Goals: to test a 3:30 run / 0:30 walk strategy; to improve on last year's time of 54:19
I've taken a break from running Saturday races to focus on diligently following a marathon training program organized by the Atlanta Track Club. As a result, I haven't posted in awhile. I've skipped several recent races that I would otherwise have run, such as the Red Top Roaster, the Tailgate 5K, Atlanta's Finest 5K, and Run the ATL Relay, 10K, or 20K. However, I've enjoyed the camaraderie of long runs on Saturday mornings, completing 15 miles a couple of days ago. Speed work on Thursday evenings has been more challenging, and I've struggled to run at the prescribed pace speeds in 90 deg temps, although at least I've completed the workouts. The Atlanta Track Club programs have strongly emphasized stretching before and after runs, and that has really helped with some minor but nagging tightness in my left hamstring and both glutes. I'm looking forward to the experience of my first marathon, in Chickamauga on November 12.
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| We had a great turnout of participants in the Atlanta Track Club marathon training program this morning! I'm on the back row near the middle, in the yellow shirt. |
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| Although I will always choose comfort over color, I was quite pleased when the saleswoman found that the only Brooks shoes in my size were yellow. I recall how many runners in this year's men's Olympic marathon wore yellow shoes! |
Today was my third time to run the Big Peach Sizzler 10K, a Labor Day fundraiser to support people with cystic fibrosis. The race began at the Chamblee MARTA station, ran through Brookhaven into the Buckhead community of Atlanta, past Lenox Mall and ended at the TowerPlace shopping center. I really struggled with the temperature in 2014 but managed much better on a slightly cooler morning in 2015. I had signed up for this race months ago for a heavily discounted registration fee, before I had committed to marathon training, but as the day approached, I realized that with a rest day after the Saturday long run, the Labor Day Monday race would be a good test of my progress. Although I certainly wanted to see if I could improve on my time from last year, I also wanted to practice a run/walk strategy that I plan to follow in the marathon, and would try out a new pair of shoes, Brooks Pure Flow, that I may wear in the marathon.
Hurricane / Tropical Storm Hermine has caused considerable misery from the Florida Panhandle up the east coast as far north as Massachusetts, but inland areas including metro Atlanta have enjoyed several really nice days and a break from the heat of summer, as the storm has pulled in cooler air from the north. The temperature was 68 deg F at the start this morning, which is about as good as it gets on Labor Day in Atlanta.  |
| Bonnie was amused by this photo, in reverse colors! |
I warmed up before the race by running about a half-mile, and got back to the starting area just a couple of minutes before the scheduled start at 7:30 am. I found an open spot next to someone in the Tucker Running Club, and then immediately remembered that he is really fast (and he finished today in less than 49 minutes). I thought about moving back in the pack but in those few seconds of indecision, the starting area filled up and so I was committed to a fast start. Actually I decided that might work out fine, as long as I rigorously took the first walk break at 3-1/2 minutes into the race. With the sound of the airhorn, the crowd moved forward and I crossed the starting line about 10 seconds after the sound of the horn. I didn't have trouble getting up to speed, running about an 8 min / mile pace for the first few minutes. It didn't take long to make the first turn, and fortunately the pack had thinned out just enough so that I felt that I could safely take the first walk break, shortly before turning onto Peachtree Street.
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| Bonnie captured me in a video of the start |
I could tell that I was losing a little ground on the majority of the pack with each walk break, but I was pleased with the paces I was running for the first two miles, handling the rolling hills without much difficulty. In fact the walk breaks seemed to be perfect for me, as they would begin just as I started to feel a bit tired, and when I resumed running again after ca. 30 seconds of walking, I felt strong and fast, often quickly getting ahead of the last few people that had just passed me. I also managed to reach each of the three water stations without having to deviate very much from the plan. My heart rate was in the mid-160's every time that I would check near the start of a walk break, but I never heard the heart rate alarm sound (set at >170 bpm, and confirmed later checking the Garmin data) until quite late in the race when I was trying to sprint to the finish. The only concern was that my legs started feeling a bit tired after about four miles, no doubt due to the relatively high mileage in my training regime, but I never felt overheated and so I kept pressing forward knowing that I was getting a walk break every 3-1/2 minutes.
As I approached the right turn from Peachtree Street onto Piedmont Road deep into the sixth mile, I felt that I would break last year's time if I could make the turn before 50 minutes had passed. In fact my watch was right at 50 minutes when I made the turn, but the best thing about this race was that we were now running on a gentle downhill grade on Piedmont Road and that helped me increase my speed. Here the heart rate monitor sounded for the first time, but with less than 1/2 mile to go, that wasn't a concern. Just before the 6-mile marker, I saw a table with bottles of water, and as I reached for a bottle a volunteer kindly picked it up to hand it to me. But since I was intent on not slowing down, I didn't get a clean grip on the plastic bottle. I juggled it in front of me for a few seconds, but after trying to catch it a couple of times, it landed in the street in front of me, where I just had to laugh it off, since I didn't have much further to run. Now I appreciate how challenging it must be for elite marathon runners to grab a water bottle in a race - as they are running at 5 min / mile paces!
Two more right turns took me into the finish, where I put on my best possible sprint, over 8 mph speed in the last 100 yards. I first saw the clock at 53:50, just as the announcer let us know that we would all break 54 minutes, and he even called my number (710) a few steps before I crossed the finish line. I raised my right fist briefly in celebration, accepted an ice-cold towel from a volunteer, and met Bonnie running up to congratulate me! I quickly regained my breath and cooled down walking through the large post-run area in a shopping center parking lot, where I rehydrated with a low calorie pomegranate juice drink and a bottle of muscle milk.
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| Once again, Bonnie has captured the perfect finish line photo! |
I wasn't quite sure of my actual time (53:59 clock time) because I forgot to stop my watch right after the finish, but I was pretty sure that I had improved by at least 30 seconds over last year's time. When the chip times were posted later in the morning, I was thrilled to see 53:48 as my official time! It turns out that is my third fastest certified 10K race, just 5 seconds slower than my second fastest in the Charles Harris 10K earlier this year - and that race was run on a much cooler day.
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| It was very nice to meet a regular reader of this blog! Thanks Lisa, for introducing yourself - and congratulations on your outstanding run today! |
Splits: 8:07, 8:26, 8:37, 8:52, 8:52, 8:39, and 2:15 for the last sprint at 7:45 min / mile pace. The course measured a bit long on my Garmin (6.30 miles, I noticed the same thing last year) and I didn't think that I had meandered that much along the route. However I've read that GPS watches sometimes have trouble with accurate recording when running near tall buildings, which is the case for the last mile of today's race. The race is a Peachtree Road Race qualifier, certified by USATF.
I was also really happy to see that I'm continuing to improve, not only with my times but in comparison with the field:
2014: 56:25, 529 / 1378 overall, 52 / 90 AG
2015: 54:19, 432 / 1339 overall, 35 / 81 AG
2016: 53:48, 361 / 1338 overall, 35 / 89 AG
The run / walk method definitely worked well for me today! I gradually slowed as we progressed through the miles, but had enough energy in reserve to speed up a bit in the final mile.
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| With Tucker Running Club members: above with Judy Tennell and Joel Seskin below with Sheelagh O'Malley, Judy, and Linda Bode Phinney |
1 comment:
Congrats!
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