Goal C: To finish my first half-marathon.
Goal B: To finish with a smile!
Goal A: To finish in 1:59:59!! (9:10 minutes per mile pace)
When I ran my first race in October 2013, I didn't really imagine that I would try a half-marathon in a little more than a year. But here I am!
Jeff Galloway is a legend in the Atlanta running community. He won the first Peachtree Road Race in 1970, and subsequently represented the USA in the Munich Olympics in 1972 in the 10,000 meter race. He has developed a run-walk-run approach to injury-free running, with his mantra "Run Until You're 100". That was definitely in mind when I named this blog, marking the start of my running after age 50.
Last year I ran the Fast Fun Phidippides 5K in Ansley Park, which this year is the Barb's 5K along the same route.
Last year I ran the Fast Fun Phidippides 5K in Ansley Park, which this year is the Barb's 5K along the same route.
This year, the Galloway program has added a half-marathon.
Given the emphasis on the run-walk-run method and the course being open for 4-1/2 hours, I felt that this would be ideal for my first half-marathon. If I ran out of gas and had to walk a substantial part of the route, I probably wouldn't be alone. However, I waited to register for the race until I had completed the Atlanta 10-miler in late October. Completing the 10-miler was a huge confidence booster for me, knowing that a half-marathon was 'merely' tacking on a 5K onto the 10-mile distance.
Given the emphasis on the run-walk-run method and the course being open for 4-1/2 hours, I felt that this would be ideal for my first half-marathon. If I ran out of gas and had to walk a substantial part of the route, I probably wouldn't be alone. However, I waited to register for the race until I had completed the Atlanta 10-miler in late October. Completing the 10-miler was a huge confidence booster for me, knowing that a half-marathon was 'merely' tacking on a 5K onto the 10-mile distance.
The race weekend began with a casual run on Friday morning, led by Jeff Galloway starting at the Phidippides store at 7 am. I figured that it would be fun to join in one of the race weekend activities other than the main event. It would also be a test run with a new cold weather jersey that Bonnie had given me for this race, and I didn't want to run the half-marathon with anything completely new. We were joined by 1970's-era star runner Bill Rodgers (marathon, Montreal Olympics, 1976). Several others in the group of about 25 runners had run a dozen or more marathons. Then there was me. We ran about 3 miles at a relatively slow pace with alternating 15 seconds running and walking, so it was a confidence-builder on the health of my ankle (injured in the Eastside Beltline 10K last Saturday), yet I would still be fully rested by Sunday morning.
On Saturday I went to the Expo downtown, to pick up my race packet and look over accessories and perhaps sit in on one of the presentations. I decided to sign up with the 2:00 pace team, which would alternate intervals of 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking. For my long runs, I was training with those intervals, and that had been working well for me. But I was concerned that my longest training run had been 12 miles. I just could not work a longer run into my schedule. Ultimately it was the following arithmetic that convinced me that I should try for the 2:00 pace team:
On Saturday I went to the Expo downtown, to pick up my race packet and look over accessories and perhaps sit in on one of the presentations. I decided to sign up with the 2:00 pace team, which would alternate intervals of 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking. For my long runs, I was training with those intervals, and that had been working well for me. But I was concerned that my longest training run had been 12 miles. I just could not work a longer run into my schedule. Ultimately it was the following arithmetic that convinced me that I should try for the 2:00 pace team:
10 miles in 1:31:13 + 3.1 miles in 0:25:06 ----> 13.1 miles in 1:56:19
ignoring that those distances and times were not run on the same day, not even in the same month....
I had also picked up a slight upper respiratory issue, starting on Friday night. It wasn't too serious - Bonnie had a worse case - but I wasn't quite 100%. Some DayQuil and NetiPot treatment helped on the morning of the race. Fortunately the ankle was feeling fine and overall I felt that I was in good shape to begin the half-marathon.
It was a cool morning, in the high-30's at best, but the sky was completely clear and it was a beautiful day for running. When we reached the starting area on 11th Street, just west of Peachtree Road and north of the Federal Reserve Building, I was surprised to learn that I would be in the first corral! I introduced myself to the women leading the 2:00 pace team and stretched a little in place while waiting for the start. We were quite close to the starting line, with only the 1:30 pace group in front of us. I looked around and somehow the 1:45 pace group was at least 50 feet behind us and to the right! That probably wasn't supposed to happen. At least they weren't directly behind us, otherwise there might have been a problem in the first mile.
As the time drew close to 8:00 am, Bill Rodgers and Jeff Galloway each made some welcoming comments, another runner sang the National Anthem, and then it was time to begin. The energy of the runners was incredibly high - this is always one of the best parts of running in a big race. With a 10-second countdown, we were off! I crossed the starting line within a few seconds of the start, 6 second delay according to the official results.
The first two blocks were downhill, across Peachtree Street and a right turn on Juniper Street. At the turn, a guy was holding a sign reading "Only 13.0 miles to go!" After 4 minutes we took our first walk break. The 1:45 pace group streamed past on our right. At the mile 1 marker, my watch read 9:09 elapsed, which was exactly the time required for a 2 hour race. Amazing how good the pacers were, even with downhill and uphill sections. My attention was briefly distracted by the wonderful scent of Krispy Kreme donuts as we made the turn from Ponce De Leon onto Central Park Place. Why didn't the organizers arrange for a free donut aid station at the corner?! Oh, that's a different race, see:
Likewise I passed the mile 2 marker at 18:08, as we turned onto Highland Avenue. But I was having a little trouble keeping up with the pace group. As we climbed a hill on Boulevard on the way to Freedom Parkway, I started to feel familiar but unwelcome soreness around the right ankle, the same one that I had sprained last weekend. During the pace team's first walk break on Freedom Parkway, I nearly caught up to them by running, just in time for them to start running again. I think that the run-walk-run method probably wasn't intended to give slower runners a chance to catch up, and I missed a walk break or two by doing that. I last saw the 2:00 pace leaders when they were returning on the PATH trail at mile 4, shortly before I reached the turnaround myself. Oh well, a 2:00 half-marathon wasn't realistic at all for me today, and I needed to be careful with the ankle if I wanted to be certain to finish. I didn't spot the 2:10 pace group, but I did see the 2:30 flag merrily bobbing along Freedom Parkway as I was returning on the PATH trail myself, and was hoping that I could at least stay ahead of that group!
We headed downhill to enter the Eastside Beltline at the Freedom Parkway underpass. I was buoyed by a sense of familiar turf, and was proceeding on my own 4 minute : 1 minute run : walk cycle. As I neared the mile 5 marker, the pounding footsteps of the 2:10 pace herd caught up with me. I sped up a bit to keep up with them. They were on a 3 minute : 1 minute run : walk cycle, but I had to press to keep up with them on the running stages. Spotting the water station at the northern end of the Beltline, I decided to take a gel at that point, hoping that the energy and caffeine would help speed me up. Just as I was rolling the goo into my mouth (those things really stiffen up in the cold), I saw Bonnie taking my photo! Oops!
I walked through the water stop to wash down the gel, then made a sharp U-turn to get onto Virginia Avenue. I had kept up with the 2:10 pace group to this stage, but I could sense them slipping away. There were many spectators at this corner, and it was great to hear them cheering us on. Shortly after passing the 6-mile marker, I spotted the broken patch of sidewalk where I fell and fractured my collarbone in April. I gave the spot a long, silent glare, as I jogged past.
Shortly after turning right onto Ponce De Leon Place, we passed the 10K marker and a timing mat. I checked my watch, 1:00 hour elapsed. I muttered to the runner next to me, "My slowest 10-K ever." Thank goodness for the advice I had read somewhere, perhaps in Runner's World: sometimes it just isn't your day. In any case, I was going to set a personal record today as long as I finished! At the turn onto St. Charles Avenue, a spectator was holding a sign "Press here for energy boost!" Most runners were tapping the sign with one hand, I used two to get the maximum boost, I really needed it! After passing the 7-mile marker, I turned north onto Highland Avenue, passing several familiar stores and restaurants, including Surin of Thailand, where I was taken to dinner on my Emory interview in 1998. As we approached the intersection of Virginia with Highland, the neighborhood fondly known to locals as "Virginia-Highland", I spotted a familiar face at the Run with DONNA 26.2 water stop: Elisabeth, the author of Running on E! It was great to meet face-to-face, even if just for a few seconds in passing. She handed me a cup of water, I gave her a high-five, and was pumped up by the cheering and upbeat music at the corner.
Virginia Avenue was brightly decorated with signs advertising the 26.2 with DONNA in Jacksonville in February. This was a long, easy downhill stretch, although I just focused on keeping a steady pace. Shortly after passing the 8-mile marker, we came again to the intersection with Ponce De Leon Place (which is Park Drive to the north). A priest was standing in his robes, on the steps of his church on the corner, cheering us on! Turning onto Park Drive, and then a left on Monroe Drive, brought us to the southeast corner of Piedmont Park. Shortly after turning onto 10th Street, I saw Bonnie standing at the 9-mile marker!
Volunteers handed out medals - what a huge piece of bling! And there was a short line of finishers taking photos with Jeff Galloway. I limped up to him with my hand out to shake his hand, mumbled "It was a great route - This was my first half-marathon!" and he replied "I hope that you'll join us next year!" I promised him that I would! So I'm definitely committed, I gave the man my word.
It was a cool morning, in the high-30's at best, but the sky was completely clear and it was a beautiful day for running. When we reached the starting area on 11th Street, just west of Peachtree Road and north of the Federal Reserve Building, I was surprised to learn that I would be in the first corral! I introduced myself to the women leading the 2:00 pace team and stretched a little in place while waiting for the start. We were quite close to the starting line, with only the 1:30 pace group in front of us. I looked around and somehow the 1:45 pace group was at least 50 feet behind us and to the right! That probably wasn't supposed to happen. At least they weren't directly behind us, otherwise there might have been a problem in the first mile.
As the time drew close to 8:00 am, Bill Rodgers and Jeff Galloway each made some welcoming comments, another runner sang the National Anthem, and then it was time to begin. The energy of the runners was incredibly high - this is always one of the best parts of running in a big race. With a 10-second countdown, we were off! I crossed the starting line within a few seconds of the start, 6 second delay according to the official results.
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| About 10 seconds after the start |
Likewise I passed the mile 2 marker at 18:08, as we turned onto Highland Avenue. But I was having a little trouble keeping up with the pace group. As we climbed a hill on Boulevard on the way to Freedom Parkway, I started to feel familiar but unwelcome soreness around the right ankle, the same one that I had sprained last weekend. During the pace team's first walk break on Freedom Parkway, I nearly caught up to them by running, just in time for them to start running again. I think that the run-walk-run method probably wasn't intended to give slower runners a chance to catch up, and I missed a walk break or two by doing that. I last saw the 2:00 pace leaders when they were returning on the PATH trail at mile 4, shortly before I reached the turnaround myself. Oh well, a 2:00 half-marathon wasn't realistic at all for me today, and I needed to be careful with the ankle if I wanted to be certain to finish. I didn't spot the 2:10 pace group, but I did see the 2:30 flag merrily bobbing along Freedom Parkway as I was returning on the PATH trail myself, and was hoping that I could at least stay ahead of that group!
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| The race route, with mile markers and important landmarks noted. |
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| The Krispy Kreme donut station in the second mile was not manned, so I had to take a gel instead in mile 6. Krispy Kreme would have tasted so much better! |
I walked through the water stop to wash down the gel, then made a sharp U-turn to get onto Virginia Avenue. I had kept up with the 2:10 pace group to this stage, but I could sense them slipping away. There were many spectators at this corner, and it was great to hear them cheering us on. Shortly after passing the 6-mile marker, I spotted the broken patch of sidewalk where I fell and fractured my collarbone in April. I gave the spot a long, silent glare, as I jogged past.
Shortly after turning right onto Ponce De Leon Place, we passed the 10K marker and a timing mat. I checked my watch, 1:00 hour elapsed. I muttered to the runner next to me, "My slowest 10-K ever." Thank goodness for the advice I had read somewhere, perhaps in Runner's World: sometimes it just isn't your day. In any case, I was going to set a personal record today as long as I finished! At the turn onto St. Charles Avenue, a spectator was holding a sign "Press here for energy boost!" Most runners were tapping the sign with one hand, I used two to get the maximum boost, I really needed it! After passing the 7-mile marker, I turned north onto Highland Avenue, passing several familiar stores and restaurants, including Surin of Thailand, where I was taken to dinner on my Emory interview in 1998. As we approached the intersection of Virginia with Highland, the neighborhood fondly known to locals as "Virginia-Highland", I spotted a familiar face at the Run with DONNA 26.2 water stop: Elisabeth, the author of Running on E! It was great to meet face-to-face, even if just for a few seconds in passing. She handed me a cup of water, I gave her a high-five, and was pumped up by the cheering and upbeat music at the corner.
Virginia Avenue was brightly decorated with signs advertising the 26.2 with DONNA in Jacksonville in February. This was a long, easy downhill stretch, although I just focused on keeping a steady pace. Shortly after passing the 8-mile marker, we came again to the intersection with Ponce De Leon Place (which is Park Drive to the north). A priest was standing in his robes, on the steps of his church on the corner, cheering us on! Turning onto Park Drive, and then a left on Monroe Drive, brought us to the southeast corner of Piedmont Park. Shortly after turning onto 10th Street, I saw Bonnie standing at the 9-mile marker!  |
| At mile 9 |
I said to her, "I'm moving slowly, but I'm gonna finish!" At this point my elapsed time was 1:30: in late October I was approaching the finish line of the 10-miler at 1:30. 10th Street was mostly uphill so I took it easy until the turn onto Piedmont Avenue at the Flying Biscuit, where there were quite a few spectators, perhaps not completely by choice....
The first part of Piedmont Avenue was also uphill, but I knew that after 14th Street there would be a long downhill stretch to the intersection with Monroe Drive. Upon reaching the 10-mile marker, I told myself, only 5K to go, I can definitely do this. I took a second gel at this point, for another boost of energy. My time at that stage was 1:40, so I was thinking that I could manage a 25-minute 5K. But that would mean catching up to and passing the 2:10 pace group, which was nowhere in sight. We passed the beautiful Botanical Gardens on our right and the elegant Ansley Park neighborhood to our left, as we approached the busy intersection with Monroe Drive. At this stage I caught up to a boy who had been running with a Santa beard, although by this stage, the beard was off to the side. He seemed to be struggling a bit, and I asked him, "Is this your first half-marathon?" "Yes, sir" he answered. "Mine too" I replied. We turned into the north end of Piedmont Park together, around the 11-mile mark. Only 2.1 miles to go, I can definitely do this. This part of the park opened within the past year, and is a really nice new gateway into the park. This should have been the best part of the race - it was certainly designed that way - but my ankle was really starting to bother me. I was probably on a 1 : 1 run : walk ratio by this point, but the important thing was to finish. It seemed to take forever to get through the park to the meadow at the southeastern end (13:15 minutes for mile 12, to be exact) and then there were a few more bends in the route than I had originally expected. Finally I spotted the lake, and was on the walkway where I had finished the Atlanta AIDS 5K two months ago.
By this point I was walking more than running. Turning the corner at the Boathouse, a big group of volunteers from TAPS, a veterans service organization and one of the race sponsors, was cheering us on. One woman was calling my name, and through a mental haze, I heard "Frank! Frank! You can do it! You're almost there!" I sped back up to a slow trot and was rewarded with enthusiastic cheers. TAPS volunteers, if any of you are reading this, thanks a million! You really helped!
Finally I could see the outer bank of the Active Oval. I had been able to hear the announcer for most of the final third of the race as we circled Piedmont Park, and now could clearly hear every word. I felt like I was mostly alone, then heard the steps of a woman approach and pass me, as I was walking again. I resolved that I would walk the southern curve of the Oval, and then break into a jog right before I could see the finish line - and right before the people waiting at the finish could see me. Bum ankle or not, I was going to run across the finish line! And there it was, the most beautiful sight in the world! The clock was showing 2:19 and some seconds, so I was happy that I was going to finish faster than the round number of 2:20. The announcer called out "And here comes Frank McDonald, from Tucker Georgia!" I raised my hands to acknowledge the announcer, and as I approached the finish line, I gave a huge fist pump in celebration! 2:19:42 on the clock, 2:19:36 chip time.
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| My first half-marathon - DONE!!! Oh, the pain! |
Volunteers handed out medals - what a huge piece of bling! And there was a short line of finishers taking photos with Jeff Galloway. I limped up to him with my hand out to shake his hand, mumbled "It was a great route - This was my first half-marathon!" and he replied "I hope that you'll join us next year!" I promised him that I would! So I'm definitely committed, I gave the man my word. Goal C: To finish my first half-marathon. Achieved!
Goal B: To finish with a smile!
Done!!
Goal A: To finish in 1:59:59!!
Well, that clearly wasn't realistic. But there is plenty of room for improvement.
Mile splits: 9:09, 9:09, 9:35, 9:56, 9:49, 10:19, 10:55, 10:46, 10:34, 10:37, 11:18, 13:15, 13:18, and 1:06 for the last 0.1 mile.
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| The medal is really heavy! |
The only downside of the entire experience (other than the sore ankle): even though I had brought a change of clothes, I was so tired when I returned to the car that I didn't change out of the soaked shirt. I began to suffer a mild case of hypothermia on the way home. That was a little scary when my hands began to shake, but I tried to hide it from Bonnie because I didn't want her to worry. Fortunately she was driving, and it was less than a 30-minute drive home. I staggered into the house, took a warm shower, put on a sweater and burrowed under the covers for a 2 - 3 hour nap. My brain was a little fuzzy for the rest of the day (hence no same-day race report) but I had recovered by the time of my first meeting with a student this morning. Avoiding post-race hypothermia: an important learning experience for the next time around.
2 comments:
Congrats Frank! Great race recap. Way to stick with it and finish strong. It looks like you learned a lot from the race and had a good experience to get you ready for the next one. It was nice to meet you in person and I'm glad our stop could pump you up for a bit.
The part about the Krispy Kremes had me laughing. I can promise you it would be a tough way to fuel a half!
Congrats on the race! Great race recap and something I'll probably re-read next December since I've registered to do the race!
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