"Sooooo Cold!!!" as I rolled out of the car this morning, around 6:45 am, 18 degrees F. I was wearing two layers, and carrying two heatwarmers, but after picking up my bib, ran back to my car to add a hoodie for my third layer. Brian Minor and I had agreed to run a few miles before the race, to get 8 - 9 miles total in our training for the Publix Atlanta Marathon Relay, five weeks from tomorrow.
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| I saw this one on the Internet earlier this week. |
We left for our warmup run from the start-finish area for the race, following the cones that the Atlanta Track Club had already set out for the 5-kilometer and 5-mile races. I wanted to take it very easy, run-walk, just to get some time on my feet. Also, I didn't want to wear myself out before our mano-a-mano race! Brian was wearing the green fluorescent hoodie that he had worn for the first two miles of last weekend's Livvy's Love race. I was wearing a Coach Carl blue hoodie. Brian asked if Bonnie was here: "No, she was soundly sleeping under 3 - 4 blankets when I left the house." After a minute, remembering how Bonnie had taken care of Brian's hoodie last weekend, I added "You know, Bonnie won't be following us on the course to take your hoodie mid-race, you'll have to leave it on the side of the road!" We had a good laugh about that one. We effectively ran-walked the 5-kilometer race route in reverse, in about 34:30 elapsed. It was a good warmup, really, it was the best thing we could have done for ourselves before running the race. Even though the thermometer read just as cold when we finished our warmup, I didn't feel terribly uncomfortable after I took off my hoodie to run in just two layers, yet I had saved enough energy to have a good race!
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| Before - and after |
Brian took a last-minute port-a-potty break and shed his hoodie as well. I jogged to my car, sat inside for a moment while I took a gel and a few swigs of water. The instructions read "For Best Results: One packet 15 minutes before activity." I checked my watch: 7:49 am. Talk about scientific precision, my wave was due to start at 8:04 am! There were only about 600 people in both races, but it was the hardiest folks that showed up today. Perhaps none of us were quite sane to run outdoors in this cold weather. But as the old saying goes, we outran everyone that stayed in bed this morning. The MCs this morning were two people that I didn't recognize. Then I discovered that my favorite MC Ronnel Blackmon was running today's race in wave C, so we might have Ronnel's encouragement throughout the entire race, not just the start and finish! While we waited near the front of wave C, I saw old friends Colleen Curran and Linda Bode Phinney. The MC encouraged us to jog in place to stay warm. The airhorn wasn't working due to the cold weather, so we just started with a verbal command: "Runners set ..... GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!"
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| With Brian a couple of minutes before our wave started the race. At some point during the warmup run, I lost my face covering, a freebie from another race. Fortunately I finished without frostbite! |
Brian and I crossed the starting mat together. I had wanted to keep Brian in front of me where I could see him, but in the chaos of the start, I immediately lost track of him. Linda was ahead and to my right, and I remembered that she ran this race well last year, so I thought I would run alongside her in the beginning. We hadn't gone far before Bryan Greenberg caught up to me, wearing his distinctive Maryland race kit. Bryan G. and I ran together for awhile. I remembered that his son had run his first race here last year, but not today due to the cold temperature. I said that would have been "cruel and unusual punishment" and added "we're grown adults who should know better." On East Main Street, Bryan G. snapped a quick selfie of us, then he gradually moved ahead of me. Mile 1 was 8:58, perfect for practicing half-marathon pace.
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| Thanks to Bryan Greenberg for posting this on Strava! |
In the second mile, we turned right off of East Main Street toward Woodward Academy. There was a water station on the right but they had no takers. I chatted to a runner next to me, "No one stopped at the icicle station" which drew a laugh, before we turned left. At the next intersection, a volunteer was rhythmically calling "5 Mile to the left, 5 K to the right, 5 Mile to the left, 5 K to the right..." rocking his body to and fro with arms alternately pointing to the left, then to the right. Probably it was the only way that he could stay warm. By the way, MANY THANKS to all of the volunteers who braved the cold for our race. As challenging as it was to run in the cold, at least the runners were moving: the volunteers who were sitting still giving out bibs, or standing still at corners to direct traffic and serve the water stops, they were the real heroes of this frigid morning. Mile 2 in 8:57, 17:55 elapsed. Talk about consistent pacing!
We were back on East Main Street running north, heading gently downhill, so I picked up some speed. As we turned the corner onto Willingham Drive, someone called out "Hi Frank!" With everyone covered up, I had to ask who it was: "It's Donna!" (Donna Roberts, who had volunteered before the race). "Oh hi Donna!" As I passed, I said "Give me a holler if Brian passes you!" I was running with a couple of Hot Hands handwarmers, but it was so cold that the handwarmers had turned into cold rocks! With a little difficulty, I stuffed one into each pants pocket. While I was fooling around with the defeated handwarmers, Linda passed on my right. I didn't know who it was at first, but then I recognized her blue ski cap from the start. Fortunately I didn't have trouble keeping up with Linda. Bryan G. was about 20 seconds ahead. I wondered if I might eventually catch up with him. Around this point in the race, my heart rate monitor was showing >180 beats per minute. What?! Not again?! I quickly surveyed my breathing, my physical state, and I felt fine. In today's race, I think that my heart rate monitor was inaccurate due to the cold temperature, which prevented dry skin from making good contact with the sensor on the back of my watch. Mile 3 in 8:36, 26:31 elapsed. That was a bit fast, however that mile was 38 feet net descent.
We made a couple of right turns to get into a residential neighborhood. Somehow I got out in front of Linda on the turn. The cones marking the race route were down the middle of the street, and I was running near the middle, just to the left of the cones to avoid the camber, and to save a few steps anticipating a left turn up ahead. Then a couple of cars came down the street in the opposite direction of us runners. I realized that the police couldn't completely close off a residential street, so they were gradually letting cars travel on one lane. I moved over to the right side of the road. We made a couple more turns, again approaching Woodward Academy. We passed another water stop; a volunteer was picking up a few cups from the street, so there had been some takers, but not many. At least once I looked behind me to see if I could spot Brian, but my eyes were slow to focus and I couldn't afford to take more than a quick glance. My heart rate monitor was still reading dangerously high, except now I was quite certain that it was a low temperature malfunction. At Madison Street, we made a left turn, to rejoin the 5K runners and walkers to our common finish line. A fellow running in front of me in the 5-mile race initially ran straight instead of making the turn, but from last year's race I had remembered to make the turn. I can see that it was a little confusing, since the cones continued straight ahead for the 5K runners coming in the opposite direction, and a truck was blocking the left lane on Madison Street so we couldn't see runners ahead to our left. Fortunately the other runner realized his mistake by the time I had reached the corner, and quickly spun around to get back on route, running alongside me. "You almost added another mile for yourself" I joked. No answer. I said "It happens to the best. I still feel bad for last year's Peachtree (Road Race) leader who made a wrong turn right before the finish." No answer, he moved ahead. No problem, it was cold, and I was wasting energy chattering away. Mile 4 in 8:54, 35:25 elapsed. That was a little slow, but had covered 48 feet net ascent, and was still on goal half-marathon pace. Fortunately the hills today had been gradual and manageable, compared to the Stone Mountain loop last weekend or the extremely hilly Westside 10K last month.
Just past the mile 4 sign, we began running downhill. "It's GO TIME!" I said to myself, and increased my speed. From our warmup on the 5K route, I had a fresh memory of the route, even though we were now running in the opposite direction. Crossing Virginia Avenue, there was a more substantial downhill. What was the old phrase - "Make hay while the sun shines"?? I've never made hay, so I don't know, what does that actually mean?? Anyway I bounded ahead as fast as I could. I saw Bryan G. ahead and in the distance: he had increased his lead so that there was no way I would catch him. (Bryan G. finished the race about 45 seconds ahead of me.) Approaching Princeton Avenue, we had finally reached the bottom of the hill, and there was a 6-foot "speed bump". Fortunately I remembered that short hill from the warmup so it didn't slow me down. But now we had two blocks to go before the next-to-last turn onto Columbia Avenue, gently but steadily uphill. I worked my way up that hill without slowing down too badly. But as we made the right turn, I was rudely reminded that the hill continued upward, fairly substantially. Finally I really slowed down. I remembered from last year's race that I had run this section more strongly - but last year this race was part of a marathon training run so I had run the first 4 miles substantially slower than today.
At that stage I heard footsteps behind me. I looked back, it was Brian Minor, catching up to my left. "Brian, were you drafting off me for the entire race?" I didn't hear his response but later I learned that he had fallen behind, barely keeping me in sight, but he began to close the gap around mile 4. He told me that he had to really work to catch up to me, since I didn't take any walk breaks. I thought, surely I can keep up with Brian, when he pulled ahead. Then I caught up to him. This time I was on Brian's left, just in time to make the left turn toward the finish line. Being to Brian's left, I had the advantage of the inside lane, but the Brian put on a sprint for the last 100 meters to the timing mat. I couldn't find a matching finishing kick. Brian crossed the timing mat: I began counting: "One, two, three," and was over the mat at the count of "four". Approximately an 8:15 pace for the last mile, although I had to estimate, because I didn't stop my watch until several seconds had passed. Official time: 43:29.
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| Only 3 seconds apart! (But based on age grading, I totally "smoked" Brian.) I also outran a few people on this list that usually outperform me. |
Even though I didn't win the race with Brian, I was really happy with my performance. My plan was to practice half-marathon pacing for the first four miles, and that went perfectly. I had enough energy in reserve to speed up in the final mile, which was a lot of fun. Brian had to work hard for the win, but he managed it, so that was satisfying, actually for both of us. "We're in good shape getting ready for the marathon relay!" I said to Brian. He asked if I wanted to run a bit more, I guess to finish a full 9 miles. But I was so cold, I only wanted to get back into my car to warm up. And thank goodness he didn't push me today!
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| In the middle of my age group. To quote George Costanza: "Right in that meaty part of the curve. Not showing off, not falling behind." |
Next weekend: a 10 - 11 mile training run on part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon course.
February 4: We're both running the Hot Chocolate 15K. I don't know if we will actually race each other, but I think this will be an excellent practice run for holding half-marathon race pace for ~70% of the total distance. And if I succeed, I'll have improved on my 15K personal best from last May!
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