May 25, 2015: Memorial Day 10K

Goal C: To better my 2014 course time of 57:23

Goal B: To finish the last mile faster than the first mile

Goal A: To challenge my 10K personal record time of 53:50


In the midst of training for the Peachtree Road Race in spring 2014, I ran a 10K in Marietta on the Memorial Day holiday.  It was the third 10K race of my short running career.  The course was tough, with continuous hills.  Out of the twelve 10K races I've run to date, that  2014 Memorial Day 10K has been my slowest race.  So I wanted to conquer my demon this year, with the primary goal of improving on last year's time.  I didn't expect to set a personal record, but I was sure that I could run faster and smarter.  

The weather was relatively cool for late May, in the high 60's with a light breeze blowing from the east-southeast.  We would be running into the wind on the way out, but might enjoy a tailwind on the return trip.  Around 7 am, I decided to take a shot of beet juice, hoping for maximum benefit in the middle of the race. 



As we lined up for the race, it appeared that there were substantially fewer runners than in last year's event.  The weather was good, better than I recall last year due to some cloud cover and slightly lower temperature today, so I'm not sure of the reason for a smaller turnout.  After a group of four wheelchair races started with about a 5-minute headstart, it was time for the runners.  The airhorn sounded for the start!  I crossed the starting banner within a few seconds even though I was in the middle of the pack.  

 We started in a different direction from last year's race, but made a loop around the parking lot and then onto East Piedmont Road, where we would run the entire race.  My strategy was to take a walk break every 5 minutes or so.  I knew from studying last year's elevation map that there would be uphill stages more-or-less in the same places that I would ideally take walk breaks, so that made executing the strategy fairly straightforward.  I started out too quickly in the first mile (8:11 - and that included a short walk break) but settled into a better rhythm, completing mile 2 at 8:50, close to my goal pace of 8:45 minute / mile.  
The only disturbing thing was crossing under an electrical power right-of-way during a walk break after the mile-2 sign, where I could hear the electricity sizzling and snapping in the lines overhead.  Georgia Power, you might want to check on that.  That's on East Piedmont Road in Marietta, about 1/4 mile north of the intersection with Allgood Road.

The hills, although still substantial, did not seem to be as challenging this year as in last year's race.  The run/walk/hill strategy seemed to work well, and I felt stronger every time that I started up again.  My slowest miles were miles 3 and 4 (9:04, 9:05) but these were also the miles with significant uphill runs.  I moved ahead of several runners in the long downhill stretch in the fifth mile, although took an extra and unplanned walk break at a water station on the downhill (8:51 for mile 5).  Nonetheless, after finishing five miles in 44 minutes elapsed time, I knew that I was going to run a substantially better time than last year, barring an unprecedented disaster. 



I took the final walk break shortly after mile 5, resolving to run in as strongly as possible, even though the last mile was net uphill.  Before starting the race, I didn't expect to be close to a PR pace, but today everything was coming together quite well.  But that last mile was pretty challenging.  I found myself closing my eyes at times as I tried to press forward, just focusing on my breathing and my pace, as I slowly caught up to and passed some of the other runners.  Finally I could see the busy intersection near the finish line!  At the mile-6 mark, we made a left turn, downhill into the parking lot.  I saw that my elapsed time was 52:40 (8:39 for mile 6) so I pushed myself to speed up as much as possible, trying to catch up to the runner immediately in front of me.  Turning the last corner, 100 yards to the end, I saw Bonnie ahead of me as she was approaching the finish line for the 5K.  I shouted "Bonnie, run for your life!" and she switched into high gear.  I managed to pass the 10K runner in front of me - I wonder what he was thinking of my shout.  Then I caught up to and passed Bonnie just as a spectator shouted "Way to go, Tucker Running Club!"  I crossed the finish line seeing 54:08 on the clock!  Not quite a PR, but very close on a tough course!


Goal C: To better my 2014 course time of 57:23; Achieved!! chip time 54:04


Goal B: To finish the last mile faster than the first mile; Not quite, because I started a bit too quickly, but I was happy to have enough energy to finish strongly, estimated 7:20 minute / mile pace for the final 0.22 mile. 


Goal A: To challenge my 10K personal record time of 53:50; Very close, my 3rd best 10K time and only 14 seconds slower than my PR!


May 17, 2015: The Tear Drop Half Marathon

Goal C: To get down the mountain without hurting anything


Goal B: To save enough energy in the first 8 miles to run a good pace for the last 5 miles in the town of Chatsworth


Goal A: To improve on my current PR time of 2:05:36


For our fifth anniversary, Bonnie and I wanted to spend the weekend in Northwest Georgia, including hiking around Cloudland State Park.  We previously visited Cloudland  Canyon several years ago, when we were both out of shape.  We wanted to visit the canyon again, with the hope that we could cover much more ground with our newfound fitness.  

About a month ago, I received an e-mail from the same group that organized the Chattahoochee Road Race in March, advertising the Tear Drop Half Marathon.  They advertised a downhill route, in fact 8 straight miles of downhill with over 2000 feet descent in elevation.  The race site had a link to lodging in the area, and there were several options for some nice cabins at a reasonable price, which happened to be near the start of the half marathon.  Even though the cabins were more than an hour's drive from Cloudland Canyon, I could get a 10% discount on the cabin rental with a code from the Tear Drop Half Marathon.   
So what did I do to celebrate our anniversary?  I registered myself for the half marathon, registered Bonnie for the 5K in Chatsworth, and reserved the cabin near the top of Fort Mountain at a 10% discount.  How things have changed since our heavier days!  On Saturday we did much more hiking and explored the park to the fullest, although we may have walked much further than recommended on the day before a half-marathon.  
The day before the race, we hiked 6 miles around the rim
of Cloudland Canyon.  Perhaps it wasn't the best preparation
 for a half-marathon, but we were rewarded with great views.
Since finishing the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in March, I've been working on the Hansons' Half Marathon training program.  It's pretty intense, with running prescribed for six days of most weeks, although the daily distances in the beginning aren't too long.  The Hansons' philosophy is one of cumulative fatigue, gradually adapting the body to running a lot, but spreading out the distance fairly evenly, so that a weekly long run should be no more than 25% of the total weekly mileage.  During the semester, it was a challenge to schedule in the daily runs, but I did fairly well nonetheless.  At this stage, I've finished the first seven weeks of the program.  Although I don't really feel faster, I do feel stronger, and with careful attention to post-run stretching and evening foam roller sessions, my legs are holding up fairly well, in fact better than earlier in the year.  

above: Looking northward toward the Smoky Mountains from the start,
at the Overlook Inn on highway 52 near the top of Fort Mountain
below: Runners at the top of the mountain, waiting for the last bus to arrive
so that the race could begin

On the morning of the race, we met in Chatsworth at the finish line for packet pickup.  While we were waiting for the bus to take us up the mountain for the start, it started raining!  Fortunately we were able to take shelter under a carport at the Super 8 motel, where I took my first beet juice shot, to kick in for the first hour of the run.  When the bus arrived, it was nearly 7 am, and it took 20 minutes to get to the top.  There was one more bus behind us that didn't arrive until around 7:35, 5 minutes after the scheduled start.  As soon as the last bus unloaded, I took a second beet juice shot, hoping it would carry me through the second hour of the race.  

We gathered at the starting line, and I saw the race director climb up on a truck holding an airhorn in her hand.  Without any ceremony or pre-race announcements, she sounded the airhorn, and the race had begun! 
The race route, 8 miles downhill, the ninth mile entering Chatsworth from the east,
two miles heading north on the east side of Chatsworth,
and then ca. 2.1 miles due south on 3rd Avenue, the main drag of Chatsworth, to the finish. 
I had read up on downhill running and had tried some techniques on recent runs in Atlanta, but couldn't find a downhill stretch that came close to mimicking the 8+ mile downhill run of the Tear Drop Half Marathon.  The night before, I did some last minute study on the internet, and reached the conclusions that:

1) I had not trained nearly enough for such a downhill race, and
2) My quadriceps would likely hurt so badly at the bottom, that I would likely be unable to finish the last five miles, and
3) I should forget about walking the next day. 

So I took a cautious route to running the downhill part of the race.  I resolved to take a walk break every half-mile, and to keep a reasonable pace until I reached the bottom, so that I would give myself every chance to run the last five miles without too much difficulty.  I had set my Garmin for a 9:10 pace (what is needed for a 2 hour finish), and heart rate alarm to signal about 170 beats per minute.  For the first few miles I was consistently slightly ahead of the pace, but slowed to the desired pace in the fourth mile, and slower than desired for the rest of the way down.  The walk breaks slowed me down but were also a welcome change of pace for my legs. 
2 miles down, 8 miles to downtown Chatsworth, and 11.1 miles to the end! 
Shortly after the mile-5 marker, a woman caught up to me to ask how much time had passed since the start.  (45 minutes)  She was in the port-a-potty when the race had started, and virtually everyone had disappeared when she stepped out!  But she had caught up with me by that point.  For the most part, people behind me were catching up to me and passing me, but I was happy with my progress nonetheless.  I took my first gel in the sixth mile, about 50 minutes in, as planned.  After about six miles, I was feeling some tightness in my quadriceps, but occasionally running a few steps with exaggerated high steps, and taking a few leg stretches during the walk breaks while continuing to move forward helped a great deal.  Shortly after passing the mile-8 sign, the road leveled out, then even went uphill for a short bit.  I was remarkably happy to be running uphill for a change! 
The Stallion gas station was at the bottom of the downhill stretch.
Seeing the courthouse in downtown Chatsworth meant less than five miles to go!  

Shortly after passing the mile-9 marker, we made a right turn onto Fourth Avenue.  The road was level at first, and I passed a couple of people in the first few blocks.  At that point, my heart rate monitor began chirping at me for the first time in the race.  I took a short walk break on a modest uphill section, took my second gel, again approximately according to plan, then jogged again.  As we passed a park in the center of Chatsworth, the route turned to the right, going uphill!  Another right turn and we ran a level stretch of about one hundred yards, before making a U-turn to retrace our steps to return to Fourth Avenue.  It was really tempting to cut the route a bit short, but, I didn't.  By this point the battery on my cellphone was dead, so no more photos from me for the rest of the way.  There was a large cluster of runners about one hundred yards in front of me.  It seemed that I was very gradually closing in on them, although I would then lose a little ground when I took walk breaks.  The heart rate monitor was occasionally chirping at me, and so I was taking walk breaks every few minutes, more often than I had on the mountain.  Around this point, I remember thinking that I will never be strong enough to run a full marathon.  At the mile-11 marker, I completed my first mile slower than 10 minutes, in fact the time was 10:32 :(.  But as we turned toward Third Avenue, I carefully crossed a set of railroad tracks as the police held traffic in the busiest intersection in town for me to run through - thanks!  Only two miles to go! 
I ran 8 miles downhill, with heart rate consistently in the 150 - 160 bpm range.
Then I got into the relatively flat final five miles in town, and my heart rate soared.
Third Avenue had appeared to be level when we had driven the street on Friday evening, but this morning it had gentle but noticeably rolling hills!  But I was making progress on  some of the runners in front of me.  Approaching the final water stop somewhere in the 12th mile, I took my third gel, and washed it down with one cup of water and another cup of Gatorade.  Seeing the mile-12 marker, I resolved to run the rest of the way in to the finish.  At times it was difficult to maintain my resolve not to take another walk break, but I was gradually catching up with and passing other runners, which kept me going.  My heart rate monitor was chirping away so much that I could hardly keep track of my pace, but I knew that I was on track to break my 2:05:36 personal record if I just kept moving as strongly as I could.  Crossing the intersection with highway 52, just three more blocks to go.  I passed another runner and kept moving forward.  Then I could see Huddle House on the left side of the road, which meant that the Super 8 motel across the street was coming up soon!  People were clapping on the lawn in front of the Super 8.  I gave them a smile and two thumbs up, as I dug in for one last sprint, turning into the parking lot.  The finish line clock showed 2:03:10 as a runner in front of me crossed.  I could see Bonnie  on the other side of the finish line, taking my photo as I approached, with the clock reading 2:03:16 as I crossed!  A new personal record, by more than 2 minutes!  I did my best "Mobot" pose for the camera, and a volunteer handed me the medal, actually a woodcarving!
The "Mobot", invented by Mo Farah,
the 2012 Olympic 10,000 meter gold medalist
Official time: 2:03:09!
Splits, miles 1 - 9: 8:54, 8:35, 8:54, 9:10, 9:12, 9:38, 9:21, 9:21, 9:32
Splits, miles 10 - 12: 9:54, 10:32, 9:56
The final 1.1 miles: 10:10 = 9:15 minute / mile pace for the finish
Average pace, 9:24 minute / mile
90th out of 193 finishers, 6th out of 10 finishers in my age group

Goal C: To get down the mountain without hurting anything; Achieved! 


Goal B: To save enough energy in the first 8 miles to run a good pace for the last 5 miles in the town of Chatsworth; at least the last mile was strong, so I'm happy with that. 


Goal A: To improve on my current PR time of 2:05:36Achieved, at 2:03:09!!! 


May 12, 2015: The All Comers 400 Meter Dash

Goal C: To complete my first track race without disqualification,

Goal B: To run a 400 meter dash without being last in my heat,

Goal A: To run a 400 meter dash faster than 1 minute, 45 seconds, based on the 7:03 run in the Morningside Mile in late March


The Atlanta Track Club has held the All Comers track and field meets for many years, on the athletic field and track at the Woodruff P.E. Center at Emory University.  I have a fairly good view of the field from my office on the sixth floor of the Sanford Atwood Chemistry Center.  Yet in seventeen years at Emory, I've never before wandered down to the field to watch the fun.  


The view of the field from my office, around 6 pm in the evening.
The first events had begun, probably the 100 m hurdles.
My event wasn't scheduled to begin until after 8 pm.

Tonight was different.  The key to my participation was that tonight's 400 meter dash was part of the Grand Prix series of Atlanta Track Club races.  The Grand Prix series consists of a dozen events over the course of the year, most of which are free for track club members.  And members that complete 6 out of the 12 events get something at the end of the year, I think a t-shirt.  Yes, I'm going for the t-shirt!  So far I've run the Peachtree City 10K, the Spring Tune-Up 15K, and the Singleton 10K.  I'm definitely planning to run the Decatur/Dekalb 4 Miler in July, and have already registered for the Atlanta 10 Miler in October.  For a sixth race, this evening's 400 meter dash seemed a good opportunity for a  few hundred steps out of my comfort zone. 

You see, I've never run a track race in my life.  We had a nice track at my junior high school, and I remember running laps on the track, but I don't think that we were timed.  If we were, it wasn't a significant event for me.  Sadly most of what I remember about junior high P.E. was avoiding any attention from the coaches.  A couple of the coaches were unbelievably mean and sadistic.  Those guys would be prosecuted today for the savage brutality of their corporal punishments.  Unfortunately in the 1970's, the abuses of schoolchildren in the boys' gym classes were all too common, and were accepted in my hometown.  Fortunately for me, I was never hit, but it was terrifying to watch it happen to classmates.  I wish that I hadn't been so afraid to speak up or to speak out back then. 

Wow, where did that come from?!

Anyway ... I ran my first track race this evening.  We were organized in heats by age group, and I ended up in the seventh heat of 20 men's heats, in a group ranging in age from 48 - 52.  I didn't recognize any of the names in my heat, but saw the two guys that have most often won / placed in the 50 - 54 age group in the heat ahead of me.  I will confess that I was relieved that I would not be competing with them!  Somehow I was assigned to lane 3.  Now I know next to nothing about track, other than the importance of not straying from the lane, but I had the impression that lane 3 was the best lane on the track.  I gather that it's a compromise between the curvature of the oval [tightest for lane 1, easiest for lane 8] vs. the ability to see the other competitors at the start.  The lane 1 runner can see the other seven runners in front of him at the start, and can enjoy the motivation of running to catch up to the others, whereas the lane 8 runner is blind to those behind him in the first part of the race. 


A few of the other competitors, covering more than 85 years from youngest to oldest!

The progress of the heats before us was relatively slow, with one of the preschool-age children's heats taking a bit more time than expected, although fun to watch and cheer for the kids.  In 10 - 15 years, those kids will be blazing past me in 5K - 10K races.  In the meantime I had plenty of time to warm up, including some 100 m sprints on the grass, covering the distance in 25 seconds or so.  The pace of the heats picked up once the adults began running, from oldest to youngest.  The women went first in 15 heats, then it was the men's turn.  As the first heat of the men's 400 meters dash began, the runners with me in heat 7 gathered at midfield to get organized.  I introduced myself to the runners assigned to lanes 4 and 2 as we waited.  Then we were brought closer to the track for final instructions from Rich Kenah, the Atlanta Track Club president.  As soon as the heat ahead of us had finished, we ran up to our starting positions.  I didn't try to start from a 3- or 4-point stance, as that would not have been efficient for me with my inexperience.  I didn't have to wait many seconds before I heard "On your mark", and then the starting gun sounded. 

From a standing start, I needed several short steps to start running, but I felt good in the beginning.  The announcer had been talking during all of the earlier heats but once we were running, I didn't hear a thing outside of the 10-foot circle around me, I was so focused!  As we turned the first curve, I caught up with the runner in lane 4 and we were even as we began the first straightaway.  But behind and to my left I could hear the pace of the lane 1 runner rapidly accelerating, and he zipped past me running strongly.  So I knew early on that I would not be winning tonight's heat, LOL.  I was sixth in a group running fairly closely together down the straightaway.  A track club staff member was calling out times, and I heard "37 seconds" as I passed her.  

As we entered the second curve of the oval, I could feel myself slowing down.  Four of the runners increased their lead to the point that I knew that I would not catch them.  A fifth runner to my right was initially slightly ahead of me, but then he suddenly dropped back.  I was feeling some fatigue, having started too quickly in the beginning, but I was still able to run fairly well, I think, even though I was breathing heavily and rapidly as I tried to power down the last straightaway.  Again I didn't hear a thing from the crowd or the announcer, but just tried to keep going as fast as I could manage, and focused on staying within lane 3, lane 3, not lane 2, not lane 4, lane 3.  At least I didn't hear anyone coming up from behind, and the four runners in front of me didn't seem to be opening much more of a gap as they neared the finish line.  Best of all, I reached the finish line under 1:30, considerably better than I had hoped I could manage. 

All goals for the evening were accomplished!  Even though I was fifth in my heat, it's a time and an experience that I can build on.  Now I should try to learn something about strategy and tactics in sprinting, and certainly continue to work on improving my endurance so that I can keep up a steady pace from start to finish.  After all it's just one-quarter mile.  The ability to run more quickly when tired will be useful in finishing longer races. 

Revised, May 14: I thought I had seen 1:32 on the clock when I finished, but I wasn't sure at the time, and was waiting for the results, which I found today on the track club website.  My official result reads 1:23.38, less than 6 seconds behind the winner of the heat!  I guess I was temporarily dyslexic at the finish line.  My heart rate was 173 bpm when I checked within a couple of seconds of finishing.  

Below are the finishers in my heat by lap position:

Lane 1, 1:20.45 (-2.74), 3rd place
Lane 2, 1:45.50 (-27.79), 7th place
Lane 3, 1:23.38 (-5.67), 5th in heat; 8 / 12 in 50 - 54 age group and 85 / 127 among all men
Lane 4, 1:17.71, 1st place - congratulations to Nguyen! 
Lane 5, (did not show)
Lane 6, 1:25.43 (-7.72), 6th place
Lane 7, 1:17.76 (-0.05), 2nd place
Lane 8, 1:23.24 (-5.53), 4th place  

The times were reported to 0.01 second, although I don't think that they could have measured our times that accurately.  This disclaimer is for any scientists or engineers reading this blog that may be wondering about significant figures. 

Goal C: To complete my first track race without disqualification: Achieved - not that anyone was watching that closely!

Goal B: To run a 400 meter dash without being last in my heat: Achieved, 5th out of 7!

Goal A: To run a 400 meter dash faster than 1 minute, 45 seconds!  Achieved in 1:23!!



May 9, 2015: The Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure

"Quitting is Not an Option"

Dustin in our Weight Watchers group organized a team to run the Komen Race for the Cure 5K this morning, starting and ending at Lenox Mall in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta.  The Komen Foundation is dedicated to education and research about causes, treatment, and the search for a cure for breast cancer.  For today's fundraising event, more than 10,000 walkers and runners as well as countless volunteers joined together in common cause, to celebrate and support survivors of breast cancer and those currently battling this disease, and to remember those who have passed away from breast cancer.   

We run in celebration of Bonnie's mother:
a warm and loving woman, a talented artist, and the center of our extended family.
Although Komen races are held throughout the year and in many countries around the world, the Atlanta race takes place the day before Mother's Day.  My dear mother-in-law, a survivor of breast cancer from more than a decade ago, said something sobering quite recently: she is reminded of her struggle with breast cancer every day.  With that thought in mind, I ran today with a respectful attitude, for her and also for the many other survivors that walked and ran with us today.  

Just a few of over 10,000 runners and walkers in today's event. 
Throughout today's race, I was grateful for my health and regained fitness.  3 years ago, I doubt that I could have run for more than a minute or so, and was pre-hypertensive with a high resting pulse rate.  2 years ago, a few months into Weight Watchers, I was training for my first 5K and struggling to finish 3 minute running intervals.  A year ago, I was up to running 10Ks.  And over the past six months I've completed two half marathons.  But for me it's so much more than the distances covered or the times achieved: it's the improvements in health that I feel every day.  Those improvements keep me on track, helping me make better choices of food, and maintaining a good exercise program.  Our Weight Watchers leader, Ilyse, occasionally reminds us that "Quitting is Not an Option".  And just as importantly, if we fall off the plan for a meal or a day or a week or however long, it's always about getting back on track for today and going forward again.  

Our team name "Quitting is Not an Option"
l-r: Bonnie, Frank, Jackie, Dustin, Janie
The race itself went fairly smoothly.  I was wearing a new Garmin watch (Forerunner 15) for only the second run, and still getting a feel of the features, but I was able to stay close to an 8:15 minute / pace for the first two miles.  I slowed down a bit in the third mile going uphill on Piedmont Avenue, but then finished strongly, thanks to spectators and volunteers cheering and encouraging us as we neared the finish line.  


Right before I crossed the finish line, a spectator reached out to offer a high five.  It was gratifying to enjoy the support of someone who, in one context might be a complete stranger, while in another context she was a sister participant in our common cause.  

A mountain of bananas awaited the finishers!
(And apples and oranges beyond, oh my!)
At this writing (May 9) I'm waiting on the official result, but I saw 26:15 on the finish line clock as I crossed, and probably started about 10 - 15 seconds after the starting gun.  

Mile splits: 8:02, 8:19, 8:45, and est. 0:55 for the last 0.11 mile.