For 2019, my running goals are to improve at all of the distances shorter than the marathon, and then return to the marathon in spring 2020 in better shape and hopefully mentally stronger. I'm training with Coach Carl for the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon in mid-March, aiming to set a new personal best. This morning's Resolution Run would be the first checkpoint run, to see what I'm capable of running. Last year I set my 5K personal best at 23:30, in 20 degree temperatures. Today it was 40 degrees warmer!
I wasn't expecting to break this record today for a couple of reasons, including:
- I've gained 5 pounds since the marathon; and
- Bonnie and I just returned from a wonderfully relaxing 5-day cruise, where I acquired an additional pound-per-day, thanks to:
- too many delicious chocolate croissants at breakfasts
- a few loaves of delicious bread with lunches and dinners
- several afternoon ice creams
- free vanilla ice cream on deck 11
- Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia in a waffle cone on deck 5
- it would have been worse if I hadn't run three times on the cruise:
- 5 miles speedwork on day 2 on deck 12
- 4 miles on the treadmill on day 3 in the fitness center on deck 11, as it was far too windy to run safely on the top deck 12
- 3 miles on day 5 on deck 12
- totaling 12 miles running
- and at least as many miles walking and taking the stairs whenever possible.
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Independence of the Seas, docked in Cozumel.
Notice the Atlanta Track Club caps,
and I'm wearing the Peachtree Road Race shirt from 2015. |
My first New Year's resolution is to strictly track everything that I eat, so that I can shed the excess weight. As I recently ran a low 25-minute 5K in early December, taking it relatively easy given that I was running a half-marathon that I really cared about the next day, I felt that I could break 25 minutes.
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| Tucker Running Club at 9:30 am |
But before the 5K at 10:30 am, there was the 1-mile race at 10:00 am. In past years, I haven't run the 1-mile race, but at the Atlanta Track Club end-of-year breakfast, I heard that we could double up for the same registration fee. After jogging the 1-mile course to get a sense of where the quarter-mile, half-mile, and three-quarter mile marks would be, I warmed up with a second mile of strides, meaning that I would alternate 60 - 90 second jogs with 30 second "strides" accelerating to faster than my 1-mile pace. I made it to the starting area, making sure that I was in front of the children and not directly behind the man with the stroller.
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| The 1-Mile race route |
The race began at 10:00 sharp. In contrast with other 1-mile races that I've run, I started fairly cautiously, gradually accelerating to what I felt was about a 7 min / mile pace. For the most part, the first half-mile was a gentle but steady uphill along the eastern side of the Active Oval, which afterwards I saw was a net 50 foot gain. At the north end of the Active Oval, the road leveled about: this was about 3 minutes in. I began to speed up as we ran downhill, moving ahead of several other runners. I checked my watch and saw that my pace was around 7:04, and decided to try to stick with that pace. For the last third of the race, the route was relatively level, along the north side of Lake Clara Meer. But with about 0.2 mile to go, I suddenly felt very tired. I coasted for about 100 meters, then pushed again as the mile 3 sign came into view. Only 0.11 mile to go! Nonetheless I couldn't find a higher gear. I heard my watch signal 1 mile completed about 15 seconds before I reached the finish line, seeing 7:25 on the clock, and according to my watch, finished in 7:21.
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| Pace vs. elevation for the 1-mile race |
I was a little disappointed with my time. But overall, I was happy with my pace discipline. Only after the race did I realize that some of the runners wore two bibs: one for the 1 mile race just completed, and a second bib for the 5K to come. Ooof, I should have realized that I would need a second bib! Nonetheless, since I didn't set any kind of record, I didn't really care about that. But I discovered when the results were posted, I would have likely finished second in my age group if I had worn the 1-mile bib. Something to remember for the next time!
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| Bonnie captured my finish in the 1-mile race |
Actually my bigger mistake on the day was ... running the 1 mile race before running the 5K. I was so tired when I finished, yet I needed to recover for the 5K, to start within 25 minutes! After eating half a banana and drinking most of a bottle of water while I walked to the starting area for the 5K, I still didn't feel 100% ready. A few rounds of leg swings helped with leg soreness, but my heart rate was still above 100 beats per minute. As I waited for wave B to begin, I thought through my plan: run the first mile at 8:00 flat, then try to maintain that pace for the second mile (two big hills), and see what I could do with the third mile (net downhill) and the finish.
The bullhorn sounded, and wave B took off! I crossed the starting mat 8 seconds after the official wave start. I thought that I started conservatively (although the Garmin pace chart shows otherwise) but seemed to settle into an 8 min / mile pace. The first third of mile 1 followed exactly the same course as the 1-mile race, then we headed uphill to the Botanical Gardens. This is normally a good hill training venue, gaining about 30 feet of elevation. I shortened my stride and increased my turnover, and felt pretty good as I crested the top of that hill. Out of the Botanical Gardens and onto Piedmont Road, we now enjoyed a long downhill. Several people passed me in this section, but I was committed to coast at an 8 min / mile pace, letting my pulse rate drop a few points. As we turned onto Winchester Drive, I saw the 1 mile sign and my watch signaled 7:57 elapsed, mission accomplished for mile 1.
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| The 5K race route |
Mile 2 continued downhill on Winchester and into the north end of Piedmont Park. Then we hit the sharp uphill section past the Orpheus Brewery. Having run the same route last year, this hill was not a surprise, but all of a sudden, I ran out of steam. Carrying those chocolate croissants uphill required a walk break. 30 seconds later, I resumed running, but couldn't get back up to speed even though the parking lot was level. The loaves of bread threatened to trip me up. Both Ben & Jerry were dragging me down. I took another walk break through the water station, then resumed running with the turn onto Monroe Drive. Heading through the gate back into the Park, I began to chip away at my pace for mile 2, which was above 9 min / mile, then dropped to the high 8 min / mile range. The next hill, running past the Sage Parking Deck, was much tougher than I remembered. At that stage, I was surprised to hear Curt Walker's voice. He must have started behind me. He tried to introduce me to "Kevin" but I was so out of breath I couldn't spare the courtesy of a hello, didn't even have the energy to turn my head. Curt and Kevin passed me and then I slowed down to a walk, again. Shortly after the path leveled out, the mile 2 sign came into view and my watch signalled 8:56. Sigh, last year I managed 8:00 flat in this tough mile.
To have any chance at a 25 minute finish, I needed to really speed up in mile 3. Unfortunately I could hardly manage to stay faster than a 10 min / mile pace, carrying Cherry Garcia around. A light drizzle had begun, although it wasn't really too bad at first. We turned onto the sandy lower level of the Active Oval, which had several large mud puddles covering the route. I thought I saw Bonnie on the outbound leg above (she began with wave F) and then to my surprise heard Brian Minor call out "Frank! Better run faster, I'm gonna catch you!" Of course he was more than a mile behind me, as he was walking the route with his wife Beverly, who was recovering from some soreness from a recent traffic accident. The drizzle increased to a regular rain. At that moment I regretted not wearing a cap, and removed my sunglasses, holding them in my hand. We came off of the Active Oval and back onto the path north of Lake Clara Meer. I wanted to speed up a little, but Ben & Jerry in conspiracy with the croissants and loaves of bread just wouldn't get go of me. At that point, I let go of the race, conceding that today wasn't my day. I needed 9:09 for mile 3.
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| Everything fell apart after about 10 minutes. I was no match for the hills today. |
Enough of this, I wanted to get to the finish line as fast as possible. Ben & Jerry may have slipped off of my back. Whatever the reason, I found a little more speed. I passed a few people in the last 0.11 mile, although two kids passed me shortly before I crossed the finish line mat. 29 minutes on the clock, 26:51 official time.
Well, well, well. This checkpoint run showed me that I'm not in decent shape at this moment. Although I ran during the cruise, it was all on flat surface without any hill work at all, and it wasn't enough to counteract the marathon of eating everything on the ship. I'm confident that I can get back into shape, but it will be much easier if I can lose ten pounds over the next couple of months.
For 2019, my running goals are to improve at all of the distances shorter than the marathon, and then return to the marathon in spring 2020 in better shape and hopefully mentally stronger. I'm training with Coach Carl for the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon in mid-March, aiming to set a new personal best. This morning's Resolution Run would be the first checkpoint run, to see what I'm capable of running. Last year I set my 5K personal best at 23:30, in 20 degree temperatures. Today it was 40 degrees warmer! 
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