September 18, 2021: The Refuge Coffee 5K Run

I ran the Refuge Coffee 5K Run back in April 2017, and enjoyed the route, the race, and the overall experience. Somehow I didn't get around to running this race again, although I was thinking about registering for the April 2020 race, and then the country locked down due to COVID-19. Like so many spring 2021 races that were cancelled or postponed to fall 2021, this event was moved to mid-September for this year. With just three weeks to go in marathon training, running a 5K race wasn't part of my plan, but in light of recent events in Afghanistan and the resulting refugee crisis, I couldn't imagine not participating in this race this year. 

The fall of Afghanistan in August and the resulting refugee exodus hit home for me. Not that I have any personal connection with Afghanistan, but every refugee crisis reminds me of what my mother and grandparents went through during and immediately after World War II. At the end of the war, they ended up in Linz, Austria. This was in the United States occupation zone, which was fortunate for them, as they quickly moved west at the end of the war to stay out of the Soviet occupation zone. Although they were ethnically Austrian, they weren't Austrian citizens, so they really weren't supposed to be there. They feared for their lives if they tried to return to Yugoslavia, where my mother was born. 75 years ago, Austria was a "shithole country," to put it bluntly. The Nazis had run the place for the previous decade, and if that wasn't terrible enough, by the end of the war, the cities had suffered extensive bomb damage, and the people who had survived were starving. Austria isn't that way today. But it was impossible for my grandparents to foresee that things might improve in Europe, after surviving both of the World Wars. They were fortunate to receive refugee visas to immigrate to the United States as permanent residents in 1950. 

In front of a bomb-destroyed block in Linz, Austria, ca. 1945: 
from left-to-right, my mother Cecilie Kefer, grandparents Rudolf and Elizabeth Kefer, 
a family friend Josefina Schwarzer, and my aunt Mira Kefer. 

For too many years, I naively thought that the lines of the poem "The New Colossus" penned by Emma Lazarus and famously inscribed at the Statue of Liberty National Monument carried some legal force:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land; 

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand 

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she  

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

__________

For today's race, I parked my car at a mosque on North Indian Creek Drive, one of the designated parking areas, but the furthest from the race start. Not a problem, I was due to run 6 miles today, so the 2-mile warmup was perfect for this "cutdown week" in my marathon training plan. There was a very light drizzle, but perhaps that diminished the negative impact of 72 degree temperature. 

I was the only person who parked way out here.
Oh, and showing off my new Tesla Model 3. 

Today's language lesson

Good showing today from Clarkston's neighbors in the Tucker Running Club

Mural outside of Balagru Food Mart

Arriving at the Refuge Coffee Company

Ready to begin, lining up behind the Clarkston High School Air Force Junior ROTC runners

Fully warmed up, I took a place to the side and fairly far back in the pack, mostly to maintain some physical distance after removing my mask. The race announcer counted down our start, and sounded the airhorn, at 9:00 am on the dot! I took my time walking to the timing mat, started my watch, and crossed the timing mat. I had set the watch to 2 minutes running, 30 seconds walking, which is the interval plan that I will likely use in the Chicago Marathon. The goal at the start was to begin cautiously, no faster than a 10 minute / mile pace. As I crossed the timing mat, I found myself behind quite a few walkers, so carefully worked my way onto the sidewalk to get around the group, then swung wide on the left turn. We were running downhill so I was careful not to run too fast, but filed away the information that I would run back up this hill in the last 0.2 miles of the race. The first walk break sounded as the route turned right onto Norman Road, so I raised my hand and slowed to a walk. My initial pace was a low 10 minutes / mile, crept toward 10:30 during the walk break, and at 2:30 elapsed went back to running. We were still moving downhill, as I chatted with Emily Grossman, who I didn't really know well although she has been active in Tucker Running Club during the past year. Knowing that I won't have any downhills to speak of at all in Chicago, I just took my time running as easily as possible, not waiting to strain my quadriceps, or anything else. Then I caught up to Judy Tennell, we ran together for a moment, I took a walk break, then caught up to her and moved ahead in the next running interval. Midway through the first mile, the road turned uphill. Again, in Chicago, I won't get any hill work other than possibly an occasional overpass. But on a gentle hill, running uphill is a great way to do a little speed work in disguise, as long as I don't push the pace too hard. 

Volunteers were cheering us along the route, including each corner. After a left turn onto Otello Avenue, we kept running gently uphill. With Jolly Elementary School on the left, the mile 1 alert sounded, at 10:36. I'm getting the hang of this conservative start! We turned right onto Echo Woods Drive, a nice little neighborhood loop, then turned right back onto Otello Drive. The road kept going uphill, I kept making easy progress. Approaching the top of a hill, most people ahead of me were walking, and voilà, it was time for my 30 second walk break! Around this time, I caught up with Carolyn Weber. She was also doing run-walk intervals, so we leapfrogged / occasionally ran together for awhile. As we turned left onto Erskine Road, I saw a water stop. I wasn't thirsty, but I remembered getting thirsty late in a summer 5K several years ago, so I accepted a small bottle of water from a volunteer, jogged slowly as I sipped the water. I managed to gulp most of it down, spilling just a bit down the front of my shirt, as I approached the recycling bin. I passed the mile 2 mark at 20:47 elapsed, 10:11 for the second mile, so nice progression, but still running pretty easily. 

We turned onto the PATH trail, at the mile 13 marker. I joked with Carolyn "Half-marathon distance to downtown Atlanta!" This section is one of the nicest parts of the PATH, through a little forest, nicely shaded, and in the westerly direction, gently downhill. I took a photo during a walk break, about 25 minutes into the race. Sigh, normally I would be looking for the finish line by now - or on a great day, might even be cooling down just past the finish line. There was only about 1 kilometer to go, with easy running on the PATH trail, scrupulously taking 30-second walk breaks at 27:00 and again at 29:30. 

The PATH trail through Clarkston

As we reached the Norman Road intersection at 30 minutes flat, I picked up the speed. It felt great to run faster, especially after 5 miles total of easy warmup this morning! I suddenly passed a bunch of people, even though we were running uphill. Well, perhaps they were running uphill, but I was riding a rocket toward the finish line. Exaggeration? Mile 3 reached at 30:47, 10:00 flat for the third mile. Making the right turn onto Market Street, I was running out of energy, but kept pushing myself knowing that I was almost finished - with the race. Later I saw that my heart rate was 177 bpm near the end. I caught up to a man pushing a baby stroller. As we ran uphill over the railroad track, the man said to his child, "There's the finish line!" I sensed that he was about to accelerate. I wanted to take a walk break so badly, but I wasn't going to be passed by a stroller! While watching carefully to make sure that the police had blocked the normally busy intersection at East Ponce de Leon Avenue, I kept my lead foot on my personal accelerator pedal. The 50-meter dash from Ponce de Leon to the finish line was a gentle downhill. I heard someone yell "Go Frank!" - turns out it was Lisa Calas, who had just set her personal best in the 5K, and was taking photographs of Tucker runners as we approached the finish line. 

A couple of steps ahead of the stroller - with two children! 

Flashing a smile! 

A few steps before the finish line

Crossing the finish line, stopping the watch: 31:59! 7:15 min / mile pace for the final 0.16 miles on my watch. The funny thing about the 31:59 finish time, was that I was due to take another walk break at 32:00. I wasn't listening for an alert at the end, but if I had run a few seconds slower to this point, wouldn't it have been funny if I had slowed to a 30-second walk break with the finish line in sight?

With the walk-run method, I managed a consistent pace from the start to the 30-minute mark. 
And really happy with the jump in speed over the last 2-minute run segment, especially with the 20-foot increase in elevation.  

I really like this year's shirt! They had blue and white shirts:
I made sure that I was in the line for the blue shirts. 

P. S.  This was a surprise! It's a good thing that I picked up my speed at the end!!

________

I didn't open the swag bag until I got home. Inside there was a special bar of soap:

 

"Pure soap made by refugees. Creating jobs in Iraq."

Sisterhoodcollection.com

September 6, 2021: The Big Peach Sizzler 10K

Marathon training continues, but with its challenges. I finished an 18-mile run on a relatively cool 64 degree morning, with 16 good miles on a 3:30 run / 0:30 walk interval. As the miles continued, my feet began to ache, along with my left ankle. Early in the seventeenth mile, my mental training failed me: I ended up walking the last 1-1/2 miles over 30 minutes. Within a few minutes of reaching my car, and removing my shoes, my feet were feeling better, the ankle didn't feel terribly injured, and I felt so disappointed that I hadn't persisted through the end of the long run. Somehow between now and the October 10 marathon, I need a mental strategy to persist through the finish line. 

Driving to the race at "ass o'clock"

The Tucker Running Club organized a team for today's Big Peach Sizzler. I've run the 10K on Labor Day each year from 2014 - 2019, and set my 10K personal best on this course in 2017. But in the midst of marathon training, I was definitely not racing this year, just working in some easy mileage between the 18-miler and a 20-miler coming up this weekend. I set my watch for 2:00 / 0:30 intervals. My plan was to run the first 3 - 4 miles run - walk, and if I felt good, then switch over to 2:00 easy run / 0:30 strides or sprints, simulating this week's track workout for six laps of "stride the straights, jog the curves". Admittedly the 2 minute easy sections would give me more rest than I would get in the track workout, but since this would normally be a 4-mile maximum day, I figured I couldn't go wrong with longer recovery times. I also set my watch to signal whenever my heart rate reached or exceeded 160 beats per minute. 

above: Chris Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig, Susie Hill,
Jeff Norris, and Rhonda Moore-Kelly with the author:
"Tucker Running Club in the House!"

I started with a few other Tucker Running Club friends just in front of the 11:00 minute / mile pace sign, and behind a runner carrying the United States flag. The other runners had voluntarily spread out a bit to allow physical distancing, which I greatly appreciated, even though I felt fairly safe from COVID breakthrough infection while outdoors. The temperature was a little warmer than I had expected, about 70 degrees, when just 24 hours ago the forecast for this morning had been low- to mid-60's, but as the light increased after sunrise, I noticed that the skies were cloudy, so that was going to help. 

With Bonnie and Long Tran a few minutes before the start

Runners gathering for the start

At 7:30 am sharp, we heard the shot of the starting pistol. Conversations suddenly stopped as we began slowly walking toward the starting line, but I saw Rebecca Ludwig up ahead dashing to catch up with a faster group. Rebecca recently completed her first ultra-marathon, and will run the Berlin Marathon and the Chicago Marathon just two weeks apart! Crossing the starting line at an easy jog, I was looking for Bonnie photographing runners to our left. I flashed her a big smile and raised both arms, and just kept moving with the rest of the group. I was concerned that I would be running too fast, but when I checked my watch, I was on a 10:30 min / mile pace, perfect for practicing a marathon start. With two minutes elapsed, my watch sounded for the first walk break. This year I was far enough to the side to step out of the way to slow to a walk. One runner asked "Are you OK?" and I replied "Yes, doing run-walk for easy mileage today." But I really appreciated that he asked! 

Rebecca shortly after the start

Me, a minute or so later

Carolyn Weber after the start

A couple of walk breaks later, and a nice downhill start, we were on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, heading slightly uphill for a short stretch. The police moved us over to a single lane within a few blocks, which was enough room since we were spread out fairly well. Quite a few others were doing run - walk intervals, so it was easy to stick with my goal for the early miles not to pass anyone unless they were walking. The distance between me and the US flag increased a bit with every walk break, but I just reminded myself, "Not racing today!" At least not for the first miles. Before long, the mile 1 marker appeared, 10:43 elapsed. Right on target, Coach Carl will be pleased, I thought. A group of volunteers manned the first water station early in the second mile. I was expecting water bottles due to the ongoing pandemic, but to my surprise, the volunteers were handing paper cups of water, just as in the good ol' days. 

Race route, same as it always was (since 2018)

The mile 2 marker came up fairly quickly, I thought, for an easy and relatively slow run. 10:40 for the second mile, 21:23 elapsed. Right on track, nice and consistent. My pulse was consistently around 140 bpm. Around this time, Harley Eisenberg called out as I passed him. He and a partner were pushing a wheelchair participant. We leapfrogged a couple of times due to my walk breaks, then I got out in front a bit further to stay out of their way. Before long, we ran by the Oglethorpe University campus, welcoming students back to school, then the Town Brookhaven development where we picked up my race bib on Saturday. The Brookhaven MARTA station came into view, which is where the 5K runners had began about an hour before. I guess I got excited and must have sped up a bit, then unexpectedly I heard my heart rate alert. I don't know what really caused my heart rate to spike, but I immediately slowed to a walk, about 45 seconds. My heart rate quickly dropped below 130 bpm. I tightened the band on my watch one notch, just in case the sensor wasn't ready properly. 10:27 for mile 3, 31:50 elapsed. 

My heart rate settled down again, and I felt really good. After the walk break at 34:30 - 35:00 minutes, I resolved to begin the pace "pickups" at the next "walk break" signal. At 37:00 flat, I picked up the pace a bit. Just 30 seconds, but that felt really good! I slowed back down to an easier pace, then 2 minutes later, another pickup, passing the US flag bearer. By 41:10 elapsed, I had covered mile 4 in 9:20, with just two pickups. Each time I passed several runners. Around this stage, I caught up with Lisa Calas and Susie Hill in Tucker Running Club, ran with them for a moment, then as my watch sounded the next alert, told them "I'm trying to run a negative split" and took off, which coincided with a downhill section. My heart rate exceeded 160 bpm a couple of times, but quickly dropped with each 2 minute easy jog, so I continued this pattern for two more cycles. Then coming off of the 47:30 pickup, my heart rate kept increasing even after I slowed down. I was feeling the exertion, so I decided that I had better take a short walk break, unfortunately immediately after I had jetted past several people. My pulse quickly dropped below 160 bpm, so I resumed running. Shortly after the next pickup, the mile 5 alert sounded near the entrance to Lenox Mall, another 9:20 mile, and 50:30 elapsed. 

Easy 5K with regular walk breaks, followed by a
 tough 5K with 7 pickups and a sprint to the finish

In 2017, I finished this race in less than 50 minutes; in most of the other Sizzler years, I was getting close to the finish line by this stage. But I wasn't racing today. And after the 52:00 minute pickup, my heart rate was redlining, and I was feeling tired. With one full mile to go, I took a walk break, even though I could see Rebecca Ludwig just ahead. 52:30, back to running. Around that time, Rebecca took a walk break of her own. I caught up to her and said "hello!" Maybe she was surprised to see me, but resumed running to stay with me. Rebecca said "I think this is the only time that I'll ever run with you in a race." I replied, "I'll need another walk break in a moment" and did exactly that at 54:30. Rebecca pulled ahead; no problem since I wasn't racing today. 

Shortly after the next walk break, I reached the corner of Peachtree with Piedmont, making the right turn around 58 minutes elapsed. From this turn, I need less than 4 minutes to get to the finish line. I nearly caught up to Rebecca, but at 59:35, at the 6 mile marker, my heart rate alert was making a continuous racket, so I slowed down a little. 9:05 for mile 6, but approaching the 1 hour mark. I had always finished this race in less than 1 hour, and had once run every mile under an 8:15 minute / mile pace. But not racing today. Then the roadway visibly went slightly downhill again, so I picked up my pace again. Less than two blocks to go. I caught up with Rebecca, said "Let's go!" She took off with me, keeping up with me as we made the turn onto Lenox Road. Someone cheered me on, I think it was Jackie Whitlock from Coach Carl's training group, but I was breathing so hard with sweat in my eyes just running as fast as possible not racing today?! Now the final right turn onto Tower Place Drive toward the finish line, DON'T SLOW DOWN. I didn't know where Rebecca was but assumed that she was hot on my tail. The announcer called out "Tucker Running Club! Tucker Running Club in the House!!" so I assumed that he saw both Rebecca and me at the same time. Over the line and stopped my watch, 1:02:03, and turned around to see that Rebecca was the next finisher, just 4 - 5 seconds after me.  

Sue Landa and David Bloomquist finishing together

Rebecca's finish

Lisa Calas' finish

Fist bumps exchanged with Rebecca in celebration. And Sue Landa and David Bloomquist had finished about 20 seconds ahead of me. David called "I want to make sure that I make it into the blog!" and he and Sue posed with me for a photo.       

This man is smiling like he just won the race!

Grandmaster runners after finishing

This race was a lot of fun, even though it was my slowest Sizzler 10K. I ran the second 5K a little faster than I probably should have, considering that I have a 20-miler coming up this weekend. But easy walking and jogging over the next few days should support enough recovery in time for a good, long slow distance run. I hope! 

P. S. Somehow my chip didn't register at the starting line, so my recorded chip time equals my official time. At least I wasn't racing today. 

Official results