2014: 2:19:36, first half-marathon
2015: 1:59:48, personal record
2016: 2:00:56
For the first 4 miles or so, I will stay near the 2-hour pace group, aiming for 9:09 min / mile pace. Earlier this week, I practiced for a couple of miles with the 2:00 run / 0:30 walk intervals that the pace group will be using, but the run segments are a little faster than I might comfortably maintain. So I will keep my watch programmed with what has worked well for me in the recent past, 3:30 run / 0:30 walk intervals. Near the mile 4 marker, or perhaps getting onto the Eastside Beltline around 4-1/2 miles into the race, I will pull ahead of the pace group, taking advantage of running downhill for the next mile.
From mile 4 through mile 10, I will aim to average a 9:00 min / mile pace. However I know that there will be some uphill sections in mile 7 and in mile 10, so it's important not to tire myself out.
My goal is to get to:
And for the last inspiration, since September I've been working out on Tuesday evenings on the Emory track with Coach Carl Leivers. Although there are usually 25 - 30 runners in the group workouts, each person has an individualized workout tailored to their abilities and their upcoming races, although usually he can put two or three similar runners together for similar paces in similar workouts. I think that I've built up some strength through these workouts. Certainly I've become more comfortable with running various paces, and with running a faster pace even when a little bit tired. Several regulars in our training group ran today's half-marathon, and one was a 1:45 pacer, the other (Simon Blakey, a colleague in my department) was a 2:00 pacer.
Arriving at the starting area for the race, I saw Suzanne, one of the trainees in Coach Carl's program, and we warmed up together for about 2/3 of a mile. The temperature was 34 degrees at the start, but it wasn't windy. I wasn't too cold wearing two shirts, a cap, running gloves, and long tights. Carl Line from Big Peach Decatur training runs, and Willie Bower from the Tucker Running Club, lined with me in the Red corral (the first wave). We were in the middle of the corral, which seemed to number only a few hundred before we began. After the national anthem, we moved up to the starting line, and at 8:00 am we began the race.
I quickly settled into a 9 min / mile pace, with the 2-hour pace group in front of me. I thought that they had gone out too fast, but then I caught up with them when they took their first walk break at 2:00 minutes into the race. They passed me when I took my first walk break at 3:30. We continued to leapfrog for most of the first two miles, but approaching the first water station near the mile 2 marker, I moved in front of them for good. 9:01, 8:47, and 8:55 for miles 1, 2, and 3. Although I was slightly ahead of the race plan, my legs were feeling good and I didn't think that I was working too hard. And I crossed the 5K timing mat at 28:11, corresponding to a 9:04 min / mile pace.
Before reaching a U-turn from Freedom Parkway onto the pedestrian trail paralleling the roadway at Highland Avenue, I could see Daniel Yee (author of The Running Cat blog) ahead of me followed by Carl Line. It looked like they were both having good races as we waved to each other. Then I made the turn, taking a cup of water before it occurred to me to look for the 2-hour pace group. I didn't see them (so they must have been right behind me!). Anyway I maintained a decent pace until a gravity-assisted acceleration as we went downhill onto the Eastside Beltline around 4.4 miles. I peeled off my gloves at that point, hoping to see Bonnie to hand them off. And shortly before reaching the north end of the paved Beltline, I saw Bonnie and thrust the gloves into one hand, quite possibly spoiling a photo that she was hoping to take - sorry Bonnie, but thanks for taking the gloves off of my hands! Just after the water station at the end of the Beltline was a table with emergency medical supplies. They didn't have any takers but it was nice to see that the organizers planned for everything, including a big bottle of Vaseline to take care of any chafing that runners might be suffering close to 6 miles into the race. 9:12, 8:37, and 8:53 for miles 4, 5, and 6. I was running pretty fast on the Beltline, taking advantage of the loss in elevation as we ran north, but I guess with the walk breaks every four minutes, that gave overall slower times. Getting into the Virginia Highland neighborhood, running south on Ponce de Leon Place, I crossed the 10K timing mat at 55:50, averaging 8:53 min / mile for the second 5K split.
In previous years, I had struggled a bit going up a long hill in mile 7, but today it didn't bother me too much. I continued taking the walk breaks as scheduled, and that seemed to work out perfectly. I cleared mile 7 in 9:20, slowest mile of today's race, which I was very pleased with. Taking advantage of two more net downhill miles in 8 and 9, in 8:51 and 8:32 respectively, I reached the Cheer Group representing Jeff Galloway's running store Phidippides, exchanging enthusiastic high-fives with several friends and others encouraging us forward. I saw Bonnie standing next to the mile 9 sign, looked at my watch and made a quick calculation: I "called my shot" as I reached Bonnie: "1:57!" I shouted. Bonnie responded "So many gifts!" She may have meant it as a joke, but that phrase from the Rogue Running podcast, at that moment, was 100% inspirational. Yes, the race was going wonderfully well for me, so I was going to try for my dream goal of a 1:57 finish. Gulp! But I crossed the 15K timing mat at 1:23:36, having run the last 5K at an 8:56 min / mile pace.
Between the Phidippides Cheer Group and calling my shot to Bonnie, I was motivated to work strongly up the hill on 10th Street on the south side of Piedmont Park. I remembered in last year's race, this is where I really began to struggle. Today I felt much stronger. I heard the announcer from half-a-mile to the north inside Piedmont Park say "Congratulations!" and checked my watch, it read 1:20 elapsed so the fastest runners were finishing. Continuing with the walk breaks on the 3:30 / 0:30 plan, I made the turn onto Piedmont Road, heading north-northeast. My Garmin signaled 9:14 for mile 10 (again, net uphill) and up ahead I saw the mile 10 marker, which I reached at around 1:29:40 on my watch. Mission accomplished to this stage! My legs and the rest of my body still felt good. Incautiously I began to think, a sub-2 hour half marathon is virtually guaranteed, I can cruise into a personal record finish with a 30 minute 5K! But as the Rogue Running coaches predicted, my inner monster was beginning to emerge! I felt like I could run really aggressively just as soon as I crested the hill around 10.2 miles in. And I channelled Billy Mills' wings as I flew down the hill, passing a few other runners as I delayed taking a walk break until the road flattened out as we crossed a small creek right before making the right turn onto Monroe Drive. That last sprint set off my heart rate monitor, but after a 30 second walk break, I was ready to run again, as fast as I could. We turned into Piedmont Park where several volunteers were cheering us - I smiled and gave a big thumbs up. I was strong and confident. I asked myself, what can I do in the last 2.1 miles?!
The last water station was just beyond the 11 mile marker, which I completed in 8:28, my fastest mile. I knew that the last two miles through Piedmont Park would be gently, subtly, but definitely uphill, but I was ready for the challenge. Onward I pushed, continuing with the run / walk plan that had served me so well to this point, running past the familiar landmarks of Piedmont Park yet hardly seeing the landmarks, it was all a happy blur! Passing the dog park about 11.5 miles into the race, Suzanne passed me during one of my walk breaks, giving me some encouragement "You're doing great, Frank!" I resolved to catch up with her as I resumed running, but in fact she was also running extremely well and making even better progress with her own negative split plan. I never caught up to her, but no problem, I was running strongly.
At the mile 12, Bonnie was there to take my photo again. I waved and raised my arms above my head, shouting "I'm a monster!" The people around me must have thought I was nuts! I didn't care, having completed mile 12 in 9:00 minutes even, and at 1:47 flat for the elapsed race time, I could reach the finish line in 1:58 with just a 10 min / mile pace - and I knew that I could run faster than that! Taking a 30 second walk break before my watch ticked over to 1:48, I sped up as I passed the portion of the Phidippides cheer group posted in the park, exchanging a few hand slaps. Estimating that I had exactly one mile to go, it was ...
And I took off with every bit of speed that I could muster. A runner ahead of me was slowing down, I passed her carefully to the right. I remembered to relax and let Billy Mills' wings carry me forward. Near the top end of an out-and-back in the park, I saw Bonnie making her way to the finish area. I waved, I tried to get her attention, but she didn't see me at first. We practically met on the course at the same moment where I was making a left turn while she would continue to the right to get directly to the finish, and I finally got her attention: "I'm going to finish in 1:57! Hurry hurry!" She said "Oh ____!!" and started running toward the finish area. I told her, "it's OK, you have a straight shot to the finish..." over the bridge crossing Lake Clara Meer, whereas I must run around the lake, my thought continued, not able to spare any more breath. One last walk break at 1:52.
In the past three years, even in my PR-setting race in 2015, the straight road paralleling Lake Clara Meer seemed to go on forever. But today, I was a monster, passing several runners, gaining ground on a few others still ahead of me. It didn't take long to reach the Boathouse, making the final turn to the finish area adjacent to the Active Oval. I didn't look at my watch, I just kept pushing myself forward, surging again and again. I caught up with a woman that I had been leapfrogging for much of the race, but she sensed my presence and accelerated. I sprinted forward, she matched my move and pulled a step or two ahead, but it didn't matter, there was the finish line, with the incredible 1:56 showing on the clock! I started to raise an arm in celebration, then quickly restrained myself, Run, RUN, RUN!!! The announcer was calling out names as runners reached a timing mat about 50 - 100 feet before the finish line. I crossed the initial mat, heard someone else's name, and right before I reached the finish line, heard the announcer call "Frank McDonald!" I started to raise my arm in celebration again, restrained myself for another second until I had definitely cleared the finish line, then I broke out in a mad celebration, to which the announcer responded "He's happy with his finish!!"
I practically ran past the line of people handing out medals! I tried to reach back, finally stopped and turned around to pick up the medal. I was so amazed with how well I had run. When I stopped my watch, it read 1:56:51 for 13.16 miles. My unofficial result:
A new personal record by three full minutes! Steve Sisson is right, the half marathon does give so many gifts! All of the training that I've done this year, the stretching and foam rolling that I've done especially in recent months to keep my body healthy, the attention to my diet and sleep, it has all paid off today! I also thank the organizers of the JG 13.1, for flawlessly putting together a spectacular race that gave me and many others the opportunity to run our very best!
2015: 1:59:48, personal record
2016: 2:00:56
The Jeff Galloway half marathon is special to me for several reasons: it was my first half-marathon, the following year it was the site of my current certified personal record, and each year it has been extraordinarily well-organized along a really nice course through several in-town Atlanta neighborhoods. Having run each year since the inaugural race in 2014, I'm also a "streaker", and hope to continue my annual participation for the foreseeable future.
At the expo, Jeff Galloway always has some special guests, generally former teammates and competitors from his era as a competitive runner from the mid-1960's into the early 1980's. For this year's race, the marquee speaker was one of Galloway's role models, Billy Mills, who won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympic Games in the 10,000 meter race. His victory was a thrilling come-from-behind finish in an incredible time of 28:24.4, setting a new Olympic record. To date, Mills is the only USA athlete to ever win the gold medal in the Olympic 10,000 meter race. Only Galen Rupp has come close, earning a silver medal in an exciting finish just behind training partner Mo Farah in the 2012 Olympics.
At the expo, Billy Mills talked about his life, born into a loving family on the Oglala Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. But he was "broken" by the death of his mother when he was age 8. His father encouraged him to "find his broken wings," but unfortunately he was orphaned when his father passed away when Billy was age 12. Nevertheless, the memory of his father has given him spiritual strength that he has continued to draw on at times of challenge. Billy described several occasions in which he felt "broken" by the sting of racism against Native American people. For instance, when he was a younger runner, some photographers would ask him, the "dark-skinned one", to step out of photos with other teammates or honorees. One of the most demoralizing of these came after he was chosen as an All-American athlete for the third year in a row as a college senior, and the photographer asked him once again to step out of a photo with the white honorees. He subsequently went to his hotel room, stood on a chair by a window contemplating suicide, but was stopped by the "voice" of his father saying "Don't. Don't."
After graduating from the University of Kansas, he joined the Marine Corps, and earned a trip to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to represent the United States in the 10,000 meter and marathon races. On the international scene, Billy Mills was virtually unknown, but in the Olympic race, he was able to stay with the leaders going into the final lap. The lead group was passing slower runners near the end of the race. In the confusion, Mills was pushed twice by the other leaders, and barely managed to stay in third place. Finding himself alone in lane 4 as they entered the straight stretch of the last 100 meters, Mills drew on every bit of inner strength to sprint strongly past the other two leaders, winning by a couple of steps (YouTube video and Olympic video).
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| Frank and Bonnie flanking Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills |
Since retiring from competitive running, Billy Mills works with his foundation "Running Strong for American Indian Youth" and also travels the world, sharing a message of "Global Unity through Diversity". He shares how people of different nationalities and faiths meeting with each other helps them to see the common humanity in each other. After his talk, he stayed to autograph our race bibs and posed for a photo with Bonnie and me.
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| Note Billy Mills signature at the top of my race bib! |
Going into the race, I felt that I was in good shape to run a 1:58 race. Indeed I've run close to that pace in a couple of recent half-marathon races, but in the Craft Classic in September, I relied too much on my Garmin, and didn't account for possible weaving with walk breaks etc. In the BuHi Half in October, the race distance was clearly 0.7 miles too long. I had planned to run the Westside 10 miler on Saturday December 9, but a few inches of snow the day before made the roadway too slushy to safely run the race. I was initially annoyed to lose the registration fee, but then realized that I could actually properly taper for the upcoming half marathon. My friends Tara Adyanthaya and Rick Boyd in Boston suggested that I might have run faster in the B.A.A. half marathon in October, if I had not run another half marathon race on the previous weekend. So I put their advice into action, completing a 10 mile run at an easier pace on Sunday when the roads were relatively clear, and running shorter-than-usual distances in the days leading up to the race.
I've had two other inspirations in recent months: The Running Rogue podcast is released each Monday by a couple of coaches based on Austin, TX. Steve Sisson and Chris McClung offer weekly news on current and upcoming events in running, and regularly share advice and insights on how we can improve the quality of our running. Their colorful and somewhat profane dialogue is tempered by considerable humor. In episode #46, released on October 23, "Race Strategy from 5K to Marathon," after giving advice on the challenges of running fast 5K and 10K races, they begin to transition into the half-marathon segment at 55:15 with the following:
Steve: "The 10K and the half marathon are the most forgiving races in track and field, because there's enough time to fix anything ... I think most people's experiences of the half marathon is that it's a pretty easy race, if you've done your volume ...
Chris: "Interesting. (long pause) Let's go to the half, which (pause) you said is easy, I don't think that listeners would necessarily agree"
Steve: "Hahahahaha"
Chris: "I think if you're running a fast half, I don't know how forgiving that is, in my experience ... how would you approach a half marathon?"
Steve: "... I almost always use a negative split plan for the half marathon because the race gives you so many gifts, Chris, if you're prepared for one and the weather is just even halfway decent ... An athlete who feels mentally positive two-thirds of the way to three-quarters of the way through the race, you know this Chris, monsters are made! People get aggressive ... and they run in a really aggressive positive way if you let them run in a negative split plan ... Go out a little bit slower, get on your even split plan, and at seven or eight miles, know where you want to go and start dropping five to ten seconds per mile if you can, and then see if you can't rock that last 5K and do as best as you can."
That dialogue cracks us up every time Bonnie and I listen to it, usually when we're in the car. We love to make fun of "the half marathon is easy" and "the half marathon gives so many gifts" and "Monsters are made!" But I've taken the negative split advice seriously. Here is the plan that I wrote out Saturday night:
I've had two other inspirations in recent months: The Running Rogue podcast is released each Monday by a couple of coaches based on Austin, TX. Steve Sisson and Chris McClung offer weekly news on current and upcoming events in running, and regularly share advice and insights on how we can improve the quality of our running. Their colorful and somewhat profane dialogue is tempered by considerable humor. In episode #46, released on October 23, "Race Strategy from 5K to Marathon," after giving advice on the challenges of running fast 5K and 10K races, they begin to transition into the half-marathon segment at 55:15 with the following:
Steve: "The 10K and the half marathon are the most forgiving races in track and field, because there's enough time to fix anything ... I think most people's experiences of the half marathon is that it's a pretty easy race, if you've done your volume ...
- after Steve has gone on a little longer to wrap up the 10K strategy portion -
Chris: "Interesting. (long pause) Let's go to the half, which (pause) you said is easy, I don't think that listeners would necessarily agree"
Steve: "Hahahahaha"
Chris: "I think if you're running a fast half, I don't know how forgiving that is, in my experience ... how would you approach a half marathon?"
Steve: "... I almost always use a negative split plan for the half marathon because the race gives you so many gifts, Chris, if you're prepared for one and the weather is just even halfway decent ... An athlete who feels mentally positive two-thirds of the way to three-quarters of the way through the race, you know this Chris, monsters are made! People get aggressive ... and they run in a really aggressive positive way if you let them run in a negative split plan ... Go out a little bit slower, get on your even split plan, and at seven or eight miles, know where you want to go and start dropping five to ten seconds per mile if you can, and then see if you can't rock that last 5K and do as best as you can."
That dialogue cracks us up every time Bonnie and I listen to it, usually when we're in the car. We love to make fun of "the half marathon is easy" and "the half marathon gives so many gifts" and "Monsters are made!" But I've taken the negative split advice seriously. Here is the plan that I wrote out Saturday night:
For the first 4 miles or so, I will stay near the 2-hour pace group, aiming for 9:09 min / mile pace. Earlier this week, I practiced for a couple of miles with the 2:00 run / 0:30 walk intervals that the pace group will be using, but the run segments are a little faster than I might comfortably maintain. So I will keep my watch programmed with what has worked well for me in the recent past, 3:30 run / 0:30 walk intervals. Near the mile 4 marker, or perhaps getting onto the Eastside Beltline around 4-1/2 miles into the race, I will pull ahead of the pace group, taking advantage of running downhill for the next mile. From mile 4 through mile 10, I will aim to average a 9:00 min / mile pace. However I know that there will be some uphill sections in mile 7 and in mile 10, so it's important not to tire myself out.
My goal is to get to:
The mile 10 marker in 1:30. Shortly afterwards, near the Piedmont Driving Club, I will crest a hill and will pick up speed on a long easy downhill section, so it's important to keep my legs in good shape to get to that stage. I will continue to push through Piedmont Park for miles 11 and 12 at a sub 9:00 min / mile pace.
Shortly after passing:
Shortly after passing:
The mile 12 marker near the south end of Piedmont Park, I will run through the Phiddippides cheer group. And from there, with one mile to the finish, it will be:
HAMMERTIME!
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| Jeff Galloway offering encouragement before the start. Bonnie Youn took all but one of the photos in today's post! |
And for the last inspiration, since September I've been working out on Tuesday evenings on the Emory track with Coach Carl Leivers. Although there are usually 25 - 30 runners in the group workouts, each person has an individualized workout tailored to their abilities and their upcoming races, although usually he can put two or three similar runners together for similar paces in similar workouts. I think that I've built up some strength through these workouts. Certainly I've become more comfortable with running various paces, and with running a faster pace even when a little bit tired. Several regulars in our training group ran today's half-marathon, and one was a 1:45 pacer, the other (Simon Blakey, a colleague in my department) was a 2:00 pacer.
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| Hope for a new personal record at sunrise! |
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| At the start, with Willie Bower photobombing just behind me. This was the only time that Willie was not in front of me during the race! |
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| Priscilla Bray Hammond at the start |
Before reaching a U-turn from Freedom Parkway onto the pedestrian trail paralleling the roadway at Highland Avenue, I could see Daniel Yee (author of The Running Cat blog) ahead of me followed by Carl Line. It looked like they were both having good races as we waved to each other. Then I made the turn, taking a cup of water before it occurred to me to look for the 2-hour pace group. I didn't see them (so they must have been right behind me!). Anyway I maintained a decent pace until a gravity-assisted acceleration as we went downhill onto the Eastside Beltline around 4.4 miles. I peeled off my gloves at that point, hoping to see Bonnie to hand them off. And shortly before reaching the north end of the paved Beltline, I saw Bonnie and thrust the gloves into one hand, quite possibly spoiling a photo that she was hoping to take - sorry Bonnie, but thanks for taking the gloves off of my hands! Just after the water station at the end of the Beltline was a table with emergency medical supplies. They didn't have any takers but it was nice to see that the organizers planned for everything, including a big bottle of Vaseline to take care of any chafing that runners might be suffering close to 6 miles into the race. 9:12, 8:37, and 8:53 for miles 4, 5, and 6. I was running pretty fast on the Beltline, taking advantage of the loss in elevation as we ran north, but I guess with the walk breaks every four minutes, that gave overall slower times. Getting into the Virginia Highland neighborhood, running south on Ponce de Leon Place, I crossed the 10K timing mat at 55:50, averaging 8:53 min / mile for the second 5K split.
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| Anna Calcaterra on the Eastside Beltline, about 5-1/2 miles on the way to an age group win! |
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| Willie Bower (top) I'm handing my gloves to Bonnie (bottom) |
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| Lindy Liu (above) Sue Landa (below) |
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| Beverly Ford on the Beltline |
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| A few members of the Phidippides cheer team (incl. Linda Bode Phinney, left) stopped cheering just long enough to pose for Bonnie! |
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| On 10th Street, approaching the mile 9 marker: Daniel Yee (top) and Carl Line (bottom) |
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| Calling my shot: at mile 9, I predicted a 1:57 finish! |
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| Here's the 2-hour pace group, a couple of minutes behind me by mile 9. Simon (the pacer on the far left) told me after the race, "I was so happy for you, NOT to see you after mile 2! Congratulations!" |
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| Approaching mile 12 |
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| "I'm a MONSTER!" The woman behind me sees that I've completely lost my mind! |
HAMMERTIME!!!
And I took off with every bit of speed that I could muster. A runner ahead of me was slowing down, I passed her carefully to the right. I remembered to relax and let Billy Mills' wings carry me forward. Near the top end of an out-and-back in the park, I saw Bonnie making her way to the finish area. I waved, I tried to get her attention, but she didn't see me at first. We practically met on the course at the same moment where I was making a left turn while she would continue to the right to get directly to the finish, and I finally got her attention: "I'm going to finish in 1:57! Hurry hurry!" She said "Oh ____!!" and started running toward the finish area. I told her, "it's OK, you have a straight shot to the finish..." over the bridge crossing Lake Clara Meer, whereas I must run around the lake, my thought continued, not able to spare any more breath. One last walk break at 1:52.
In the past three years, even in my PR-setting race in 2015, the straight road paralleling Lake Clara Meer seemed to go on forever. But today, I was a monster, passing several runners, gaining ground on a few others still ahead of me. It didn't take long to reach the Boathouse, making the final turn to the finish area adjacent to the Active Oval. I didn't look at my watch, I just kept pushing myself forward, surging again and again. I caught up with a woman that I had been leapfrogging for much of the race, but she sensed my presence and accelerated. I sprinted forward, she matched my move and pulled a step or two ahead, but it didn't matter, there was the finish line, with the incredible 1:56 showing on the clock! I started to raise an arm in celebration, then quickly restrained myself, Run, RUN, RUN!!! The announcer was calling out names as runners reached a timing mat about 50 - 100 feet before the finish line. I crossed the initial mat, heard someone else's name, and right before I reached the finish line, heard the announcer call "Frank McDonald!" I started to raise my arm in celebration again, restrained myself for another second until I had definitely cleared the finish line, then I broke out in a mad celebration, to which the announcer responded "He's happy with his finish!!"
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| "WOW!" |
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| The thrill of victory! |
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| And no agony of defeat, not today! |
I practically ran past the line of people handing out medals! I tried to reach back, finally stopped and turned around to pick up the medal. I was so amazed with how well I had run. When I stopped my watch, it read 1:56:51 for 13.16 miles. My unofficial result:
1:56:42 overall time, 118th finisher, and 12th in my age group
8:44 min / mile for the last 6.1 km
8:55 min / mile average pace for the entire race!
A new personal record by three full minutes! Steve Sisson is right, the half marathon does give so many gifts! All of the training that I've done this year, the stretching and foam rolling that I've done especially in recent months to keep my body healthy, the attention to my diet and sleep, it has all paid off today! I also thank the organizers of the JG 13.1, for flawlessly putting together a spectacular race that gave me and many others the opportunity to run our very best!
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| With speedsters Nick Olson, Daniel Yee, and Anna Calcaterra, shortly after my finish. |
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| Tucker Running Club! Left-to-right: Priscilla Bray Hammond, Lindy Liu, me, Willie Bower, Beverly Ford, Mary Beth Hemenway, Meyer Kao |
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| The track training with Coach Carl had a lot to do with my sprint to the finish at a 7:19 pace after completing 13 miles! |
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