I had not intended to sign up for this race, as I'm now focusing on training for a couple of half marathons later this year, with training culminating in the Publix Atlanta Marathon on March 1. But when the following e-mail landed in my in-box:
$40 later, I had registered for the race, and in the lottery to win the free tickets. I went to bed that night thinking of which three friends would make the cut to join me in the suite ... and waited and waited through the morning of the game for the e-mail informing me that I had won. The e-mail never came. Fortunately, Atlanta United won the game, 2 - 0, and hosted Toronto F.C. in the following week for the Eastern Conference Championship. If Atlanta had won, we would have hosted the MLS Cup Championship on November 10, and at the end of the 5K race, I would have joyfully run onto the field the day before the big game. Sadly, Atlanta United was outplayed by a scrappy and experienced Toronto side, losing 1 - 2. Tomorrow's championship will be played at the opposite corner of the country, in Seattle, the home of the Western Conference Champion.
But regarding my running: after an unusually long summer of training through the heat, the temperature has suddenly dropped. With the cooler weather, a reserve of speed and endurance has emerged. Training is going well. Coach Carl Leivers gave me the green light for today's race:
"Up to you how hard to push this one, but have fun with it either way!"
Carl has emphasized with his runners the importance of staying in control when running fast, to maintain good form and avoiding straining. I realize that when I've run fast with a breakdown in form, that's when I've strained muscles. That ruined a marathon in spring 2018, and interrupted my training for a half-marathon PR attempt in spring 2019. I'm determined not to do anything that will injure me in this round of training.
After I struggled in mile 8 of the 10-miler, I asked Carl for some guidance on mental training. He recommended the following book: "Running Within: A guide to mastering the body-mind-spirit connection for ultimate training and racing" by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott. So far, I've only read the first few chapters, but have already gained an appreciation for a positive mind-set and self-talk. For this marathon training cycle, the mantra is "Patience", and when it's time for speed work, the mantra is "Glide." I've put those into practice in the last two track workouts with Carl's group, and he's noticed that I'm running well. I realize that means that I'm running the workout as prescribed and with consistency from start to finish. The section that I'm currently reading describes a "Warrior" mind-set.
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| Shortly before the race, in wave B |
For today's race, I arrived about an hour ahead of time, with plenty of time to pick up my bib, walk a bit and dynamically stretch before setting out on a warmup run. At first, with 35 degree temperatures and 10 mile per hour wind, I was concerned that I might not have a good race. But by the end of the first mile, I had warmed up and my mind-set was shifting in a positive direction. And by the time that I had returned to the starting area, after about 2.3 miles, I was ready to run a good race! I started with wave B, a little further back from the front of the wave than I would have liked, but I had adjusted one of my shoelaces that hadn't felt quite right during the warm up, and the corral was quite full. I shouldn't have been surprised: nearly 4000 people completed today's race.
I had three goals for today's race:
1) don't get hurt,
2) have fun wearing my Atlanta United jersey into the stadium, and
3) aim for a progression, running the first mile in about 8 minutes even, then try to go a little faster for the second mile, and even faster for the third mile, and then near the end, run as fast as possible for a strong finish.
I tried to keep moving around in the cold air as we waited in the corral for wave A to begin. Before we started, one of Bonnie's friends asked me, "Are you trying for a PR today?" I laughed and said "Probably not, although I do run well in this part of town." Finally, wave A moved out, and wave B walked up to the starting mat. I couldn't really hear the starting instructions in the back of the wave, but I did hear when the airhorn sounded. It was probably a full minute before I reached the starting line, but then we all moved at a good pace to begin the race. Running next to the Georgia World Congress Center on Andrew Young International Boulevard, we made a right turn at the corner of the CNN Center, onto Marietta Street. I quickly established a quick but relatively easy pace, about an 8:15 minute / mile. The first few blocks were a little crowded, but I just followed another man that was blazing a route, and avoided trampling over anyone as I moved forward through the wave. With another right turn onto Forsyth Street, running due south, there was a little more room in the runner's lane. I fondly recalled running in the other direction on Forsyth Street in the ATL 20 K in late August - and then also recalled how many potholes and divots were on Forsyth Street. None of the road hazards had departed in the past two months. I carefully watched my path as I raced ahead. A fall could certainly ruin this training cycle. (I learned after the race that another Tucker Running Club participant, starting just after me in wave C, had fallen due to a road hazard, although she completed the race.) Patrons stepping outside of a McDonald's cheered us as we ran by.
Passing the mile 1 marker in 7:58, we made a slight right turn onto Peters Avenue, and over a railroad bridge. For me, this was the first noticeable uphill section, but I just trusted my training and relative familiarity with the route. I was thankful to cross the bridge earlier in the race, while my legs were still fresh. Now I began consciously telling myself to speed up, on occasion finding people ahead of me that were moving more slowly, and then "gliding" past them. We ran down Peters Avenue for a full mile. Although I was trying to drop my pace to 7:30, today I finished mile 2 in 7:47, 15:45 elapsed. Not to worry, that was still faster than my first mile.
We turned onto Chapel Street, which merged into Northside Drive. There was the steepest little hill at this point, but I just relaxed and glided to the top of the hill. Before I knew it, I had crested the hill, at 17 minutes elapsed. Wasn't that easy? Here I first glimpsed the gleaming silvery roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the distance. 7 minutes to go? or 8 minutes? I picked up my speed - and yes, I had a higher gear to work with today. Just one mile to go - "you can do anything for 1 mile" I told myself. Then for the first time in at least a mile, a runner passed me, on my right, a man in dreadlocks. I picked up my pace to keep him from opening too much of a gap. Then a younger man passed, wearing the race shirt. I remembered Chris McClung's advice from the Running Rogue podcast: "In a 5K, if people are passing you after the first mile, that means that you're slowing down." With his words ringing in my ears, I sped up some more. The young man passed Mr. Dreadlocks but I drew nearly even, but didn't get ahead of him. Then a young woman running in a pink padded jacket passed on my left. She was running easily, and I didn't try to catch up to her. However I noted with satisfaction that all three people who had passed me were still in sight - oops, then another man passed me on the right.
In the meantime, the stadium had drawn much closer. At 21 minutes elapsed, I began looking ahead to see where people were entering the stadium. Acckkkk - we weren't going to run directly into the stadium, but would run past a corner of the stadium. At the time, it looked like it was all the way around on the other side of the stadium. Then the word "Warrior" came to mind. My inner "Warrior" side kicked in - I didn't know that I really had a warrior within me - but I sped up a little more. Finally I saw ahead where the runners were entering the stadium, next to the 3 mile marker! 23 minutes flat on my watch at that point, 23:20 before 3 miles recorded on my watch - but mile 3 had taken only 7:35. Again, I had hoped to run just a little faster than that, but my mile 3 was faster than mile 2, so I definitely successfully executed today's race plan.
Running into the stadium, I raised my sunglasses onto my head, and then accelerated some more. Volunteers and spectators encouraged us forward. I tapped my inner Josef MartÃnez. Or maybe he was the just-retired defender Michael Parkhurst, still a pretty fast runner, I'm sure. I had no idea how far we would run inside the building before reaching the field, but it may have been only 50 - 60 yards. Then we ran through an inflated tunnel - just like the other athletes that play for the superb Atlanta United team (and the disappointing Falcons, currently in last place with a 1 - 7 won - loss record) and onto the field. As we ran along a sideline on the NFL-chalked field, I was surprised by the softness of the turf. I should have changed into cleats! Nevertheless, I zipped past a young woman in a blue shirt who had passed me a moment earlier, and glided across the finish line at the distal 40-yard line. As I reached across my body to turn off my watch, I took a second to mimic Josef MartÃnez's penalty kick: an annoying little skip, followed by pretending to strike a ball into a net.
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| Just a few seconds before crossing the finish line. I've eclipsed the woman in blue that I just passed. |
23:59.7 on my watch! That's among my five fastest 5K runs! Official time was 23:57!
Best of all, I wasn't exhausted! Yes, I had just completed a challenging workout, but I had remained in control from start to finish. In contrast to most previous races, my heart rate did not spike near the finish, even though I continued to speed up in the final fraction of a mile.
23:57 is just 27 seconds slower than my personal best, which I ran a couple of years ago, in sub-freezing weather. Even if I wasn't faster, I ran today's race better, according to a plan and under control from start to finish, maintaining good form, thus diminishing the risk of injury. I certainly had fun running this race, and the months of training with Carl Leivers are now showing results! With continued training, I believe that I can shave at least 10 seconds from each mile in next year's race, if it's run on the same course. This warrior is "calling his shot", but with some patience: I will set a new personal record for the 5K distance in the year 2020.
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| A bunch of happy Tucker Running Club athletes, celebrating Tiffany's birthday after the race! |
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