Goal C: to improve on last year's time of 27:46
Goal B: to improve on overall PR of 25:23
Goal A: to run a 5K faster than 25:00
Today there were three major marathons and half-marathon events in the state of Georgia, in Chickamauga, Columbus, and Savannah. It turns out that I know at least one of the runners in each of today's half-marathons. But for me, it was a local 5K, in Ansley Park. Last year I ran this race in 27:46, but with all of the training that I've done in the past year, I was confident that I would do much better. Running longer distances has certainly helped my endurance and speed in the shorter races.
Last year's race route had been modified from previous years, to avoid a street construction project, and this year's route would return to the traditional route. The significant changes would be the first half-mile and the last few hundred yards including the finish line. The challenging hills of Ansley Park would still be there!
I had decided last night that I would try a longer warm up than usual, to see if that would improve my speed in the real race. I had intended to run about 2 miles of the course, but I was feeling good and enjoying the fall foliage at a casual pace of about 10 minutes per mile, so my reconnaissance ended up covering the entire 5K course. That's right, I jogged a 5K an hour before I ran the same route on the clock!
As we lined up for the 9:00 start, I saw a woman wearing an orange New York City Marathon jacket near the front row. If you check last year's blog entry, you will see that I kept fairly close to "Ms. NYC Marathon" for much of the race:
As we started, she took off with the leaders, and after a few hundred feet, I never caught sight of her again, until we were standing around on the Rhodes Hall lawn after the finish. I thought that I had trained a lot this year, but she was much faster this year.
Back to my own race: I got off to a quick start. The first part of the route was downhill, and while I was going much faster than my ideal pace, the run was easy, my heartrate was only about 150 beats per minute, and I knew that I would be behind my desired overall pace if I didn't start quickly. I had marked 5-minute goals corresponding to km markers, and the first 5-minute alert came shortly after passing Beverly Road, slightly ahead of plan. Here the road turned rather sharply downhill and I glided down quite quickly, behind a couple and their dogs. I was amused that the dogs seemed to be trotting along so easily, looking around, while I was running at near my maximum speed. Another runner dashed by with her dog, seemingly pulling her along! It didn't take long to get to the bridge crossing the creek near the Ansley Golf Clubhouse, in 7:22 elapsed for mile 1.
As we turned left to loop around the residences overlooking the golf course, I was pleased that the leaders were not already on the return leg. The 10-minute alert came after the 2 km turn, before we turned south onto Montgomery Ferry Road, again ahead of schedule.
The morning was beautiful and the weather was ideal for running, probably 45 deg F. I could hear a golfer say "Play fast or play well" as I raced by. Getting back into the neighborhood, I passed the 3 km mark at the turn south from Avery Drive, before hearing the 15 minute alert followed shortly by the 2-mile mark, at 15:51 elapsed (8:29 for mile 2). Although this section was uphill, this year it was manageable, but I was passed by a man pushing a double stroller! Nevertheless, I wasn't slowing too badly. Only one other person passed me in this section, and I was able to pass a few people who had slowed to a walk in this section - and I didn't see them again.
Running up Winchester Road, the rise in elevation was gentle, then downhill as we crossed the Prado, then gently uphill again. The 20 minute alert sounded shortly before I reached Peachtree Circle, close to schedule for a 25 minute 5K finish if I maintained pace. Ahead I saw a runner's dog depositing a speed bump in the right lane - no doggie bag (!) so I had to deviate to the left of the straight line path. A boy was briefly overcome by the odor and I took advantage of his temporary disability to dash past him - and I didn't see him again either.
Turning onto Peachtree Circle, I vowed to finish strongly. The road was gently uphill for the first block, then leveled out and I pushed into a higher gear. As I approached the traffic circle at the intersection with the Prado, I caught up with and passed another runner who seemed to be struggling. Around the curve, looking ahead for the finish line, I could hear the sounds of cheers ahead before I actually saw the line. But behind me, the sound of footsteps was unmistakeable. I sped up some more, but about 20 yards before the finish line, the runner that I had just passed caught up to me and passed me strongly. I had to concede with a smile but was delighted to hear the 25-minute alert at the very moment that I crossed the finish line. My tracker had recorded 24:25 elapsed at the 3-mile marker and 25:06 at the finish line. Unfortunately the race clock was stuck on 25:30 as I approached the finish line! But after I finished, I saw that there were a couple of men with counters recording bib numbers as we crossed, so my time would be accurately recorded.
Although this race was not a certified course or a Peachtree qualifier, I did manage a personal record for the 5K distance, official time 25:06.4!
I had decided last night that I would try a longer warm up than usual, to see if that would improve my speed in the real race. I had intended to run about 2 miles of the course, but I was feeling good and enjoying the fall foliage at a casual pace of about 10 minutes per mile, so my reconnaissance ended up covering the entire 5K course. That's right, I jogged a 5K an hour before I ran the same route on the clock!
As we lined up for the 9:00 start, I saw a woman wearing an orange New York City Marathon jacket near the front row. If you check last year's blog entry, you will see that I kept fairly close to "Ms. NYC Marathon" for much of the race:
As we started, she took off with the leaders, and after a few hundred feet, I never caught sight of her again, until we were standing around on the Rhodes Hall lawn after the finish. I thought that I had trained a lot this year, but she was much faster this year.
 |
| The race route, with miles circled in magenta, and kilometers in red. |
As we turned left to loop around the residences overlooking the golf course, I was pleased that the leaders were not already on the return leg. The 10-minute alert came after the 2 km turn, before we turned south onto Montgomery Ferry Road, again ahead of schedule.
The morning was beautiful and the weather was ideal for running, probably 45 deg F. I could hear a golfer say "Play fast or play well" as I raced by. Getting back into the neighborhood, I passed the 3 km mark at the turn south from Avery Drive, before hearing the 15 minute alert followed shortly by the 2-mile mark, at 15:51 elapsed (8:29 for mile 2). Although this section was uphill, this year it was manageable, but I was passed by a man pushing a double stroller! Nevertheless, I wasn't slowing too badly. Only one other person passed me in this section, and I was able to pass a few people who had slowed to a walk in this section - and I didn't see them again.
 |
| The elevation map. The fourth kilometer was definitely uphill! |
Running up Winchester Road, the rise in elevation was gentle, then downhill as we crossed the Prado, then gently uphill again. The 20 minute alert sounded shortly before I reached Peachtree Circle, close to schedule for a 25 minute 5K finish if I maintained pace. Ahead I saw a runner's dog depositing a speed bump in the right lane - no doggie bag (!) so I had to deviate to the left of the straight line path. A boy was briefly overcome by the odor and I took advantage of his temporary disability to dash past him - and I didn't see him again either.
Turning onto Peachtree Circle, I vowed to finish strongly. The road was gently uphill for the first block, then leveled out and I pushed into a higher gear. As I approached the traffic circle at the intersection with the Prado, I caught up with and passed another runner who seemed to be struggling. Around the curve, looking ahead for the finish line, I could hear the sounds of cheers ahead before I actually saw the line. But behind me, the sound of footsteps was unmistakeable. I sped up some more, but about 20 yards before the finish line, the runner that I had just passed caught up to me and passed me strongly. I had to concede with a smile but was delighted to hear the 25-minute alert at the very moment that I crossed the finish line. My tracker had recorded 24:25 elapsed at the 3-mile marker and 25:06 at the finish line. Unfortunately the race clock was stuck on 25:30 as I approached the finish line! But after I finished, I saw that there were a couple of men with counters recording bib numbers as we crossed, so my time would be accurately recorded.
Although this race was not a certified course or a Peachtree qualifier, I did manage a personal record for the 5K distance, official time 25:06.4!
Goal C: to improve on last year's time of 27:46: Achieved!!!
Goal B: to improve on overall PR of 25:23: Achieved!!
Goal A: to run a 5K faster than 25:00: Not quite, but very close!
Mile splits: 7:22 (106 ft downhill), 8:29 (37 ft uphill), 8:34 (42 ft uphill)
Km splits: 4:37 (13 ft downhill), 4:47 (89 ft downhill), 5:14 (15 ft uphill), 5:34 (69 ft uphill), 4:54 (1 ft uphill)
It was nice to compare with my splits from 2013, to see how much progress I've made:
Mile splits in 2013 were 7:37, 9:00, 9:32; Km splits were 4:49, 5:00, 5:26, 6:06, 5:42. My uphill running has definitely improved.
It was nice to compare with my splits from 2013, to see how much progress I've made:
Mile splits in 2013 were 7:37, 9:00, 9:32; Km splits were 4:49, 5:00, 5:26, 6:06, 5:42. My uphill running has definitely improved.
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