July 18, 2015: Decatur DeKalb 4-Miler

Goal C: To beat last year's time of 35:49

Goal B: To run another negative split race

Goal A: To finish in less than 34 minutes (8:30 minute / mile pace)

Last year I ran this race on wet pavement after an early morning deluge that tapered off just a few minutes before the start.  I deliberately began in the last wave, ran a relatively slow first mile in 9 minutes, and took it easy at a similar pace through the second and third hilly miles.  The payoff was the last mile, which I finished just over 8 minutes, passing people and rocketing through the finish chute.  That was the first race in which I ran a negative split, and the most fun that I had experienced in a race to that stage.  Since that time, my definition of a successful race has been one in which I can finish strongly and pass some people in the final half-mile, whether it's a 5K or a half-marathon.

 

Game faces on and ready to roll!

For the 2015 edition, the weather was sunny and dry, and also warm, in fact at 79 degrees F by the race start at 7:30 am.  I decided to start in the second wave for 8:30 minute / mile runners and faster, but in the middle of the wave so that I wouldn't begin too quickly.  Although I had a blast in last year's race, I thought that I probably could have run a little faster if I had not been as cautious in the beginning.  I set my Garmin at a pace of 8:30 minute / mile, with the aim not to exceed that pace for the first mile, and then run on feel for the next two miles through the hills, and as fast as I could manage for the final mile.  I also resolved that I would take a very brief walk through the water stop after mile 2, and would allow myself a short break at mile 3 if I felt that I needed it to make the strongest possible finish. 

With that game plan in mind, our race started precisely on time.  The first mile went really easily, and I felt that I was jogging even though I finished in 8:08.  The only disconcerting thing is that I realized about a half-mile into the race that I had forgotten to wear my heart rate monitor, and only realized it when my Garmin didn't give those stats!  I guess I wasn't quite awake when we left the house - even though I was the driver! 

Mile 2 passed under the old railroad bridge near the intersection of Scott Boulevard and Ponce de Leon, followed by a right turn onto Artwood Drive.  This was a challenging uphill section and I involuntarily slowed down in this area.  Turning again to run past Fernbank Elementary (now well under construction but not far enough alongto open next month), we finally reached Coventry Road for a left turn and a welcome downhill stretch, where I was able to pick up some speed again. We passed the 2-mile sign at 16:46 (8:38 for mile 2), which was on track for my dream goal A of a 34-minute finish. 

But I was really beginning to feel the heat at this stage.  After circling East Clifton Road and getting onto the main Clifton Road, I happily slowed to a walk for the water station at about 2.4 miles.  Running past the Oxford Road intersection (heading to the end of the Emory campus where I work), the road went uphill to North Decatur Road.  My pace dropped off quite a bit, in fact to an 11 minute / mile pace, but I decided that I couldn't really fight it.  And I needed to save enough to finish strong in the last half-mile.  After turning onto North Decatur Road, we passed the 3-mile sign at 25:52 (9:06 for mile 3).  I knew that I would have to run an 8 minute final mile to finish in less than 34 minutes, but didn't think that I could press any further up the hills.  

I started looking for the extra water station, not so much due to thirst, but I desperately needed to take a walk break.  But I was determined to stay on plan as I trudged my way forward.  I could muster only about a 9 minute / mile pace in this section.  Finally, with about one-half mile to go in the race, I saw the water station, where I accepted a cup of water from the volunteer, took a couple of sips while walking and stretching my right arm over my head, then pouring the last bit of water down my back.

Now to the finish!  I did begin to speed up a bit making the turns through the McDonald's parking lot and onto Clairmont Road.  One person passed me in this section but for the most part I was running strongly and gaining on some of the runners in front of me.  Very quickly I spotted the sign up ahead for the YMCA, then made a sharp turn at the corner of Maediris Drive.  

I found the next gear, helped by the downhill slope of the road.  I saw a runner 20 feet ahead of me that I had mostly followed throughout the race "Fueled by wine" on the back of his shirt.  He seemed to be flagging, I gave every bit of energy to sprint past him as I raced through the finish line!  8:59 for mile 4, 34:51 overall!

As I slowed to a walk, I felt for a moment like I might vomit, but fortunately I had eaten easily digestible breakfast and after a moment I began to feel better, probably as my heart rate began to drop from the maximum effort zone. I found my way to the water station at the end, and after a few minutes talking with an Emory chemistry colleague, had regained sufficient equilibrium to return to the course to watch Bonnie make her finish. 

Goal C: To beat last year's time of 35:49; Achieved with 58 second improvement!

Goal B: To run another negative split race; not this time :( 

Goal A: To finish in less than 34 minutes (8:30 minute / mile pace); not today but I ran the best race that I could in the heat, so I was satisfied with the improvement from last year!

July 4, 2015: The Peachtree Road Race 10K

Goal C: To have a safe and fun experience in the 46th running of the Peachtree Road Race;

Goal B: To finish the PRR without a shoe coming untied; and

Goal A: To challenge my 2014 PRR time of 55:36

Atlanta's Independence Day Parade has no floats, no marching bands, and no politicians riding down the street in convertibles.  Atlanta's Independence Day Parade is 50,000 - 60,000 people running and walking from Lenox Mall in Buckhead on the north side of town, to Piedmont Park in Midtown, in the world's largest 10K.  The bands are on the side of the road along with more than 100,000 spectators and several thousand volunteers.  And any politicians in our parade join their constituents on the same route, at the same distance, with the same challenges.

On MARTA train, about to depart from Doraville Station, 6:00 am

This year was my second Peachtree Road Race.  Last year I really enjoyed the race, and a great experience was marred only by a shoelace coming untied three times during the race!  I don't quite understand the origin of the problem and it's not a matter of how the shoes are tied and laced, as it happens only with one pair of shoes.  I've liked the way those shoes looked and felt, but the problem with the shoelaces happened again and again, and they have now been retired to walking or gym workouts only.  

5 am weather map for North Georgia

The past week has been rather rainy in Atlanta, and the forecast for today deteriorated as the big day drew near.  When I awoke around 4 am this morning, it was raining quite hard in Tucker.  By the time we left the house around 5:30 am, the rain had tapered to a light drizzle.  We joined a festive group of runners at the Doraville MARTA station, and three stops later at Lenox Station, we poured out of the trains, up the escalators, and onto Lenox Road.  Within a few minutes of our arrival at Lenox Mall, the intensity of the rain increased and so we took shelter in one of the many parking garages in the area.  But after about 15 minutes, the rain had ended, and Bonnie and I resumed our walk to the starting area.  Today was Bonnie's first 10K race.  She had prepared well, running 10K distances in several training runs at Stone Mountain, and then together we ran the actual course last Saturday morning.  

Was I going to run without chugging a dose of beet juice?  Not a chance!

Shortly before we separated this morning to go to our respective corrals, I took my ritual shot of beet juice concentrate.  The taste is starting to grow on me!  I then had plenty of time to do a gradual warmup, and by 7:15 my legs were feeling really good and I was ready for a great run.  I joined the wave C runners in front of Phipps Plaza, with 10K qualifying times from 51:06 - 54:01.  Thanks to a good run and a downhill finish in the Chattahoochee Road Race in March, I qualified for wave C by just 7 seconds!  

Our wave was next to begin, once we had passed beneath the flag.

Shortly before the official start of the first wave at 7:30, I made sure that the knots on my shoelaces were tight and secure.  As the first group began, wave C moved forward a few hundred feet.  Then it was wave B's turn to begin at 7:35, and we moved up to the starting line.  Last year wave C had jogged up to the start line, today everyone followed the sign and walked.  But the minutes passed by quickly and precisely at 7:41, the airhorn sounded and we started our race!  Because of the wet roads and the likelihood of rain, we were running under a yellow flag, indicating a "moderate" alert level.  

From the color of the bibs, this is probably wave C.
I've probably already passed below the frame of the photo.

Even in the first mile, spectators were cheering us on through Buckhead.  We started at a good pace, and by keeping up with the runners around me and not trying to pass anyone, I quickly settled in at the target pace of 8:30 minutes per mile.  In fact that was my exact time at the 1 mile alert.  Having stayed fairly dry before the race, I was comfortable and was running very well.  There were some significant puddles along the left side of the roadway, but by staying about 10 - 15 feet away from the curb, I was able to keep my feet dry.  I reflected on one big difference from my conditioning last year: in 2014, I had never run a training run more than about 6-1/2 miles.  But over the past year, I've finished three half-marathons, and routinely run 6-mile training runs, so I felt much more comfortable with the 10K distance.  I even found myself thinking that today's run would be "easy"! 

I had planned to take short walk breaks every 5 - 6 minutes, corresponding to major intersections, but once we were running I realized that it would be unsafe to slow down given the number of runners immediately behind me.  But I used the first water stop as a safe place to pull over and walk for about 30 seconds, then got back to speed as mile 2 was perceptibly downhill.  About halfway down mile 2, I saw a poor guy dart off of the road onto the sidewalk to tie his shoe.  That was me last year, three times.  I finished mile 2 in 8:10, then turned up the pace a bit more in mile 3 as we approached the low point of the route at Peachtree Creek.  We had already begun our way up the infamous "Cardiac Hill" when we reached the Mile 3 marker, and was very happy to record 8:05 for mile 3.

I slowed going uphill, from about 7.5 mph to 6 mph.  The drizzle resumed in this section but it wasn't too heavy at first.  I took another short walk break for the water stop after the Mile 3 marker, but it didn't seem to take too long to get to the top of the first hill at Piedmont Hospital, where the road leveled out a bit.  But at this point the rain began to fall in earnest, not a deluge, but definitely more than a drizzle.  I was grateful to be wearing the Atlanta Track Club cap to keep the rain out of my face.  I was a little disappointed to record a time slower than 9 minutes for mile 4 (9:21 to be exact) but felt that I was still on a good pace overall, covering 4 miles in less than 35 minutes total.  

Elevation map.  Mile 3 marker is near the start of "Cardiac Hill".

Shortly after passing the Mile 4 marker, we saw a bright flash!  I momentarily thought it was a flash camera, but when I heard the thunder I realized that it was lightning.  It probably wasn't terribly close, perhaps about 1 mile away if I correctly counted 5 seconds between the flash and the boom, but I started to wonder if the lightning would continue and what the race organizers would do with tens of thousands of runners already underway.  I took a walk break crossing Interstate-85, then resumed running as we entered Midtown.  When we reached the Mile 5 marker, the alert banner was now red, warning that potentially dangerous conditions existed.  I thought that I heard one more thunder boom behind me, but further away.  I just kept running! 

What many don't know about the Peachtree Road Race before they have run it themselves, is that the two smaller hills in mile 5 are almost as challenging as Cardiac Hill in mile 4.  I finished mile 5 in 9:31, which was a little disappointing.  But 14th Street, just past the Arts Center Complex, was near the high point of the course, and after 12th Street the road began to gradually drop in elevation.  As we turned onto 10th Street, contagious cries of "The Corner!" rippled through the mass of runners.  "1 kilometer to go!" shouted the sideline announcer.  Now was the time to turn up the speed, and thankfully I had a bit in reserve this year.  The street was lined with spectators, cheering us to the finish line.  Crossing Juniper Street, a sign promised just 1/2 mile to the finish.  As I approached the overhead photographers, I held up both arms for their photos, then sped up to about 7.5 mph as I crossed Piedmont Road, with 3 long blocks to go.  I caught up to a cluster of slower runners, and to get around them I had to go to the extreme far left of the road next to the barricades.  I was very careful not to trip over the legs of the barricades as I sped up some more, now at 8 mph according to my Garmin.  I could see the green expanse of Piedmont Park to my left as I passed the Mile 6 marker (52:25, 8:48 for mile 6).  Not far now, I kept pushing myself forward.  Coming over the last small hill, I could see the finish line ahead.  And with one last burst of acceleration, reaching 9 mph as I made a diagonal right to avoid crashing into a couple of women who were slowing before they crossed the finish line, I gave a huge fist pump into the air in riotous celebration as I crossed the second timing track.  When I turned off my watch, I had run in 54:49!  

Fortunately I didn't see this on the course,
but it was posted on the Atlanta Track Club Facebook page.
Waves M and higher were delayed in starting by approximately 30 minutes.

Piedmont Park was already turning into a mud pit when I arrived.  As we walked forward to pick up our shirts, the announcer told us that we had to leave the park as soon as we got our shirts, some water and a food box, due to the bad weather.  I was trying to check my phone, and saw a text from Bonnie that the start for her wave was delayed due to bad weather.  Eventually I circled back around toward the Atlanta Track Club tent outside of the Park Tavern.  I passed on the beer ticket but picked up a Powerade Zero, Kin bar and banana.  Inside the tent I recognized Daniel, aka Kurokitty, "The Running Cat".  We had met for a second about one month ago, but it was good to meet his wife Marianne and chat with them for a few minutes, before I headed back into the rain to meet up with my parents-in-law.  

There's my Wonderwoman, in the sixth mile!

Oops, Superman has just passed Wonderwoman!

Hotdoggin' it at the turn onto 10th Street; one kilometer to go!

After refueling with a cappuccino and half of a turkey sandwich at Caribou Coffee at the corner of Piedmont Road and 10th Street, we set out to watch Bonnie's finish.  We were able to track her cellphone while we waited, and I was happy to see her making steady progress along the race route.  As she crossed 17th Street, I headed out to meet her in the final block of Peachtree Road, between 10th and 11th Street.  I was able to cheer her on as she approached, and kept up with her on the sidewalk as she turned the corner onto 10th Street, but then lost her as the sidewalk narrowed while at the same time she went into high gear for her finish.  Catching up with her back in Piedmont Park, she was glowing with pride, celebrating the completion of her first 10K race!

Mission Accomplished!

Goal C: To have a safe and fun experience in the 46th running of the Peachtree Road Race; Achieved! 

Goal B: To finish the PRR without a shoe coming untied; ACHIEVED!!

Goal A: To challenge my 2014 PRR time of 55:36; DONE with a chip time of 54:38!!!