January 2, 2021: Resolution Run

I think the photo is from the January 1, 2019 race

Goodbye to 2020, and not a moment too soon. The Atlanta Track Club normally hosts the Resolution Run on New Year's Day. Due to COVID-19 and the difficulty / impossibility of getting permits, they opted to hold the Run in the isolated neighborhood where the track club offices are located. Then the weather forecast turned very ominous for the morning of January 1, so the track club delayed the run until this morning, January 2. That proved to be a very good decision: we had torrential rain yesterday morning. 

The idea was for enough Atlanta Track Members to run enough laps over a six-hour period, adding up to 2021 total laps. We had signed up for a relatively late start time, 11:50 am. I was half-expecting that 2021 laps might be completed before we even began. We arrived around 11:30 am, walked to the starting area for temperature check and to receive our bibs, which had a big orange field to write our New Year resolution. I've resolved to be more patient in 2021: with research progress in the lab, with students and other faculty at Emory, with Bonnie at home, with the remainder of the pandemic, and with my progress in running. 

Both of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats were up for election in November 2020,
off-cycle due to a mid-term retirement. Since no one candidate won a majority
in either race, we have a run-off election next Tuesday, January 5.
Bonnie and I cast absentee ballots a few weeks ago,
not wanting to stand in lines during the pandemic.  

I had originally planned to just run one or two laps, and then head into town to complete my 10-mile marathon prep run. But when we arrived, the count was only up to 1100 laps. The starter that they could make the 2021 goal if all remaining runners covered 4 laps. Bonnie was already planning on 3 or 4 laps, so she committed to 4 laps. I knew that 8 laps added up to just over 10 miles, so hopefully we collectively had a chance. 

training plan: with the bad weather forecast on January 1, I covered 4 miles easy on Thursday morning,
used January 1 as a recovery day, and then went for 10 miles today. 

The goal in the training plan was to keep the effort easy and relaxed, which meant for me about a 10:30 min / mile pace. That follows the guidance of 30 - 90 seconds slower than marathon goal pace. Since I'm trying for a February 28 finish in the 4:15 - 4:20 range, that means 30 - 90 seconds slower than a 9:45 min / mile pace. I pulled down my wrap right before the airhorn sounded at 11:50 am, and I started very carefully, very easily. Yet when I checked my watch, I was running nice and easy: at a low 9 min / mile pace. I tried to dial back my effort, but then the volunteers at the first corner were cheering us on, including Tucker Running Club stalwart Donna Roberts. Nearing the end of the first mile, I took a long walk break, but still ran the first mile in 9:34. Oops. The rest of the run was similar, running at what felt like a naturally easy pace, but was faster than intended, then taking a walk break before the next mile alert. 

A minute before the start, still wearing our masks

In the beginning, there were quite a few runners and walkers on the course. I ran every mile between 9:34 - 9:51 min / mile pace. I think part of the challenge was that I was running around other people, even if they weren't all that close. Perhaps I needed to keep up with the others on the course. I felt badly that I had trouble recognizing the volunteers along the course who were all wearing masks. Each time we passed the timing mat, which simply logged the number of laps per participant, I would look up at the screen, but never saw my name. I guess the screen only updated every 30 - 60 seconds. As I finished the second or third lap, I realized that the screen displayed the cumulative number of laps covered in the far left column, which was about 1470. But on my next trip over the finish line, we were only up to 1530. At my pace, I was covering each 1.3 mile lap in about 12 - 13 minutes, so at 60 runners per lap, we weren't going to make it. And as I continued running laps, the number of other runners steadily decreased. 

The loop was pretty flat by Atlanta standards. The high point was near the south end
of Ottley Drive (in red, 844 feet), and the low point was about a quarter-mile further,
at the turn next to the small creek (in blue, 820 feet), which drains
to the north into the somewhat larger Peachtree Creek. 

As I finished the seventh lap, I saw only 16xx laps recorded - don't remember how far we were into the 1600's. I thought about running or walking a ninth lap, but realized that it wouldn't make a difference that would matter, and could only mess up my own training. When my watched signaled 10.0 miles, I suppose I could have stopped and walked it in, but felt good enough to pick up the pace just a bit for the last 0.4 miles. As I finished the eighth lap (1:41:46, 10.48 miles total), I stepped off the course. My legs were surprisingly sore. That's what I get for taking the easy recovery run too quickly. Fortunately the soreness mostly dissipated as I walked around the parking lot for a few minutes. A few minutes later, Bonnie came through the finish line, making a strong sprint over the timing mat.

My phone camera doesn't pick up the digital screen very clearly,
but here's the proof. My last lap was #1677.
Another resolution: I will upgrade my phone in 2021.

 

Bonnie celebrating her finish line! 

The track club offered small sandwiches from Fat Matt's Bar-B-Q in midtown: the chicken sandwiches were really tasty!