With the summer heat, I hesitated to register for the Monday Nighter 10K until about 5 days before the race, when I realized that I would be off from work on Monday June 20, the federal holiday for Juneteenth. That would give me a chance to relax and hydrate all day. And a 10K in evening heat would surely help to acclimatize myself for the Peachtree Road Race two weeks following this race. Also, the Westside Beltline has become one of my favorite places to run during the pandemic, plus the paved Beltline now extends from Washington Park to the I-75/85 connector, probably now 5 continuous miles of trail.
On the race evening, the temperature was "only" 88 degrees F. It's been as much as 10 degrees warmer in the evenings over the past week. I lined up with the 10K runners for our start at 6:50 pm, noticing that this year's group was considerably smaller than in past years (the final results showed 87 finishers). I was carrying about 30 ounces of ice water on a water belt, probably more water than anyone else that I saw in the group, but I wanted to be as safe and as comfortable as possible. I also had a towel in my hand with an ounce or two of crushed ice that I had picked up from my car, just a few minutes before the start of the race. At first I thought that I was the oldest person in this race, then Greg Wyman walked up and introduced himself. I had met Greg a couple of times before the pandemic, probably most recently at the Eastside Beltline 10K in December 2019.
I took a position near the back of the pack. My race strategy was simply to run a consistently easy pace, in fact I had promised Bonnie before I left that house "I'm not trying to win anything tonight!" My watch was set to 2 minutes running, 30 seconds walking. After the airhorn had sounded, it took me about 10 seconds to reach the timing mat, then I began an easy jog through the neighborhood streets. With the first walk break, a dozen or more runners behind me passed me. As I resumed running 30 seconds later, I took a look behind me, and counted ... one, two, three people behind me. I had to put aside anything negative thoughts, and remind myself that this was all about running smartly, not about running fast.
Before long, we had made a loop to move onto the Beltline itself, on the White Street sidewalk. Mile 1 sounded at 10:23, that was about right for an easy pace, having taking 4 short walk breaks to this stage. Seeing a water station up ahead, I decided to accept a cup of Gatorade from a volunteer, even though I had plenty of cold water with me. It felt great to touch the towel to my face; I could tell that it still contained a little ice. Definitely want to remember that trick for the Peachtree Road Race. Crossing White Street, now we were onto the protected part of the Beltline, running past the giant Crayola markers. There was a tall wall to the left, which provided shade from the western sun. I drank a little cold water during every second or third walk break, whenever I needed it, and touched the cold towel to my lips and face. Mile 2 sounded at 10:20, 20:43 elapsed. Perfect! We ran through the I-20 underpass, before I saw the first returning 10K runners about 24 minutes into my race. I didn't recognize too many people in tonight's race, although in time I saw Jacque Hartley heading south, then Greg Wyman, then Luke Butler, who had served as a volunteer at bib pickup earlier in the evening.
After the overpass at Martin Luther King Drive, the mile 3 alert sounded at 10:12, 30:55 elapsed. So far this had been a perfectly executed progression run, just a few seconds faster with each mile. The water station at the northern terminus of the paved Beltline coincided perfectly with the 32:00 walk break. This was the lowest elevation for the course, as we made a loop through Ella May Brayboy Park. Passing the water station again, I said "Thanks but I'll pass this time" turning back onto the Beltline. I had plenty of cold water remaining in my bottle, and felt good. Overconfident? Maybe not, considering that I kept running at an easy pace. I think that the frequent walk breaks made a big difference compared to previous years, especially compared to 2018 when I really suffered.
Now we were running gently uphill. I recalled that around the mile 4 marker was where I had run into trouble four years ago. Mile 4 alert at 10:23, 41:18 elapsed. I guess that was a little slower than mile 3, but that wasn't important. Today I felt warm, but didn't feel badly at all. I just kept on with the easy run / walk intervals. At the 44:30 walk break, the cap came off and tucked into the water belt; at the 47:00 walk break, I unwrapped the towel to wipe the top of my head. Although the ice was gone, the center of the towel was still ice-cold. Wow, that was really great! At the 49:30 walk break, I wrapped the towel gently around my neck, squirting some ice water on the towel, which was refreshing.
The 52:00 walk break coincided with the mile 5 alert, at the intersection with White Street. 10:42 was my slowest mile of this race, but it had been gently uphill, and most importantly, I still felt pretty good. I asked "Any Gatorade?" but this time there was only water. "No problem, thanks!" as I accepted a cup of water. I thought about trying to speed up, but there was no one immediately in front of me to chase, and didn't seem that there was anyone too close behind me. Remembering my promise to Bonnie to be safe and take it easy, I certainly wasn't being competitive this evening.
I followed the route to a diagonal left onto Mathews Street. Uphill! And there was a large truck turning onto the street coming in my direction, so I had to move to the right of the street, running alongside a row of cars. I was beginning to tire and slow down, then heard the reprieve of my watch signaling the 57:00 walk break. Whew! It felt good to walk past the truck, then at 57:30 return to running as I made the right turn onto Lawton Street. One of the volunteers, whose name I'm embarrassed to admit that I've forgotten, called out "Looking good Frank! Do you know where to go?" "Yes, I replied" then heard the instructions to move to the left of the cones. In mile 1 I had made a left turn to make a loop onto the Beltline; that would add 4-1/2 more miles! This time I ran straight, over White Street on the Lawton Street bridge, then the road leveled out.
Approaching Donnelly Avenue at 59:30, I walked through the sharp U-turn, onto the ramp to return down to the protected Beltline, running behind a series of bars, restaurants, and a climbing gym. As I made the turn, I looked up to see if anyone was behind me, and there was a young woman, no more than 100 feet back. I thought, she can definitely catch up to me if I slow down. Taking advantage of the ramp and then a right turn onto the Beltline, I increased my speed, running an 8 minute/mile pace for the first time in the race. A group of people walking on the Beltline almost stepped in front of me "Passing on your left!" I called out strongly, and avoided a collision as I rushed past. A volunteer was cheering me as I approached and then passed. Then a few seconds later, I heard the volunteer encouraging the next runner. Hmm, she must be getting closer! But I couldn't run any faster. I couldn't see the finish line due to a tiny little curve in the Beltline. When my watch signaled 1:02:00, I thought about running through, but decided that I needed the break, just 15 - 20 seconds this time, then I picked up my speed again before anyone passed me. Mile 6 alert, 10:22 and 1:02:22 elapsed.
Now I could see the finish line! And I could hear a group of people cheering as I approached. Now I was running well under 8 minute/mile pace. One person was ringing a cowbell about 50 feet before the finish line, I dashed past, seeing 1:03:37 on the clock as I crossed the finish line. Both arms up in celebration, high-five with one of the people cheering for me, then I immediately stopped, looked behind me to see the young woman having crossed the finish line just a couple of seconds after me. It must have been exciting to watch! And perhaps a little frustrating for my unexpected competitor, who must have seen me take a walk break near the end of the race, then to sprint to the finish line.
I was winded from the final effort. Fortunately there was plenty of cold water just past the finish line, and a large bin with some towels floating in ice water. I re-filled my water bottle and wiped my face and head with the refreshing cold towel. I needed a few minutes to stretch which also gave me some time to cool down. Inside Monday Night Brewing, Tes Marshall announced that 10K awards would be awarded in the back. With the small group this evening, I figured that I might place in my age group. Typically I've not stayed for the awards at this race, and only discovered the next day that I had won second place age group in 2019.
And when the results were projected on the wall, I had won first place age group this year! Sorry Bonnie, I had promised not to win anything. The funny part is that there were only two of us. And I was outrun by a couple of men in the 60-64 age group, so perhaps I lived up to the spirit of staying safe, and not pushing myself until the final quarter-mile.
I was happy with my consistent performance with every mile, with a fairly tight range from 10:12 - 10:41 for each of the six miles, with enough energy left to speed up at the very end. And now I know that I'm definitely ready for the Peachtree Road Race!
