December 19, 2021: Jeff Galloway 13.1

The Galloway Half Marathon has been a memorable race for me, generally as the last race of the calendar year. As a brief summary:  

2014: 2:19:36, first half-marathon

2015: 1:59:48, first success with "Breaking Two"

2016: 2:00:56, suffered on the hill in mile 10

2017: 1:56:42, a new personal best, inspired by Billy Mills

2018: 1:58:53, 2nd fastest half, in the rain

2019: 1:55:40, a new 2nd fastest half

2020: 2:04:54, virtual race

I registered for today's race nearly two years ago, taking advantage of an "early bird" registration for 2019 finishers, originally expecting to run in December 2020. With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Galloway race organization rolled over my registration fee to this year's race. 

We happened to park next to Lindy Liu in the Piedmont Park garage!
Lindy ran the half-marathon relay today.

I'm making progress in physical therapy, but I'm not completely recovered from whatever is causing the muscle / nerve pain, and my conditioning is not that good. My longest run since the marathon was about 7-1/2 miles, so I was just hoping that I had enough innate strength and experience to cover 13 miles. I definitely wasn't trying for a goal other than to finish, so I started with the 2:15 pace group, which used intervals of 90 seconds run, 30 seconds walk. The weather was drizzling and a little windy on the way to the start, and the temperature was in the high 40's. It was good to see some familiar faces along the way and in the starting area, but the number of runners was definitely less than in the past, only about 400 finishers today. It's probably not surprising in these times, with the Omicron variant causing another surge of illness. I'm just happy that some organizations are still safely hosting races. 

I switched to a long-sleeved shirt due to the wind. Good decision.
Across the street were a trio of Charge Running coaches in cow costumes!

Everybody looks good at the start of a race. 

Although I had a "red" bib permitting me to start with the first group, the 2:15 pacers were in the "blue" area, so we began 3 minutes after the clock officially started. It was really nice to stay with the pacers, and it was a pretty social group for the time that I ran with them. Mentally I let them do all of the work setting the pace and signaling run and walk intervals. It's amazing how that makes a big difference vs. trying to find a pace and managing the intervals on my own. I enjoyed re-acquainting myself with the course after two years. The Krispy Kreme landmark on North Avenue at the turn onto Central Park Place burned down earlier this year, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a food truck open for donut business in the parking lot, and the fan with the car stereo playing 80's rock was back this year. I accidentally got out in front of the pace group, I guess I was pumped up by AC/DC, but caught myself and let the pacers reel me back in. Around this time, I began to feel the first muscle pains in my back. That wasn't surprising, but I still had a long distance ahead of me, and was hoping that things would not get worse. 

In mile 6 on the Eastside Beltline, pleasure >> pain.

The miles ticked by, as our pace group moved a few seconds faster than the 10:18 min / mile goal pace. On the Eastside Beltline in the middle of mile 6, I saw Bonnie, and moved out in front of the pacers to exchange a hand slap and a smile for her camera. We had unintentionally banked some time on the long gentle downhill stretch on the Beltline in mile 5, and returned it all in mile 7 climbing the hills on St. Charles Avenue on the way up to Highland Avenue. I was beginning to fall behind the pacers just a bit, but caught up at every walk break through the mile 8 marker, occasionally cutting my own walk break short by 5 seconds on either end. I tried to keep my spirits up, noting when we had reached the halfway point, and used my trusty mantra "I love hills!" when needed, even out loud a few times hoping that it might help others. Passing the mile 8 marker, I silently thought to myself, "just 5 miles to the finish line." On Park Drive, I fell 13 seconds behind the pacers; yes, I was counting time to the next landmarks. I made a bold effort to catch up to the pace group at the beginning of a run segment, but my back muscles began to protest quite loudly. I let the pacers slip from my grasp for good, sadly watching the gap grow. That was the most demoralizing moment in today's race.

Sign language

Pain > pleasure

Once I turned onto 10th Avenue, I saw Bonnie ahead. I was disappointed that she had to see me well behind the pacers, probably more than 30 seconds. I gave her a thumb-down signal as I slowed to take a scheduled walk break, but assured her that I would finish. She replied "I love you!" as I continued walking. I tried to start up with the next run interval, but running uphill was too much for me. At that moment I reasoned with myself, 2:15 or 2:30, it doesn't really matter. What matters is getting through the rest of the race without making my back worse. I calculated that I could still finish in less then 3 hours if I just walked the rest of the way. So that's what I did for the entire 10th mile, and more. I began to carefully check behind me to see if the 2:30 pace group was about to overtake me, and wondered if I might run with them. After I had crested the top of the hill on Piedmont Road, I attempted to run again, but the sore muscle in my back wasn't ready to cooperate, so back to walking. After a minute or so, I tried to run again, changing gait more gradually. That seemed to work, heading downhill on Piedmont Road. But before reaching the bottom at the intersection with Monroe Drive, the 2:30 pacers caught up with me. I walked with them for 30 seconds, but when they returned to their 60 second run intervals, I could not keep up. Bye bye. 

I was grateful to see the mile 11 marker shortly after entering Piedmont Park. My watch showed 2:05 elapsed. In several past editions of this race, at 2:05 after the start, I was cooling down after celebrating a sub-2 hour finish. Today at 2:05, now 2:06 elapsed, I still had 2.1 miles to go. Just 21 minutes to the finish? I quickly corrected myself, today it might take twice as long. That mental correction was the only thing that happened quickly for me. I just enjoyed walking while listening to the music blasting from the speakers at Orpheus Brewing high above the park path. I occasionally tried to run for a moment, typically after someone passed me, hoping that I could get to the finish line and rest a little sooner, but it was too painful to run for long. On the other hand, walking sort of felt like physical therapy. I also realized that I was not registered for any races or for running commitment at all for the future, and focused on the thought that after I finished this race, I could just focus on rehabilitation and complete healing before returning to any training or racing in 2022. 

I see Bonnie, who turned my grimace into a smile!

Those thoughts kept me moving toward the mile 12 marker, where Bonnie was waiting as we had earlier agreed. She was relieved to hear that I wasn't too badly dinged up, and that I was intent on taking care of myself as I slowly worked my way to the finish line. Bonnie called out "I'll see you at the finish!" The route made a hairpin turn as we approached the Lake; across the Meadow, I saw the bobbing sign for the 2:45 pace group. They looked so cheerful from a distance! It had been 7 - 8 minutes since I was at that spot, but I knew that they were moving somewhat faster than I was. I was motivated not to get passed by that group, and kept power walking. A trio of women dressed in cow costumes who coach with Charge Running passed me and checked in on me, thanks Natalie and Betsy! I assured them that it was just my back muscles and that I was basically OK, and they continued on to the finish. 

Red is fastest, orange is fast enough, green is slower,
blue is walking, dark blue is walking very slowly

On the path on the south side of the lake, I remembered my difficult finish from 2014. Today was much slower, but I didn't feel as badly. Only 0.4 miles or so to go. I began jogging at an easy pace, and that wasn't too bad. All of that walking during the past hour must have helped. I caught up to another runner that had passed me a moment earlier. My intention was to run with him into the finish. I tried to encourage with a little small talk about whether he had run this race before ("no, first time for this race") and then pointing out the mile 13 sign up ahead. Either he slowed down or I sped up a little when I heard the finish line announcer. Turning the curve outside of the Active Oval, I spotted the race clock, saw 2:44:35, and realized that I might finish before the clock clicked over to 2:45 if I didn't slow down. Brian Minor ran up to the fence to cheer me on, the announcer called out my name, and then I was through the finish line, 2:44:55 clock time, 2:41:54 chip time. Bonnie was on the right photographing my finish, the Charge Running team was cheering to my left. "Quite the rooting section!" said the announcer. Bonnie captured a smile on my face as I slowed to a walk. 

Personal best for the most minutes accumulated in a half marathon? 

Showing the medal to Brian and...
to Brenden and Beverly

Felt good enough to smile! No need for the medical tent today.

Brian and Frank with Jeff Galloway, 1972 Olympian and race host

Goals for the year 2022: 

1) Get healthy! I'm continuing with weekly physical therapy, and also doing the exercises at home twice each day.

2) Re-build my running stamina, starting with 5K training. Brian has proposed a 5K race series for 2022. 

3) Finish 2022 with a strong half-marathon. By that time I'll be dominating the 60 - 64 age group. 

December 11, 2021: Monday Night Brewing Westside 10K

This year I finally ran the Westside 10K. Tes Marshall's Run Social / runningnerds group has organized this race for a decade (or more), but it's often the same weekend as the Galloway Half Marathon, which I've run each year since 2014. I volunteered at the Westside 10K-10 mile race as a course monitor several years ago on a frigid morning. The one time that I registered to run this race, I believe the 10-mile distance, the race was cancelled due to severe ice. This year I waited to register until I was sure that my recovery was going well enough to enjoy running, but with a weather forecast that predicted lightning storms this weekend, I didn't actually register until just a few hours before the registration cut-off on Thursday afternoon, after I was fairly confident that the worst weather wouldn't arrive until we had finished the race. With the Galloway Half Marathon coming next weekend, I decided that while I could probably run 10 miles, I might not recover in time for 13.1 miles in eight days, so I registered for the 10K distance. I've had a couple of good runs to prepare for that distance, including last weekend with Tucker Running Club, covering over seven miles, and finishing up the run with Susie Hill. 

In other words: "No complaining, y'all!"

I didn't recall discussing this race with Susie last weekend, but when I arrived this morning, she was one of the first people that I saw! Susie and I both ran the Chicago Marathon in October. Her marathon recovery has been smoother than mine. Susie introduced me to a friend, Eric, who was running his first 10K race today! For a "rookie", he was relatively young and looked quite athletic, so I had a feeling that he would easily outrun me. The weather was unseasonably warm for December, in the low 60's, so I wore a T-shirt and shorts for today's race. After completing some dynamic stretches, I jogged an easy mile starting about 20 minutes before the race began. This was a good move, not only to loosen up the legs, but also to properly and comfortably retie my shoes, which required three stops in that warm-up mile. 

With Susie Hill about 30 minutes before the start

At 8 o'clock sharp, Tes Marshall started the race. I was well behind the starting line, but immediately began running even before passing the marker at the starting point.  The first few blocks on Howell Mill Road were gently uphill, but then the road levelled out. We made a sharp right turn onto West Marietta Street, and then my watch sounded for the first walk break, at 4:30 elapsed. I was on a 4:30 / 0:30 interval strategy, which I figured would save my energy and legs for the challenging hills to come. My main goal was to get to the finish line uninjured, although I was hoping that I would feel good enough after 5 or 5-1/2 miles to pick up the pace for a strong finish. 

No joke! Today's mantra will be "I love hills!"

In the distance, I could hear Bob Wells cheering on the runners. It turns out that he was posted at the 1-mile marker, which I reached in ---- 8:08! That couldn't be right, I felt like I was running at around a 10 min / mile pace, and decided that the mile marker was probably in the wrong place. Nonetheless it was great to hear and see Bob, and we exchanged a gentle fist bumb as I passed him. On the right I recognized the buildings of the King Plow center. Bonnie's employer, the RMN Agency, had an office here for a year or two, before moving a couple of miles to the current location on West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta. We turned left into a neighborhood. To the left, the road climbed sharply upward. I was about to say to the runner next to me "Glad we're not going that way!" but then saw that the right turn was also taking us uphill, almost as steeply. Time to bring on the mantra, "I love hills!" The mantra was going to get a good workout today! 

There were several cheer groups on the streets of this neighborhood, which was really nice to see. I picked up some speed going downhill, then it was time to climb again to get back onto West Marietta Street, approaching the 2-mile marker, at 18:30 elapsed. I did not think that I was running 9:15 mile average, but just kept moving along on the 4:30 run / 0:30 walk plan. Some of the walk breaks were even downhill, but I didn't worry about that: a walk break is a rest break whether it's going uphill, downhill, or level - not that there was much level ground on today's race route. 

As we headed due west, I began to recognize the area near the Westside Reservoir Park, Atlanta's newest city park. We visited a few months ago shortly after it opened to the public. Bonnie and I got a little lost exploring the outer reaches of the park, and ended walking on a very hilly road to get back to the parking area. Today we were now running on that very hilly road. At this point, the lead runner in the 10K race was heading back in our direction. He must have been running at around a 5:30 min / mile pace! It was another full minute before I saw the second runner, and the rest of the leaders were relatively spread out along the route. 

Turning left onto Johnson Road, it was time for another walk break at 24:30 elapsed. I was feeling OK. There was a little pain in the left buttock, but it wasn't getting worse, in fact I thought it might have diminished a bit, perhaps as I was fully warmed up at this stage of the race. The route was rolling hills but I could tell it was net downhill on Johnson Road. I was a little surprised to see that some of the speedsters leading the 10K race were actually walking in the return direction, uphill! Around 27 minutes elapsed, I saw the hydration station for the race, and decided to slow down to pick up a cup of purple sports drink and then a 6-ounce water bottle. My hands were sweaty and the bottle was slick with condensation so it was tough to hold onto. We turned into the main entrance of the Westside Reservoir Park, on the sidewalk, with the return runners to our left. Hmm, we're going to have to cross paths on our way out of the park. After a little "speed bump" just past the entrance, I was happy to run downhill. With the water bottle in hand, I drank down about half of the bottle at the 29:30 walk break, which I took on schedule even though I was moving downhill. The 3-mile marker was near the large sign between the parking area and the walking paths, coinciding with 30 minutes flat on my watch, and 2.97 miles, so now the mile markers were nearly equal to my watch mileage. Slightly slower than 10 min / mile pace to this stage, I was pretty happy with that for the first half on such a hilly course. Susie passed me heading out of the park, probably about a minute ahead of me, I estimated. Not sure if I would catch up to her unless she seriously slowed down in the second half, but I was running with a group that was more-or-less at my pace. Around the 5K point, we made a U-turn to exit the park. Wow, the path out of the park was more steeply uphill than I had realized when we were easily moving downhill. Nonetheless I knew that any route involving the Westside Reservoir Park was going to be hilly. "I love hills!" Around 32 minutes elapsed, and about 4:30 after the walk break for the water station, I took a 30 second walk break and finished most of the water bottle. After the race, I realized that the U-turn had been at the lowest point of the course.

(Photos from an earlier visit in late summer 2021)
"Dinosaur ribs" at the entrance to the park

The quarry at the park reminds me of the
late great comedian Robin Williams, who joked
"A waste processing plant near a recreation area? How intelligent is that?!"

Returning to Johnson Road, I tossed the empty water bottle into a recycling bin and picked up another 6 ounce bottle. Following the example of the lead runners, I took a couple of extra walk breaks up to the intersection, "I love hills!" Turning right onto West Marietta Street, I passed the mile 4 marker at 41 minutes flat: 11 minutes for mile 4, 135 feet uphill, 66 feet downhill. There was a lot of car and truck traffic on the road on the return trip. When I reached the intersection with Marietta Boulevard - crossing West Marietta Street, welcome to Atlanta street naming - I realized that WE were responsible for the traffic backup, as the police were stopping cars and trucks to let us cross the intersection. After turning left onto Marietta Boulevard, we crossed a bridge over a set of many railroad tracks. Now I remembered where I was stationed as a volunteer five years ago: the water station was at this exact point. It was 25 degrees F that morning. As runners spilled water onto the roadway, the cold wind passing over and under the bridge quickly froze the water, creating a giant patch of ice at the water station. Yet I don't recall anyone slipping and falling that morning, thank goodness. 

Returning to today's account, 40 degrees warmer: we turned right onto Huff Road. We were running downhill, we had earned it, yet I didn't pick up much speed, as it was a little painful to run downhill. Nevertheless I delayed the next walk break until we reached the bottom of the hill, at 50 minutes elapsed. 30 seconds walking uphill, where a few runners passed me, then I began running again. I passed the mile 5 marker just before 52 seconds elapsed, tried to resume running without extra walk breaks, but on this long uphill section of the entire race, it was impossible to avoid some walking. "I love hills, I love hills!!" I kept saying to myself as we kept climbing. A sign was posted for "Huff and Puff Road" followed by "Remember, you paid for this - and you signed a waiver!" On the steepest grade, I said out loud "Oh my God!" There are only two things that will make this non-religious guy say those words: 1) Uphill running, and 2) Bonnie can tell you about the second thing (wink!). 

Shortly after the 54:30 walk break, we were about to crest the hill, and I sensed that Howell Mill Road was not far away. I picked up a little speed and moved ahead of a few of the people that had passed me during earlier walk breaks. Turning onto Howell Mill Road, I could see one more hill, but it was a gentle climb. Surely it was the very last hill of the race. "I love hills!" As the alert sounded for the 59:30 walk break, I was about to pass another runner. Shall I walk or shall I pass, I asked myself? I felt strong enough to run instead of walk, after all this was the final kilometer of the race. 

At 1:02:00 elapsed, we turned right onto Trabert Avenue for the promised downhill finish! I didn't care if it was a little more painful to run downhill, none of the people that I had recently passed were going to overtake me if I could help it. At 1:02:30, I flew past the mile 6 marker. A couple of times, I did hear footsteps rapidly close on me from behind, turns out it was the 5th and then the 6th place finishers in the 10-mile race. That was cool with me, go right ahead and don't let me get in the way of your 63-minute finish. I accelerated as the road continued downhill and curving to the right, while the pain in my butt was also increasing. C'mon, it's less than 0.2 mile, less than 2 minutes. The old Van Halen song "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" came to mind. I didn't remember the lyrics word-for-word, but here they are: 

"You better call up the ambulance, I'm deep in shock, overloaded baby, I can hardly walk!"

OK, I didn't feel that bad. It was more like: 

"I'm feeling over fine, and I'm speeding down that line!"

Then I saw the flags marking the beginning of the finishing chute. Another runner was moving slowly ahead of me as the finish line came into view; I put on a kick to beat her to the finish line by a second, just as the 7th place 10-mile runner finished a step behind me. I stopped my watch, and remembered the dramatic last words of the Van Halen song:

"Somebody give me a shot!"    and the last two chords, tum-tum

1:04:34 on the watch, 1:04:24 official time. That was nearly the same time that I ran for the Peachtree Road Race in July, coming off of the same ailment on the right buttock. Today's effort was a lot more work and a little more pain. Fortunately I felt much better after a few minutes of stretching.

After cooling down and walking around for a few minutes, I decided to use my free drink ticket for a craft beer. At 9:30 in the morning, I'm normally still drinking coffee, but the "Saint Monday" beer was surprisingly delicious. I wouldn't win any awards today, but I had stood up Tes by missing award ceremonies in a previous race where I actually placed in my age group, so I stayed today to congratulate the 10K awardees. Remember Eric who was doing his first 10K? He was the 19th-fastest male finisher, in 48:27! What a great way to run one's first 10K race! 

Today's run was nearly 15 minutes slower than my personal best 10K from just four years ago. But I've not been in the best shape this year. My goal for 2022 is to get 100% healthy and to really lose some weight. I'm already down about 5 pounds in the last month by rigorously resuming Weight Watchers tracking. I'm confident that I can get over my recent aches and pains if I continue the physical therapy strength and flexibility exercises at home. And then, I can work toward improving my speed in the 5K distance. 

Post-race party, mostly 10K finishers in this photo.
A few big windows were open, so the place was well-ventilated.
Hopefully we were safe enough from breakthrough omicron-COVID.