September 3, 2018: The Big Peach Sizzler 10K

Last weekend I wrote about my contrition in failing to complete the 20-mile run on my training schedule.   By the time I saw Coach Carl at the Tuesday evening track workout, I was no longer too upset with myself, knowing that I still had plenty of time to properly prepare for the New York City Marathon on November 4.  

Back in late June when I asked Coach Carl to set up a marathon training plan, the one race that I hoped to "race" was the Big Peach Sizzler 10K on Labor Day.  In last year's race, I broke the 50 minute barrier for the first time, thanks to a relatively level course and unusually cool weather, and I wanted one race at a midpoint in the program to see how I might perform.  Carl accommodated my request as a "checkpoint" race, even making the Saturday before the race a recovery day.  But after several weeks of serious training, I realized that I was no longer interested in trying to improve on last year's PR performance, unless it helped my preparation for New York.  Frankly I was concerned about overdoing things and injuring myself again.  I talked with Carl about this a few weeks ago, and he recommended that I simply run the first 5K at an easy pace, and then run the second 5K at my 10K goal pace. 

To ensure that I would complete at least 12 miles today, I arrived and parked near the finish area by 6 am.  After a few minutes of dynamic stretches, I took a shortcut from Buckhead Station to Peachtree Road, and headed outbound, using a small flashlight mostly to make myself more visible.  The right lane of Peachtree Road was already coned off, even though it was an hour before the 7:00 am start of the 5K race.  I encountered a verbal argument between a couple just outside of the Buckhead MARTA station - which spurred me to run just a bit faster - but I don't think they noticed me.  As I worked my way up Peachtree Road, I reached an enthusiastic group of volunteers setting up the water station at the 4.7 mile mark, then another group at the 3 mile water station in Brookhaven, and as the sky grew light, came upon a few dozen volunteers ready to serve water at the 1.5 mile water stop.  After crossing Clairmont Road and turning right onto Miller Street, it was 7:10 am and I was just a quarter-mile from the start.  I ran past other runners warming up for the race, and finally stopped the watch at 5.75 miles, far enough to guarantee that I would reach 12 miles for the day.  I took the intervening 15 minutes to stretch a bit and catch up with a few friends preparing for the start.  

With a few friends in the tucker Running Club, 5 minutes before the start

After posing for a photo with a few Tucker Running Club members, I headed into the group of runners starting behind the 10:00 min / mile pace sign.  With the conclusion of the National Anthem, we moved forward toward the starting line.  We waited for a couple of minutes, and then heard the report of the starting gun.  After a moment, we began walking, and finally the starting mat came into view.  I started my watch and started jogging.  I could have raced around the runners in front of me, but was thinking "When I begin the New York Marathon, I need to start slowly!" and I held back for the first mile, at a 10:24 minute pace.  Someone asked in the first minute, "Are you running the Galloway method?"  As I heard the watch signal the first walk break at 4:30, it seemed too crowded to safety slow down.  So I did the next best thing: I found an opening in front of me and decided to surge forward for 30 seconds until the end of the "walk" break signaled at 5:00 minutes.  Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to change my plan on a whim, but ... my legs felt good, and these were essentially "stride" workouts.  I continued to do surge every 5 minutes, just for 30 seconds for the first six miles.  And as the miles ticked away, I was gradually speeding up, 9:28 for mile 2 (OK, that wasn't too gradual), 9:24 for mile 3, 9:10 for mile 4, and 9:06 for mile 5.  I was annoyed, no, let's say amused, as a couple passed me somewhere in mile 3, while they were complaining about their current injuries.  Even though I was growing tired as we approached and then turned right onto Piedmont Road, I covered mile 6 in 8:53 miles.  Passing the mile 6 marker, I used every last bit of energy to propel myself to a strong finish, running at a 7:48 min / mile pace.  Not too much further!  Turning right into the road entering Buckhead Station, I saw 59:45 on the clock, and really hustled to ensure that I would cross the finish line before the hour was up on the race.  Not that I was racing!  58:47 chip time, around 9:25 min / mile average pace. 

Happy finishers!  Flanked by ATC run lead Megan McGuigan, age group winner Susie Kim,
another age group winner Kilsun Hogue, and ATC run lead Michelle Vail

12 good miles gave me a great
anandamide buzz!

I was pleasantly surprised to see three graduate students from the organic chemistry cohort at Emory!  Between our department chair (who has climbed six of the seven tallest mountains on each continent, hoping to try Everest again soon) and at least three other faculty members who have run marathons in 2018, we're a pretty athletic group of scientists!  

And I finished the full 12 mile workout prescribed for the day, both in the distance and in the quality of the run.