September 27, 2014: Winship Win the Fight 5K redux

Goal:  To beat last year's time of 28:22

Today is the Winship "Win the Fight" 5K in support of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University.  This is where my serious running began, nearly one year ago (Oct. 5, 2013).  This is the first race that I have now run twice.  Last year I was not experienced at running and my hope was just to finish under 30 minutes - and I would be satisfied to finish.  Getting caught up in the exhilaration of my first 5K, I finished in 28:22 in 2013, and became a running addict at the moment that I passed under the finish banner!  Bonnie also started running a few months later, and today she joins me on the Winship course, doing her eighth 5K.  

With quite a bit more experience under my belt this year, I was confident that I could beat last year's time, but was unsure how well I might do relative to my personal record (25:23), as the Winship course is the hilliest of all of the 5Ks that I've run.  It's ironic that my first 5K was on the most difficult course! 

Altitude profile for the Winship 5K.  After a short downhill stretch at the start, we run about one mile, rising from 860 ft to 988 ft in elevation.  This is practically identical to Cardiac Hill, mile 4 of the Peachtree Road Race! 

I decided that I would identify markers along the route for a 25 minute pace, and set my race tracker on my phone to alert every 5 minutes.  Thus I hoped to clear the Emory traffic circle within 5 minutes (km 1 on the map), make the turn onto Haygood Road before 10 minutes (km 2), reach Sorority Row very soon after 15 minutes (2 mile mark), pass the Emory Bookstore / Starbucks at 20 minutes (km 4), and then try not to slow down too badly going in the last part of the third mile before the finish.  Even if I didn't finish in 25 minutes, I felt that I could at least get close to all of the markers, and that would help me to achieve my best possible time.  Although the weather was cool this morning (64 degrees F at the start) and the distance would only be 5K, I elected to wear a water belt.  Having suffered unpleasant "dry mouth" in the second half of the Atlanta's Finest 5K in August, I wasn't going to make that mistake again.  And the water belt doesn't feel like I'm carrying any extra weight. 

The race route: mile markers in magenta, kilometers in blue.  The race begins down Dickey Drive, takes a left onto Eagle Row and another left onto Oxford Road, through the Emory Village traffic circle, shortly before km 1.  The route then progresses steadily uphill on North Decatur Road past the mile 1 marker, reaching the peak after a sharp left turn onto Haygood Road, in front of Druid Hills High School.  Circling counterclockwise around campus, we run a second time on the stretch from Dickey Drive to the Emory Village traffic circle, then entering through the main gate to campus, uphill to approach the hospital, and then making a left turn heading downhill and then mostly level to the finish. 

In the weeks since the Big Peach Sizzler on September 1, the summer weather has ended and the mornings are now pleasantly cool.  When we left the house this morning, the cloud cover was heavy, and on the drive to Emory, there were fog droplets on the windshield.  We parked and walked through light drizzle to McDonough Field near the center of campus, where the runners were gathering.  As this was a fundraiser for cancer research, the pre-race speakers included several emotional and inspirational messages, reminding me of my father and maternal grandfather who had died of cancer in 2005 and 1978, respectively, as well as my mother-in-law who has not only survived but has had a complete remission and is thriving some 10 years after her bout with cancer. 

Shortly before 8:30, we made our way to the starting line.  Last year I had taken a modest position in the middle of the field and found myself behind a bunch of walkers, so this year I lined up quite a bit closer to the starting line.  The drizzle had stopped, but the announcer encouraged us to take the turns carefully as the pavement was damp.  With about one minute to go, I took a quick sip of water, and had just put away the water bottle when we got our signal to "get set", and then the gun sounded without delay.  

Mile 1:  It took less than 15 seconds to get to the starting line, and then we were off!  We made a right turn shortly after the start, and headed downhill toward Peavine Creek.  I was sailing down the street, reminding myself not to press too hard this early in the race.  The road leveled out as we reached the chemistry building.  When we made the turn onto Eagle Row, we had to work our way around a large truck that had somehow made its way onto campus before being stopped by the police guarding the race route.  On the positive side there were many volunteers and a few spectators cheering us on.  As we turned uphill toward the Emory Village traffic circle, I stole a look at my timer and saw 4 minutes elapsed.  I was pleased that I didn't hear the 5 minute alert until shortly after we had passed the traffic circle and were on North Decatur Road.  Right on track with the plan!  However the road was steadily uphill and so I definitely slowed down, as some runners passed me.  Surprisingly, this did not bother me nearly as much as it did in last year's race, now that I appreciate the value of conserving some energy early in the race.  Last year the Druid Hills High School Spirit Band was entertaining runners in front of the Schwartz Center shortly before we reached Clifton Road, but today all was quiet.  Shortly after passing the Law School, I saw the mile 1 marker.  Mile 1 in 8:14.  

Mile 2:  I didn't hear the audio alert for 10 minutes but as I made the turn onto Haygood Road, I could see that my timer was already reading 10 minutes and some seconds.  But I wasn't too disappointed to slightly miss the second mark, given that we had run uphill for the better part of a mile.  I knew that I could make up some ground on the downhill sections ahead.  The water stop was in front of Druid Hills High School, but most of us passed by the water stop.  It was a relief to reach the crest of the hill, and I knew from training runs that this would be the highest point of the race.  I was happy with my overall progress at this stage of the race.  Shortly before we reached Clifton Road, there was a speed monitor along the side of the road to inform drivers if they were adhering to or exceeding the 30 mph speed limit.  I had not expected that the monitor could detect people running, and was excited to see "7" flashing as we reached and then passed the monitor.  7 mph could translate to a 25 minute finish.  As we approached Clifton Road I could see 13 minutes elapsed on my timer.  Even though the road was downhill again, I was wondering how far I could get before we reached 15 minutes, and the alert sounded before we reached Sorority Row.  But soon after the alert we went over a small hill and around a small curve in the road, and there was a large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators in front of Sorority Row cheering us on, and the Spirit Band was playing.  There were no runners to my right so I was able to give some of the spectators hand slaps as I ran past.  The last hand slap actually gave my right shoulder a twinge (still a little muscle damage remains from the broken collarbone in April) but I also rocketed forward as I cleared the spectators.  When I checked afterwards,  I had reached 9 mph in this section!  16:19 at the 2-mile mark. 

Mile 3 began with a long downhill run toward Peavine Creek.  This would be my last chance to make up any time, and I was able to maintain a great pace in this stage of the race.  I remembered that I was quite tired by this point last year, but today I felt that I still had a bit of reserve and that I might even gain some regenerative energy heading downhill.  Turning onto Oxford Road, I saw that my timer was at 19 minutes, so indeed I had made up a little time.  The 20 minute alert sounded as I approached the Emory Bookstore / Starbuck's, so I was only a few seconds behind my "dream pace" at this stage of the race.  In the time since we had first passed through this area, several cars had parked in front of the Bookstore and we had to work past the 'obstacles' although truthfully I don't think it slowed anyone down.  Now the tough part of the race was coming: uphill into the Emory Village traffic circle, uphill through the main gate onto campus, then a right turn and more uphill behind the campus church.  As I was slowing down anyway, I took a sip from the water bottle and squirted some water on the back of my neck, to fortify myself for the steepest part of the race to come.  Left at the Rich Building and immediately right, then up the steep hill between Woodruff Library and Goizueta Business School.  Last year this stage reduced me to a walk: this year I managed to run uphill without dropping below 5 mph.  Then, the long-awaited left turn and downhill to the finish!  I didn't manage to speed up as much as I wished and actually did better when the road leveled out.  As I reached the 3 mile marker, shortly before Asbury Circle, I heard the 25 minute alert.  According to my tracker, I reached the 3-mile mark at 24:55. 

The finish:  I knew that I was definitely going to smash my old time, but I probably wasn't going to set a personal record.  But given the hilliness of the course, that was nothing to be disappointed about.  I pushed myself as hard as I could toward the finish line.  As we crossed Asbury Circle, I finally saw the banner marking the finish and saw 25 minutes and 30-something seconds on the clock.  The seconds seemed to race forward, faster than I was running, but I wasn't going to let that clock pass 25:59!  I don't remember any of the other runners or seeing or hearing spectators as I put every last calorie of energy into the finish.  I was focused on watching the clock and running as fast as I could manage.  The last number I saw was 25:57 as I reached the finish line!   

I accepted a bottle of water and a banana but kept walking for two or three minutes to allow my pulse to slow a bit.  Finally I managed to open the water bottle and eat the banana as I returned to the finish line.  I walked back along the last several hundred yards of the race to wait for Bonnie at the top of the hill.  I managed to get several good photos as she worked her way up the hill - and I was really happy for her that there were a lot of people behind her!  I raced back to the finish line to get a last photo of her crossing the finish line, but was unable to get the best position and as I saw her approach the line, some guy stepped in front of me and I had to move to get a shot - hence her finishing photo was a little blurry, but the time is visible - and she also set a personal record today! 

Metric splits by kilometer:  4:48, 5:31, 4:54, 4:49, 5:32.  Km 2 and 5 had long uphill stretches, so overall that felt pretty consistent.  The mile splits were 8:14, 8:05, and 8:36. 

Goal:  To beat last year's time of 28:22:  Achieved!  Official time 25:44, third best for me in the 5K distance.  

That time may qualify me again for wave C in the Peachtree Road Race, if the same time standards are used in 2015 (under 25:54). 

Next race: Cartersville 10K, October 4.

Links:   Winship 5K       Results        Video

September 6, 2014: Preparing for the Winship Cancer Center 5K; Fundraising

Three weeks from today, I'll be running a 5K on and around the Emory University campus, in a fundraiser for the Winship Cancer Institute (WCI).  As a designated cancer center of the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, WCI activities feature a large number of clinical trials of new therapies, and an extensive ongoing program in research, prevention, and education.  I'm affiliated with the Discovery and Developmental Therapy program at WCI, and my laboratory has enjoyed several collaborations with WCI biomedical scientists over the past 15 years.

If you have enjoyed reading this blog, and you're interested in supporting research and patient care at a leading center for cancer treatment, I encourage you to consider a donation to the WCI, through the link on the right side of this page.  This will also connect you to information about the Winship Cancer Institute, including opportunities to direct your donation to the treatment of a specific type of cancer.  You will also have an opportunity to make your gift in honor of someone dear to you, if you wish.

In terms of my own health, the Winship "Win the Fight" 5K in 2013 was my first race, and the race that led to sixteen additional races over the past year.  I now run, on average, 10 - 15 miles per week, and my cardiovascular health has improved quite substantially.  A good run also does wonders for my mood.  I've enjoyed discovering many areas of metro Atlanta on foot, with the Beltline and the circuit of Stone Mountain among my favorite places to run.

This semester, I'm teaching a small graduate-level course (11 students enrolled).  I'm encouraging the students to run or walk the Winship 5K this year as a "class bonding experience".  I've offered to make a small contribution to the WCI for each student that registers.  To make things a bit more interesting, I've also promised to make an additional donation under the name of each student in the timed race that "beats the professor's best chip time", at the rate of $1 for every 10 seconds faster than my best time.  Hopefully most of them will take up the challenge, although it happens that the Winship 5K will be run three days before the first midterm exam in my class (unfortunate timing...).

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance to donors!  All gifts are welcome, large or small.

Frank McDonald

https://winshipcancer.emory.edu

September 1, 2014: The Big Peach Sizzler 10K

Goal: to run consistent splits, to have enough energy left for a strong finish.

Goal: to improve on my personal record of 55:29

The first Monday of September is Labor Day, a national holiday, and traditionally marks the end of summer and the beginning of the school year in many areas.  At Emory we started classes last week (Wednesday Aug 27) and the public schools in our area began earlier in August.  As Labor Day is still three weeks ahead of the autumn equinox, it's generally still quite warm, but in Atlanta summer temperatures will now gradually begin to drop and the next two months are often quite nice.  

In the Atlanta running community, there are a large number of athletic events on Labor Day weekend including many 5K races, some 10K distances and even one 20K race.  I decided some time ago to run the Big Peach Sizzler, a 10K race sponsored by the Big Peach Running Company and a fundraiser for a cystic fibrosis foundation, Miles for Cystic Fibrosis.  Our main research project at this time focuses on a naturally occurring compound, brevenal.  Brevenal was first discovered as an antidote for red tide toxin poisoning, but was subsequently found to improve lung function in an animal model for cystic fibrosis, by thinning the lung mucus and increasing tracheal mucus velocity, essentially helping to clear the breathing passages.  Although we are not working specifically on cystic fibrosis, but instead working toward a better way of preparing brevenal, it was interesting to realize the connection between our research project and the fundraiser for this race.

Getting back to the race, the Big Peach Sizzler offers a "super-fast" course.  I've become a little jaded about courses that are advertised as "fast", sort of like a store that offers low prices.  But from the elevation map, the hills would be gently rolling and not too severe, so I could see the basis for the advertisement.  The main concern would be the temperature (72 deg F at the start) and the humidity.  In fact the finisher's shirt from a previous year's race boasted of "Heat, Hills, and Humidity".  We were advised to hydrate thoroughly before the race.  In addition to following that advice in the day before the race, this time I wore a water belt with 16 ounces of cool water.  I calculated that I would need to maintain a pace of 8:50 per mile to finish in 55 minutes.  I would listen for alerts every 0.2 miles, aiming for an average of 1:46 per alert. 

The race route began at the Chamblee MARTA station.  We gathered on Peachtree Road (a street parallel to and a block south of Peachtree Boulevard).  Although the announced starting time was 7:30 am, we were a bit delayed in starting.  Even with the delay, this is always a fun time especially with a large field, absorbing the energy of a thousand other runners preparing for their individual races.  I took a spot about 100 feet behind the starting line, but when one of the runners around me talked about a range of finishing times from 43 minutes to 50 minutes, I realized that I would need to be careful not to try to keep up with him at the start.  I did decide not to move back, but stayed to the right side of the group.  Finally the announcement was made that we would start in 60 seconds.  I took a sip of water, poured a little on the back of my neck, and put the bottle away.  The conversation died down as everyone got ready.  Then the quiet of the morning was shattered by a shot, and we were off!  

The starting line was relatively narrow and I even bumped into a fellow runner shortly before reaching the line, although no harm was done and we made our way over the starting line without incident, for me about 15 seconds after the official start.  Once we crossed the line, everyone around me was running at a reasonable pace, even though the field was crowded.  I was pretty careful to take it easy as I didn't want to be in a fall at the start, or to accidentally cause someone else to trip over me.  It took only a few minutes to get to the main drag on Peachtree Boulevard, where we had three lanes reserved for our race.  It's always an exciting feeling to make a turn and see a mass of hundreds of other runners, all focused on the same activity.  When I think about it after the race, I realize that most of those runners finished ahead of me, but that thought never really comes up while I'm running, just the thrill of being in the mix.  We reached the mile 1 marker at 8:50, exactly as I had hoped.  From the published elevation map, I already knew that this was the highest point of the route.  I was feeling strong and running well.

The race route.

The second mile took me into familiar ground, from the Peachtree-In-Training program in the spring, where we took at least two runs to Johnson Ferry Road and back in the first few weeks.  I ran past the first water station (in fact I think that the children offering water were a little disappointed that they didn't have many takers early in the race) and after clearing the station I took my first sip of water.  There were a few hills in this area but having run here before, I had confidence that the road ahead would not be too difficult.  I was quite satisfied to see that the mile 2 marker came quickly, at 17:38, 8:48 for the second mile.  Right on schedule. 

Shortly after the two mile mark, I heard a loud curse from a man ahead of me on the sidewalk, and realized that he was a runner who had just suffered an injury of some kind.  He was walking, so for the moment he was still ambulatory, although I had a feeling that he must have realized that his injury was fairly serious and that he would not be able to finish.  We continued past, with the hope that he could get any necessary assistance from some of the volunteers along the route.  The campus of Oglethorpe University was a familiar landmark in the Peachtree training course, followed by the Town Center shopping area that was home base in our course, and also the site of the Brookhaven store for Big Peach.  The Cinebistro movie theater is also in this development.  When we reached the mile 3 marker, my time was 26:46, 9:08 for the third mile.  I was disappointed to be slowing down a bit, but I was watching my heart rate monitor and knew from experience that I wouldn't be able to push at the end if I let my heart rate rise too high earlier in the race.  But I was hoping that I could run without slowing down any further, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make up the time with a push at the end.  I was still hoping for a finish in 55 minutes or slightly less.  After passing the next water station, I took another sip from my own bottle, and poured a little more water on the back of my neck.  That definitely helped.  

The next part of the road was fairly well developed, as we approached the Brookhaven MARTA station between the intersections of Dresden Drive and North Druid Hills Road.  There were several spectators along the road to cheer us on.  But as we passed the station, I started to feel the hot sun on my back.  Afterwards when I looked at the map, I realized that the road took a turn directly to the west at this stage, so it wasn't my imagination that I was heating up.  I sipped more water and poured more on my neck whenever I needed it.  We reached Club Drive at mile 4, at 36:11 and 9:25 for the fourth mile.  I was definitely starting to feel tired, but tried to buoy my spirits by remembering the training runs in this part of town.  

At this stage, we entered Fulton County and the city of Atlanta.  Passing the last water station, I took more water from my bottle, and splashed a more generous portion on my neck.  I was so happy that I had brought my own water bottle for this race.  Even though it was probably an extra pound or two of weight when we started, on the back of a water belt it never felt like any load.  But I was very careful when I reached back behind me to put the water bottle away, concerned that I might drop it.  The sun was really starting to get to me.  Then a runner with salt-and-pepper hair caught up with us, encouraging us and even goading us to pick up the pace!  I wouldn't be surprised if he was a drill sergeant, past or present....but we picked up our pace just a bit with his motivation.  Before long he had passed over the next hill and out of sight.  In our last training run we had reached Peachtree Dunwoody Road, and I started looking for that landmark.  It seemed like it took a very long time to get there, but finally we made it and I could see Phipps Plaza where I had lined up for the Peachtree Road Race two months ago.  A bit further, the Buckhead skyscrapers were clearly in view, one of whose base was near the finish line.  We reached the five-mile marker at 45:25, 9:14 for the fifth mile.  I would really have to speed up if I was going to make a 55 minute finish.  

Just past the marker, a runner was getting attention from a policewomen and a medic.  The runner was sitting so hopefully it wasn't too bad, but that was the first time ever in a race that I had seen someone getting attention along the race route.  I took a look at my own heart rate monitor and my pulse was well over 180 beats per minute.  The elevation was increasing as we approached the overpass for GA-400.  This had seemed so easy in mile 1 of the Peachtree Road Race, but I was having trouble today when this was mile 6.  I made a decision that I had never made before in a race: I decided to take a walk break, and worked my way to the right side of the road to stay out of the way of runners.  At that moment I was deeply appreciative of some advice I had read online a few weeks ago: there's no shame in walking.  Runners passed me but I didn't care.  I drank another sip of water and poured some over my head.  It took a couple of minutes for my heart rate to drop to a safer level, but I'm fairly sure that I avoided a crisis by slowing to a walk.  Today the problem wasn't thirst, it was the sun beating down on my back.  After walking for a few blocks, I decided to try running again.  I was pleased that I could get back up to my usual 6 mph speed without difficulty, and I felt much better than I had five minutes earlier.  I even passed a few people.  As we made the turn onto Piedmont Road, I knew that we had only about half a mile to the finish.  This part of the road went gently downhill, but instead of lengthening my stride I decided to try to move my legs faster and take shorter steps.  That actually helped a lot.  I was almost comfortable again!  I started looking for the six mile marker, resolving that I would try to break into a sprint at that point.  Right before reaching the marker, another runner was down, and getting medical attention.  I heard someone behind me say "Heat stroke", and that moment confirmed for me that I had made a very good decision to take the walk break a few minutes earlier.  At the six-mile marker, my elapsed time was 54:35 and 9:10 for mile six, even with the 2-minute walk break.  That was very interesting: even though I wasn't going to beat 55 minutes, the walk break really did not cost me any time, as I was able to make up the time with renewed energy when I began running again.  And I was still moving forward while walking. 

We rounded the corner onto the Buckhead loop.  I could hear the announcer at the finish line, and broke into a sprint.  In one short block we made the final turn into Buckhead Station. The runners around me were likewise going for their strongest possible finish, and while I don't think that I passed anyone at the end, I had a respectable finish.  I was looking for Bonnie but couldn't find her in the crowd near the finish line - although she is responsible for the photos below, I just didn't see her.  I was disappointed to read 56:41 on the clock as I crossed the finish line, but with the conditions it probably was not realistic for me to finish any faster.  And given the problems that other runners had along the route, I was grateful to finish.  This was probably the most difficult race that I had run.  Amazingly, the temperature at the end was only 72 deg F, but humidity was 93%.  And I had read somewhere that you should expect to slow down substantially when the temperature is above 60 degrees. Official time, 56:26, average pace 9:05 minutes per mile.  Although it was only fourth-best out of my five 10K times, it was nearly a minute better than the Memorial Day 10K, and less than a minute slower than my best 10K time. 

Thanks to Bonnie Youn for these photos! 

with Prof. Simon Blakey.
Thanks to the organizers for the icy towel,
which is that blue thing on the back of my neck. 

Shortly after the finish, I caught up with my friend and colleague Simon Blakey, who finished just under 49 minutes.  I was quite overheated, and grateful for the well-organized finish area, with plenty of water and Gatorade.  The best touch was the industrial-strength paper towels soaked in ice water.  I kept going back for those and probably took a total of 5 or 6 ice-cold towels over the next 30 minutes, and that was really helpful in recovering.  Food was further away from the finish line and I desperately needed a banana or two, which once inhaled helped to restore depleted glycogen levels.  They also had volunteers serving delicious bagels, spreading cream cheese for us.  I don't think that I have seen that level of service at other races! 

Goal: to run consistent splits, to have enough energy left for a strong finish.  Not quite as consistent as I would like, but on the other hand the spread between the fastest and the slowest mile was less than 40 seconds.  That is a substantial improvement over my other 10K races.  

Goal: to improve on my personal record of 55:29.  Not achieved, but under the conditions that was probably not a realistic goal for today, despite the advertised "super-fast" course.   

Lessons learned:  

1) Bringing my own water bottle was the best part of my planning for today.  

2) Taking a walk break was the best spontaneous decision of my run today.  I will work that into my training as I prepare for a 10-miler in late October, a. k. a. the Jeff Galloway run-walk method.  

3) It's more important to finish healthy than to try to finish faster.  I had never seen more than one runner in trouble before today's race, when there were at least three incidents with runners in front of me.  I hope that they will be OK.

4) In the coming months I will repeat several races run over the past year, starting with the Winship 5K in late September, and the Eastside Beltline 10K in December.  In those races my goal will be to improve on my 2013 times, rather than going for overall PRs. 

http://milesforcf.org/sizzler/