On Labor Day, the Big Peach Running Company and Miles for Cystic Fibrosis team up to sponsor the Big Peach Sizzler, a 10K road race from the northeastern suburb of Chamblee to the TowerPlace mall in Buckhead. I recall as a child learning about cystic fibrosis (CF) as a genetic disease, and those afflicted rarely lived to be adults. When I began running this race in 2014, I learned that so much has changed: with modern treatments and medications, many people now live with CF into adulthood. Unfortunately their lives are still difficult, complicated by many surgeries and constant vigilance against lung infections.
In my first post on this race three years ago (September 1, 2014), I briefly mentioned that my research laboratory has a project directed to the chemical synthesis of brevenal (structure below), a naturally occurring compound produced by the Florida red tide algae. Brevenal improves lung function in an animal model for CF. Unfortunately most of the brevenal used in this work must be carefully separated from the highly neurotoxic compounds produced by the red tide algae. At least three other laboratories have completed chemical syntheses of brevenal, but their work - as well as our own - has convinced me that the scientific community needs new chemical transformations for cyclic ether formation, if we are to develop a truly practical synthesis of brevenal and related compounds. In the past three years, my two most recent Ph.D. graduates have made substantial progress on chemical approaches to the synthesis of brevenal and tamulamide B, and in August we submitted two manuscripts on this work which are currently undergoing peer review. Despite this progress, we have also uncovered some limitations with currently available methods, so we have a very long way to go before we might claim a practical contribution to a treatment for CF, but nonetheless there is a distant connection to my research interests.
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| Structures of two naturally occurring, potentially beneficial compounds separated from neurotoxic compounds produced by red tide algae |
I've run this race for four straight years, and have improved my time each year. It may not be an accident that the temperature on race day has also been a few degrees lower in each year:
This summer has been long and hot, but in the past few days, the overnight temperatures have been dropping into the low 60 deg F. And at the start of today's race, the temperature was an amazing 58 deg F! I was excited to see how I might run in relatively cool conditions, after struggling through July and August evening runs in the 80s and low 90s.
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| September 4 in Atlanta, can you believe it?! |
In addition to the unusually cool temperature, the race was offering pace groups aiming for 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65 minute finish times. I was curious if I could keep up with the 50 minute pace group (my personal best for the 10K distance is 50:20) and decided that I would line up between the 50 minute and 55 minute pacers, and try to keep the 50 minute pacers in sight for as long as possible.
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| 7:26 am: The 50 minute pace flag is in front of me (facing east toward sunrise), the 55 minute pacers are behind me. |
And then, I also had one more advantage over virtually all of the other competitors in today's race: on Friday evening, my mother-in-law had generously given us a pot of homemade chicken ginseng soup, sam-gye-tang. This traditional Korean soup is touted for its medicinal benefits and its ability to boost physical stamina. I've written about eating this soup the evening before my first 10-mile race and my second half-marathon. As I enjoyed a bowl of this delicious soup on Saturday evening and a second bowl on Sunday evening, I was hoping that I might at least improve on last year's time.
Arriving at the race start about an hour ahead of time, I had plenty of time to thoroughly stretch. I began to warm up but after about 1/2 mile, my legs felt good and I thought that I would be better off using the porta-potty before beginning the race. I found my starting position, about 20 feet behind the 50 minute pacer. I knew that the time was approaching for the 7:30 am start, and my Garmin watch was synced and ready to begin. With the buzz of conversation, I didn't hear any preliminary announcement of the start, but heard the report of the starter's pistol, and began moving toward the timing mat with the rest of the crowd. The timing mat did not cross the full width of the roadway, so we had to crowd in a bit to make sure that our chip start was recorded. By the time that I had crossed the timing mat, the 50 minute pace flag was at least 100 feet ahead of me. And in the video that Bonnie made of the start (I'm in orange shirt, visible at 42 seconds) you can see that the 55 minute pacers aren't far behind me.
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| Same course as in previous years, with the sun behind us |
It didn't take too long for me to get up to a decent pace, about 8:30 min / mile. On my left shoulder I heard someone say "Hi Frank!" and then "I'm going to try to keep up with you today." It was Kilsun Hogue, a CDC scientist that we've met in previous running events. Actually I was thinking that perhaps it should be the other way around, especially as we began talking in the first mile, and she mentioned taking three months off from running after her Boston qualifier (! that means that she has run a sub-4 hour marathon !) But fortunately I was running well, finishing the first mile in 8:14 - and with the 50 minute pacers still in sight.
After the 1-mile marker, the race route narrowed to one lane. For a moment I found myself behind a couple of other runners that slowed me down just a bit. I had to wait until enough of a gap opened between them to pass through without bumping anyone. Kilsun was about 50 feet ahead of me, and the pacers considerably further ahead. And I took a very short walk break at the water stop about 1.5 miles in, even though I was also carrying a bottle of Nuun on my hydration belt. However, I was gradually able to catch up with Kilsun over the next half-mile. We were also closing the gap on the 50 minute pace group! I was amazed to finish mile 2 in 7:33, less than 16 minutes elapsed.
Starting a little slower in the first mile and then speeding up in the second mile was definitely more sustainable than if I had begun too quickly. I felt strong as I caught up with the 50 minute pacers in the third mile, in 7:45, and 23:30 elapsed. Wow, this would have been an excellent 5K time for me. And even though I had another 5K to the finish line, I felt like I just might be able to stick with the pacers for awhile. The camaraderie of being carried along by the group was helpful. In addition to three or four uniformed pacers, there were at least a dozen other runners in the pack at any time. For a while I was drafting off of a taller fellow, until he sensed that I was right behind him, and he moved aside to let me pass. That was not my intention - but probably I was making him nervous, with all my heavy breathing. My watch sounded mile 4 in 7:54, and I passed the mile 4 marker on the road at 31:45 elapsed, setting a personal best for any 4-mile distance!
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| Long walk break at 4.6 miles, and slowed crossing GA-400 overpass at 5.2 miles. But this shows a very strong finish! |
I was beginning to struggle a bit at this stage, and the pace group opened up a small gap. Sweat was streaming off my head into my eyes, which I would try to wipe away with my hands. I regretted that I had not carried a cool towel for this race. But I was still OK. The heart rate monitor was sounding on occasion, but not consistently, and not at all when running downhill, which was a very good sign. And the pacers had not opened up any more of a gap. They were running consistently at the 8 min / mile pace needed for a 50 minute finish. I reminded myself that they had a 100-foot head start on me, so I didn't have to catch up to them, just keep close to them. Then I was encouraged by the sight of Nordstrom's in the distance, indicating that we were approaching Phipps Plaza, after which we would have finished 5 miles. I took a walk break at the water stop around 4-1/2 miles, accepting a cup of water and also taking a couple of swigs from my Nuun bottle. That was probably a full 30 second break, and the gap between me and the pace group increased a bit more, but the walk break really helped. And bringing along my own hydration / electrolyte mixture was definitely a good idea. I was able to get back up to a decent speed, finishing mile 5 in 8:09, and passing the mile 5 marker around 39:45.
Wow, 5 miles in less than 40 minutes! If I could maintain an 8:00 min / mile pace, I would finish in 50 minutes, setting a new personal best for the 10K distance. I was seriously tired by now, but I still managed to keep the gap from growing with the pace group. My psychology began to play tricks with me: "Don't let up, you're about to set a new PR!" followed by "You don't want to set a PR that you will never ever break!" and then "Don't be silly, you've been wanting to run a sub-50 minute 10K for more than three years!"
Passing the overpass over GA-400 was a challenge, but here was an advantage to having run the race several times before: I knew that the hardest part was now over. I managed to regain some speed, and then the big street sign for Piedmont Road came into view. Last night I had reviewed last year's blog post, reminding me that I had made the turn onto Piedmont Road at 50 minutes. I took a quick look at my watch after making the turn: 46 minutes! Could it be that I was 4 minutes ahead of last year's pace? Incredible!
Knowing that I only had a few more blocks to the finish, I forced my legs to move as fast as they could. Reaching the mile 6 marker in 7:58, and then making the next-to-last turn onto Lenox Road, I saw just over 48 minutes on my watch. Was it one block or two to the finish? If it was two blocks, I wasn't going to break 50 minutes. But in a very short block, the cones ahead of me were directing us into the right-turn lane. Was this the final turn?
Yes, YES, YES!! With 49 minutes on my watch, I gave every last bit of energy in the final dash to the finish line. The clock was reading 49:40, I've never seen that before! The announcer was standing in front of the finish line encouraging us, "You're going to finish in less than 50 minutes!" "Yes, YES, YES!!" as I crossed the timing mat at 49:52 on the clock, celebrating with both arms in the air as I crossed the second timing mat, stopping my watch at 49:35 elapsed. Unbelievable!
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| Stills from Bonnie's video of the finish: Pace team crossed the timing mat at 49:45 (above); I finished 7 seconds later (in orange shirt, below). |
I was moving so quickly at the end that I wasn't able to slow down immediately, having to dart around a couple of others who had already stopped. I was exhilarated by my fast finish - and remarkably, I didn't feel badly, no dizziness or acute exhaustion. I grabbed a bottle of water from a table, poured a bit of it over my head, and then turned around to head back to the finish line to look for Bonnie and watch the other finishers.
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| Finishing a celebratory brunch at the Flying Biscuit Restaurant, thanks to a $5 discount for each runner: Bonnie, me, Judy Tennell, Lindy Liu, and Kilsun Hogue. Lindy also ran a PR race this morning! |
Ahh, the benefits of cool temperatures, an excellent pace team, and my real secret: chicken ginseng soup! Chip time: 49:28, 17th out of 80 in my age group.
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