martinez at Big Peach had said in the Good Form Running course last summer: standing tall allows more air to go into the lungs and often gives a surge of energy.  That really works!  Shortly after reaching the top of the hill, Rob caught up with me, and we ran downhill together to the intersection with Brookhaven Drive, where we turned left past a case of water marking the halfway point (1-3/4 miles).  No water for me this week!  (No worries with the cool temperature.)

We were now running past the golf course of the Brookhaven Country Club, admiring the beautifully manicured grass when we could peek through the shrubs guarding the course from the middle class.  As we reached the two mile mark, the road curved left toward Peachtree Road.  But Curt had warned us that we would be going the other way!  I probably would have missed that if Rob had not moved ahead to coax us to the right, away from the short cut.  For some reason the name Rosie Ruiz came to mind!  The road was very nicely shaded, but also uphill.  I was starting to notice some fatigue and was careful not to push too hard, but with some attention to technique I made it to the top at a decent pace.  Now we could make a left turn, crest the hill, and see Peachtree Road ahead.  In the final stretch of Brookhaven Drive, Rob mentioned that the houses in this neighborhood are in the single figures (millions, of course), and I gasped said "If only money was no object!"  

I could not remember if it would be level or downhill once we got onto Peachtree Road, although we had run that section in our very first week of training.  This area of Peachtree (at the 4 km mark) has quite a few nice shops and small shopping centers, where North Druid Hills Road and Dresden Road meet Peachtree, with the MARTA station on the other side of the road.  First there is a big Kroger across the street, then comes the Brookhaven Station shopping center on the left side of the street.  We pass Sugar Shack (haven't been there in awhile) and Sherlock's Wine Merchant, then I start looking ahead for the Town Center Mall.  We reach the three mile mark as I realize that we're in the midst of a gradual uphill stage.  I had never before appreciated that this was not level.  As he passed me, Rob said "This hill is deceiving."  It was not level.  

Rob was opening an interval of 5 meters on me, then he looked back and slowed down a step to check on me.  I passed him as he was looking back at the runners behind me.  I picked up my feet and found a reserve of energy to gradually increase my speed.  We approached the intersection with Osborne Road, where the light was red.  As Rob caught up with me, I thought, at least I'll have a moment to stop while we wait for the light to turn green.  I started to slow down as we reached the corner and Rob went out in front of me.  Just as I was about to stop at the corner, Rob dashed out into the intersection and I realized that the walk light was on.  No break!  We pushed forward, passing a few other walkers and runners along the way.  Then Rob said "It's downhill the rest of the way."  I tried to speed up, and gradually managed to take advantage of the gentle downhill to keep up with Rob.  We caught the walk signal at Kendrick Road, then I saw the signage for the Town Center Mall.  At Town Blvd, we were lucky with the timing again with the walk signal, and I followed Rob into the mall.  Right turn and the final 50 meters to the Publix Garage.  I slowed down to make the sharp right turn into the garage, Rob ran to the entrance and held up his hand for a high-five as we finished our runs.  

Although the overall pace was slower than last week, we did more hill work today, which was definitely good practice for the Peachtree Road Race.  

Duration: 33:48 minutes; distance: 3.61 miles / 5.81 km; average pace 9:21 per mile / 5:48 per km 

Splits:  5:50, 6:06, 5:48, 5:50, 5:34 per km; est'd 5:45 pace for final 0.81 km

            9:28, 9:34, 9:14 per mile; est'd 9:10 pace for final 0.61 mile

May 10, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, Week 9

Goal: 3 miles at consistent pace

After a warm week, a rainstorm yesterday dropped the temperature into the low 60's overnight, and the weather was cool and cloudy this morning.  The rain was holding off until the afternoon.  In other words, a perfect day for running!  The session began with a nutrition seminar, about the importance of staying hydrated, fueling with the appropriate mix of carbohydrates and proteins before working out and during recovery after a long run or hard race, and the importance of not eating more than the exercise is burning off, if weight loss is a goal.  We then spent about 5 minutes with warm up exercises.  Those felt really good, and starting the run was not difficult.  The route was the same as last week's, except this time everyone would be going to the turnaround point to complete a 3-mile walk or run.

There were four runners in Rob's group today.  He aimed for a 9:00 minute per mile pace.  Curt, our head coach, was dashing ahead of us to take photos as we left the parking area, up the hill on Hermance Drive, and then left onto Peachtree Road, heading northeast on the sidewalk facing traffic.  I mentioned to one of the other runners in our group that "I don't mind when a younger runner passes me, but it's humiliating to be passed by an older runner!"  Once we reached Peachtree, there were occasional solo runners on the sidewalk.  Shortly after passing Oglethorpe University, we crossed paths with another running group, so we were running single-file for part of the distance.  This stretch of Peachtree is rather stark, with a high concrete wall on our left, the busy roadway to our right, and the MARTA track across the street.  In fact there isn't even a continuous sidewalk on the south side of the street.  I settled in a few steps behind Rob and one other student, M.  Once again Rob was maintaining a steady pace.  We covered the first kilometer in 5:41, and the second in 5:26.  We only had to stop at one traffic light (I paused RunHelper for the moment).  I was able to manage the gentle uphill sections quite well by picking up my knees a bit more, and was pleasantly bouncing along on springy feet.  During the week 11 seminar, we were told that Meb Keflezighi is in the air 70% of the time when he runs.  I felt like I might be in the air 50% in that section, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking.  Before long, we had reached the turnaround point, at the fork at which Peachtree Road splits off and the main route continues as Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.  This was just past the alert for 2.25 km, about 13 minutes into the run.

Coach Curt dashed out in front of us to get this photo at the beginning of our run.  I'm certain that I was already running at 90% of my maximum speed. 

As the sports nutritionist had stressed the importance of taking water before we felt thirsty, I dutifully picked up a bottle of water at the turnaround.  I took a swig, then to my dismay I realized that I would have to carry that 16.9 fl. oz. bottle of water all the way back.  I took a couple more sips on the way back, but it was definitely a mistake to pick up the water given the relatively short distance, at least without wearing a water belt to comfortably put the bottle away.

Rob held back near the turnaround to check on the other runners behind us, so M. led the group for the next kilometer.  She maintained a steady pace and I followed a few meters behind, not falling behind but not pulling ahead either.  I didn't want to turn this into a race that I might not win, and a 5:30 per km pace was about right for me, to have a good workout without running out of gas before reaching the finish.  At the intersection shortly before reaching Oglethorpe College, Rob caught up with us (seemingly effortlessly), to get everyone through the crosswalk safely.  We came across the other running group, and I will confess to some smugness at passing the runners in that group on the way back.

It was nice to see landmarks as we neared the end of our run, first the Gothic building of Oglethorpe University along Peachtree Road, then the tower of Brown Mackie College at the entrance to Town Brookhaven.  Rob caught up with us again before we reached Hermance Drive, where we turned right and up a hill that was a little tough in the fifth kilometer, then a long downhill stretch toward the Costco parking lot.  After safely making the left turn into the shopping center, Rob sharply increased the pace, to encourage us to race to the finish line, as we would in a real race.  Fortunately I still had a little energy in reserve, and managed to keep up with Rob and M. into the Publix garage.  4.75 km (2.95 mi) in 25:56, with an average pace of 5:27 per km (8:47 per mi).  However, that final sprint was tough, and we were pouring sweat as we checked in.  I opened the bottle of water that I had been carrying and drank heavily, then grabbed a banana, just as the next runners were arriving.  After my pulse had slowed, I remembered to stretch.

Although I was a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't cover a full five kilometers, the speed was a nice improvement.  The difference per kilometer was relatively small, but overall this was a full minute faster for the comparable distance covered last week, and I didn't slow down at the end unlike last week.  Splits: 5:41, 5:26, 5:30, 5:26, and est'd 5:12 for the final 3/4 kilometer (per mile at 9:01, 8:48, and est'd 8:32).

After Rob was satisfied that I had recovered, we chatted a bit about race strategy, and my consistent problem with starting out much too fast, but then being passed by lots of runners in the second half of races.  This was a big problem in the Charles Harris 10K in February.  To achieve even splits, and perhaps negative splits in a race, he suggested a strategy of finding a good runner in the first mile or two to keep up with, someone who was running my desired pace (not necessarily the pace that I could run at the start), and letting others pass me in the beginning.  By the middle of the race, I would likely begin passing some of those runners who had started out too quickly, and that would give me motivation to keep up a good pace later in the race, and I would still have some energy reserves for the final push.

Goal: 3 miles at consistent pace: 2.95 miles at 8:47 ± 0:15 per mile.  That counts as goal achieved in my book. 

May 3, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, Week 10

Goal: to continue to improve (too generic?)

This was a funny week: I managed a slow 5K training run on Tuesday evening between rainstorms, and started physical therapy on the right shoulder on Wednesday morning.  The stretching in PT helped with soreness in the short term, and I'm continuing most of the exercises at home, but there has been more pain at night.  I wasn't able to start my scheduled run early on Thursday morning.  For some reason the soles of my feet were hurting when I woke up, although that improved with one more hour in bed.  So far that has been my worst deviation from the Peachtree training program, but as things transpired this morning, I think that the extra rest day was helpful.

Today was the second Saturday of the training course.  There was a 5K in the same neighborhood at the same time, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, organized at the Big Peach Running Company.  (I will plan to run this one next year, as my father appreciated their support when he was successfully treated for lymphoma in 2002.)  Our head coach, Curt, had warned us in e-mails this week of potential traffic jams, but upon arriving at the site at 7:15 am, it only took a couple of extra minutes to drive to the Publix parking garage.  For some reason, today's group was much smaller, perhaps fewer than half of those present for week 1.  I stretched out pretty well while we were waiting to begin.  Curt reminded us of the safety rules, introduced the coaches again, and then we split up into smaller groups and started on our runs.

The temperature at the start was in the low 50's, cool but in fact perfect for a morning run, and once we started running, I was completely comfortable.  I was the only one running with Rocket Rob today.  He set a 9:30 minute per mile pace, and to avoid the organized 5K race, we went outbound on Peachtree, to the northeast.  At the start, Rob asked me how far I would like to go, and I suggested that we try for 5K (last week we covered 4.75 km).

The sidewalk in this direction was in better condition than our route last week, and there were fewer other runners in this area, so Rob and I were able to run two abreast for most of the way.  Rob kept up a steady conversation for most of the run.  He later told me that he was talking to keep track of my stamina.  If I had been unable to reply, he probably would have slowed the pace for my safety.

Running along Peachtree Road.  Brookhaven Country Club is hidden away on the other side of the trees.

Last week we didn't reach the  turnaround point before 13 minutes had passed, but today we reached the turnaround sign, at 13 minutes sharp.  We turned back, as a few of the other runners in the second group pressed a hundred steps more to the turnaround point.  As we returned to the shopping center, Rob stretched our run for one more block and back, to ensure that we covered 5K.  According to RunHelper, we covered 5.42 km in 30:45, an average pace of 5:40 per km, 9:08 per mile.

The best part was when I checked the splits.  I had managed a more consistent pace than ever before: 5:38, 5:44, 5:30, 5:34, and 5:42 per kilometer; 9:06, 9:00, 8:58 per mile.  Now I see the advantage of running with a partner.  Thanks to Rob for setting a consistent pace!  Hopefully I can begin to manage this on my own or in a race, now that I've found a good starting pace.

Goal: to continue to improve:  Achieved a consistent pace!  5.42 km in 30:45