December 6, 2014: The Eastside Beltline 10K, year 2

Goal C: To improve on my 2013 time of 55:45

Goal B: To challenge my 10K PR of 54:33

Goal A: To finish 10K in less than 54 minutes

Goal: To finish without injury on a wet course

In repeating the Eastside Beltline 10K - my first 10K one year ago - I had carefully mapped out a strategy for finishing with a new PR on one of my favorite in-town routes.  I had found 5-minute marks along the course that were all definitely reachable if I just trimmed a few seconds in each leg from last year's run, which I felt was realistic in light of my improved conditioning.  I just forgot about one little thing:

Sometimes it rains in Atlanta.

In the week leading up to the race day, the likelihood for rain in the forecast kept rising.  The drizzle began as I was heading home last night, and it was still raining when I awoke on race day.  So now the point would simply be to dress to stay as dry as possible, finish without injury or incident, and try to find enjoyment in the camaraderie of running with other fools in the rain! 

When we arrived and parked around 9 am, it was drizzling, but as we walked toward the starting area, a cloudfull of rain fell out of the sky.  We ran back to the car but we were thoroughly drenched.  Great, exactly what I didn't want to happen, to get soaked well before the race had even begun.  But after about 15 minutes, it tapered off to a drizzle, and looking at the weather radar, it looked like it would clear up for awhile.  Around 9:30 I walked to the start, on Krog Street just outside of Rathbun's Steakhouse, where there was a large sheltered outdoor area.  The temperature was mild (mid 50's F) and I was wearing a light rain jacket over a poly-T-shirt, but I felt a bit chilled due to the dampness.  I tried to stretch a little and joined some of the warm-up exercises, but wasn't really into it.  The pre-race announcements warned of wet leaves on the path, and to be especially cautious while running the unpaved trail that would be the third mile of the race.  Basically we were discouraged from trying to set any personal records today, and advised to just focus on running safely.  

Fortunately the drizzle came to an end, just as we left the shelter of the gathering area to the starting area on Krog Street.  I found myself in the back quarter of the pack, but chatted for a moment with another Emory professor, Patrick Allitt from the History department, running his first race since the Peachtree Road Race in 1990.  I then decided to move up about 50 feet, to get well in front of a runner with a stroller.  As I looked ahead, I could see some breaks in the clouds!  We might get lucky once again, with the rain ending shortly before the race began! 

I didn't hear the signal to start, but suddenly I could see the runners in front begin to move.  I began walking, started my timer, reached the start line, and we were off!  Despite being in the middle of the pack, everyone around me was moving at a reasonable pace.  A quick left turn onto Irwin Street was followed by a right turn onto the southern terminus of the Eastside Beltline.  I was moving a bit slower than I could have run, but I also wanted to be sure of my footing on the wet concrete, and I definitely wanted to avoid starting too quickly.  On the other hand, the Beltline descends 110 feet in elevation over 2 miles, so this would be the easier part of the race.  We passed familiar landmarks, Parish restaurant, and under the Highland Avenue overpass.  As we approached the Freedom Parkway underpass, I saw Bonnie on the right side of the path!  I gave her a big smile as I ran past. 

We had run less than 1 mile when this was taken.  I don't know the reason
  for the expression on the face of the guy in front of me.
Maybe he was disappointed that his wife wasn't there to take his photo! 

This would have been the first 5-minute landmark, but my time was around 5:30 at that stage.  Oh well, as long as I didn't exceed 60 minutes, it would be a satisfactory run.  And I was pleased to note that I reached the 1-mile marker just north of the Ralph McGill overpass in less than 9 minutes, 8:45 according to my tracker. 

In the next mile, I found myself running at the end of a pack with no one immediately behind me.  After a few minutes the gap behind me had closed, and some of those runners began to pass me.  I was tempted to speed up a bit, but remembering how tired I had been on the return leg in last year's race, I wanted to save some energy for the last two miles.  I did feel that I was running at a very consistent pace, which was confirmed at the 2-mile marker in 8:55, 17:40 elapsed.  

The race route, labeled with mile markers. 

Passing the water stop, we crossed Monroe Drive and began the third mile on the unpaved part of the trail.  Even though I knew from the elevation map that the elevation would drop another 40 feet in this mile, this part of the route is always a rough patch under the best conditions.  With mud and large puddles scattered along the trail, it was impossible to go too quickly, and we were weaving from side-to-side on the trail trying to keep our feet dry.  A couple of times I felt my feet slip just a tiny bit in some of the muddiest spots.  At the checkpoint where I had hoped to arrive in 20 minutes, I was at 22 minutes even, whereas last year I had reached the same spot in 20:42.  I just hoped that I might be able to make up some time in the final mile or two.  Finally we reached the end of the trail, turned left on Winchester, and up and down a 30-foot hill that wasn't on the map, but veteran runners knew it would be there.  Indeed I could pick out the rookies in this race: they were the ones complaining about the surprise hill.  I just took my time going uphill, watching my heart rate monitor to avoid spiking.  Indeed this is where my race had literally gone downhill last year, and then I had struggled for the second half of the race.  As we turned into Piedmont Park, I didn't see a 3-mile marker but it would have been in this area, which I passed at 26:59.  I had covered that difficult third mile in 9:19, which would have pleased me if I had known it at the time.  But all I knew at that moment was that I was about one minute behind last year's pace. 

Within a few hundred feet of entering Piedmont Park, Patrick caught up with me.  I picked up my pace a bit to keep up with him.  He told me that he started running again on the advice of his physician. (Professors have great jobs but the work of reading and writing is quite sedentary, and delivering a lecture even while standing and writing on a board does not burn off many calories.)  After we passed the dog park, Patrick moved ahead of me, and I resolved to try to catch up to him later in the race.  The 4-mile marker was ahead as the park sidewalk joined the walk parallel to 10th Street, 36:24 elapsed and 9:25 for the fourth mile, which overall had been about 20 feet uphill through gently rolling terrain on a comfortable asphalt path.  Although I was still a little behind last year's pace, I was feeling much stronger and felt that I had a good chance to enjoy a strong finish.

Crossing Monroe Drive again, I could see Patrick about 20 seconds ahead of me.  Even though we were going uphill, I felt that I was running strongly.  Moreover, the sidewalk was much drier on the return leg, as it hadn't rained in the last 45 minutes and hundreds of other runners had undoubtably helped to dry the path on the outbound leg.  Very gradually, I found myself catching up to runners in front of me, then passing them.  In contrast to last year's race, no one was passing me!  As the familiar landmark of Ponce City Market grew nearer, I felt that I might be chipping away just a bit at last year's time. I remembered that I had struggled mightily at this stage of last year's race.  Upon reaching the 5-mile marker at the North Avenue overpass, I noticed that 45:45 had elapsed, 9:21 for the fifth mile.  I would really have to hustle to finish faster than last year's time.  I began to accelerate a bit more, and from time to time I was passing other runners.  But Patrick remained about the same distance ahead of me.  Good for him, he was running a strong race, and that had motivated me to run a little faster than I might have run otherwise.  Upon reaching the Freedom Parkway underpass at 51:20, knowing that it had taken 5-1/2 minutes to reach that point running downhill in the first part of the race, it sank in that I was unlikely to beat last year's time, even though I had more gas in the tank this year.  Although there were not many spectators, they were vocal with their support and that helped a lot.  A small group under the Freedom Parkway underpass cheered even louder when they saw me acknowledge their encouragement with a thumbs-up.  Even if I couldn't beat last year's time, I was determined to finish strongly. 

I kept passing the occasional runner, but then as I passed by Parish restaurant, I heard footsteps behind me.  At first I thought that the runner passing me was a woman that I had passed a moment earlier who had taken a walk break, but then I realized that the logo on the back of her T-shirt was different - she had completed the 2014 New York City Marathon.  She was undoubtably managing an even better finish than I, probably truly hitting negative splits in her second half.  But I'm proud to say that she was the only runner to pass me on the return leg of the Beltline.  I was starting to feel tired, as if I had begun my final push a quarter-mile too early, but I was still feeling much better than I remembered feeling at this stage last year.  On the other hand, Patrick opened up a bit more of a gap ahead of me, and I finally conceded that I was not going to catch up to him today.  I could see the Old Fourth Ward water tower rising ahead, as a landmark that the finish line was not far.  I didn't see the 6-mile marker as I reached the end of the Beltline, but that was at 55:00 elapsed, 9:15 for the sixth mile. 

I turned strongly onto Irwin Street, then through a well-guarded intersection onto Krog Street.  The great thing about this race, is that as soon as you turn onto Krog Street, you can see the FINISH banner even though it is a few hundred feet down the street.  The clock was well past 56 minutes when I could first read the numbers, and it was inevitable that it would reach 57 minutes before I finished, but I knew that subtracting some time from the start, at least I would finish with a chip time less than 57 minutes.  57:06 according to the finish line photo, 56:56 on my tracker, 56:48 chip time.  I saw Bonnie waiting with camera in hand, and after crossing the finish line I saw Patrick stopped ahead checking his time.  I slowed to shake his hand and congratulated him on a good race. 

Nearing the finish --- crossing the line --- and done!!

As soon as I slowed after the finish line, I felt quite a bit of pain in my right ankle.  %$#*&@!!!   I must have sprained my ankle somewhere along the route!  I don't know where it happened but it might have been in a slippery area along the unpaved trail.  Although I had felt a twinge of discomfort in the right ankle, it had not been too painful while I was running, and I didn't feel that it had slowed me down.  But my goodness, I could hardly walk afterwards!  Fortunately it wasn't swollen, and taking off the shoe and changing into dry socks and shoes helped.  And as I write this afternoon, it isn't too painful.  But I will be taking it very easy in the coming week, so that it can heal before I attempt my first half-marathon, eight days from now. 

Ouch!  My ankle hurts!!  ---  the curative power of a donut  ---  I ran 6.2 miles and all I got was....this fantastic T-shirt!

Goal: To finish without injury on a wet course

Achieved?  Depends on how the ankle feels in a few days.

When I checked my splits, I was very pleased with my consistency.  Although overall I was a little slower than I would have liked, I don't think that I've ever run a race with such small variance in the splits, so that is definitely progress.  

Mile splits: 8:45, 8:55, 9:19, 9:25, 9:21, 9:15
Kilometer splits: 5:16, 5:30, 5:42, 5:36, 5:53, 5:53, 5:54, 5:49, 5:38, 5:45

And every mile was faster than 10 minutes / every kilometer was faster than 6 minutes, so that was another general goal achieved with substantial improvement over last year.