April 30, 2016: Beat the Street for Little Feet 5K

One of my colleagues recommended a 5K fundraiser for his son's preschool, the Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool in Decatur.  It turns out that I had heard about this race from The Running Cat blog, where Kurokitty described his race experience in 2014.  What I didn't know until today is that Pete the Cat is a beloved character in a set of children's books and artwork produced by a local artist and two local authors.  I guess that not knowing about this is another downside of not having children.  

Bonnie and I before the race

Oakhurst is a neighborhood on the west side of Decatur, bordering the Kirkwood neighborhood of east Atlanta, both just south of the MARTA Blue Line, the east-west line connecting downtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur.  I've discovered the joys of the Oakhurst and Kirkwood neighborhoods on several Thursday evening group runs out of the Big Peach Running Company, a little gem of a running store just a block from Decatur Square.  Like many other areas of metro Atlanta, the neighborhood is hilly, but conquering hills is what makes us strong! 

Race route, with kilometer markers.  Bonnie calls the little semi-loop on the right "the hernia".
Adams Street, running north-south on the east side of the race route, is two blocks of uphill joy.

The race began on Mead Road in front of Oakhurst Elementary School.  There wasn't a timing strip at the start, so I lined up just a few rows behind the fast group, hoping that I wouldn't get run down by anyone behind me.  The starter actually had a real starter's pistol, and with a shot we were off!  In the first block, I felt that I was pressing a bit at an 8 min/mile pace, even though I had warmed up fairly well, but then settled into a comfort zone.  At the Oakhurst Village crossing, we made a left, and then onto Oakview Road, where we passed a group training for the Peachtree Road Race going in the opposite direction.  I finished the first kilometer in 4:42, which was right on plan.  But with a right turn onto Adams Street, I found myself looking up a steep hill.  That was a struggle but I managed to get up the two-block hill at a 10 min / mile pace, turning left onto the appropriately named Hill Street.  This was still uphill but more gently, and then leveled out as I approached the 1 mile mark.  I checked my watch as I passed the sign, at 8:03, so I was doing OK, although not on personal record pace. 

The Adams Street hill was shortly before the 1 mile mark.
 I didn't appreciate that the first 0.6 mile was a subtle downhill, actually 56 feet downhill! 

See how much my pace dropped going up the hills.
But at least I had one burst of speed in a downhill section
shortly before the 2-mile marker. 

Closing the loop on the "hernia", we now ran through the Oakhurst Village intersection, returning onto Oakview Road, which was a nice boulevard through a residential neighborhood. heading into Kirkwood, in the city of Atlanta.  A couple of children wearing Pete the Cat shirts were cheering us on from their front yard.  I finished the second kilometer in 5:15 (34 feet net uphill) and had sped up a bit for the third kilometer in 4:55 (32 feet downhill).  I passed the 2-mile marker a few seconds faster than 16 minutes.  Here we turned northward onto Sisson Avenue, which was a subtle uphill grade.  I knew the challenge of Sisson Avenue from the Thursday evening group runs, and realized at that moment that I was tailing off the end of the lead pack, with no one particularly close behind me.  I began having thoughts of being the old animal that would be picked off by the tiger stalking the herd, and while that might sound very negative to the reader, that gave me the motivation to keep pressing, finishing the fourth kilometer in 5:22 (net 31 feet uphill).  Finally we made the turn onto College Avenue, which would take us to the finish line.  I took a quick glance to the right as I turned, confirming that there was still a substantial gap between me and the next runner.  For the first time I needed sunglasses as we ran eastward, and as I put them on I told myself, maybe the glasses will make me look faster!  Unfortunately there was more uphill on the overpass at East Lake Drive, just past the East Lake MARTA station, but I was keeping up with the closest runner in front of me.  I thought of the cheetah that I had seen putting on a speed demonstration at the Australia Zoo some 15 years ago.  Channeling my inner cheetah, I forced myself to speed up just a bit, as the finish sign came into view, just under 24 minutes past.  I felt that it would take me more than a minute to reach the finish line, as we could see it from a few blocks away.  Then, I heard the footsteps of someone sprinting up behind me - and he raced past me and the next runner in front of the spectators at Revolution Doughnuts.  Maybe he was the cheetah and I was a mere housecat.  But he was the only one to pass me coming into the finish, at 25:23.  

I checked my watch before stopping it to make sure that it was a legitimate 5K, and seeing 5.00 km at 25:26, was satisfied with the outcome.  

After I finished, I enjoyed walking back down the course a few blocks to cheer on the other runners.
These children must have decided to run the last part of the race,
giving Dad an empty stroller for the uphill push to the end.
My only complaint about this race: see the automobile in the runner's lane?!
I noticed at about 40 minutes in, the Atlanta police at the west end of the route
on College Avenue must have begun letting traffic through.  The slower runners
had to deal with automobiles passing them on the roadway.  What's worse,
the runners were on the right side of the road (should have been our reserved lane)
so they couldn't see the cars coming up behind them. 

My race was a bit slower than I was hoping for, but it was probably a hillier course than the last 5K run three weeks ago, and the weather was 20 degrees warmer.  I may not be setting any more PRs in the next six months, but am hopeful that running in warmer weather will pay dividends when the weather cools again in October and November.  

Bonnie had a strong finish, passing four other runners in the last few hundred yards!

A sign outside of a restaurant in Kirkwood on College Avenue

Smokey cat, now 17 years old.  She had an apparent stroke a
couple of years ago, and was partially paralyzed and even blind for several days.
Remarkably, she began to regain her mobility and sight within a week,
and has made a strong recovery.  She's not quite back to where she was
before the stroke, but well enough to enjoy her life as our pampered kitty. 

April 17, 2016: The Morningside Mile

2015 time: 7:03

I'm a fair-weather runner. 

Last spring I ran my first one-mile race through the Virginia-Highland and Morningside neighborhoods.  I recalled that it was a fun race and decided that I would run it again this year if the weather was promising.  Bonnie was also interested and so I signed both of us up a few days ahead of race day.  My only concern was running two races on consecutive days, having run the Singleton 10K yesterday morning, but thanks to The Miracle Body Buffer, we were both ready to run again today.  It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky!

As with last year's race, the elite runners (faster than 6 minute / mile) started their race at 12:00 pm.  I watched their start from the sidewalk.  Then it was time for the second wave, "Amateurs.  6 - 9 minute mile runners.  No kids under 16."  That last sentence was ignored.  As I tried to get into the second wave, I found that the only place available for me behind the start line was immediately in front of a parked car, with the back of my legs touching the front bumper.  I was a little worried about being on the front line until I heard the instructions, asking for runners at a 6 - 7 minute pace to come to the front.  Hoping to improve on last year's time, I was attempting to finish in less than 7 minutes.  

Panorama of the intersection where the race began, with Lanier Boulevard from left to right and
 Virginia Avenue straight ahead.  The race began on the left side of this photo, running left to right.
 I started immediately in front of the parked car, visible on the far left of the photo. 

We began at the bottom of the map
and ran to the north, more or less. 

Our race began at 12:15 pm.  Although I had warmed up fairly well, I felt a sharp pain in the center of each gluteus as I began running, but fortunately that disappeared after a few steps.  We began with a nice downhill section, so I decided to go all out once I had passed the children, mostly to see how fast I could go.  Within a few hundred feet of the start, an small insect had the misfortune to hover at the same elevation as my mouth, and the little creature perished somewhere deep in my lungs.  That didn't slow me at all.  Afterwards, the Garmin revealed that I reached 11.2 mph at 0.15 miles into the race.  Amazingly, I began to tire, even with the gravity assist.  If more blood had been going to my brain, I would have worried more about the uphill section to come, but fortunately I was just running, GO-GO-GO!!!  At the bottom of the hill, just past the midpoint of the race, I was still moving at 9.1 mph.  We turned onto Morningside Drive, to begin the first uphill section.  Although I certainly slowed down (to 7.6 mph), it wasn't too bad, in fact it felt 'good' to use different muscles after the downhill start.  Morningside Drive leveled out after a block, and I got back to 8.1 mph.  Then we made a right turn onto Lanier Place, which was the toughest uphill stage of the race, slowing down to 7.4 mph.  Fortunately it was only one short block, then we turned right onto North Highland Avenue for the dash to the finish line.  I was really tired but I knew that I didn't have much further to go, getting back up to 8.0 mph.  As the finish line came into view, I realized that I would achieve my goal!  The clock read 6:52 as I crossed the finish line. 

Not a negative split! But I'm still very pleased with my run.  

Immediately after finishing, I had an intense sensation of soreness in the back of my throat, and then remembered having the same problem last year.  I think that once again, I had inhaled a considerable amount of tree pollen in the short duration of the race.  I needed several bottles of water - and several sprays of Chloraseptic when we got home - but I will survive.  I checked in with Temilola "Tes" Sobomehin at the runningnerds tent, who was advertising the 1-mile race series.  At the moment that I was talking with her, I couldn't imagine running another 1-mile race, as I was still breathing hard from today's race.  But with the passage of a few hours, my interest has been piqued.

Representing runningnerds

runningnerd nation moving up in the world!

I got back to the race finish area just in time to
photograph Bonnie finishing her first one-mile race! 

Bonnie and I stayed at the post-race party for the awards ceremony (I was 50 seconds slower than the 50 - 59 male age group winner), then walked a few feet to Alon's Bakery for sandwiches.  Although there was no seating available at Alon's, we drove to Piedmont Park and enjoyed delicious lamb and garlic sandwiches along with savory Monte Enebro cheese on baguette slices, on a beautiful afternoon. 

With Bonnie at Piedmont Park, after the race

   Morningside Mile

Amendment, April 19: The photos have been posted on the Morningside Mile Facebook page.  Although I'm obscured by the runner immediately in front of me, it looks like I finished in 6:53 or maybe even 6:54.  6:52 was the last number that I saw on the clock but that was a step or two before crossing the finish line.  I'm awaiting official results to see how I did relative to others in my age group! 
Amendment, April 21: The official result is 6:52.  In the photos it looks like there are two clocks, one facing each direction.  I wonder if the two clocks weren't perfectly synchronized, not that a couple of seconds really matters at my pace!

Above: I'm in the green shirt, above the number "9" on the clock.
Below: I'm immediately behind runner #1312.

April 16, 2016: The Singleton 10K

2015 Singleton 10K time: 53:50
10K PR: 53:43 (Charles Harris, February 2016)

Having run a couple of 5K races at personal record pace, I was eager to see how I might fare in a 10K.  In last year's Singleton 10K, in Norcross in the northeast Atlanta suburbs, I set a personal record that stood for 10 months.  I had read somewhere that a 10K is generally run about 6% slower than a 5K, so multiplying my 5K PRs of ca. 24 minutes x 2 = 48 minutes x 1.06 predicts a 10K time of approximately 51 minutes.  That correlation has not held up for me, but I decided to run hard in today's race and see how I would fare.  My goal was to run splits averaging 8:30 minutes / mile, or 5:15 minutes / kilometer, which would get me below 53 minutes for the 10K distance. 

Earlier in the week, a Facebook inquiry on the Tucker Running Club page degenerated into a little trash-talkin' between Curt Walker, Brian Minor and me:

On race day, Brian and I discussed whether to start in the back of wave A or with wave B.  My concern about starting with wave A (7:30 min / mi or faster) was that I might be passed later in the race by a large number of 5K runners who had started with wave B, (8:30 min / mi or faster).  Since I wasn't planning to run a 5K pace, I thought it would be better to start with wave B.  Curt and Kathie Walker started as usual in wave A.  Brian and I lined up about three rows from the front of wave B, and our race began exactly two minutes after the official start.  That proved to be a good decision, as the runners around us began at the same pace, and the start wasn't crowded.  I had warmed up by jogging about 2 miles earlier in the morning, so my legs felt good from the beginning, and I had no trouble establishing the desired pace, 5:06 minutes for the first kilometer.  

A selfie before the race, with a frog on a bench in Thrasher Park, in historic downtown Norcross.
You can see more of these frog statues in the Botanical Gardens in midtown Atlanta. 

Brian and I went back and forth for the first couple of miles, and he passed me when I took a walk break through the water station shortly before the mile 2 marker.  I managed to catch up to Brian by the turn-around and even yelled something like "Right behind you, Brian Minor!"  I opened up a gap on Brian in the third mile, just hoping that I wouldn't burn out later in the race.  I caught up with Kathie Walker around the mile 3 marker - she was battling a flare-up with an Achilles tendon - and after completing the first 5K loop in 25:16, I managed to stay in front of her as well.  One of the fun things about this race was a couple of out-and-back loops into neighborhoods, so you could see the runners a couple of minutes in front and a couple of minutes in back of you, saying hello - and also comparing progress against friendly competitors.  Curt Walker stayed in front of me for the entire race, but I felt that there was less than a 2-minute gap between us, so I felt really good about my race and pace.  As we approached the mile 3 marker, I realized that some of the 5K runners in my vicinity were starting to sprint to the end of their race, and so I kept to the right and just ran steadily through the chute to begin the second lap. 

The first 5K might have gone a bit faster than planned - and faster than my first lap in the 2015 race (26:13) - but I felt good and was maintaining a decent pace, taking short walk breaks only at the water stations, three in total.  I slowed down slightly in the second lap, but was still running about 5:20 min / km average pace.  When I passed the mile 5 marker at 43 minutes on the clock (41 minutes chip time), I knew that I was definitely on a PR pace, having run five miles in the Livvy's Love race in January in about 42 minutes.  Once we were back onto North Peachtree Street, I started pressing to maintain speed.  I saw 51 minutes on the clock as I passed the mile 6 marker (just under 50 minutes chip time) and realized that I might even beat 52 minutes if I kept up my pace.  Making the final two turns around the park, enjoying a steep downhill for the next-to-last block, I entered the finishing chute seeing 53 minutes on the clock, crossing the timing mat at 53:42!  I threw both arms in the air as I crossed the line in celebration, knowing that I had smashed my old PR!  Official time, 51:40!!

That was an amazing run.  While I had to work for it, the overall 8:20 min / mile pace was pretty comfortable for me, compared with last week's 5K at a 7:40 min / mile pace.  My heart rate monitor didn't sound until after the mile 5 marker, as I was going up the last hill, and as the road levelled off, the heart rate monitor was largely quiet until I began to push with about one-half mile to go. 

Kathie Walker won her age group, finishing about 25 seconds after me.  I ended up with a chip time slightly faster than Curt Walker - who placed 3rd in his age group.  I outran Brian Minor by a little more than 2 minutes, but he was happy to record a 10K personal record on the course.  Bonnie also finished strongly, just a minute slower than her 10K PR (set on a net downhill course), so it was a good day all around. 

Next race: Morningside Mile, tomorrow! (gulp)

April 9, 2016: The Atlanta Hawks Fast Break 5K

5K PR: 24:00 (February 2016)

In our Weight Watchers meeting a few weeks ago, Melva Noel told me that she was training for her first 5K, and would be running this upcoming race, sponsored by the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Track Club.  Bonnie and I decided at that moment that we would also register for the race to join Melva in celebrating her first 5K.  The race registration has come with a ticket for a late-season home game, so we've decided to get our tickets for the last home game of the season, against the Boston Celtics.  Going into the final week of the season, both Boston and Atlanta are tied for 3rd place in the conference, and are jockeying for home court advantage in the early rounds of the playoffs.  We have not been to an Atlanta Hawks game this season, so that is a fun bonus to the race. 

With Bonnie Youn and Melva Noel, a few minutes before the start.

In February I smashed my old 5K record with a time of 24:00 in the Hearts and Soles 5K.  That was an amazing run for me, and one that I wasn't sure that I could duplicate.  Nevertheless, I decided to take the same strategy to prepare for this race: 1) arrive early enough to jog the race route, both to get a good warmup and to familiarize myself with any challenges along the route; 2) set my watch to kilometer settings, as I felt that it would be easier to aim for better than 5 minute / kilometer paces and just put five of those laps together; and 3) start in the back of wave A.  

Wave A runners shortly before the start.  Harry the Hawk is posing for photos near the starting line.
(Spoiler alert: I finished ahead of Harry the Hawk!)
P.S. Harry the Hawk really had a lot of energy, not only did he run the 5K in the morning,
but he was dancing up a storm at the basketball game 12 hours later! 

On the morning of the race, the temperature was relatively cold, around 45 degrees F.  I wasn't familiar with the streets south of downtown into the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, so I was glad to reconnoiter the route ahead of time.  Returning to the start-finish area at Philips Arena, I caught up with Bonnie and Melva for a pre-race selfie, and then jogged up to wave A.  I was surprised to see that the wave was sparsely populated, and quite a few of us, probably those around the 7:30 pace, waited some distance behind the starting line until the volunteers instructed us to move closer to the start.   Right before we started, a woman wearing runningnerds gear ran up to me to give me a high-five - I was also wearing a runningnerds racing team (rrt) shirt, we wished each other good luck, and then we got the signal to begin!

The race route, with distances marked in kilometers.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could keep up with the group in the first kilometer, although I had to focus to avoid slowing down.  The other runningnerd opened a gap in front of me and it seemed that there was a 100-foot gap between me and the lead group, yet I was running about 4:30 min/km pace down Marietta street (about 7:15 min / mile).  As I made the turn onto Pryor Street, the first kilometer alert sounded at 4:32.  Shortly before making another turn, onto Trinity Avenue, I passed the one mile marker at 7:15 on the clock.  Could I really be running this fast?  I told myself, don't think too much, just RUN!  The second kilometer ticked by quite quickly, in 4:36.  As I approached the water stop, I heard the first alert from my heart rate monitor, and decided to walk through the water station.  A few of the runners in front of me didn't take water, but most of those who did also walked for a few seconds.  I got back up to speed, finishing the third kilometer in 4:56.  I realized that I was on pace to run another 24 minute 5K race if I could maintain just under a 5 min / kilometer pace.  There was the turn onto McDaniel Street, with the clock at the mile 2 marker reading 15:00 as I passed.  Go - GO - GO!!! 

Turning onto Northside Drive, the route was now uphill for a couple of blocks, although I managed to stay around a 5 min / km pace.  The heart rate monitor sounded again but then we began to go downhill in the direction of the new Atlanta football stadium (under construction).  I just flew down the road, letting gravity do the hard work, and the alarm stopped sounding for a moment.  I was delighted to hear the 4 km alert at 19 minutes even (4:51 for the fourth kilometer), but that was followed by the heart rate monitor saying slow down, SLOW DOWN!  Then we turned onto Markham Drive and the road was clearly going uphill.  The heart rate monitor beeped more insistently, SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN!!  I said NO!  GO  GO  GO!  Another runner passed me on that street, running strongly, pumping his right arm over his head to pump us up, GO  GO  GO  GO!  

Now for the toughest part of the race: up the exit lane onto Walker Street.  Volunteers were cheering loudly, which drowned out the inner voice telling me "Shouldn't you take a walk break?"  NO!!  GO  GO  GO!!!  Upon reaching Walker Street we continued going up over the Mitchell Street overpass, with my heart rate monitor beeping continuously.  Now I could see Philips Arena ahead, and knew that I was in the home stretch.  My progress to that point of kilometer 5 was at about a 5:20 min / km pace, and somehow I found a higher gear, catching up to and passing a couple of runners that seemed to be flagging.  The clock at the 3-mile marker wasn't operating, but my watch showed 23:10 elapsed.  I might just make the 24 minute time if I hustled, GO!  GO!!  GO!!!  Don't throw up!  GO!  GO!!  GO!!!  GO!!!!  as I made the final turn toward the finish.  

In that moment: a runner that I had caught up to put on his afterburners and streaked ahead of me; it was downhill to the finish; and I saw 23:45 on the clock.  GO!  GO!  GO!  GO!   and I crossed the finish line with 23:57 showing on the clock  I DID IT!!!  Fist pump in the air!  I DID IT!  I didn't throw up!  I did it, I did it! 

And my official result: 23:52!  A new PR by 8 seconds!  

After cooling down and regaining my wits, I slowly walked most of the last kilometer, to get photos of Melva and Bonnie as they made their way to the finish.  Melva had a great debut at just over 48 minutes, and Bonnie finished at 54 minutes even. 

What a great race, what a great day!  

After the race, with the Mercedes-Benz stadium in the background, due to open for the 2017 NFL season.
The new stadium will host not only the Atlanta Falcons, but also a new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United FC. 

Given the small size of the field in wave A, I wondered if I might place in my age group.  They didn't call my name during the awards ceremony, but when I checked the results after the race, I was 4th out of 37 in my age group, just 10 seconds behind third place, and 66th out of 778 finishers.  I was very satisfied to knock out another 24 minute 5K, so I guess that February race wasn't an aberration!  Also, starting with the speedsters in wave A really helped.  I can't run that fast on my own, but chasing some "rabbits" and being chased myself really helped me find the speed that I didn't know that I had. 

One of the reasons that I originally decided to work on longer distances was the hope that I might get a little faster in the shorter distances.  That seems to have worked!  Granted, I'm quite certain that I could not have run one more kilometer at that pace.  I know that I ran my best possible race in my current physical shape, so there was nowhere that I lost the 10 second difference between me and third place.  Getting faster will require additional training, but I certainly feel motivated to continue working out, especially mid-week speed workouts. 

http://www.atlantatrackclub.org/fast-break-5k