 |
Carb-loading a couple of days
before the marathon is essential. |
I've had an excellent marathon training cycle from start to finish, a 20-week plan. This was preceded by an informal 6-week training program, which fueled my hunger to try the marathon distance again, after enjoying an intentional break for the year 2022. If the training cycle wasn't 100% perfect, I learned from every struggle encountered, increasing my confidence that I was ready to run a great race today. My mantras going into today's marathon were, in order: "Patience" "Relax and glide" and "Gratitude." I definitely wanted to balance confidence with humility and respect for the distance, because so much can go wrong in the later miles. Then I listened to a podcast a couple of days before the marathon, probably from the "Marathon Training Academy", to paraphrase the speaker:
"Your brain is lying to you! When you think you're done, most people are only actually 60% done. So there's still 40% more to tap into."
I added "Your brain is lying!" to my mantras.
I enjoyed the expo on Saturday, starting with Bob Wells giving an 11 am presentation on the challenges of the course. My unsolicited critique after running the marathon: Bob gave too many scores of "1" for easy, and too few scores of "5" for very difficult. At 12 pm, Carrie Tollefson introduced five of the professional runners for the half-marathon competition. After I finished lunch (probably should not have eaten everything on my plate) I returned to the expo at 2 pm for India Cook's interview of Alison Mariella Désir, the author of "Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us." I had read the book a few months ago, after hearing a podcast interview with "Ali On the Run". The book is a powerful reminder of the work we all need to do, to ultimately dismantle structural white supremacy. I actually briefly met Ms. Désir on Thursday evening at the Ahmaud Arbery Run Day, sponsored by South Fulton Running Partners, with several hundred runners and walkers covering 2.23 miles on the Westside Beltline, to memorialize February 23, 2020 when Mr. Arbery went out for a midday run only to be murdered by white people who didn't want a young Black man to run in their neighborhood. This was one of the motivators for Ms. Désir to write about her life and experiences to date. At the expo, I also met Jinghuan Liu Tervalon, a friend of a friend living in California. Jinghuan was in town for the USATF masters 5K championship yesterday morning, in her first year of eligibility, recording an incredibly fast 22:00 minute finish!
 |
| India Cook and Alison Désir |
 |
Requesting an autograph
|
 |
| With Jinghuan Liu Tervalon |
I actually managed to fall asleep around 8:30 pm, dreaming about the marathon but also sleeping quite soundly until the 4:00 am alarm. I tried moving around the house as much as possible, feeding the cats, making and drinking coffee with a light breakfast, doing a few yoga stretches, anything to help with "number 2". I wasn't going to let that ruin my race (learning from my last half-marathon), but I really wanted to get that out of the way on a clean toilet at home instead of a porta-potty near the start at Centennial Olympic Park. It was 5 am and I still couldn't go! I had told Bonnie to plan to be in the car before 5:30 am, but as the minutes ticked away, I was getting desperate. I decided to run-walk an easy mile in my hilly neighborhood to see if that would do the trick. No one, and I mean NO ONE, was out that early in the morning. I wasn't sure if the 12 minutes on the street would do the trick - but when I returned to the house, after a couple of minutes I had success! Now we could leave for the race. First timed result of the day: from alarm to waking up + pooping until we were in the car: 1:37:00. Needs improvement.
 |
| Ass o'clock in the car |
Thanks to Bonnie's willingness to drive and to pay for parking downtown, we arrived at the Georgia Aquarium parking garage just a few blocks from the start, before 6:15 am. I had plenty of time to catch up with friends, a couple of porta-potty visits for "number 1", some dynamic stretches, and to find my way into the corral for wave D. The 4:30 pace group was assigned to the front of wave D, led by experienced marathon Jacque Hartley. Following Coach Carl's advice, I positioned myself slightly behind and to the side of the pace group, to "give them a chance to settle in".
 |
| ca. 6:30 am with Susie Hill and Jennifer Butz |
 |
| With Caroline Dunn and pacer Jacque Hartley, in wave D corral |
 |
| David Bloomquist makes it into the blog! |
At 7:27 am, wave D got the signal to begin. I crossed the timing mat about a minute later. It was pretty crowded and I just tried to focus on running with "patience". By the time I saw the pace group, they were well ahead of me, but I was on a low 11-minute mile pace. That was a little slow, but that was the point. This year my Garmin appeared to function normally. I noticed that the Walgreen's at the intersection with Piedmont Road was the 4-minute mark, a useful landmark to remember when returning this way in mile 26. I found myself in the middle of an undivided road when the first walk break sounded at 4:30. I tried to run more slowly but could never safely take that first walk break. I cautiously made the left turn onto Piedmont Road. A moment later a woman running about 30 feet ahead of me fell! Fortunately she popped up right away, and was running again before I caught up to her. I continued running carefully, passing the mile 1 marker just after my watch had sounded at 10:57. Well, that was exactly as planned, despite running downhill for much of that initial distance.
 |
| A grand tour of Intown Atlanta |
We continued running up Piedmont, right turn onto North Avenue for some wonderful downhill running, then a right turn onto Central Park Drive, with its undulating hills. I was running a little faster, but mile 2 in 10:18 and mile 3 in 10:14 was still slower than goal marathon pace - ultimately hoping to average 10 min / mile, but I remembered my "patience" and remained calm. I took deliberate walk breaks at every water station, and accepted hydration at every station, even though I was also carrying a bottle of Nuun on the back of my race belt. Midway through mile 4, I saw Bonnie up ahead in front of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church at the corner of Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue. I waved, and then she lost me in a crowd of people. Our plan was that Bonnie would make the direct 2-mile dash to the corner, to take photos of friends as they passed. When I popped up in front of her, I think she was looking for me in a slightly different direction, so she was slow to pull up her camera. I slowed a little (but wasn't gonna stop!), and gradually did a pirouette to face Bonnie, while still making progress. I heard behind me "Did you get him" and realized that was probably Jinghuan with Bonnie. Indeed Jinghuan dashed up alongside me, taking a short video of me running. I said "Feeling good, just finished 5K, must be done pretty soon!" We ran together up a small hill, which Jinghuan commented on, even though I think that Los Angeles is probably nearly as hilly. As we approached the mile 4 water station, Jinghuan offered to get water for me. I didn't want to accept assistance that other runners weren't getting, so I hope that Jinghuan understood. I took water and Powerade, and after drinking both over about 30 seconds, returned to running. Mile 4 in 10:08, mile 5 in 9:51. By this point, about 52 minutes in, my average pace was down to 10:24 min / mile, but I still didn't see the pacer. At the 54:30 walk break, I took my first UCAN packet. It was difficult to wrench out of the pocket on my fuel belt, considering there were five packets total along with my phone. But it was nice to re-fuel with a product that didn't require washing it down with water.
 |
| Feeling good in mile 4 |
At 1 hour elapsed, I was on Moreland Avenue, between Euclid Avenue and Freedom Parkway, pretty much exactly where I was at the 1 hour mark in my personal best marathon on this course early in 2020. That was promising for taking a crack at my personal best, if I could just maintain "patience", and for the hills, "relax and glide." There was a substantial hill on North Avenue, which a policeman was encouraging us to "push, push!" I complied and pushed my way up the hill with some strong arm swings, tapping the policeman's outstretched hand as I passed. I just hoped that I wouldn't regret that little extra effort in a couple of hours. Cresting the top of the hill, then turning onto North Highland Avenue, we mostly ran level or slightly downhill for the next couple of miles. There was a fairly large and loud cheering section at the intersection with Virginia Avenue. I ran miles 6, 7, and 8 in 10:02, 10:09, 9:56, faithfully staying with the run-walk plan and walking through every hydration station.
 |
The 4:30 pace group in Little Five Points, just past the mile 5 marker.
Can you find Frank?
(I can't either.) |
Mile 9 was dubbed "The Mimosa Mile" although I didn't see anyone drinking or serving up mimosas today. There was a bubble machine and good crowd support. This is one of my favorite miles of the marathon, at the west entrance to Piedmont Park. Mile 9 in 9:51. I didn't know it then, but that was going to be my last sub-10 minute mile today. Before leaving the park, we crossed the 15K timing mat, 1:35:16. To that stage, I had run a 10:13 min / mile average pace, and I should have caught up to the 4:30 pacer by then. It turns out that she was never more than 2 minutes ahead of me in the first half of the race, but I never saw her. A woman wearing a 2:15 half marathon pace bib on her back seemed to be perfectly on pace on her own, so I followed her for the rest of the first 13 miles. Mile 10 was uphill on 10th Street, but I was running fairly well, 10:21 for mile 10. I took the second UCAN packet around this time, again on a walk break. Mile 11 began with the Juniper Street hill, and after the right turn onto 5th Street we had a short climb up to Peachtree Street, then back downhill as I passed the Big Peach Running Company tent. Crossing the I-75/I-85 interstate connector, the water station was preceded by oranges! I received a disappointingly small piece of orange, but it was easily eaten in one bite, and I guess that was the point. Turning onto Techwood Drive on the Georgia Tech campus, the students were playing music and cheering. Mile 11 in 11:31 - hmmm. From a fraternity house I heard the AC/DC classic "Highway to Hell". At this point in the race I still felt good, but perhaps there was some foreshadowing in the song. But the energy was high amongst some of the half-marathoners, knowing that they were within 5K of finishing their runs. Turning right at Bobby Dodd stadium, I started to pick up the pace, then reminded myself of "patience."
 |
| Still doing well in mile 13 |
Along the way, I recognized running buddies cheering me on, Robin Mitchell, Daniel Yee, Vivian Eckmann, to recall a few, apologies for those I've missed! On Tech Parkway, I approached the 2 hour mark. In 2020, my 2 hour mark coincided with a water station on Tech Parkway. This year I ran another minute past the 1:59:30 walk break to reach the water station, but still that wasn't too far off from my progress in 2020. Turning onto Means Street, then left onto Marietta Street, I closed out mile 12 in 10:32. Marietta Street was the last stretch of the race for the half-marathon runners. I tried to stay to the right side of the lane, knowing that I would turn right at mile 13, and I didn't want to get in the way of anyone strongly accelerating into the half-marathon finish. The woman with the 2:15 bib gradually pulled ahead, taking advantage of her own "patience" to save enough energy to finish strongly. I kept looking over at the half-marathoners, specifically encouraging runners to finish strongly as they passed me (or as I passed them). Then I saw Bonnie on the right, near the College Football Hall of Fame. I smiled and gave her two thumbs up, passing her around 2:13 elapsed, 10:14 for mile 13. By this point my watch was sounding about a minute before I reached the mile markers, so I guess I had not run the tangents very well. Some of it was probably pulling over to one side or another with each walk break. Otherwise I think that I was fairly close to running tangents, considering I always knew where the next turn would be.
 |
| Looking to my left, I called out: "Congratulations half-marathoners!" |
I made the right turn on Andrew Young International Boulevard, between the Georgia World Congress Center and State Farm Arena. I crossed the 13.11 mile timing mat at 2:15:13. My goal for the first half had been 2:12 - 2:15. I was very pleased that I had run with enough "patience" at the slow end of that range. If I could run just a tad faster for the second half, I would achieve both goals, a finish within the 4:20 - 4:30 range and a negative split! To my surprise, I passed a couple of men who were walking over the timing mat. It didn't seem like they were taking a strategic walk break. I felt badly for them, having such a long way to go. I covered mile 14 in 10:12, which was a good start to the second half. I took another UCAN as planned just after passing the mile 14 marker, at the 2:24:30 walk break. I thought that the nutrition would help me maintain the pace, "relax and glide." But well into mile 15, I saw that I was running at only a 11:30 min / mile pace (gulp!). I managed to speed up a little bit to finish mile 15 in 10:58. According to Bob Wells' course preview, that was supposed to be one of the easier miles.
Turning left on James Brawley Drive, we then faced a substantial uphill stretch. But I knew that we were approaching the Atlanta University pedestrian walkway, another favorite section of this course. I heard the announcement "Welcome to water station number 8!" I declined the peanut butter-stuffed pretzels (nothing new on race day!) but I enjoyed the spirited cheering, slowing only for 30 seconds as I passed through the water station.
 |
| Cheering group at Clark Atlanta University |
At that moment, the sun appeared in the southeast! That was uncomfortable: the forecast had promised to be cloudy all morning! I had decided not to wear sunglasses, but I wore a cap with a brim to keep any sun out of my eyes. But the temperature definitely increased at that moment. Now it was time to think of "gratitude", for the enthusiastic cheering that continued for blocks as we worked past Clark Atlanta University to Morehouse College, then turning left to pass Spelman College. Mile 16 was only 10:53. But we were approaching Peters Street and that was familiar turf from running the Run the ATL 20K relay in August 2022.
Despite the familiar street, I could not speed up! I felt fine, a little tired, but my heart rate was never higher than the low 150 beats per minute whenever I checked, and was often in the 140s. My legs were sore, and I felt a little chafing between my legs, despite what I thought was a liberal application of Squirrel's Nut Butter at home. Then my nipples were getting sore! At home I had applied a couple of pieces of surgical tape, as recommended by Chris McClung in a Running Rogue podcast. I looked down the top of my singlet, only to get an eyefull of both nipples. Where did the surgical tape go? I did not want to finish with bloody nipples! I pulled the front of my singlet away from my chest and that seemed to help, doing that every few minutes. Mile 17 in 11:03.
 |
Thanks Chris for the photo,
while you were running?! |
In mile 18, we worked our way back through downtown on Mitchell Street. We were running downhill and I tried to take advantage of the gravity assist, in 10:27. After passing the mile 18 sign, I took a 4th UCAN packet. I felt a little embarrassed to be eating expensive nutrition as I passed a semi-permanent tent city under the interstate. A few of the residents were cheering, and I smiled and thanked them for supporting us. And I thought of "gratitude" that I've never had to experience being unhoused. Heading south toward Centre Parc Stadium (formerly the Olympic Stadium in 1996, then Turner Field from 1997 - ca. 2017) we climbed a ramp over the I-75/I-85 connector. As we made a left turn to work around the Georgia State Convocation Center, we were running parallel to the faster runners in mile 25. Chris Carino called out to me. It was 3:15 elapsed for me so I had a good feeling that Chris would achieve his 3:45 goal - although I forgot in the moment that he probably started a couple of waves and several minutes ahead of me. 11:01 for mile 19. I tried to pick up a little speed running downhill. At the mile 19 marker, I clicked the lap button, as I was off by 1:30 at that point, and wanted to have a better predictor for the rest of the miles. Passing in front of the stadium, then turning right onto Hank Aaron Drive. That section was longer than I expected. Eventually we made our way up a big hill, which fortunately coincided with the 3:29:30 walk break. Turning left onto Atlanta Avenue, I saw the mile 20 sign, 11:23 for mile 20, 3:30:30 elapsed.
With only 10K to go, I could still achieve the 4:30 time goal - and a negative split, if I knocked out a 59 minute 10K. Normally that's not difficult - as long as I haven't already run 32 kilometers. I just couldn't get my legs to move faster. I'm sure that the temperature was definitely rising on the "Highway to Hell" "Your brain is lying!" I commanded my brain to direct the legs to resume the running motion after every 30-second walk break, but my brain was not effectively ordering the legs to move faster. Maybe the legs were rebelling. "Your brain is lying! Your brain is lying! Gratitude! Your brain is lying! Gratitude!!" I had been concerned before the race that I might militarize "Gratitude" if things got tough today, and indeed that is exactly what happened.
Turning left onto Cherokee Street, with Grant Park across the street to our right, I heard one of my favorite songs from The Cure dating from my grad school days, "Just Like Heaven". I heard the middle verse as I passed:
"Spinning on that dizzy edge, kissed her face and kissed her head,
Dreamed of all the different ways I had to make her glow,
Why are you so far away? she said, Why won't you ever know
That I'm in love with you, that I'm in love with you?"
Although I didn't speed up (mile 21, 11:31), the upbeat song seemed to knock my psyche off of the "Highway to Hell". Turning left onto Georgia Avenue, heading uphill, I really had to hold on with "gratitude" to the thought of heaven. The hill was so big! "Your brain is lying!" I learned later that Michelle Panneton was course monitor at the corner. Either I could not see her through my tears, or I have amnesia about that moment. "Your brain is lying!" That kept me from just throwing in the towel with an unplanned walk break. A 4:45 finish was still well within reach. But despite my best efforts, I kept slowing down. My nipples were still painful. I thought about taking off my shirt altogether, like the young man who was running near me. But I don't have the body art to compare with him, so I decided to spare the crowds and kept my singlet on my top. When we crossed the flat field onto the Cheney Stadium track, I tried to pick up the speed, recalling recent successful speed workouts, but my legs simply wouldn't respond. 12:28 for mile 22. I took my last UCAN at that time, during the 3:54:30 walk break.
 |
Thanks Robin! This was earlier
in the race when I still felt good.
|
Exiting the stadium, we were directed to run south a couple of hundred meters, then take a sharp U-turn to return north toward Georgia Avenue. A runner ahead of me was limping quite badly, it looked like a twisted ankle. A volunteer called out "It will work out soon!" I wasn't sure about that advice but I suppose it was intended to be encouraging. Heading into the Summerhill neighborhood, we then took a right turn, uphill to Heritage Founders' Park. The runner who had been limping had now stopped, was talking to police, and I heard the words "Sag wagon". At the top of the hill, there was an Atlanta Track Club truck coming slowly in the other direction. I felt "gratitude" that it wasn't me having to stop. But it seemed that my running was hardly faster than those walking around me. "Your brain is lying! Your brain is lying!" 13:26 for mile 23?! My watch wasn't lying. 4:08 elapsed. Just over a 5K to do, surely I could finish within 37 minutes, to beat 4:45 for my second-fastest marathon. But, not if I was running slower than 12 minute miles. (I guess I was OK healthwise since I could still divide numbers in my head.) I tried to pick up the pace when we returned to Hank Aaron Drive heading north. I looked up and saw the Olympic Rings in the distance, a sight that I had missed when I ran this route in 2020. I walked through a water station, then resumed slowly running. It took a long time to get over the I-20 interchange. Traffic was on either side of our lane. I was nervous, because I wasn't too confident that I could run in a straight line, but I just tried to stay in the center of the lane. The right lane of cars turned onto Memorial Drive heading east, and then we had the right-most lane to ourselves. Turning onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, at the mile 24 sign, I had run that mile in 13:13. For the race to this stage, 4:21 elapsed: in 2020 I was three minutes away from finishing. Today I still had 2.2 miles to go. On a good day, I would cover that distance in 22 minutes, to get over the finish line in 4:43. But I couldn't run 10 minute miles any more. Maybe 11 minutes per mile? I began to fantasize about accepting a cooldown jacket after crossing the finish line and just lying down on the lawn, oh that would feel so heavenly good. Gratitude! Your brain is lying! Gratitude!
Up ahead I saw the last water station of the marathon. I knew that my colleague James Kindt was working the station, and heard from Michael Reid at the Ahmaud Arbery run that he would also be there. As I approached the beginning of the water station, Michael was on the left, James on the right. It was great to see them both, "gratitude." I accepted two cups from James, thinking that one was Powerade and the other was water, but in fact they were both Powerade. No problem, I needed both cups, and accepted a cup of water from another volunteer 30 seconds later. After draining the cups, I returned to a running motion. But I was soooo slow! "Your brain is lying!" No, I just had to focus on "gratitude" that I was certain to finish as long as I didn't fall, and retrieved "patience" from my bag of mantras. Turning left at the gate to Oakland Cemetery, then a couple of turns took us onto Decatur Street. Mile 25, 12:04, 4:33 elapsed. Hmm, 1.22 miles would require 14 - 15 minutes at this pace. C'mon Frank, "your brain is lying!!" "Patience!" "Your brain is lying!!" I tried to pick up the pace, but going uphill over the interstate meant that I couldn't run very fast at all. I had intended to skip the walk breaks at 4:34:30 and 4:39:30, but my legs were screaming for the relief of the walk break. At least I resumed running after each 30 second walk break.
A policewoman or maybe a volunteer, I'm not sure, said to me "See that white building up ahead? That's your goal!" I thanked her and tried to pick up the pace, but we were still running uphill and that was really tough. Nonetheless, people on the street were clapping and cheering us on. Even the people with the signs advertising "Free Bible Course" were clapping for us! We reached the Walgreen's at the intersection with Peachtree Street, that was 4 minutes in at 7:30 am, now it was 4:43 and change. I was checking my watch but didn't notice the 26 mile alert nor did I see a sign. I could not remember how many streets to cross to reach the finish line: but reached 4:45 elapsed at Forsyth, 4:46 at Cone, 4:46:30 at Ted Turner, 4:47:20 at Centennial Olympic Park. One more block to the final right turn? I desperately wanted to finish with a time that began with 4:47, that would be my third best marathon time, slower than the Atlanta Marathon at the Speedway in Hampton in February 2021, 4:45:22, but faster than a string of 4:48 times that I recorded in 2017 - 2018. I could see the fence ahead that would guide us into the final turn, took a quick look at my watch as I made the turn: 4:48:00. And the finish line was much further away than it had looked when I had walked by yesterday on my way to the expo. Nonetheless it was exciting, thanks to the crowds lining the finish line. To the left I saw Tes Marshall, then Bonnie and a couple of other people in Tucker Running Club were cheering me on although I missed registering Stephanie Batson, Kim and Elizabeth Harrell as I passed them. I wasn't running the victorious final sprint of my race in March 2020, but I was about to finish. About 20 - 30 feet in front of the finish line, there was a timing mat. I almost let up at that point, then realized just in time that the mat was to alert the announcer to my name. Sure enough, as I finally crossed the final timing mat, the announcer called out "Frank from Tucker!" I looked up to my left, gave the announcer a wave or a thumbs up, and gratefully slowed to a very slow walk. A few people gave congratulations, including a fist bump with Atlanta Track Club Director Rich Kenah. I think he was trying to assess if I was alright, I gave him a smile (I think) and mumbled something like "At least I finished." Gratitude! 4:48:20 official time, my fifth best out of nine marathons, landing in between the Atlanta Marathon in spring 2017 (4:48:13) and the New York City Marathon in fall 2018 (4:44:23).
 |
| I can finally see the finish line |
 |
Completing marathon #9. 10 years ago,
who would have thought that I could do this?! |
After collecting and putting on a cool-down jacket (which took forever), I accepted water, sports drink, chocolate milk, a banana and a bag of pretzels from volunteers before exiting into the park, onto the lawn. I found an open spot, dropped everything in my hands to the ground, then slowly eased myself down onto the soft grass. Ahhh, what a relief. It only took me a couple of minutes to regain enough equilibrium to sit up, to start drinking the milk and water. Eventually Bonnie found me (my phone battery had discharged).
I was disappointed that I didn't achieve any of my time goals. But when the results appeared in mid-afternoon, I was thrilled to see that my standing improved at every timing point. I count that as a win. And I have empathy for the people that I passed, because they were having a tougher day than I had. I also had the right gear for the day, including nutrition and my own hydration. I suppose that 2:15 may have been too fast for the first 13.1 miles based on my current fitness combined with the conditions, but the pace strategy that I successfully followed for the first half was carefully planned. I needed to know if that was practical, and now I know the answer. So that information is another win.
 |
Not a negative split,
but a positive progression. |
Very importantly, I finished the marathon without injury. Not even a blister. Nipples were sore but no blood. I never needed to interrupt my race with a porta-potty stop. "Gratitude!" Moreover, I'm recovering quickly. I'm confident that I will continue to build on the fitness that I've gained over the past year and especially over the 20-week training cycle.
Finally, my psyche about running remains positive. I'm excited at how I may improve as the year progresses, and the key is to remain uninjured. Today's marathon experience will be a mid-point in a continuing building process, rather than a finish line. Although I mentioned above that today's race was my 5th best time out of 9 marathons, I consider it my 3rd best quality marathon. That's mostly because today I never gave into the temptation for unplanned long stretches of walking. Psychologically, today's race was a big win.
