December 10, 2022: The Monday Night Brewing Westside 10-Miler

Marathon training plans rarely go perfectly, in fact I recently heard a podcast with Coach Chris McClung (Rogue Running podcast) who said that he worries with a client hasn't been challenged with adversity somewhere along the way. Makes sense, the 26.2 mile marathon distance offers ample opportunities for adversity. Whenever the first little thing goes wrong, the immediate task is to figure out how to recover or at least to manage for the remaining miles. 

Warmup route: blue is lowest elevation,
red is highest elevation,
near Centennial Olympic Parl

With 11 weeks before the marathon, today's workout was an 18-mile long run. I had registered for this race months ago, so Coach Carl worked it into the plan as an opportunity to practice marathon fueling and perhaps try out a marathon pace for the last 8 - 9 miles of the long run. Fortunately I woke up early enough to park in Westside Atlanta by 6:15 am, and had started my easy initial miles by 6:25 am, hoping that I might get all 8 extra miles run and done before the race. I was hoping to keep my pace around 11:30 min / mi, about 90 seconds slower than possible marathon goal pace. While wearing a Noxgear lighted vest an hour before sunrise, looking toward the towers of midtown Atlanta partially hidden by morning fog, I recalled that if you had asked me if I would make up to run at 6:30 am, I would have probably said "That's crazy!" I ran south on Howell Mill Road to the merger with Marietta Street, and then Marietta to make a loop around Centennial Olympic Park, before returning north on Luckie Street, turning into Tech Parkway at the Georgia Tech campus, a left on Means Street and a quick right turn onto Marietta to return to the starting area. I kept having to consciously slow myself down, but did run fairly conservatively between 10:59 - 11:29 min / mi. I had covered nearly 5 miles over 54 minutes when I stopped at the runningnerds tent near the starting line to pick up my bib, which took just a couple of minutes, then I pinned on the bib. I jogged over to the car to drop off my Noxgear vest, took my first UCAN of today's workout, and then resumed my warmup, running north on Howell Mill and then left on Huff Road to Marietta Boulevard, and back. Tim Parker was setting up cones as this was mile 9 of the route. I had a chance to experience the large hill on "Huff and Puff Road", albeit at easy pace and with only six miles on my legs. I had realized that I wasn't going to get to 8 miles in time for the 8:00 am start of the race (and I can't hurry up when the goal is to run slowly!) but was satisfied to mark 7.38 miles covered. 

Looking toward the start, about 2/3 of the way back. 

It was very important for me to run the first two miles of the race at a conservative pace, as I didn't want to attempt to drop toward marathon pace until I had passed ten miles for the day. In the beginning, the route was crowded enough and I was running a nice 11:30 min / mi pace, but then the route turned downhill, and despite running "with my brakes on", I finished race mile 1 in 10:52. Shortly afterward, we turned left into a neighborhood, and I caught up with Linda Phinney and Donna Roberts. I thought it would be nice to stay with them, but I kept getting a few feet in front. Fortunately they helped me with an 11:01 mile 2, although I had moved in front of them for good before reaching the mile 2 mark. So much for cautiously running with friends, who both routinely run more miles per week than me. Midway through mile 3, there was the water station outside the entrance to Westside Reservoir Park. I pulled out the second UCAN and slowed to a walk, accepting a cup of pink Gatorade and draining the cup before resuming running. For the past 10 minutes, the faster 10K runners have been running the opposite direction; I enter the park as Caroline Dunn is leaving in the opposite direction. We pass through the "bones" marking the entrance gate to the park. A group of men immediately in front of me talk about the "dinosaur bones". Funny, I had always thought of these as representing "whale bones". 

Is it a whale or a dinosaur skeleton? 

Non-runners sometimes ask "What do you think about while you're running?" Well, at that moment I start thinking of whale-song music that was popular in the 1970's, when people began to realize that whales were highly sentient, and were also in danger of extinction. I most recently heard the whale-song at the beginning and end of the first song of Kate Bush's debut album, the song "Moving". The melody of Kate Bush's beautiful soprano voice went through my mind. I don't know all of the words, but the fifth line resonated: 

"Moving liquid, you are just as water,

Flow around all that comes in your way,

Don't think it over, it always takes you over,

And sets your spirit dancing.

How I'm moved, how you move me,

With your beauty's potency,

You give me life, please don't let me go, 

You crush the lily in my soul." 

So it's not really about the movement of a runner, not even sure that it's a love song with that last line! Anyway, I'm musing as we pass the U-turn mark for 10K runners, and we get into a portion of the park that I've never seen. I know that this park has some "disrespectful hills" (to use a memorable term from Brian Minor) and there was a fairly big hill as we passed the mile 3 marker: 10:31, now trying to work down toward goal pace. Fortunately, we turned right instead of climbing another substantial hill. We were moving past a small creek, water quietly moving along the creek thanks to a good amount of rain this week. I chatted with Casey Nicodemus, as we leap-frogged for much of the middle miles of the race. He was wearing short shorts and suspenders with no shirt; I wore two layers, with my NYC Marathon shirt on the top. I knew that I would not be running fast and wanted to stay warm. This was probably my favorite part of the race, enjoying the fall forest and a fairly level paved trail. We exited the park turning right onto Johnson Road; many thanks to the volunteer who continuously held the pedestrian crossing light and directed us into the protected left lane. Mile 4 in 10:39. 

Race route color-coded for elevation, not to pace.
Red is high, blue is low. 

We turned into a new neighborhood: many nice houses, gentle downhill, but after making a right turn, we had to climb what felt like the first really big, disrespectful hill. I wasn't planning to take a walk break until we approached the next water station, but ... I wasn't not racing today, just moving, so I went ahead and took the walk break, counting to 30 seconds. It felt good to reach the top and turn left to rejoin Johnson Road. Natalie Witt is guiding us through the intersection, and calls out "Frank, you look great!" I try to smile but mutter audibly "not feeling that great, sorry". Just in time, there was the water station in the same spot where we had first encountered it in the other direction 20 - 25 minutes earlier. I took another 30 second walk break, but was disappointed that they were serving plain water this time around. Alice Pate saw me coming through the water station, and slowed down to run with me for a few minutes. Unfortunately, looming overhead was a huge uphill climb to Marietta Street, and I couldn't keep up with Alice as she held up her end of the conversation. That hill was seriously disrespectful. I was going to run, run, run, .... walk. Walk. Walk. Alice slowed to walk with me, and asked me what pace I was trying to run. "I had planned to try for 10 min / mile, but today it's impossible." Finally I return to running and feel a second wind! So the walk uphill was the right thing for me today. But about 5 minutes later, I needed another walk break.  I gave in, told Alice to go ahead, I was just going to slow her down, and walked for 2 whole minutes. What I didn't realize until I checked my data hours later is that my heart rate had spiked. It was a good thing that I didn't trip over my ego. I realize that I've run 13 miles so far, and still have 5 miles to go in the second half of the race. On the other hand, it's only the last 5 miles of 18 total! Mile 5, 11:55, 55 minutes elapsed. 

Nearly 200 feet in elevation difference from peak to valley.
A lot of disrespectful hills starting around mile 3. 

We turned left from Marietta Street to run north on Marietta Boulevard. Atlanta street addresses are tricky; it's even worse if the street has Peachtree in the name, over 20 of those streets in metro Atlanta. I returned to running, mostly to get through the busy intersection quickly, following the line directed by two policemen. And now it was downhill as far as I could see. After that slow fifth mile, I wanted to return to attempted marathon pace. Just as I was beginning to get comfortable with a slightly faster pace, we reached the intersection with Huff Road. The 10K runners get to turn right for a 2-mile dash to the finish, while the 10-mile runners go straight. A policeman waves a car through the intersection in front of me, then after the car has cleared, he sees me coming. There is another car southbound on Marietta Blvd that noncommittally moves toward but not into the left turn lane. I assume that the car is going to stop, perhaps even trying to decide if Huff Road is even open to car traffic. I'm moving to the left side of the road so as not to get in the way of any 10K runners. As I approach the policeman, he is holding up his hands toward the car. But I guess he isn't confident that the driver isn't trying to make the turn. The policeman moves forward, into my line. I move a little more to the left, the policeman continues to advance, totally focused on protecting me from the car, but not looking in my direction at all. The policeman begans to run forward, I think about moving even more to the left but he is moving as fast as me. At the last second, I dart to the right, narrowly avoiding an accidental assault on a peace officer. Chrystal Akor is working as a volunteer at the corner with Huff Road and sees the near-miss, then smiles in relief as I safely pass by. Thanks Chrystal! 

Heart rate really spiked about halfway through the race,
and remained high for about 30 minutes,
until I took a few more walk breaks. 

I'm not paying attention to my heart rate, just trying to maintain a good pace downhill. I'm dwelling on the near-miss with law enforcement, if you want to know what this runner is thinking about during a race. Mile 6 is 10:51 but that included a minute or so of walking after passing the mile 5 marker. Casey Nicodemus is ahead of me in the distance; I never caught up to him. I wished that I was running closer to 10 min / mile than 11 min / mile. I tried to speed up a bit. That carried me for awhile, although I realized that I should have taken my last UCAN by now. So as we turned right onto Carroll Drive, I slowed to a walk break and took the UCAN. Fortunately I carried a bottle of Nuun on my running belt, so I washed it down in the absence of a water station. Mile 7 is 10:34, which I think is better especially since I took the short walk break for nutrition and hydration. Just three miles to go, trying for 10 minute / mile for the rest of the route. 

However, my pace really suffered in the second-half of the race. 

We got to the bottom of the hill, turned right onto Chattahoochee Avenue. I saw the nets of Top Golf up ahead, but we're running uphill, and it was really difficult. I'm walking uphill, tried to run for a moment, nope, walking again. Then who else but Kate Bush came to the rescue! It was her hit from the mid-1980's "Running Up That hill". It's probably her best-known song, although as one of her early avant-garde fans (I'm speaking of myself, LOL) I never really cared for the song. But the words are memorable: 

"If I only could, I'd make a deal with God,

And I'd get him to swap out places, 

Running up that road, running up that hill,

With no problem." 

I focused on that last line, "With no problem" and pushed myself to run up that hill to the right turn onto Ellsworth Industrial Road. I took a walk break at the last water station, serving pink Gatorade, thank goodness. Returning to a run, I make my way south on Ellsworth. At one point I caught up with a man in a gray shirt, then ran with him for a few minutes. He asked "May I ask how old you are?" I responded "60" thinking that he was a decade younger, only hear here him reply "I'm 66." Wow, I think, he looks younger than me. I'm wearing a cap so he can't really tell that I'm bald in front. We exchanged names. Martin recently ran the Alaska Marathon in Anchorage, very well-run, and may run a marathon in Oklahoma City in April with his daughter, to honor the many people murdered in the Federal Building bombing in 1995. Mile 8, 12:30. Afterwards, I saw that my heart rate dropped back to a more normal rate, about 160 bpm. A combination of the water station and Kate Bush calmed me down, I think. 

After a few minutes of running together with Martin, I had to take a walk break, as we began to go uphill. I told Martin "Go ahead, I'll see you at the finish." He replies "You'll catch up" and I correct myself with a more realistic "Maybe". (I never caught up to him.) The hill became quite steep; I remembered racing downhill in the opposite direction several years ago. Up ahead I saw Tim Parker, near the same location as before. "Hi Tim! Not feeling as good as when I saw you two hours ago." Tim smiled and tried to encourage me as I passed, then making the left turn onto Huff Road. Chrystal Akor had moved to this intersection, cheering me on with a big smile. Huff Road is downhill in this section, and I remembered it from the warmup run. But my legs can't take advantage of the favorable elevation drop, and I say as much to a man who catches up to me at this stage. He seems to be struggling as much as me at this point. Also he may be in my age group, not that I really care today. We reach the trough on Huff Road. Now it's a pretty big uphill on "Huff and Puff Road." I haven't made it far uphill before I must slow to a walk break. I thought that I was ready for this after my warm-up run. Nope, walking for a full minute. My watch is showing a 15 min / mile pace since the last mile alert. Then Kate Bush tugged at my heart again, "I'm running up that hill, with no problem" and I started running. Am I making a deal with God? After a few minutes, I take a walk break, but my deal is to count to 30 and then force myself to resume running. I've now completed mile 9, 14:14. Wow, that was rough. 

Album cover from "Hounds of Love", 1985. 
I think I had a "celebrity crush" on Kate Bush back in the day. 
Maybe I still do, considering how much I've listened
to her music in the past year. And today while writing this blog post..
link to New Yorker article from 2018

A group of three people caught up to me and passed me. We made the left turn onto Howell Mill Road. Less than a mile to the finish, and there was just one more uphill. Two of the people that had passed me raise their hands and take a "Galloway walk-break." So close to the end! I'm running slowly but I'm not gonna walk, no way. The four of us reached the section of Howell Mill where police are waiting to help us to cross the road from the left lane onto Trabert Street, for the final turn of the race. We all slowed down, the policeman assured us that we're good to cross. At the top of Trabert Street, I know and everyone else who has ever run this race knows that it's downhill all the way to the finish. But how far? I probably surprise the others by suddenly increasing my speed. I stay to the far left of the narrow lane, as I don't want to impede anyone who may try to pass me, that's not fair. In my head, I switch one word in Kate Bush's lyric: "I'm running down that hill, with no problem." That sounds pretty good at that moment. And I continue to push myself to speed up, topping out at 7.3 mph. Just last week I ran 9.4 mph at the finish of the one-mile race. As I finally see the finish line, the clock shows 1:51 and change. The race photographer captures my photos as I cross the timing mat. I smiled as I saw him (and will post the photo if / when it's publically available) and avoided stopping my watch until I passed him. 1:51:37, as I started 30 - 45 seconds after the official start. 

I thought that it might take me 1:50 to finish if I ran consistent 11 min / miles.
I got close enough to that time, but not the way that I had planned.  

I saw Tes Marshall standing next to a table past the finish line, waved to her. She asked "How did it go?" My one-word answer: "Humbling." She and I laughed, as I bent over with my hands on my knees. Then I remembered that I still had most of one mile left to run. I wanted to hang out at the post-race party, and realized after I got home that I failed to pick up my race shirt. But I knew that if I didn't continue moving, and soon, that I wasn't going to finish the 18-mile workout. There was no chance of me winning an award: at least I hope not, that would be embarrassing. If I didn't move, I might even stiffen up so badly that I couldn't get back to my car later on. So I started up that hill, started my watch. Tried to run, made a deal with God to walk most of the hill. Near the top, Donna Roberts was working her way downhill. "Great job Donna, you're almost done, 1/3 of a mile!" Near the top at the intersection with Howell Mill, I began slowly running again, then stopped to catch my breath before attempting to cross. The police were eagerly encouraging me to cross, I realized that they were signaling in both directions for cars to slow, so I got across the road as quickly as I could. It was a slow walk-jog up Howell Hill. Linda Bode Phinney passed, I waved, but she asked "Are you OK?" I guess I must have looked quite beaten up. I replied, "Thanks, yes, just very sore all over." 

It was a relief to get back to the car, which was a little further than I had expected. But I covered a total of 18.08 miles today, so that was mission accomplished. I'm definitely taking an off day from running tomorrow, maybe an easy walk in the evening. Although everything hurts this evening, nothing hurts more than anything else, so I think that I've escaped injury. And I got that rough workout out of the way in this training cycle. Hopefully I will learn, adapt, and resume training while learning from this timely dose of humility. With 11 weeks to go until the marathon, I still have plenty of time to continue preparing - unlike my students taking the fall semester 2022 CHEM 203 final exam within 48 hours. 

At least all of these numbers are pretty good for me, 
in the midst of marathon training. 

December 4, 2022: The Peachtree Mile

8 weeks into the 20 week marathon training program, I can really feel the increased sense of endurance building in. I'm beginning to feel cautiously optimistic about a great race in the February 26 marathon. Of course what is essential is to stay healthy, stretching and a little bodyweight training, and keeping the easy days very easy. I'm very happy with the training plan that Coach Carl has created. I think it was a challenge for him when I signed up for a 20-week plan but also sent a list of 10 races I was planning to run. I told Carl that I was happy to do some of the races at easy pace, just an opportunity for me to accumulate training mileage on a supported / protected course plus the social benefit of seeing people at races. But I emphasized that I hoped that I could actually "race" a few of the events. Carl has nicely satisfied my request, with five races that we're using as speed/endurance checks. Carl understands that while I have ambitious goals when I sign up for a training plan, I also want to have fun along the way, which means racing some of the miles in the plan. 

This is a "dropdown" weekend, but still getting in an 8-mile effort today 
prior to an 18-mile long run next weekend. 

I was intrigued when I received an e-mail a few months ago about "The Peachtree Mile". This race will run the last mile of the "Peachtree Road Race" 10K on Independence Day. I wondered, what might I do if I could run the last net downhill mile of this race without having been beaten up by Cardiac Hill? Or in cool December weather, rather than a hot midsummer morning? I even began boldly thinking about trying to run another sub-7 minute / mile, which I've done three times: twice in the Morningside Mile races in 2016 and 2017, and most recently in summer 2020 in the first Atlanta Track Club in-person event after the end of the spring 2020 COVID lockdown. My personal best for the mile is 6:52 when I was 53 years old, on a course with an 87 foot drop in the first half-mile, but then regaining 70 feet in the second half-mile. On the other hand, today's course would be a fairly continuous gentle downhill run, with a couple of small rollers in the middle. 

I didn't receive any e-mails from the race in the days prior to race day (it seemed to be a problem for some but not all of the participants) but checking the race website a few day ago indicated that the event was on as originally scheduled. I arrived at Piedmont Park (near the finish) around 6:45 am, but ended up running more than a mile between the Charles Allen Gate on the 10th Street side of Piedmont Park (the finish) to the start at Colony Square just north of 14th Street on Peachtree Street before finding bib pick-up at the 14th Street Gate of Piedmont Park. It's too bad that when I checked the website a few days ago, I didn't click on the map below, which would have clearly shown me exactly where to go. I wore two layers due to the 45 degree F temperature, but was having trouble warming up my legs and getting comfortable, and I think it wasn't due to the cool temperature. I pinned on the bib, did an easy jog inside Piedmont Park to complete the rest of the 2-mile warmup. There were a lot of leaves on the path, and with overnight fog or perhaps some rain, the surface felt rather slick. I tried to finish up with a 15-second stride, reaching only 7:25 min / mile pace. That didn't bode well for today. 

The published race map.
We actually started just north of 14th Street, and
finished on the west side of the intersection with Charles Allen Drive.  

Oh well, I would just see what I could do, perhaps taking care to start out a little patiently just in case my stamina wasn't sufficient to run faster for very long. However,walking from Piedmont Park to the start helped, and I decided not to jog but just walk quickly. Before today's race, I caught up with Luke Butler, Donna Roberts, Jacque Hartley, and Jordan Eison. Matt Grzeck re-introduced himself from our first meeting at the Dental Dash 5K, and Donna introduced me to her friend Pat before we walked to the start. 

Sunrise at Piedmont Park

I sized up the people around me and thought I had found a good position about 10 feet behind the starting mat. Then I backed up another 10 feet or so, to make sure that I started behind a much younger man who looked fast and confident. From my new position, I semi-joked out loud "I hope I'm not in front of anyone running a 7 minute / mile!" but seriously I didn't want to be in the way of anyone that was faster than me. There were only 115 participants today, so only one lane of Peachtree Street was protected for our race. We all needed to be careful at the start. I did occasional "butt kicks" to keep my legs warm - although my flexibility this morning was insufficient for heel to make contact with butt. All the more reason for me to be cautious today. 

We started at 8:00 on the dot. Donna Roberts called out behind me "Go for it Frank!!!" I started my watch with the starting command, even though it took me a few seconds to reach the timing mat. While we had to sort out some paces amongst runners in the first block or so, everyone was running courteously and carefully. We had arranged ourselves smoothly in my part of the pack not long after we had crossed 14th Street. The first part of the race to 13th Street was slightly but noticeably downhill. I carefully watched for potholes, while I worked around a few kids that were already slowing down. There was a little climb to 12th Street, which I glided up smoothly, and then a little drop to "The Corner" with 10th Street. I had resolved not to look at my watch throughout the race, so it was only well after the race that I learned that I had covered that stretch, about 0.40 miles, in 2:35, enjoying a 17 feet elevation drop. 

My Garmin trace. My signal bounced off of
several buildings on Peachtree Street, but recorded better on 10th Street.
Red indicates higher elevation, descending through orange - yellow - green
 to blue as the lower elevation.

I recall from Peachtree Road Race experience that when we turn "The Corner", it is exactly 1 kilometer to the finish. So I'm thinking 5 minutes, or probably less since I'm running faster today than I can manage near the end of a 10K race. I don't know how many minutes I've already run, but I'm not gonna look at my watch. I'm beginning to breathe heavily but regularly, and I seem to be moving fairly consistently. It helps that the elevation dropped some more as we approached Juniper Street. I remember passing several people in this section. I'm still a little heavier than I would like, but as I passed smaller people, I felt like my weight helped my momentum at maintaining pace. I know that doesn't really make sense, but that's what it felt like. In a race, that positive feeling is worth more than physics. 

I saw ultra-endurance runner Jacque Hartley about 20 feet ahead of me and was a little surprised that I was keeping up with her. Then without really trying to do so, I had caught up to and then passed her. "I don't have any business running this fast" I thought, but I just kept going. Afterwards on Strava "flyby", I can see that Jacque was close behind me for the rest of the race. But I didn't know that at the time. Crossing Piedmont Road on 10th Street, we had one uphill, 11 feet elevation gain. Today the hill didn't seem as big as it does in mile 6 of the Peachtree Road Race. And then downhill again! The road leveled out as I saw the green space of Piedmont Park to my left. I think that the 6-mile marker is usually in this spot. So less than 2 minutes left! The only problem was that the left side of the running lane was covered in slippery leaves, but when I moved to the right lane, there weren't many leaves and I was confident that I wouldn't slip in that lane. I was feeling the pain of exertion, but knowing that I was going to finish very soon helped me to "Run Like Hell!" Turns out, that was today's unplanned mantra. 

The pace data for the first third of the race isn't reliable, 
probably due to the buildings on Peachtree Street.
But I ran fairly consistently, and definitely did not slow down
later in the race!  

One last little speed bump and then I saw the finish line. Not much further now! As the timing clock came into focus, I saw 6:30 in the distance. "Oh, I can beat 7!" and a few seconds later "Can't slow down. Run Like Hell!" 6:40 and the finish line is getting closer. We're definitely running downhill. I'm also gaining ground on a grey-haired man - is he in my age group? I pass him in the final seconds of the race. The last thing I see as I fly by the clock is 6:52, crossing the timing mat. 

I was 33rd out of 115 finishers. 
The man that finished just behind me is age 53, 
so not in my age group after all!

Wow! As I slow and then stop, I'm thrilled and totally exhausted at the same time. I had just enough oxygen to get across the finish line, then bent over for a couple of moments to regain my breathing. After watching Jacque, Luke, Donna and Pat finish shortly after me, I walk into the park, just wanting to keep moving to refresh the legs. Luke's friend Cathy asks me "What is your age?" and I replied "60." Cathy already had race results from a QR code provided by the race organizers. I learned that I was 4th place in my age group, but the result also confirmed my 6:52 race time, which was what I cared most about.

Age group results: didn't finish "on the podium",
but that run went as well as I had dared to hope!

Later I clicked on my result for more details, and learned that my chip time was 6:47! That is a personal best for me for the mile!! But this result comes with a BIG asterisk*** thanks to the 77-feet total elevation drop from start to finish, with a 60-feet net drop in the final kilometer on 10th Street. Nonetheless I was very pleased to run fast again, consistently maintaining at least 8 mph throughout the race, and accelerating to 9.4 mph hurtling over the finish line.  

full official results

And yes, after the race, I ran the prescribed 5-mile "warmdown" on the Eastside Beltline. I felt good taking on the additional distance, and it definitely helped with the first stage of post-race recovery. Due to the adrenaline of the race, I covered that distance in 49 minutes rather than a true recovery pace closer to 55 - 60 minutes, but I think that I'll get away with running the recovery too quickly this time. 

November 24, 2022: Bay Area Turkey Trot 10K

Thanksgiving 2022: the first time that the McDonald family has gathered for Thanksgiving since 2018, and the first time that I've been to Houston since the beginning of the pandemic that wasn't for one of my mother's surgeries or for a family funeral. To celebrate this happy time, I decided to run the Turkey Trot which starts a couple of miles from my mother's home, in Clear Lake City on the southeast side of Houston, near Galveston Bay, hence the "Bay Area" moniker. 

Did I follow Coach Carl's recommendation? 
Read on ....

The 24-hour advance weather forecast was for rain on Thanksgiving Day, however we awoke to heavy fog, but the rain had a chance of holding off until 9 or 10 am, after which I would have finished the race. I was under the impression that the race would begin at 8:00 am, so I left our hotel a few minutes before 7 am. It was only a short 10-minute drive to the shopping center where the store "On The Run" was hosting bib pickup. To my surprise, the parking lot was nearly full, but I found a parking spot and made my way to bib pickup. A series of children's races was already underway. I asked "Does the race begin at 8 am?" and was momentarily alarmed when one volunteer said "It's starting now!" then was corrected by another volunteer "The 10K begins at 7:30." Whew, it was 7:15, so I had just enough time to attach the bib, put the race shirt in the car, and jog around the parking lot a couple of times to get in 2/3 mile. I was sufficiently warmed up, circled around to the starting area, took a selfie, and - time to run! I put away the phone in my Spibelt and zipped up the pocket just as I reached the starting mat. 

Good thing I was keeping this light and fun

I started at a really easy pace, planning on no faster than 9:30 min / mile for the first mile. But as we ran behind the shopping center and then turned onto Space Center Boulevard, I found myself going a little faster. On flat terrain, I felt fine, was passed by a couple of women who were gossiping, and decided to use them as pacers. Admittedly I was fascinated to eavesdrop on their conversation. In the very unlikely event that their "friend" ever sees this blog post, and looks up race results and wonders if they were talking about them, I won't share the details here. But .... fellow runners, keep in mind that you never know who might be listening in on your private conversation. To give them credit, they were perfect pacers, running a steady 9:19 min / mile pace for the 2-1/2 miles that I followed them. We did cross a couple of drainage canals, where I recalled on previous runs seeing signs warning of alligators, but couldn't see the warning signs today. I took a short walk break as we turned into a residential neighborhood right before reaching the 2-mile marker. The two women kept going and were probably about 50 feet ahead of me, but then I closed the gap and caught back up with my eavesdropping. 

About 2-2/3 miles into the race, we crossed a little bridge over a canal, probably the only thing that qualified as the tiniest of hills. One of the women slowed down just a bit, and I decided that it would be really creepy if this old guy wearing Atlanta Track Club gear kept running directly on their hills, and so passed them and ended up staying in front of them for the rest of the race. Passing the mile 3 marker, I literally recorded 9:18.9. 9:19.1, and 9:18.7 minute miles. I don't actually think that my Garmin watch is that accurate, but I kept seeing 9:19 at every mile alert. I noticed that I was running slightly above my aerobic threshold at 150 bpm, so not sure if that still qualified as light, but I felt fine, so just kept going. I did go a little bit into race mode, catching up with another runner, matching his stride for a moment, but he was breathing really heavily so I moved ahead of him. Probably he wasn't accustomed to running more than the 5K distance. I was in that situation not that many months earlier this year. The alert sounded, 9:02 for mile 4, 37 minutes elapsed. So I wasn't really pushing it that hard, that was a decent half-marathon race pace for me. I saw a father and son running together ahead of me. They seemed to be doing well, but very very gradually I was closing in on them, then moved a few steps ahead as we neared the exit to the neighborhood. I slowed down to a walk as I accepted a cup of water from a volunteer, just as the boy tried to pass by on the run while also drinking water. I let them go past and called our a little encouragement "Go for it!" 

But upon turning left onto Space Center Boulevard, I ended up passing them again, not meaning to blow past them, but instead, they were slowing down. The father was asking his son "Are you doing OK?" and I just kept on with my steady pace. I felt good, was smiling at volunteers and police and thanking them and/or greeting with "Happy Thanksgiving!" That actually caused me to speed up ever so slightly each time I spoke. Something to remember when I'm really racing for time in the future! For a minute or two, there was a little drizzle on the race course, but that didn't last for long. The alert sounded, 9:13 for mile 5. Around this time, I heard footsteps from behind, and then a runner wearing a bright jersey passed to my left. I think it was probably a triathlon jersey although I wasn't certain. I wasn't feeling that competitive, but thought that I would try to keep up with him and see how that worked out for me. And it turns out, as I pulled even, he slowed way down and I never saw him again. I'll never know what he was thinking, had he been stalking me trying to catch up to me for awhile, or was it just coincidence? 

I had sent Coach Carl a long update on marathon training on Wednesday morning - in short, it's going great, I'm nailing the training now and feeling good. I had promised that I would take it easy today, except for maybe the last 2 kilometers if I felt good. I had run a mixed zone 10K total workout on a track the day before this race, and had assumed that my legs wouldn't feel like running fast. But I guess I'm building up some serious endurance now, and didn't have trouble picking up the pace a bit. Up ahead I saw the 5K group, mostly walkers, emerging from another neighborhood, and passed large clusters of people to their right. Fortunately I had enough room to stay within the cone-protected lane of the street. I was definitely moving faster and working harder, as I didn't want to get passed by anyone that I had passed in the last couple of miles. But I was tiring quickly, now I was definitely running above my lactate threshold, with heart rate in the mid-160 bpm the last time that I looked at my watch. 

Definitely not keeping it light in the last mile, but I was still having fun! 

Making a left turn onto Falcon Pass Lane, "Don't slow down, don't slow down!" I kept thinking to myself. I had expected a short jaunt behind the shopping area, but it certainly felt longer when I was running faster late in the race, whereas it didn't feel very long at all early in the race when I was running more slowly. I passed the mile 6 marker but the watch alert didn't sound. Nonetheless I just kept pushing "Don't slow down!!" Right turn onto Moonrock Drive, then the alert sounded, 8:36 for mile 6, 54:48 elapsed, racing past a slower runner, then turning into the parking lot, landing in a large puddle on accident, but kept moving forward. "Don't slow down! Just one --- more --- minute!!" I thought I saw a gate up ahead of me, but it was an optical illusion, just a crossing zone painted on the road. "Don't slow down!" fearing that someone was about to pass me. And then I was across the finish line, 56:28 on my watch, 56:22 chip time. 

The finish area was crowded with a mix of 5K and 10K finishers. The 5K runners had started only 5 minutes after the 10K start. I made my way through the crowd to get some Gatorade and accepted a couple of orange slices from a volunteer. Out of the corner of my eye, I realized that someone was trying to take my photo, and decided that I had better smile for the race photographer. Then I turned - and it was my Mom! She knew that I was planning to run, I had invited her to come watch, but hadn't really expected to see her! I really appreciated seeing her. She is proud that I'm exercising and enjoying running, but has expressed concern that I push too much, so I was so happy that she put aside her concern to watch me finish today's race. 

Candid shot of me, before I realized that it was my Mom behind the camera! 

November 20, 2022: Get Basted Turkey Trot Half Marathon

About one week ago, I heard that the Five Star FTP group was offering Thanksgiving-themed races in the Atlanta suburbs this weekend, in Kennesaw on Saturday, and Cumming on Sunday. In addition to offering 5K, 10K, 15K, and half-marathon distances for only $21, to thank the runners who had completed an FTP race since December 2021, the organizers waived the race registration fee! I ran the Memorial Day 5K in Marietta, so I qualified for the freebie. I didn't expect much from an inexpensive race, especially if it was free for me and probably many of the other participants. But my marathon training plan had a 16-mile long run scheduled for Sunday. As long as the race route was protected from auto traffic, then it was definitely an attractive venue for my long run, whether or not it was supported with water stations, etc.  

My plan was to arrive early enough to run about 3 miles before the race officially began at 8:00 am. Moreover, my warmup would be very easy, I would run the first half of the half-marathon at an easy pace, and then work down toward marathon goal pace (about 10 minute / mile) in the second half of the race. 

 

I arrived at the venue, North Forsyth County Middle School, a few miles north of Cumming, around 7:15 am. I was dressed with two layers, plus woolcap over the ears and a cap and gloves, but I still felt COLD!!! At least I had a large handwarmer for a tiny bit of heat. After picking up my bib and stretching a bit, I began jogging around the grounds of the school. There was cones in the parking lot and I tried to pick up where the race route might be, but didn't quite figure it out on my own. I started with a conservative 2 min jog / 30 sec walk interval, following cones wherever I could find them, in other places simply running big circles around the buildings, making a total of about 4 loops. By 7:57 am, I had covered 2.9 miles and it was time to get to the start. I took a package of UCAN, washed it down with a little water, and picked up a large water bottle with a Nuun solution on a running belt that I had already packed with two more UCAN packages. 

Race route

 

I took a spot about midway in the crowd of 150 - 200 runners, then moved back a little further. All four race distances began at the same time, at 8:00 am sharp. We made a loop around a large parking lot near the school, probably covering a quarter-mile or so. Other runners were streaming past me, but I held onto my pace discipline and just let them run by, staying to one side of the route. I was determined to run the first 5K loop at slower than 11 minute / mile pace. Fortunately experience won over ego, as I patiently followed the route onto Coal Mountain Drive; this must have been a coal mining area in the past. After a few blocks, we turned left onto Smith Lane, which cut through some farmland. The lead runners came back on their return before I had completed mile 1 of the race route, turning onto Fast Lane. I tried congratulating and encouraging the leaders - but that caused me to speed up much faster than I wanted to run this early in my day. I guess that's a good thing in general to be energized by giving encouragement to others, but for my goals today, I had to stop the cheering and just focus on running slowly, mentally "riding the brakes" as I thought about it. "Patience" was my mantra for the first half of the race. 

Crossing the timing mat for the first time

 

I wasn't certain that there would be a water station, after all it was a free race for me, but about 1.5 miles out, at a turnaround, there was indeed a water station manned by a few volunteers. I had deliberately run slowly but continuously since crossing the timing mat at the start, and had planned to walk through a water station, and the location was perfect for my purposes today. I decided to just drink from my own bottle of Nuun, but smiled and thanked the volunteers that were manning the water station. After counting to 30, back to slow running. Around mile 1, I had heard a woman behind me talking with someone else about running the 15K today, and when she caught up to me, she was running with a dog! We struck up a conversation which began with her experience running the Donna Marathon in Jacksonville Florida, when it was cold and rainy and windy. I had heard good things about the organization of the Donna Marathon, a fundraiser to support people with breast cancer, and the other runner confirmed it, then shared that she was "a survivor". She was six years into post-cancer recovery, and had started distance running on the challenge of a friend to train for a 50K race, shortly after completing her last radiation treatment. We exchanged names, she was LouAnne from Rabun County, far northeast Georgia, on the state borders with both Carolinas. She was 61 years old, I shared that I had turned 60 just a couple of months ago. It was an important time for my own re-evaluation, fortunately without ever having a health scare, for which I'm extremely thankful but also consider to be extraordinary luck. Our conversation carried me for the rest of the first lap. LouAnne was comfortable hanging back with my pace, although toward the end of the 5K, her dog was starting to hold back. Still I was impressed that a dog could run a 5K fairly comfortably. As we approached the timing mat concluding the first lap, I slowed to a walk as planned, taking another swig from my bottle of Nuun. Crossing the timing mat, a volunteer was directing 5K finishers to a right turn for the finish line, the rest of us to run straight ahead. Elapsed time in the race, 34 minutes. 

 

Elevation profile for the 16-mile long run. Carl recommended some hills. 

These weren't as large as some of the hills on the Publix Atlanta marathon course, 

but I think it was hilly enough to be legitimate for today's long run.

The second lap was much like the first, although the route was much less crowded. LouAnne caught up with me within a few minutes and we continued our conversation. On the farm road, I took in more of the view with cows and horses in the field, and some large homes along the roadside. At the turn, I had seen a horse and a smaller animal in a front yard on the first lap, which I now realized wasn't a sheep but was a miniature pony, based on its gait as it briefly scampered around the yard. The larger horse may have been a donkey, although I'm not certain. As we approached the water station for a second time, LouAnne pointed out her husband coming the other way, a minute or so in front of us. This time I accepted a cup of water from the volunteers, and LouAnne and I both slowed to a walk. Just as I reached for the water, a fast-moving man came from behind, grabbing some water as he passed on the inside, nearly colliding with me. Sorry, I wasn't expecting to be lapped at that very moment! After that, LouAnne and I were separated and I continued running on my own for the remainder of the second lap. After my watch had signalled 8 miles elapsed on the day, I took one of the two UCAN packages that I was carrying, to practice fueling while on the run. That went down pretty smoothly, but I washed it down with a little Nuun. As I finished the second lap, the timing mat recorded my elapsed time for the race at 68 minutes, so a nice, easy consistent pace, in the low 11 minute / mile range. 

This was in the first lap.
LouAnne is in the foreground, with her dog barely in the photo. 

 

In the parking lot at the beginning of the third lap, I caught up with a young woman, who I later learned from the results was 19 years old, although I had assumed that she was a little older while I was running the race. I thought that I might run with her for awhile, but by running the tangents in the parking lot, I pulled ahead of her, and stayed ahead of her for the rest of the race. With only about 6 miles to cover in the race, I could finally stop "riding the brakes". I didn't really try to speed up too much, the goal being now to run in the high 10 minute / mile range. And that was pretty easily accomplished. Out and back on Fast Lane, I used my own Nuun bottle as I walked through the water station. Everything felt pretty good. It was still cold outside, but I would pass the heatwarmer from hand to hand, and that helped a bit. The route was now fairly empty. I was occasionally lapped by a fast half-marathon runner on their fourth lap, but otherwise seemed to be doing well. Working my way around the school near the end of the third lap, I noticed a line of cones to the right that I had followed during my initial warmup miles. A faster woman turned right, and I figured that must be the extra kilometer that I would need to turn four 5K loops into the 21.1 kilometers required for a half marathon. A volunteer asked if I was on my fourth lap, and I said "Third lap" and held up three fingers, so I continued circling to the left toward the timing mat, taking another walk break. Now I was about 12 miles in for the day, so time to take the last UCAN fuel. Crossing the timing mat at 1:40, I had completed the third loop in 32 minutes, so indeed I was getting a little faster. 

Now it was time to do some work. Coach Carl had suggested running 16+ mile long runs with a negative split, not necessarily at marathon goal pace for the last half of the run, but I was trying for low 10-minute / mile pace. I filed away the "Patience" mantra for a future race. It had served me well so far, but didn't need it for the rest of today. Mile 13 was 10:12. There were a couple of cars moving slowly on Fast Lane, thank goodness for slowly driving. One car pulled out of a driveway in that neighborhood, and I can hardly complain about residents trying to get around. After the water station, where I accepted water for this final loop, I saw a young boy who had been running ahead of me for the entire race. It wasn't difficult to catch up to him. I didn't intend to make an aggressive pass, but then I sensed that a car was coming from behind me. To avoid taking up more space on the roadway, I decided to pass the boy. And I kept moving quickly. Afterwards I felt badly that the kid might have envisioned that he was passed by someone his Grandpop's age. Sorry about that! I'm really truly impressed that a 11-year-old can run a half-marathon. I was 52 years old before I tried my first half marathon, and it was really tough! Before long, I'm confident that you'll outrun me every single time. But just not today. Mile 14 was 10:19. My legs were feeling a little tired, like I was approaching the last two miles of a full marathon that I had run well. I couldn't push myself to go much faster. I was just determined that I didn't want to be passed by anyone that I had passed in the last two laps - or at least, if they passed me I wanted them to earn it. For the next few turns, I looked behind me but didn't see anyone. I started to think rather brashly that I had "put some hurt" on those kids. 

I'm really happy that I gradually turned up the pace in the race. After the first 2.9 mile run-walk warmup, I only walked for 30-second water breaks about every 1.5 miles.  

Before the mile 15 alert had sounded, I made the right turn for the additional 1.1 kilometers. The cones and signs were pretty clear where we should run, but there were several turns and two loops and I wasn't sure if I should turn after the cone (going long?) or before the cone (going short?). There was another runner about 1 minute ahead of me who I kept an eye on, but I couldn't exactly tell what he was doing with the cones and the turns. I did some of both, not wanting to cut the course, but at the same time I was trying to run tangents to whatever extent I could manage. I started to make up some ground on the runner ahead of me, now I estimated he was 45 seconds ahead of me. At one point on a loop, I could see that the young woman that I had passed a while back was only a minute or so behind me, and then I was happy to see the boy wasn't too far behind her, so he was still in the race. I definitely felt like the other runners would catch me if I slowed down too much, so that kept me motivated to push. Heading downhill on the last part of the loop, the runner in front of me flashed a smile and said "Great job!" I replied "We're almost done!" In the meantime I think that he was now only about 30 seconds ahead of me. I asked myself, "Can I catch up to him? Should I even try if he keeps running?" A moment later I realized that a woman was running with him, seemed to be holding a camera as they ran toward the finish line together. I decided to accelerate although I didn't really think that I would be able to catch up with him. Then I realized that he was running with a young child on his shoulder. That's really cool. I rather doubt that I could have caught up to him in the short distance remaining, and even if I could have done so, I didn't want to spoil a nice family moment by needlessly photobombing their finish line photo when I was out for a long run on a free course. I had achieved all of my goals. 

Happy to have executed my plan from start-to-finish 

Over the timing mat at the start line, then a right turn toward the finish, and I accelerated as strongly as I could. A little celebration at finishing the half marathon! Then I checked my watch, I had covered about 15.75 miles, so the route was probably a little short. Not that I'm complaining, it was a free race, they didn't promise anything other than a fun race, and I was delighted with the protected route, the water station, and afterwards, the free photos on Facebook! I kept running although I definitely slowed down for the last quarter-mile, running a couple of loops now on an empty course on the parking lots, until my water signalled 16 miles completed, in 2:54. I had realized when I began to speed up in the third lap that I was likely to complete the entire run in less than three hours, and was very pleased how this all worked out for me. Today's solid performance erased a bitter taste from my last half-marathon race in December 2021, when I had walked most of the last four miles. 

There were only 34 finishers in the half-marathon, with the majority of runners completing the 5K. When I checked my result online immediately after the race, 2:18:09 chip time and 20th overall, I was pleasantly shocked to see that I was first-place male grandmaster! Grandmaster Flash!! Afterwards I saw that a 62-year-old man had finished in 5th place, and was named first-place male master with a 1:49 finish. It was fun to gloat just a little bit even though I wasn't intending to compete, not really. I finished about 20 seconds behind the 29-year-old man who crossed the finish line with his young child. The 19-year-old woman finished about a minute behind me, and the 11-year-old boy was two minutes behind me. I watched his father take his photo (sharing the same surname, had finished in 1:54) and a few minutes later his mother finished. So that was a really nice family outing for them, three successful finishes, and I hope that they had a nice celebration together after the race. 

My result online, just a few minutes after I officially finished,
while a dozen other runners were still on the course. 

I was pretty sore after the race, despite some stretching before driving home. The next day, early on Monday morning, I dragged myself out of bed for an "optional 3-mile easy run". I bargained with myself, just walk-jog one mile and see how that goes. I felt better after that mile, so I decided to run a loop in the hilly park near the house, felt well enough after that first loop to run a second loop to get to three miles, then even finished off with two strides in a flat parking lot at our neighborhood school before jogging home, fully recovered from the long run the day before. Active easy recovery is definitely the trick for me! With 14 weeks to go until the marathon, I still have some work to do, but I also have plenty of time to get it done. So far I'm really happy with this marathon training cycle! 

November 12, 2022: Eastside Beltline 10K

I enjoyed running this race every year from 2013 - 2019, but the 2020 and 2021 races weren't held due to the pandemic. However, in planning the return of races to the Beltline this year, the Atlanta Beltline Partnership and Atlanta Track Club negotiated co-hosting the races. I had complained in this blog about the course often being less than 10K distance, so I was happy that the Atlanta Track Club would reliably take care of the race details. 

My plan for today's race was to practice some marathon racing skills, specifically a conservative start, and running continuously except for 30-second walks through water stations spaced around 2 miles apart. Coach Carl recommended this as a "checkpoint race" to set workout paces going forward. I didn't think to ask ahead of time exactly what that meant, but assumed that a quality consistent effort was what would be most helpful. That meant that I wasn't going to try to set a new personal record on this course. Instead I planned to take the first two downhill miles very easily, aiming for no faster than a 9 min / mile pace. I decided to set my watch to kilometer splits, for smaller units more easily tracked, so that translated to no faster than 5:35 / km. 

Coach Carl's instruction for today's race

It was foggy when I left home around 6:30 am, but the sky was clearing by the time I arrived in midtown Atlanta around 7 am, so I made sure to bring sunglasses. A cold wave is on the way but has not yet reached Atlanta, so at 60 deg F this morning, I decided to wear a singlet and no cap, to try to stay as cool as possible. 

Selfie before the start with Linda Bode Phinney,
Kimberly Harrell, and Stephanie Batson

The races began with a 3K out-and-back race at 8:00 am. Meanwhile the 10K runners lined up in our corrals on Krog Street. I began in corral B along with Linda, Stephanie and Kimberly from Tucker Running Club. Ronnel Blackmon was the master of ceremonies. Officially the honored guest was Andre Dickens, the new mayor of Atlanta, but Ronnel's energy was more of what I needed to wake up for this race. Wave A started at 8:25 am, then about 2-1/2 minutes later, Ronnel started off our race with an airhorn blast and his shouts of "Go!Go!Go!" As my plan was to start very conservatively, that was a good test to rein myself in for today "Patience!" I had helped myself a moment before the race officially began by circling around to the back of wave B. As we approached the starting mat, I continued walking until a few steps before crossing. 

Ronnel taking a selfie with wave B

In past years, the first half-mile of the race was heavily clogged. But because of the track club assigning runners to waves, this year the road was wide enough to handle the runners, even with me being back in the corral. A few of the 3K finishers were still coming in as I entered the Beltline from Irwin Street, but they only had about 3 feet of the width coned off for them, and we had the remaining 15 feet, which was enough space to find my comfortable pace. I hadn't intended to pass people in the first mile, but heard greetings from Carol Gsell as I passed her, and then caught up to Linda Phinney and ran with her for awhile. We caught up with Kimberly Harrell and Stephanie Batson and ran together with them for most of the first 2 miles. Near the Kroger on North Avenue, a woman cheered and her dog howled as we ran by. I said "I'm gonna feel like howlin' like that dog on the way back." Stephanie replied "I'm already feeling like that!" But with Stephanie and Kimberly pacing us, I ran consistently, all the way to the water station where we got separated and I moved in front. I was pleased that I had run the first three kilometers in 5:49, 5:34, and 5:33, about 17 minutes total, instead of trying to bank time on the downhill section. "Patience!" 

Crossing Monroe Avenue, we ran behind Park Tavern on a dirt and gravel bed, on a section of the Eastside Beltline that has not yet been paved. It had rained quite a bit yesterday, so I was concerned that this section might be muddy, but in fact the surface was fine. The dirt sections were damp but there was no standing water anywhere. I had been trailing just a few feet and to the left side of another runner, content to pace off of him, but he heard my footsteps and invited me into conversation, so we ran side by side for a few minutes. It turns out that he normally runs the Beltline with his wife, who runs on his left side, but she is several months pregnant so not racing today. I congratulated him on his child to come. Unfortunately I didn't think to ask his name. I tried to keep my effort easy, perhaps not quite easy conversational pace for me, and my heart rate was beginning to creep above 150 beats per minute, into my threshold range. "Patience!" In the past, we had run about 1 full mile on the gravel section. To my surprise, this year the route took a left turn onto the black asphalt path into Piedmont Park. For a moment I was wondering if the race route had been cut short, as this was normally the return route, but then we turned north on the path. This small change not only improved the surface but also (probably) would get the right distance for a true 10K race. The runners on our left were returning from the turnaround, mostly the faster wave B runners. 

Markings are kilometers, not miles

I ran pretty consistently for the rest of the northbound stretch, reaching the turnaround and the mile 3 marker at 27 minutes elapsed. 5:36 and 5:42 for kilometers 4 and 5, so 28:15 for the first 5K. Could I negative split? That would require running the same average pace for about 150 feet net uphill. So I took it easy through Piedmont Park, not wanting to burn myself out before the toughest final three kilometers of the race. "Patience!" Still I was getting warm, so I wiped my face with a small towel, that I had run back to the car to get this morning "just in case". That was a good decision, although I had trouble finding a good place to stash the towel away where I could easily grab it when needed. As we emerged from Piedmont Park on 10th Street, I really wanted to take a walk break. I knew that the water station was just a couple of minutes ahead, and pushed through the remaining distance to wait for the water station to walk for 30 seconds. 5:38 and 5:48 for kilometers 6 and 7, when I had actually wanted to run closer to 5:35. But the walk break at the water station was at the end of kilometer 7. 

Elapsed time was 39:40. If I could run the last three kilometers at 5 min / km pace, that would get me through the finish line in less than 55 minutes. But even though I was prepared for it, the uphill was challenging. Kilometer 8 in 5:49, as I passed the Kroger and the howling dog. Oh, that dog was a-howlin', my legs were startin' to howl as well, as I crossed over the North Avenue Bridge. Now I'm trying for less than 56 minutes. I'm continuing to press forward, but I hear the conversation of a couple of women in Spanish approaching from behind, and then passing me. I couldn't follow what they were saying, but one women then moved further ahead. Occasionally she would call back to encourage her companion, while I tried just to keep the two of them in my sights, trying to maintain their paces. Oh, the pain! I could feel that I was beginning to "redline", was wiping my head fairly often, holding the towel in my right hand, then my left. Kilometer 9 in 5:54, my slowest kilometer of the race. And at 51:30 elapsed, now I'm just trying to finish in less than 57 minutes. 

"Five minutes to go" I said to myself "you can do this for five more minutes!" My body wanted to take a walk break so badly, but I reminded myself "you can walk all you want in five minutes!" The image of Daniel Do Nascimento collapsing in last week's New York City Marathon flashed through my mind, but I fought off the negativity with "Just four minutes to go! Maybe less if the course is short!!" I just kept running, noticing familiar landmarks of the last section of the course. Then the mile 6 marker came into view. I wondered if I could run any faster, "for just two minutes"? Without consciously commanding my legs, I accelerated into a stride. Wow, it was a surprise to find some pep left in the legs! Within a few seconds I had caught up to and passed one of the women that I had been following since she had passed me after North Avenue. "Less than two minutes to go!" and I forced my cadence to stay steady and fast. Approaching Irwin Avenue, I put on another stride to pass the the second woman, at the same point where Rich Kenah (Atlanta Track Club Executive Director) was cheering us into the last 100 meters. 

I didn't do this as I passed people.
On the advice of counsel,
I will neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have thought about it ....

Ironically Coach Carl's workout for me last Tuesday night was three miles of "stride the straights, jog the curves," always a tough workout over 12 laps, but the muscle memory was fresh. Now my mission was not to get passed running into the finish. Just then, a young man flew by on my left - but he was not someone that I had just passed, so I ignored him. People were cheering, a woman called out my name "FRANK!!!" as I passed - I don't know who you were, but THANKS! My concern was that some people seemed to be cheering for someone immediately behind me. So I kicked in with one final stride, crossing the finish line at my top speed for the day. Just then I heard Ronnel announce "FRANK!" as he called out the names of finishers. I wobbled to a stop: 56:43 on the watch, 56:40 official. Fortunately the distance was 10.00 kilometers on my watch, so this year the route wasn't short! 

That was harder than I probably should have run today. But I was pleased that I didn't quit on the return, and that I was "Patient!" enough in the first part of the race, banking just enough physical and mental strength to finish strongly. 

Almost a negative split! 28:15 for the first 5K, 28:25 for the last 5K running mostly uphill. 

Official result