Training has gone very well in this cycle, and I'm feeling great. I ran the route twice in long easy runs over the past month, to get a feel for the hills and to practice visualizing what I might experience in the race. I told Coach Carl Leivers that I was trying for a range of 1:55 - 1:58, although I was pretty confident that I could cover the distance faster than 1:57. I knew that I had a good shot of improving on my half-marathon personal best of 1:56:42, run in December 2017.
In addition to my excellent physical preparation for today's race, I also spent considerable time mentally preparing myself. My watchword for this marathon training cycle has been "patience". When running fast, I tell myself to "glide", which helps me maintain good running form. Coach Carl reminds us to run without straining, and to stay relaxed while running, advice that is also mirrored in the outstanding book on mental training that he recommended, "Running Within" by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott.
The weather was cool and dry this morning, 44 degrees F at the start. The only downside was a fairly strong wind out of the north, 10 - 15 miles per hour, so I decided to wear a cap with a liner over the ears, two shirts, and running tights. Sunny Youn, Bonnie's sister, is joining us for Thanksgiving this year, and ran the 5K race with Bonnie, following on her recent experience watching a friend run the Amsterdam Marathon in October, and cheering me on near the finish of the New York City Marathon in November 2018.
We arrived shortly after 6 am, in plenty of time to get a great parking spot. The early arrival also allowed for multiple porta-potty visits, which I needed to get comfortable. The 5K runners started first, at 7:30 am, and then the half-marathon followed with a projected start time of 7:45 am. I was assigned to run with wave C out of five waves. I didn't recall what projected finishing time I had submitted with my registration, but I was fine with that assignment, until I noticed that the 2:00 and 2:15 pace groups were beginning in wave B! I made sure that I found a spot near the front of wave C, so that I could run relatively unhindered at the beginning. But I would have to bring my own pace discipline, as I couldn't rely on the other runners for a reasonable pace.
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| The 2:15 pace team at the back of wave B. |
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| Walking toward the starting line at the front of wave C |
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| I started just a few people behind the front line of wave C. |
We stepped up to the starting line around 7:55 am, and with the sound of an airhorn, we took off! After a minute, I realized that I was running much too fast, and dialed back my speed a bit. But I felt so good, even though we were mostly running uphill, that I covered the first mile in 8:31, running north on Capitol Avenue, then turning northwest onto Decatur Street. By this time, I was working my way through the slower runners in wave B. I reined things in a little better in mile 2 as we continued running through downtown Atlanta on Marietta Street, at 8:37, but both of those miles were faster than my plan of 9:20 and 9:00 for miles 1 and 2. I had passed the 2:15 pace group by the middle of mile 2.
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| Shortly after the start |
Shortly after the mile 2 marker, I reached the first water station. Although I was no longer following the Galloway run-walk method, my plan was to take water and to walk through every water station. That gave me about a 30 second break every couple of miles. With the excellent organization of Atlanta Track Club races, I knew that I could count on the water stations being well-run, and that was the case for all six water stations today. The 2:15 pace group passed me while I was walking through the water station, and I had to work my way around them again, as we ran mile 3 past the Georgia Tech campus, covered in 8:43. Finally I had slowed down more-or-less to the goal pace of 8:45 miles.
Then we turned onto Northside Drive for mile 4, a steady net drop of 95 feet, and I banked some time by letting gravity do the work, all the way through a left turn onto 15th Street into Atlantic Station, 8:06 and 34 minutes elapsed, a full minute faster than the plan. I took my first Shot Block at this point, knowing that a water station was coming soon. Amazingly, I didn't feel tired at all, but I remembered the importance of taking in some sugar before noticing that I would need it. After walking through the next water station, washing down the sweet taste of the Shot Blok, I took off again, turning onto 17th Street. Passing the beautiful little park next to the Millenium Gate, there were a few spectators in this area, but I hardly noticed as I motored on past. Comparing today's race with more leisurely long runs through Atlantic Station, this part of the race passed in a blur, crossing the overpass over the I-75/I-85 Connector, finishing mile 5 in 8:22.
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| Leading a pack of runners, but unsure where this photo was taken. |
I had made a huge gamble to this stage, running an 8:30 average pace for the first five miles. This was the northernmost end of the race route, but I also knew from my recent course runs that this was also the lowest part of the course. Could I hold on for the uphill sections to come? The first test came with the right turn onto Spring Street. Just stay calm and relaxed, I told myself, trust your training. And smile like I'm running like Eliud Kipchoge! I glided uphill for three blocks, turning left onto 14th Street, continuing uphill. My heart rate was now above 160 beats per minute, yet I was maintaining a sub-9 minute pace. A group of young women were just ahead of me, running strongly while maintaining a conversation. I settled in next to them until we reached the top of the hill at the intersection with Peachtree Street. Up and over the crest, I sped up again as I approached and then flew past the pack of runners escorting the 2:00 pacer. The mile 6 marker was just outside of the 14th Street Gate to Piedmont Park, 8:29 and about 51 minutes elapsed.
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| Elevation chart |
I took another short walk break through the water station inside the park, took another Shot Blok, as the 2-hour pace team passed me. Moving clockwise around the Active Oval, on very familiar ground, I made my way around the pace team and left them behind, for good. I crossed the 10K timing mat at 53:15 elapsed. I remembered when my 10K personal record was stuck on 54 minutes just a few years ago, but today's run seemed easy in comparison. Running near Lake Clara Meer, I passed Crystal Dawson, a Tucker Running Club member who seemed surprised to see me. She is normally faster than me, and that's when it began to sink in that I was having the race of my life! I started looking for Coach Carl, as he told us on Tuesday evening that he would watch from near the Park Avenue entrance. And there he was! I called out to him, he looked up and we waved to each other, I also said hi to a little girl that I think was Carl's daughter, and then I continued racing. Piedmont Park was another blur until we reached the southern exit at the Charles Allen Gate, and made a right turn onto 10th Street.
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| My walk breaks through six evenly spaced water stations are pretty evident. |
Uphill. But I knew this section of the road very well, from the identical portion of the spring Publix Atlanta Half Marathon, and having conquered this hill in the Jeff Galloway Half Marathon for several Decembers in a row. Smile! The mile 7 alert sounded, 8:39. And my watch showed 1 hour flat, with just 6.1 miles to go! I was definitely on a pace to smash the 2-hour barrier. As we ran along 10th Street, I felt the first challenge of the race in my legs, and applied a lesson from "Running Within":
"Oh, hello! It's my old friend, Fatigue. But I'm busy right now,
because I'm running the race of my life.
Can you come back in an hour or so?"
That little trick worked! Fatigue disappeared, replaced by Smile! Dashing through the rainbow intersection at Piedmont Road, turning left onto Juniper Street, I wasn't fazed at all by the next uphill section to come over the next half-mile. This was my worst mile in last month's 10-Miler race, mile 8 where I lost focus and accordingly lost a chance at a personal record. But today, I just relaxed, glided up the familiar hill, moving ahead of quite a few runners. I heard a woman behind me say, "That man is running so fast!" Was she referring to me? No one else was passing me. Not wanting to disappoint her, whoever she was, I kept running strongly as the road leveled out. Smile! The mile 8 alert sounded, 8:59. This was my slowest mile of today's race, but completely acceptable with 60 feet net uphill. Most importantly, I had stayed in control and focused for that tough mile. I even remembered to take another Shot Blok before the water station came into sight.
The road took a little jog to the right as we crossed Ponce de Leon Avenue and then North Avenue, as the street changed names to Courtland Avenue. I walked through the fourth water station. Another mile of gently rolling hills, the mile 9 alert sounded, 8:51 for 27 feet net uphill. Just as I told myself that I needed to pick up a little speed to stay on the overall pace, we turned left onto John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, racing downhill. I passed a runner who said "Frank? It's Brian, and Chrissie, from Track." "Oh, hi!" as I recalled that he ran the Philadelphia Marathon last weekend. He said something complimentary about my run, and I replied "The training is really paying off today!" We passed under the I-75/I-85 Connector, and then, faced the steep climb into the Inman Park neighborhood. This is a hill that slows many runners to a walk, and in the past on the Hotlanta Half course, has also slowed me down. I just remembered my hill training, taking shorter steps, and fortunately in both of the recent course runs, I had pushed myself up the hill, and I had that memory to sustain me. Moreover, a volunteer called out "This is the toughest hill of the race; you've got this; keep your heads up!" Those last four words came just in time, right before I started looking down at my feet. I concentrated on looking up and ahead of me, and then I was over the hill, and running down Irwin Street. Smile!
Right before we turned onto Randolph Street, the mile 10 alert sounded: 8:37, and 1:26 elapsed. 1:26! I've just run a personal record for a 10-mile distance, beating my old time of 1:27:25 (2017)!! A young man passed me, shouting "10 miles!" and I replied "Just a 5K to go!" I only needed a 30-minute 5K to break my current half-marathon personal best. And with the way that I felt, I knew that I could run faster than that for the duration. We ran south for a few blocks, made a quick right turn onto Edgewood Road and a left onto Bradley. I popped another Shot Blok as I approached the fifth water station, taking another walk break. Then we turned onto Decatur Street, running down the middle reversible "Suicide Lane". I was still occasionally passing people, but was also having to work to maintain a sub-9 minute pace. Smile! As we turned left at the King Memorial MARTA Station, the mile 11 alert sounded: 8:53, approaching 1:35 elapsed. If I could maintain that pace, I was going after a 1:54 finish!
We turned right onto Martin Luther King Junior Drive. I kept my head up, looking for the first glimpse of the gold dome of the State Capitol building, where my planned mantra was "HammerTime!" Unfortunately I didn't speed up very much. But I suppose the mantra kept me from slowing down, which was just as important.
Fatigue knocked on the door again.
I bargained with her, "Just let me run for 15 more minutes,
then we can spend some quality time together."
Fatigue stepped away. After crossing the Connector once more, we ran past the Capitol, then turned left onto Washington Street for a quick downhill dash to another left turn onto Mitchell Street. But before I reached the corner, I saw a few runners and a policewoman helping a runner who had fallen. I don't know if he stumbled on a pothole or had fallen from exhaustion. Fortunately he was up and walking to the sidewalk as I passed. Hopefully he wasn't injured too badly. Back to my own run, I slowed down for the final water station, drinking a cup of Gatorade. The mile 12 alert had sounded, 8:51, and then I got back up to speed as we turned right onto Capitol Avenue heading south toward the finish line. 1:44 elapsed!
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| In the last mile |
We ran uphill for a couple of blocks to cross the I-20 overpass. Then ahead, I saw a long downhill track to the Georgia State Stadium, originally the 1996 Olympic Stadium. The road changed its name to Hank Aaron Drive. Channeling my childhood memory of "Hammerin' Hank" setting the career home run record back in 1974, I sped up. Everyone around me also sped up, as the allure of the finish line drew us in. Faster and faster we all ran, under the Olympic Rings. I heard people calling my name and saw Sheelagh O'Malley and Bob Wells, and someone else that I should have recognized if I wasn't so focused on running fast. Smile! That one came naturally. Now we drew even with the stadium. I took a quick look at my watch, 12.9 miles elapsed, but I estimated that I probably had about 0.3 miles to go. 1:51 elapsed! If my estimate was correct, I would definitely finish in less than 1:54. Don't slow down!! We raced downhill past the stadium, then a right turn onto the street just south of the stadium, and another quick right on the entrance road into the stadium. As we ran through the open gate, a volunteer shouted, "200 meters to go!" It took my tired mind more than a few seconds to recall that 200 meters is just 1/2 lap on the track, i.e. less than 60 seconds for me! We ran into the Stadium, made a couple of little turns in which I passed a couple of other runners, then ran onto the field! All the training with strides at the end of mid-week runs paid off: I stamped down on the accelerator and my engine responded, as I raced fast past several other runners along the left side of the finishing chute. The race clock read 2:02:xx, but I knew that my chip time was 1:53:xx. I crossed the timing mat, threw up both hands in celebration, even leaped into the air several times, finally slowed down and stopped my watch, to see 1:53:21! Smile! Smile! SMILE! Wow, indeed that was the run of my life!
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| A step before the finish line (above); celebration immediately upon crossing the finish (below) |
A volunteer gave me my medal, another handed me a bottle of water, a third volunteer held a big stack of cooldown jackets. Fatigue joined me for a slow walk around the stadium, with nothing to say other than Congratulations, you did it! I caught up with a few friends from various training programs, then found Bonnie and Sunny under the goalposts.
I quickly sent a thank you text and my estimated finish time to Coach Carl, then joined Bonnie and Sunny for a celebration of our successful races. I hadn't realized that today's race was Sunny's first 5K! Before the race, she was anxious about running more than 2 miles. In fact she ran very well this morning, finishing just under 50 minutes. When the Atlanta Track Club text arrived a few minutes later with my official time, 1:53:14, this confirmed that I set a new personal record by almost 3-1/2 minutes!
Training with Coach Carl has definitely paid off, in a very big way! In addition to the training plans and the Tuesday evening track sessions, Carl set me up with a chiropractor, Dr. Josh Glass of Georgia Sports Chiropractic, who wrote a prescription for physical therapy with Chip Hewgley at Emory. All of this has helped me to remain healthy. I've also learned to trust the coach and the training plan: Run as close as possible to what is prescribed for a workout. It doesn't help to run more or run faster than prescribed, without discussing it first with the coach, as there is always a good reason for the prescribed distance and/or pace. Finally I understand that the easy long runs are about building the strength of the cardiovascular engine and building endurance in the legs. The speed work sessions are about giving the body a taste of what is needed to run fast, but it's not about "winning" the session. And the mental training, which was formerly the "missing link" in the formula, is now firmly in place.
