In early August each summer, the Atlanta Track Club hosts a 5K at Chastain Park. It's one of the hilliest courses in town, held on one of the hottest days of the year. I've run it only once (in 2015), but registered for it this year, as one of the free races for Atlanta Track Club members. I hoped that I would be ready for the challenge, trying to improve on my previous time of 26:04, when the possibility of a "reprieve" arose in an e-mail sent by the track club on Wednesday evening:
I was joking that they could fill the sinkhole with water and make it a steeplechase race, but by Friday morning, the switch to the one-mile race was official:
and a race route was posted:
Although I don't know the area that well, surely it couldn't be as hilly as the 5K route, given that the difficult was climbing a hill from the south to the start/finish area, around which the 1-mile was routed.
Bonnie and I arrived around 6:30 am, in plenty of time to pick up our bibs, say hi to a few friends, and stretch. I wanted to warm up carefully, and also reconnoiter the race route. The beginning was a nice downhill, then the route along Wieuca Road seemed to be mostly level. There was a sharp left turn onto Dudley Lane that was a steep uphill, but it was a fairly short stretch, only about 100 meters. Another left turn continued at a gentler uphill, but then the race concluded with a gentle downhill into the finish line.
I ran one more mile to the car and back to get thoroughly warmed up. I decided to run without my cellphone, to avoid having any weight jostling around my waist. Since it was only a mile and would be largely shaded, I also decided to run without a cap or sunglasses. I also deliberately left the heart monitor strap in the car: in a 1-mile race, the alarm was going to sound after 1/2 mile, and I was going to ignore it for the last 1/2 mile, so why bother? I joined the Tucker Running Club for a quick group photo, and then caught up with the wave aiming to run under an 8 min/mile pace as they headed to the starting line. My goal was to run under 7:00 minutes. Although I didn't know if it would be possible, my legs felt good this morning, and I felt that I would have a good run. On the other hand, the temperature was 72 deg F, and humidity 88%, due to rain that had fallen overnight.
While we waited for the fastest wave to begin (faster than 6 min/mile), I tried to keep moving, to keep my legs warmed up. I noticed that the number of runners appeared to be much smaller than I remembered from the 5K two years ago (actual numbers: 489 finishers today; 1008 finishers for the 5K in 2015). I was in the second wave. With the announcement "Runners set; GO!" the airhorn sounded and we took off.
0:00, 901 ft elevation: Everyone around me seemed to begin running around the same pace, which was good. After a slight downhill start, the road turned more steeply downhill within 100 feet of the start, and I rocketed forward to the first turn.
1:00, 858 ft elevation: I made the left turn onto Wieuca Road, crossing the lowest point of the course at 1:15 (0.21 mile). During my easy jog 30 minutes earlier, I had not noticed that Wieuca Road was slightly uphill, but certainly felt it as my pace began to slow. Nonetheless I was moving well, not falling behind, and passing the occasional runner that had sprinted faster than he/she could maintain.
4:35, 900 ft elevation (0.63 mi): I made a sharp left turn onto Dudley Lane and looked up the steep uphill, but I was ready for it! Pumping my arms vigorously, I made good time up the hill.
5:00, 930 ft elevation (0.70 mi): Having conquered Dudley Lane, after turning onto Chastain Memorial Parkway, I started to feel a bit tired. My average pace was measuring slower than 7 min/mi.
5:50, 956 ft elevation (0.78 mi): Upon nearing the highest point of the race route, I forced myself to speed up. I knew that I didn't have much further to go. As the road leveled out, my breathing became easier, and then I picked up the pace again.
6:50, 951 ft elevation (0.90 mi): I caught the first glimpse of the finish area through the trees. Not much further! I found a faster gear and began to accelerate. Now into the downhill part of the finish area, I saw Curt Walker and Brian Minor cheering me on! And then I thought I heard footsteps behind me. I wasn't going to be passed if I could help it! Encouraged by my friends and spurred by the fear of being passed at the finish line, I rocketed ahead with one last sprint, crossing the timing mat just ahead of the unseen competitor.
7:16, 942 ft finish (1.00 mi): I was a little disappointed to finish more slowly than in any other 1-mile race run in the past few years (6:52, 6:59, 7:03, 7:07), despite feeling that I had run pretty well. But I joined Curt and Brian just short of the finish line to cheer on other friends as they finished the race. As a result, I missed the drama of a runner collapsing after the finish. An ambulance came down the hill through the finish line just a few minutes after I had finished, with runners that had begun with the 10 min/mile group. I learned that he was approximately my age (although for his privacy I won't share more about his identity on this site). Fortunately I heard that he was revived, but it was certainly a sobering conclusion to the race.
It wasn't until I checked the Garmin data at home that I discovered that the race was 41 feet net uphill! The Morningside Mile route was steeper but was 20 feet net downhill. With that information, I was very satisfied with today's run. In fact I enjoyed the route and wonder if in future years the 1-miler might be an attractive alternative option for participants not wanting to run a 5K in summer heat and humidity.
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| After the race, about 20 of Beverly Ford's friends joined a small party to celebrate her birthday! I'll post a larger group photo when received, but here is Bonnie, me, Brian, and Beverly. |
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