March 26, 2017: Thoughts during the Morningside Mile

February 21, registering ... this sounds like fun! 
I ran this in 6:52 last year, so here I am!
March 24, at race number pickup:
me: "Hi, I'm Frank McDonald."
employee: "Hmm, I can't find your number.
Are you in the competitive group?

me: "Uhh, yes?"
March 25, from e-mail received at 7:10 pm
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, only one week after the marathon...
March 26, 11:55 am, Everyone to the left of the yellow slash is in the competitive group.
Thanks Kristi Swartz (facing camera in sunglasses), for assuring me that it would be OK to start up here. 
11:59 am, I haven't run this season in temperatures this warm!
12:00:00 pm, The start!
12:00:15, I didn't know that I could run this fast.
12:01:00, I started out much too fast.
12:02:00, This little uphill is killing me!
12:02:10, I'm not at the big hill yet.
12:03:00, Man passes me pushing a stroller.
12:03:15, At the bottom of the hill; I'm already exhausted.
12:04:00, I need a walk break!
12:04:05, That would be embarrassing!
12:04:10, I really need a walk break!
12:05:30, Why didn't you take the walk break?
12:06:15, At last, onto Highland Avenue.
12:06:30, That man passing me is carrying a dog!
12:06:40, Where is that finish line? I'm dying here!
12:06:45, Did I hear the announcer call out "6:45"?!
12:06:53, I see the finish line, 6:53 on the clock!
12:06:55, If I really push it, I will break 7 minutes!
12:06:59, I did it, I DID IT 6:59!
12:08, Only one person seems to have finished ahead of me in our age group, but he finished in 5-something.  
12:15, Feeling better, heart rate close to normal
12:45, Ran for a good cause, fundraiser to save the historic
Virginia Highland Fire Station, Firehouse 19
1:00 pm, That was fun!  Too bad this will be the last year of the race,
having reached the fundraising goal after 7 years. 
 

March 19, 2017: The Publix Georgia Marathon

Goal A: To have fun running the marathon from Atlanta to Decatur and back

Goal B: To run a negative split race (faster second half) 

Goal C: To improve on my time in my first marathon, 5:01:28


After successfully completing my first marathon at Chickamauga in November, I immediately resolved to take on the hills of metro Atlanta in the Publix Georgia Marathon.  I've run the half marathon in 2015 and 2016, and decided that I was ready to take on the challenge of the full 26.2 route.  Even before I began training specifically for today's race, I had run every single block of the marathon route at one time or another, but never all in one go.  The course has a reputation as one of the most challenging city marathons in the country, due to the hilly terrain that is a hallmark of our city.  As a result, the race doesn't draw the elite marathon runners.  For instance, the course record is 2:18:50, blazing fast by regular human standards, but 16 minutes slower than the world record, and 10 - 15 minutes slower than the course records for many other city marathons.  Nonetheless, it is a badge of honor for Atlanta runners to conquer the hills of the Georgia Marathon.  Today was my day!

On North Avenue, in the 3rd mile.
Photo by Malisa Anderson-Strait
Although I was assigned a bib in wave C (of 5 waves), I elected to begin in wave D, as the 4:45 and 5:00 pacers were starting in wave D.  Our wave began the race at 7:09 am, just as the sky was acquiring its first colors of the morning, a beautiful dark blue without a cloud in the sky.  It was quite chilly and a little windy, around 45 deg F at the start, so I wore two shirts and running tights.  I also carried two water bottles containing about 32 ounces combined of slightly diluted Powerade.  I started with the 5:00 pacers, although I lost sight of them almost immediately after the start.  However I rigorously followed a 3:30 run / 0:30 walk interval plan from the beginning, and within a mile or two, the 5:00 pacers passed me on the left side of the road.  One of the pacers, Linda Bode Phinney, in the Tucker Running Club, told me yesterday that they would run at a steady 11:26 min/mile pace.  I had printed out a marathon pace plan from findmymarathon.com, programmed with an aggressive negative split, so my plan meant that I would be about 90 seconds behind the 5:00 pacers by mile 4.  I was relieved to see them pass, knowing that I had not started too quickly.  I passed the 5K mark at 35:05 (11:18 min/mile pace, a little faster than planned) and the 10K mark at 1:10:23 (11:20 min/mile pace), but I felt good and probably would not have been comfortable running much slower.  Somewhere in the second mile I caught up with Malisa Anderson-Strait, another friend in the Tucker Running Club, and we ran together until the half-marathon / marathon split at the mile 7 sign. 
On the Jackson Street bridge crossing Freedom Parkway, in mile 4 (from the marathon Facebook page).
This morning quite a few runners stopped to take photos at the bridge. 
Near the mile 8 marker, a woman was cheering for us at Candler Park, jumping up and down and shouting "You're awesome, you're running a marathon today!!"  I couldn't resist saying  "I'm running the half - did I miss a turn?"  She looked shocked, probably trying to decide what to say, and then I told her "I'm kidding, I'm running the full!"  She replied "You might as well keep going ahead!"  Somewhere in the ninth mile, I passed one of the 5:00 pacers.  I just hoped that wasn't a mistake, the plan was to eventually catch up to them but no earlier than downtown Decatur at mile 13.  However, the run-walk intervals were comfortable and so I continued forward.  To my surprise, in the tenth mile I passed Tes Sobomehin Marshall (runningnerds and Run Social director, and a newlywed).  I think that she was pacing a friend.

As we approached the mile 10 marker on East Lake Road, we encountered the first long significant uphill section of the race.  I slowed down a little, probably took one extra walk break in that section, not wanting to be the least bit tired before reaching the mid-point of the race.  Nevertheless, mile 11 was tough.  Moreover, my fingers were frozen, and I could hardly pull the Shot Bloks from the pocket of my running belt, or get them out of the package, even though I had opened the end of each package before the race had begun.  I remembered then that the temperature was forecast to drop in the first hour or two after sunrise.  It was a huge relief to reach the highest elevation of the race route near the East Lake MARTA station, at the mile 11 marker.  Upon crossing the city limits of Decatur, we were welcomed by signs along the race route, one about every 50 feet or so.  I don't remember many of the signs, but they were all either encouraging the runners or touting the attractions and qualities of Decatur.  Along College Avenue, Elisabeth of the blog Running on E was there to greet runners - nice to see her for a second! 

The cheer groups were small in the first part of the race, although quite a few people were watching and cheering from their homes.  A few small groups set up some unofficial water and food stops along the way.  When we reached Agnes Scott College at the beginning of mile 13, an enthusiastic group of students greeted us with an official water stop as we ran the curved drive at the front of the campus.  Shortly after leaving campus, we reached the easternmost end of the race route, and turned left onto Commerce Drive, under a railroad bridge.  Although we were running uphill for a moment, I was looking forward to this stage of the race, making a triumphant run into downtown Decatur.  Quite a few people were cheering us on, just as I had hoped.  On East Ponce de Leon Avenue, a group from Decatur United Methodist Church was cheering, holding ersatz stone tablets a la Charlton Heston: "Thou shalt not thirst" and "Thou shalt finish" were memorable.  There was a fairly large and enthusiastic crowd for the few blocks that we ran through downtown Decatur.  
The hill at the 1:49:32 mark was truly as steep as it appeared in the screen shot above. 
I crossed the half-marathon timing mat at 2:23:11 (10:56 min/mile pace for the first half).   That was several minutes faster than planned, but when I checked my timing from Chickamauga, my half-marathon split was 2:21:30, so I seemed to have a bit more self-discipline this morning.  Knowing that the next three miles would be net downhill, I started to speed up after we turned north onto Clairmont Road, running close to a 10:00 min/mile pace.  As we made a left turn at the busy intersection of Clairmont Road with North Decatur Road, we encountered another enthusiastic cheering group and water station.  In fact we enjoyed many outstanding cheer groups in the second half of the marathon route, perfectly situated, as that was when we really needed their encouragement.  

The sixteenth mile of the race ran through the Emory University campus.  By this time the temperature was a few degrees warmer, and my fingers had thawed out, thank goodness.  For the past mile or so, I had spotted the 4:45 pace group just ahead of me, and on Haygood Road, I caught up to them.  They were running 3 minute run / 1 minute walk intervals.  Without thinking, I passed them.  I didn't think that was such a good move, but I managed to stay a bit ahead of them for the next seven miles.  I could hear the pace leader announce walk breaks and run transitions throughout, so I was never more than a couple of hundred feet ahead of them.  Unfortunately, my Garmin battery was running low.  I figured that if my watch stopped, I would just follow their cues, as they and I were both on 4-minute cycles.  However, their running intervals were a little faster-paced than I preferred, so I decided to stay with my plan as long as my watch was working.  

The Emory campus was fairly quiet as we arrived in the sixteenth mile.  As I passed the Dobbs University Center where my very first 5K started and finished in October 2013, I saw one of the students in my Chem 222 class this semester, cheering loudly as I passed.  That student is getting an A!  I turned at Asbury Circle in the center of campus, just as the clock in the tower at Cox Hall was sounding 10:00 am.  That put me nearly 10 minutes ahead of the plan, but I was still feeling good, and running strongly.  Shortly after Asbury Circle, we passed the Chemistry buildings, and then the classroom in which I'm teaching in the Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies (PAIS) building.  Leaving campus, the wonderful downhill ride ended with a fairly steep climb into Emory Village, at the mile 16 marker.  The next 10.2 miles were going to be tough.  At least I was well-prepared for everything that we were about to encounter. 

Turning onto Lullwater Road, we went up-up-up through the beautiful Druid Hills neighborhood.  Those hills were no joke!  I took a walk break through a water station hosted by the Girl Scouts, who passed out cookies for nutrition.  The mint-flavored Oreos tasted really good!  Finally we reached the intersection with Ponce de Leon, where the road continued to go up-up-up.  Fortunately I did a 3-mile shakeout run in this area on Friday afternoon, so my recollections of the elevations were fresh.  Turning north at the corner of Oakdale Road, the road started downhill, but only for a moment, then up-up-up again!  The cookies might not have been such a good idea, as my stomach churned a bit, but then the feeling subsided, fortunately.  At this stage, it seemed that some of the mile markers were missing, although there was a clock at about mile 18.  Turning onto North Decatur Road for one block, then we headed south again on Springdale Road.  As I suspected, the uphill sections were much tougher after 18 miles than they were when I would start my training runs at Emory, when those hills were encountered in miles 1, 2, or 3.  The mile 19 water station was sponsored by Clif Bars, who had erected a giant balloon arch across the entire roadway!  Too bad they were passing out gels, which I declined.  Turning right on the By Way, up-up-up, we finally reached Briarcliff Road, which we ran for just a few hundred feet, before turning right on Stillwood into the Virginia Highland neighborhood, crossing the timing mat at the mile 20 marker (3:36:41, 10:51 min/mile pace).  Wow, I was far ahead of plan, I think 13 minutes ahead of the plan.  Despite the challenge of Druid Hills, I had run strongly.  Surely I could run the final 10K in less than 83 minutes, beating my goal of 5:00! 

I had forgotten that the first part of Stillwood was a nice downhill run.  But that lasted for only about a block, as the road ahead soared up into the sky.  I could see one of the wheelchair racers struggling up the hill.  He had a bicycle escort encouraging him, and I eventually caught up to him as he neared the top.  I was so happy to have the traction of my feet on the road, as I was certain that I would not have had the arm strength to roll myself up that hill.  Many people in this neighborhood were lining the street, cheering us on through one of the toughest parts of the race.  The road took a right turn onto Los Angeles Avenue, where Bob Wells from the Atlanta Track Club training programs recognized me.  He was wearing a wave A bib, but apparently decided to stop and cheer the other runners on for a while.  Deep into the Virginia Highlands neighborhood, we ran through a huge cheer group and water station manned by Emory students.  I cheered for them as I ran through, shouting "Go Emory!!" and was rewarded with a tremendous cheer as I ran through the entire station.  Thanks Emory students, you were the best cheer group today, among many outstanding groups! 

21 miles down, and I was still feeling pretty good, despite the challenge of the hills.  We entered another one of my favorite parts of the race route, paralleling the half-marathon route for about 1/2 mile, crossing the Park Avenue bridge into Piedmont Park.  In past years there have been outstanding cheer groups on the bridge when I've run the half-marathon, but today it was silent.  Perhaps they had left after the half-marathon course had closed, about an hour ago, at least in this section.  As we approached the Active Oval, the 4:45 pace group caught up to and passed me.  We ran together for a short time, but they pulled well ahead before we left Piedmont Park.  

Exiting through the 12th Avenue gate, we ran/walked up one of the most brutal parts of the race route, the 12th Avenue hill.  This is at mile 9 of the Hotlanta Half, difficult enough in that race, but after 22 miles, it was as challenging as I had expected.  It seemed to take me forever to get up that hill.  I would run for a minute, then walk 30 seconds, then try to run again for a minute (or less).  At that point I knew that I wasn't going to catch up with the 4:45 pacers.  But fortunately that wasn't really my goal, I was still going to break 5:00 with some minutes to spare, as long as my legs didn't fall off.  I didn't realize it until after I had finished the race, but I covered that mile in 12:12, faster than it had felt at the time.  In the Chickamauga marathon, I was running 13 and 14 minute miles by that stage of the race, on a relatively flat course.  Unfortunately I ran out of my own water at this point, and had to rely solely on the last two water stations for hydration.  However I had been taking some water or Powerade at virtually every water station to this stage, in addition to what I was sipping between water stations, so my overall hydration level was fine. 

Race route according to my Garmin.  There was one spot where the reception must have taken a strange reflection from a building, and then the watch died as I passed the 25 mile marker, but it's basically a closed loop, with the finish line just a few hundred feet from the starting point. 


The next two miles were challenging, running at about a 12 min/mile pace.  The net elevation changes were uphill, although there were some downhill sections on Spring Street.  Finally we turned right onto 5th Street, rejoining the half marathon route for the rest of the race.  As we headed into the Georgia Tech campus, I had hoped that I could speed up in some downhill sections on Techwood Drive in the 25th mile, but I was struggling quite a bit by this late stage of the race, taking walk breaks every couple of minutes.  At least I was still moving and was upright!  In contrast to my experience at Chickamauga, I didn't have trouble transitioning to running after walk breaks, so that was a big improvement in today's race.  Shortly after the last water station - and oranges! at Georgia Tech, we reached the mile 25 marker, just as my watch died, at 4:35 elapsed.  But by this point, I didn't really need the watch anymore.  I had relied on the watch to signal walk breaks and to monitor my heart rate in the early miles, but now that I was near the end, I didn't care if my heart rate reached a maximum heading into the finish line.  The race volunteers were encouraging us to keep pushing our way up Marietta Street.  If I hadn't run the half-marathon finish on this street in the past, I probably would have had a lot of trouble finishing.  But today I had a good sense of exactly how things would go, and ticked off landmarks as we drew closer to downtown Atlanta and Centennial Olympic Park.  Finally I caught sight of the building marking the corner of the last turn into the park, knowing that the finish line was only 0.1 mile away.  The crowds were pretty large at this point, and I tried to acknowledge them with a thumbs-up or a wave.  As I turned the corner, I thought that I heard the announcer call my name.  I put every last bit of energy into the finish, and heard my name again as I drew near the finish line.  I could see 4:57 on the clock, so I was going to smash my chip time goal of 5 hours, as I had started with a 9-1/2 minute delay in wave D!  I even managed to finish before 12:00 pm, which was my dream goal!  Crossing the finish line, I celebrated with both hands in the air, then again, and for good measure after walking 15 seconds, one more time!  Sort of like I just won the entire marathon!  4:48:13 chip time (11:01 min/mile average pace), 4:57:53 on the clock.  That went better than expected!!  With the watch failing at the 25 mile marker, it took 13 minutes to run 1.2 miles, so I ran about an 11 min/mile pace at the end, which was much better than the final stage at Chickamauga! 
Thanks Bonnie for capturing my photo at the finish!
Video link here
The only goal that I didn't quite achieve was the negative split, running the first half in 2:23:11, and the second half in 2:25:02.  But the two halves were close enough so that I was very pleased that I had executed a solid plan.  Now I just have to decide which race will be my fall marathon!!
Showing off the medal at the post-race lunch, at Ted's Montana Grill.
In contrast to my post-race barbecue rack of ribs after my first marathon,
I ate relatively healthy today, enjoying a bison burger and asparagus instead of fries,
but indulging in one delicious chocolate cookie for dessert! 

March 14, 2017: Publix Georgia Marathon route and photos

I've lived in Atlanta for nearly two decades, now longer than any other place that I have lived.  Yet before I began running in 2013, there were so many gems in Atlanta that I had not seen, or had not noticed when passing in an automobile.  In the past four years, I've enjoyed getting to know metro Atlanta from the many miles covered on foot.  These experiences have given me a strong sense of ownership of the city and pride in the region.  I've fallen in love with Atlanta, my adopted hometown.  

I was really upset when the incoming President claimed that Atlanta, and specifically the 5th Congressional District, including much of the City of Atlanta and several of its closest suburbs, was "in horrible shape and falling apart".  


Since the end of the Great Recession, the economy in many parts of metro Atlanta has been booming.  I won't claim that Atlanta is perfect: there are still some big problems to address.  But the city has made so much progress in many areas since I arrived in 1998.  Metro Atlanta has a bright future, especially if people from all groups continue working together to make our great city even greater! 
Virtually all of the 26.2 miles of the Georgia Marathon route (red loop) runs through the 5th district. 
In preparing for the marathon, I've run every single block of the race route, although never in a single run.
My longest training run this cycle was a 20-miler in early February, taking several short cuts to
skip some of the "hernias" apparent on the race map, above (link here to larger map). 
On the Facebook site for the Georgia Marathon, the race organizers have posted a series of photos, one from each mile of the race.  I've collected them together below:   
As we gather at the start line, we will be able to see the Skyview ferris wheel,
and the Westin Hotel, both landmarks of downtown Atlanta.  
In the past two decades, Georgia State University has grown in prestige.
GSU is also a major contributor to the ongoing renaissance of downtown Atlanta.  
Central Park is at the north end of the Old Fourth Ward, an area of the
City of Atlanta that has undergone considerable transformation
driven in part by the Eastside Beltline walkway. 
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.  He and his father both served as pastors
at Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jackson Street.
Rev. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his
non-violent leadership of the American civil rights movement.  
Inman Park was Atlanta's first suburb, founded in the late 19th century.
The neighborhood has revived in recent decades and is now one of the nicest
intown neighborhoods in the City of Atlanta.  
Little Five Points covers a few blocks of a delightfully funky part of Atlanta,
on the border between Fulton and DeKalb counties.   
Our 39th President Jimmy Carter built his presidential library in Atlanta.
In 2002, President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize to honor the Carter Center's
work "to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy
and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."
Manuel's Tavern is a popular pub and restaurant at the corner of North Avenue and
North Highland Avenue.  Famous in the 20th century as a meeting place
 for DeKalb County politicians, Manuel's also marks the point
where the half-marathon and full-marathon routes will diverge. 
Candler Park marks the eastern edge of the City of Atlanta.
One of my favorite restaurants, the Flying Biscuit Cafe,
opened its first location at the corner of McClendon Avenue and Clifton Road.  
The race briefly runs east on Ponce De Leon Avenue, the main east-west street
linking the downtown areas of Atlanta and Decatur.
This mile will be memorable as we run past the Cator-Woolford Gardens,
the beautiful location where Bonnie and I married in 2010.  
East Lake Road is a less traveled route into the City of Decatur.  Although
we won't run much further to the south, East Lake Road continues to the
East Lake Golf Club, the home of the PGA Tour Championship.    
As we enter the City of Decatur, the Thankful Baptist Church is a landmark
in the Oakhurst neighborhood.  A few decades ago, this neighborhood was quite distressed,
but has since become a thriving residential neighborhood.  Many of the Thursday evening runs
with the Big Peach Running Company - Decatur explore the Oakhurst neighborhood.
The second of four of metro Atlanta's college campuses on the marathon route is
Agnes Scott College.  This renowned women's college lies just south of downtown Decatur.
The 13.1 mile mark lies on Ponce De Leon Avenue near Decatur Square, a popular restaurant
and entertainment district adjacent to the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Our first date was at the Brickstore Pub on Decatur Square. 
The YMCA on Clairemont Avenue marks the northern boundary of the
City of Decatur, however the neighborhoods to the north are generally also
considered to be Decatur in community if not in fact.  We also very briefly leave the
5th District, but just for a few blocks. 
After re-entering the 5th District on North Decatur Road, we will run
through the middle of the Emory University campus.  The route will take us
directly past my office and laboratory in the Department of Chemistry. 
We enter my old neighborhood of Druid Hills, where I lived from 1998 - 2007.  
I've run the rolling hills many times on afternoon runs starting at the
Emory campus, however it will be a bigger challenge to tackle these
hills at mile 16 rather than at mile 1, 2, or 3! 
Many people may have first heard of Druid Hills when they watched the
1990 film, "Driving Miss Daisy."  I believe that the mile 17 marker is in the
same block as the house used in the film.  
This part of the race route passes within a couple of blocks of my old home.
Druid Hills is said to be one of the most memorable parts of the race route,
whether it's from the beautiful spring blooms or
the suffering that many runners experience in the hills!
The By Way runs for a few blocks through the center of Druid Hills,
roughly in an east-west direction.  I've only run this
block on a couple of occasions, as this street has no sidewalks.  
We will leave Druid Hills, returning into the City of Atlanta, only to be greeted
by a rather steep hill on Stillwood Drive.  This turns into Los Angeles Avenue,
which will take us through the heart of the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.
Highland Avenue is quite accurately named. 
Shortly after the mile 21 marker, we will rejoin the half-marathon route,
although our paths will diverge again upon entering Piedmont Park.
This photo shows the Park Avenue bridge, which is one of my favorite parts
of the half-marathon route (mile 9), with several fun and enthusiastic
 cheering groups.  I hope that I will enjoy it just as much after 21 miles!
The half-marathon route exits Piedmont Park to the south,
at the Charles Allen entrance, which marks the finish line
of the 10K Peachtree Road Race on Independence Day.
The full-marathon exits to the west, onto 12th Street.
The beautiful gate obscures the view of the toughest uphill section of the route.
Thank goodness the 12th Street challenge is only one long block!
This particular Publix grocery store is actually well past the mile 23 marker,
on Spring Street.  My goal is to conserve enough energy so that I can begin to
speed up a bit in this section.  Less than 5K to the finish line! 
We will enter the Georgia Tech campus near the mile 24 marker, rejoining the
half-marathon route for the remainder of the race.  The photo is inside Bobby Dodd
 stadium at the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive.
I attended my first sports event at Georgia Tech earlier this month,
the inaugural game of Atlanta's new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United.
Atlanta United will join the NFL Atlanta Falcons team in the new
Mercedes-Benz stadium, which will open near downtown Atlanta in July. 
The College Football Hall of Fame opened in downtown Atlanta in 2014.
It's actually near the 26 mile marker.  By this point, we will have run on a gentle
but steady uphill for more than a mile, on Marietta Street.  In 2015, I ran my first
negative-split half marathon and finished strongly despite the long uphill finish.
In 2016, I had started the race more quickly, and struggled in the last mile, although
I managed to improve my course time by 3 minutes.  Let's hope that I conserve
enough energy in the marathon to enjoy this final stretch! 
The half- and full-marathon races will end in Centennial Olympic Park,
less than a block from where both races will begin shortly after 7 am.  The Park was built
in downtown Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics, and has become one of the most popular
gathering spots in metro Atlanta.  The World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium,
and the Center for Civil and Human Rights are located on the north side of the Park.

March 11, 2017: Charles Harris Run for Leukemia 10K

2014 course time: 55:30 (354th out of 588 finishers, 40th %ile)

2015 course time: 54:43 (276th out of 452 finishers, 39th %ile)

2016 course time: 53:43 (314th out of 647 finishers, 51st %ile)

PR: 51:40 (Singleton 10K, April 16, 2016, 122nd out of 457 finishers, 73rd %ile)


After completing the marathon in November, I gained between 5 - 10 pounds.  It began with a giant barbecue rib platter in Chattanooga, a few hours after completing my first marathon.  I kept eating as if I was still in training, even though I was in post-marathon recovery (lower mileage, slower speed).  The effects began to show when my times in subsequent races were slower than a year ago (Galloway Half Marathon, Resolution Run 4 mile, Livvy's Love 8K, Hearts and Soles 5K).  Was it the aging process, was I not yet recovered (or slightly injured) from the marathon, or was it the extra weight that I was hauling up the hills of Atlanta that was slowing me down? 

Available at iBooks or Amazon.com
Hoping that it was the last reason, I tried to regain the self-discipline that had helped me to lose over 50 pounds in 2013-2014, and to maintain the weight loss through 2015-2016, but my best intentions failed when confronted with the temptations of delicious desserts.  Then I suffered three falls in the disastrous Thrill in the Hills half-marathon trail run three weeks ago.  Taking off one full week from running didn't help, although I needed the time for the badly strained chest muscles to heal, and to regain my confidence in running.  

Fortunately I recovered sufficiently from the falls, to resume running a couple of weeks ago.  I felt that my fitness would be sufficient to run the marathon (coming up on March 19), but was concerned about carrying the extra weight on a course that would be much hillier than the Chickamauga Marathon route.  A couple of weeks ago, I ran into Beverly Ford at a runningnerds event, and she told me about the 10-day cleanse that she and Brian Minor had begun.  After one last hurrah at Grub Burger about 10 days ago, I decided to begin the program.  For the past 9 days, I have consumed almost exclusively green leafy vegetable and fruit smoothies, with added powdered plant protein supplement, and snacking on nuts and hard fruit and vegetables (carrots, celery, apples).  It's basically a vegan diet, except that I can occasionally supplement protein needs with hard-boiled eggs.  On the few occasions that I went out to dinner, I ordered green vegetable plates, or lentil soups or curries, which were pretty filling and close enough to adhere to the plan. 

Yesterday's lunch. 

The good news: the plan has worked!  The hardest part was surrendering my coffee habit (3 - 4 cups before noon) and suffering through a couple of days of caffeine-withdrawal headaches, but after that phase had passed, I felt intensely hungry only on a couple of days.  The smoothies actually tasted pretty good, thanks to the flavors of the fruit.  I lost 7 - 8 pounds!  In a couple of 4 to 5 mile runs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, I felt strong and light on my feet.  Best of all, I finished the program with a positive attitude, not wanting to gorge myself when I returned to eating regular food.  
Pre-race dinner at Bambinelli's on Northlake Parkway.
Front row: Bonnie Youn, Lindy Liu, Kathie Walker, Russell Walker, Nicole Cannata
Back row: Roberto Chalon Saskor, Myriam Fentanes, Kettan Bivek, Carolyn Weber, me, Richard Wilson, Grayson Cannata, my bald spot (in mirror), and Curt Walker. 
I deliberately broke the plan last night at the pre-race dinner with others in the Tucker Running Club, eating only about 1/3 of a generous serving of shrimp fra diavolo at Bambinelli's in the Northlake area, and taking only two bites of their delicious, complimentary, buttery garlic knots.  I decided to stop at 9 days, as I wanted to return to eating some solid food before running today's race.  I also ate my usual pre-race breakfast of oatmeal with almond milk this morning.  I decided that I would restrict coffee to mornings when I was racing or running.  Coffee will now be an occasional indulgence, and not a daily habit.  We'll see how I do with that resolution, but if I'm experiencing caffeine-withdrawal headaches, I must accept that I've been drinking far too much coffee.  

In the warmth of the Tucker High School gym,
about an hour before the start of the race. 
(Dear readers, by now I have probably lost many of you.  You probably thought you were going to read a race report, instead of learning about my diet for the last two weeks.)  

This morning was my fourth consecutive year running the Charles Harris Run for Leukemia 10K.  The temperature was cool, around 40 deg F, but with low humidity and a nice early morning sun, it promised to be perfect race weather.  I promised myself that this year, I wouldn't start out too fast, aiming for about an 8:30 min / mile pace for the first mile.  Actually I set my watch to kilometers, as it was easier for me to track progress in 5 minute intervals, so the goal was to start out at about 5:30 for the first kilometer, and then gradually speed up a bit as the race progressed.  

In the hour before the race, I stretched and warmed up and stretched again, and felt really good as we lined up for the start.  In past years, I've finished about 2/3 of the way back in the finish times (it's a race that attracts many fast runners), and so this morning I resolved to start about 2/3 of the way back from the starting line.  The race started shortly after 7:45 am.  From the first few hundred yards, I felt really good, but successfully restrained myself from starting out too fast.  
Tucker Running Club team photo-op, about 45 minutes before the race.  There were more TRC members that arrived later!
Kettan Bivek, Ryan Shams, Bonnie Youn, me, Beverly Ford, Brian Minor, Nicole Galdamez, and Cap'n Curt Walker
The kilometers / miles passed very easily.  I ran a very steady pace, slowing slightly on uphill sections to ensure that my heart rate didn't rise too high, and then extending my stride to easily enjoy speeding up on the downhill sections.  I took short walk breaks at both water stations, shortly before the 3 mile and 5 mile markers.  I was really excited to reach the 4 mile marker in 33 minutes, better than my 4-mile race PR, and knowing that the next couple of miles would be mostly downhill.  When I passed the 5 mile marker (8 km) at 41 minutes, I knew that I could finish in 51 minutes if I could run the last two kilometers in 10 minutes.  As the ninth kilometer was a continuous downhill stretch, I sped up quite easily, running much of that section at a 7:15 min / mile pace, and passing quite a few people.  In fact I was rarely passed at all today, especially after everyone settled into place after the first mile.  

Hurray for 150 foot net elevation drop! 


I knew that the last kilometer would be tough, but I was mentally prepared and had a little reserve of physical energy.  I continued to pass a few people in this section, especially going uphill.  It was a little painful to push myself so hard, but my legs appreciated the lighter weight, and then I extended my lead on downhill sections.  I reached the 6 mile marker at about 49 minutes on my watch, caught the first glimpse of the finish line banner, and was determined to finish strongly.  I wasn't going to let any of the people that I had just passed catch up with me!  As I neared the finish line, I saw speedster friends Simon Blakey and Brian Minor cheering me on.  The clock ticked over to 51 minutes shortly before I crossed the line.  Knowing that my 10K PR was 51:40, and my course PR was just under 54 minutes, I was absolutely thrilled to smash both of my personal records!  After crossing the timing mats, I allowed myself a huge fist pump!!  Perhaps a sub-51 minute finish wasn't a big deal for many of the people watching, but for me it was an incredible accomplishment!  Official chip time, 50:48!! 

When I looked at the splits, I saw that I ran the race perfectly for my physical ability.  The first kilometer was the slowest at 5:18, and then I sped up a bit for every one of the remaining kilometers, exactly as planned.  I was a tad slower in kilometers 5 and 8 due to short walk breaks at the water stations, but that also worked out perfectly, as I was able to get back up to speed very easily, giving my heart a short break from all-out effort. 

We need a Tucker Running Club house,
to hang up our team bling! 
We registered several Tucker Running Club members as a team.  Both the women's open and the men's masters open won 2nd place in our respective divisions!  Our team ran with Brian Minor (45:37 gun time), Curt Walker (48:13 gun time) and me (51:06 gun time) = 2:24:46, finishing second only to the Atlanta Track Club elite team.  

The members-only guaranteed registration window for the Peachtree Road Race closes in a few days.  Based on the 2016 standards, today's finish time puts me squarely in the middle of the C wave (10K standards, 49:44 - 53:02), so when I register later today, I will submit my miraculous 5K time from the Atlanta Hawks Fast Break 5K from April 2016, 23:52 (cutoff for B wave with 5K standards in 2016 was 23:58).  Whether I'm assigned into wave B or wave C, it will be a good wave for me to begin the Peachtree Road Race in July.