May 29, 2023: Memorial Day 15K

I had such a great time running the South River 15K last month, I've decided that I'd like to focus on that distance for awhile. If I can reliably negative split the 15K distance, then can confidently work back toward running a quality-paced half-marathon. 

I waited until last week to register for the Memorial Day race in Marietta, after following the long-term forecast for several days. In fact, this morning's forecast was great running weather, sunrise temperature 57 deg F range. That is definitely out of character for the end of May in metro Atlanta.  

Other than the start and finish, most of the South River route last month was relatively flat, where I set a 15K race personal best of 1:27:00, average pace 9:20 min / mile. Today's course was more representative of metro Atlanta road races, meaning continuously rolling hills. I've run this 10K race four times, the first in 2014 and the most recent in 2019, and the 5K in 2022. At that time, I wasn't interested in racing any further than the 5K distance. For today's race, I decided to target the 1:27 finish time, but focus acutely on pace per mile, keeping the average pace number in my mind (over/under). The strategy was to go for another negative split, now with the challenge of hills. I planned to take 30-second walk breaks every 14 - 15 minutes, about every 2.5 kilometers, and carry my own Nuun / water, since I wasn't 100% confident about the water stations in this race. I never decided on the time interval to program my watch, but I figured that I would get an initial cue at the turnaround point for the 5K runners. Then I realized that since the entire out-and-back route was only 5K long, with the 15K racers making a second loop of the outer 5K, I would get a visual cue every 2.5 K. 14:30 was the average goal for each 2.5 kilometer leg. 

It looks like a larger number of runners this year!

Three races started together: 5K, 10K, 15K

Before the race, I had seen Dave Bloomquist, a regular in this race, and a loyal follower of this blog, at least when he knows that he may be mentioned in the blog post! Dave was warming up while I was stretching. We chatted long enough to establish before the race that he was running the 10K and I was doing 15K. I ran a couple of loops in the parking lot, then went to the street to run the last couple of minutes of the race route. It was good to remind myself of just how far away the finish line would appear when I would make the final turn in the parking lot in today's race. In the last few minutes before the race began, I took a position about midway in the pack. I didn't see Dave anywhere, but we hadn't planned to start together. Meanwhile I overheard a group of men talking about their 15K race experiences, two of whom stood out for their shirts: one a bright orange shirt, the other a bright blue shirt. I thought that I might use them as pacers, but of course it would depend on how they ran. 

After playing a recording of the National Anthem, the race director counted down from 3 - 2 - 1 - <<< airhorn >>> !

The first lap of this race around the parking lot is always tricky, trying not to run into anyone, especially young children. But we got out of the lot without incident, at least what I could see ahead of me, and turned right onto Piedmont Road. The first time that I checked my watch, I saw > 10 min / mile pace, but the number was gradually trending downward, although the road was also gently downhill. The pair of men in orange and blue shirts was ahead of me by about 25 feet, running approximately the same pace as me. Mile 1 elapsed in 9:28, just about perfect (a little over, as planned). My heart rate was in the 140 beats per minute, so I was definitely working, but still in the aerobic zone. 

We were spread out fairly well, as we began to go up the first hill. I felt good, didn't worry that my pace slowed slightly going uphill, as I knew from past years that I would go back downhill. After cresting the hill, I let momentum carry me forward. The men in orange and blue shirts were slowing down, I caught up with them and passed without effort. Midway through the second mile, the turnaround point for the 5K runners was ahead. I stayed on the right of the lane, raised my hand and took my first walk break, taking a couple of swigs of Nuun. My watch showed 15:45 elapsed when I took the walk break, but distance elapsed was 1.70 miles, so I was probably OK with pacing. The men in orange and blue shirts, and several others passed while I counted patiently to 30, then resumed running, almost immediately catching up to and passing the men in orange and blue shirts. 

Although earlier I didn't think that I had really "needed" the walk break or the water, I was grateful that I had followed the plan, because we were now running up to the highest elevation of the race route. I felt fresh, my pace dipped only a little as I climbed the hill. I caught up to a runner in a white shirt, didn't feel like I was going to easily pass him strongly, and decided to settle in with him for a moment. 

"Which race are you doing?" I asked. "15K. And you?" he responded. 

"15K." I think to myself, Compadres! 

"I'm Eric." "I'm Frank." 

"Good to meet you. How old are you?" 

For anyone that isn't a runner that is reading this: a person's age is relevant, but there is no value judgment, so it's not an inappropriate second question amongst runners. 

"60" I responded. "Wow, that's great. I'm 30." 

Mile 2 in 9:41 (over). I had slowed a little with the hill, but I knew that I would later enjoy running downhill in the other direction. 

Anyway Eric and I chatted back and forth for a while. Eric doesn't run that many races, but ran this Memorial Day 15K last year and enjoyed it. I mentioned that I was running this race to improve my pacing, in preparation to return to the "half-marathon" distance sometime soon. I learned that the 15K is the longest distance that Eric has run, but he prefers this over the 5K, and will probably do a half-marathon later this year. We agreed, "You're not really getting your money's worth if you just do the 5K." Definitely it seems true for this race, as the 5K regular price is $40, then the 10K and 15K races cost only $45 and $50, respectively. We've both recently moved up in age group, and have the common experience of comparing our current age group placements and our times, checking what place that time might have earned in the age group that we just departed. 

Photo with Eric, taken after the race

From behind, Dave Bloomquist joined us. Dave introduced me to another runner in the 10K race named Ashley. I commented "Dave, it's a good thing we're not doing the same distance, otherwise we would be racing!" Right now, Dave and I are in the same age group, so it would have really meant something! And he would have probably won. Anyway ..... while running with Dave, I had left Eric behind. Mile 3 in 9:41 (over). Again. Thank goodness I was trying to make up time by relaxing and gliding on the downhills. Or had that been a mistake? I looked at my watch as the turnaround drew near: 29:30. I was alloting 29 minutes for each 5K loop, so I was a little behind. Or, maybe I was right on plan, as long as I banked enough energy to run a little faster in the second half. At 5K elapsed, as we made the turnaround, with 10K to go, it wasn't yet time to start running faster. Just don't slow down. 

I was running behind Ashley and Dave, closer to Dave, so that one time he looked over his shoulder at me. I said "I should draft off of you!" and Dave replied "I'm big enough for it!" Not really true, I thought to myself, I need someone both taller and wider. About a minute later, a man wearing a Marines T-shirt caught up to me. He was both taller and a little wider than Dave, or anyone else that I could see around us on the course. But the Marine was also moving more quickly that I dared. So I stayed with Dave. 

Somehow in the fourth mile, my right knee twisted a bit, almost gave out from under me. Perhaps it was a combination of the crown of the road and running downhill, but I'm not sure. Fortunately I caught myself, wondered if anyone behind me (Eric?) had noticed my momentary limp. Then I put aside pride, to ask myself the more important question, "Am I injured?" The initial tweak had been sharp but very short-duration sensation. I felt a little soreness but was probably lucky that I could still run, and at the same pace. 

Then I realized that I had completely forgotten about the 5K walk break! At the bottom of a hill, I raised my hand, walked and took water. Dave moved ahead for good as I counted to 30 before resuming running. I was glad that I waited to take the walk break at the bottom of the hill, as I was refreshed for running uphill, and gave me a chance to focus on how my right knee felt, but in truth I hadn't been paying attention to the plan. Walk break at 35 minutes elapsed, hopefully I wouldn't regret the delay later on. Even with the walk break, I covered mile 4 in 9:22 (a tiny bit over). So I might be getting back on track, with 9:33 min / mile average pace. More important than my time goal, I'm hoping that the knee doesn't cause trouble, with more than half the race to go. 

Wise words from Coach Carl Leivers

The first part of mile 5 was gently downhill. I tried to make good progress, but reminding myself to "relax and glide". I may have been looking too eagerly for the turnaround, what I estimated would be the 7.5 kilometer mark, but I needed 45 minutes to get there. Only later did I realize that the distance elapsed on the course at that point was 4.75 miles, enough distance to account for an extra minute. Approaching the turnaround, I took the walk break and a couple of swigs of Nuun, counting to 30, then resuming running as we returned south for the second loop. Mile 5 in 9:11 (under), that was nice. I knew that it was net downhill, so at least I was making up time as I had planned / hoped. 

The knee had a little soreness, but it didn't seem that running was causing any damage or that the knee was slowing me down. But running up the long hill, again, was tough: the same hill that had slowed me down in the later part of mile 2 and early in mile 3. I took off my cap, tucked it into my water belt, hoping I wouldn't lose it. Despite the pleasantly cool temperature, I was sweating quite a bit, and it felt good to have a bare head. It had been easier climbing this hill with Eric 30 minutes earlier. Finally cresting the hill, I let off the brakes and floated downhill, which seemed to go on for awhile. Mile 6 in 9:16 (under), definitely an improvement over mile 3. By now I had tested out the knee for more than a mile, and my form was still fine. 

But now I was beginning to feel fatigue. At least I reached the turnaround at 59:30 elapsed, having taken a planned walk break immediately before the turn. 10K completed: could I run the last 5K in 27:30? The hills weren't all that large in this sector, but the struggle had begun. I had seen that Eric wasn't far behind me at the turnaround. I wondered if he would catch up to me with those young legs. I was passing 10K walkers, every once in awhile would pass a runner who was probably also running the 15K. On a few occasions when I checked, my heart rate was in the 160's, a little above my lactate threshold, but then it dropped into the 150's when I was gliding downhill. 

Note that my heart rate closely tracked the change in elevation
(until the last mile of the race, when I was pushing hard). 
 

Knowing that my heart rate dropped with every downhill section must mean that I found the right pace. The strategic walk breaks probably also kept me out of the dreaded "Oxygen Debt." Coach Carl, I could hear your voice as I ran. Mile 7 in 9:32 (over), not bad, as that included the walk break at the 10K turnaround. 

Elapsed time was 1:06:11. Could I run 2.33 miles in less than 21 minutes? I needed to quicken my pace to 9:00 min / mile. But the wind was blowing from the north, a little cool, not that I wanted to complain about the temperature, but I was definitely fighting the wind. Then my right shoulder was hurting (not doing enough core strength work) followed by getting a side stitch in my right side! Fortunately the side stitch wasn't serious, and I was able to rub it out fairly quickly. Those momentary pains made me forget about the right knee pain. 

The voice in my right ear asked "1:27 - Will he make it?" 

The response in the left ear was "Bet he won't." 

Arrghh - enough with the negative thinking. I take over the conversation: "It's not impossible, it will be difficult, but ..... I can do this!" And the wind blew away the demons. Mile 8 in 9:32 (over), my watch showed total elapsed time 1:15:45. 

Now the question was, "1.33 miles in 11 minutes?" After a moment, "I ran a sub-8 minute mile earlier this month. So, yes! Yes, I can!" And the route ahead was a long, gentle downhill. Did I mention that I wore the Adidas Adizero 'Supershoes' today? In that moment I remembered that I was carrying a UCan packet, but I hadn't planned on when I would take it. Now it seemed almost too late, the time lost in digging the gel out of the race belt pocket, working open the package, sipping it down, washing down with Nuun. Nope, not taking it. But I suppose it was a good insurance plan that I just didn't need to use today. 

I was running well, the knee was hardly noticeable. My focus was totally on my eyes: can I see the turn into the parking lot that will get me to the finish line? After a couple of minutes, I saw police lights in the distance in the opposite lane. That must be where we're turning ---- oh no, the police lights were moving this way, passing me, gone. It was a few more minutes before I clearly saw the goal intersection, and a policeman (no car, no lights) protecting the intersection. The mile 9 alert sounded: 9:10 (under). Fastest mile of the day, but at 1:25:00 elapsed, could I cover the last 0.33 miles in 2 minutes? 

The route for the final minutes, from lower right through the 
hairpin turn and then blazing red into the finish line!

1:25:40, I made the turn off Piedmont Road, heading downhill, running a direct tangent to the turn into the parking lot. 

1:26:06, into the parking lot. 

1:26:22, the final turn. Now I can see the finish line. It's far away, but I'm not surprised, thanks to my pre-race reconnaissance of the finish line.

1:26:40, is what I see when I glance at my watch. Maybe the finish line is only 20 seconds away? 

I'm counting 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - halfway there. I throw in a stride (thanks Coach Carl!!) and I'm moving faster - and - and - and over the finish line! (way under for the final stretch, average pace 8:15)

Stop the watch: 1:27:01! And subtracting a second before the race and a second after crossing the line, might I have just run a personal best for the 15K race distance, by a second or two?! 

A two-second new personal best (rounding off to the nearest second)!
And I nailed my goal time! 

That was tough. But I finished, and finished strongly! 

I waited by the finish line until Eric came through, about a minute after I had finished. The official results were available as soon as I checked. Not only had I technically broken the 1:27:00 goal, but what's this - "Male Overall Senior Master 1 of 3"?! The only disappointment was that my Garmin watch measured only 9.26 miles, not 9.33 miles = 10.00 kilometers. But maybe Garmin didn't measure accurately enough. Yeah, let's go with that! 

A lot of data here, but I definitely sped up at the end.
My two slowest miles were in the first half, so perfect race for me! 

Happy to see that I was in the maximum zone for only the last few minutes. 

I've come to admire the simplicity of the Strava "Splits" presentation.
Only the essentials, but everything that I really need to know. 

I like the relative consistency over the hills, and that I 
banked enough energy to run my fastest after mile 8. 

I don't have many medals that say "1st" anything!

I figured out that I was third-fastest man 60+, but the two ahead of me won 2nd- and 3rd-place Grand Master. Now I know that Grand Master is superior to Senior Master. However the award was classified, it was nice to bring home a medal today! 

The only downside is that my right knee is pretty sore. It stiffened up while I was seated writing this blog post. I hope that it improves quickly. Fortunately I haven't registered for any races until the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, so I feel free to rest over the next few weeks if I need the time to fully recover.

May 6, 2023: Adidas Running City Mile

"I'm in the 60+ age group - how the hell did this happen?" I thought to myself, as I lined up for the second race today, the Adidas Running City Mile. "One day I'm a 20-year-old college student, I blink and I've turned into a 60-year-old." Maybe I was the only one feeling this way. The mood in our wave was festive. I sized up the group, there were some fast runners in this wave of about 40 runners. Even among those that don't run as regularly, I felt some nervous energy regarding what we were about to do. It was only a mile, not a marathon, yet these short races can also be extremely challenging if one tries to run as fast as possible. 

I went home after the Run with Maud 5K this morning, took a shower and a nap. Bonnie made brunch for us, and I wrote up the blog post on the first race, followed by another short nap. Then it was time to return to downtown Atlanta. The temperature was warmer and the sun was out this afternoon, so I wore a singlet and sunglasses for this afternoon's race. After an easy warmup, less than a mile on a loop around the perimeter of Centennial Olympic Park, it was time to line up for our 5:05 pm start. My legs still felt warmed up from this morning's race, I was ready to take on another race, this one "just a mile". Before we began, I recognized that one of the men in our wave was Hemanth Digumarthi's father. Hemanth unexpectedly passed away last June, while training for the Peachtree Road Race. We had met only once, at Hemanth's funeral, so I didn't expect him to recognize me, but he did know Bonnie. They had a quick reunion at the starting line just a minute or so before our wave began, then Bonnie dashed back off of the course.  

The race start was on Centennial Olympic Park Drive,
near the Olympic Rings sculpture. 

with Hanmantha Rao Digumarthi, a minute before we began.
I wish I had thought to pull out my phone to take Bonnie's photo! 

Ronnel Blackmon was still working as MC, seemingly tireless. Ronnel is training for the New York City Marathon, and raising funds to support Kilometer Kids - hopefully some of you will click on the link and make a donation. Anyway, Ronnel gave us a 10-second warning: I counted down to 10 in my head, I hit the start button on my watch with his command "On your mark", and I took off with the rest of the wave at the sound of the air horn. 

We may have a bunch of years, but we certainly have a ton of intensity! 

Speedster Matt Grzeck took off in front of me, no surprise there. We were heading slightly uphill on Centennial Olympic Park Drive. After crossing Marietta Street, the road climbed more steeply over "The Gulch". I took a quick look at my watch to see if I had started too quickly: 6:35 min / mile pace, which seemed OK, considering that I was wearing the Supershoes for this race. But then I caught up to Matt. He was struggling a bit - and as I pulled even with him and then ahead, he called out "I hate hills!" I didn't reply, as I was laboring and couldn't spare a breath to speak.  There was a timing mat across the road in front of State Farm Arena, next to a sign that read "400 meters". That's cool, we might get quarter-mile splits. 1:42, on pace for a 6:50 finish. But I had already burned my wick too brightly. My pulse was 160 bpm and rising. "I hope no one in our wave will need a defibrillator today - I hope I won't need a defibrillator today!" We kept climbing toward Mercedes-Benz Stadium, over the railway bridge. Finally, a right turn, and another timing mat! "800 meters" at 3:39. Oops, I had definitely slowed down. All of a sudden, a sub-7-minute finish was nearly out of reach. I tried to accelerate, because now we were definitely going downhill, but couldn't find the spark in my legs. This morning's 5K took more out of me than I had realized. 

Red is faster, blue is slower. 

Now it was just a matter of holding on, trying to keep the gap with the runner in front of me from growing. We were still running downhill, I kept trying to throw in a surge, but I had nothing left to surge with. At least the Supershoes helped me maintain some form, I think. I made a sharp right turn onto Andrew Young International Boulevard, between State Farm Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center. "1200 meters" at 5:33 elapsed. The only thing going for me was that we were still running downhill, and I knew that I had only 409 meters to go. Approaching Marietta Street, I was ready to dig hard into the left turn, almost ran over an oblivious pedestrian about to cross the road. Collision averted, I saw a sign "200 meters to go" showing 6:40 as I dashed past. I remembered that I had run 6:47 in the Peachtree Mile in December. I tried to dig again as I made a right turn into the park. A metal ramp was protecting us from tripping over the curb, although Rich Kenah was stationed to give each runner a verbal warning of the ramp. I planted one foot heavily on the ramp, then onto the concrete. There was Bonnie taking a video - she held out her hand, I responded with a firm slap as I sped by. At least I didn't miss! 

"The longest 150 meters ever." 
And I wasn't the only one saying that! 

A feature of the Atlanta City Games was an elevated 5-lane 150-meter track, where about 45 minutes ago I had watched a couple of sprint races with local high school students. Getting up to the track, I bounced uncomfortably on a spongy surface from the sidewalk, then finally up and onto the blue track. Surely I was almost done! But I had no idea where the finish line was. I was closing the gap with a runner ahead of me. He looked back, saw me charging, and threw in his own surge. Once I realized that I wasn't catching up to him, I slowed down a bit, then remembered that Matt was somewhere behind me, probably not far behind at all. I could see the Olympic Rings in the background, where we had began 7 minutes earlier. Only then did my eyes register the finish line. 

Screenshots from Bonnie's video: 
turning the corner onto Marietta Street ca. 6:30 elapsed

ca. 6:40 elapsed

ca. 6:47. Rich Kenah is in the blue shirt at the far right

I see Bonnie! 

ca. 6:52 elapsed

up the ramp ....

The runner a few steps in front of me looks back.
That means that he was thinking "how not to lose"
rather than "how can I best finish".

Crossing the timing mat, I was disappointed to see 7:24 on my watch. Official chip time was 7:21. The Supershoes hadn't saved me this afternoon - or maybe I would have been even slower with regular shoes. Matt finished a few seconds behind me, he congratulated me with a fist bump. I needed a moment to catch my breath, but then I enjoyed standing at the end of the track to clap for the other runners, including Han Digumarthi finishing together with Bob Wells.  

The first 20 men

My 400 meter splits

Results

May 6, 2023: Run with Maud 5K

The family of Ahmaud Arbery has established a namesake Foundation, "Securing the path to mental and physical wellness for Black boys." I was moved when I read "Ahmaud's life exemplified how physical fitness can contribute to mental wellness" because I myself notice a great benefit to my own mental health due to running.  

Today was the inaugural Run with Maud 5K, starting and ending at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. I wasn't sure how well I would run today, having had three wisdom teeth extracted four days ago. Things went smoothly with the oral surgery procedure. After a day and a half of rest, I had a nice easy run on Wednesday evening, returned to work on Thursday, and enjoyed another easy run on Thursday evening. However I started to have more pain that woke me up early on Friday morning, and again early this morning. I've tried to keep everything clean, but I still have intermittent swelling on one side of my mouth. 

After I picked up my bib and the commemorative shirt, I decided to return to my car, change into the "Run with Maud 5K" shirt, and took another extra strength ibuprofen. I did an easy warm-up, which helped my legs to wake up. With about 20 minutes to go before the race, I decided to return to my car once more, to change into a pair of "Supershoes". I had purchased the Adidas version at the Atlanta Marathon expo in late February, and had run with them on a track on a few occasions. Given the expense of the shoes, I was saving them for a race when the road conditions were dry. I had intended to wear them at the South River 15K a couple of weeks ago, but I felt "imposter syndrome" before the race, literally thinking that I didn't deserve to wear these great shoes in public. (Then I set a new personal best for a 15K race, wearing Brooks Hyperion shoes, great shoes but not Supershoes.)

Obviously I was still thinking the same thing this morning, when I carried them in the trunk of my car, but I decided today was the day to put aside my own insecurity. Given the way that my gums were feeling, either I wouldn't race (but just do an easy run), or I would get caught up in the excitement of the race, and then regret not giving myself every legal advantage to help myself. 

Looking behind me at wave B

I felt a little self-conscious as I entered the corral for wave A (did I deserve to be in this fast wave?) but managed to calm down, thanks to a moment of silence in memory of Ahmaud Arbery, then some welcoming words from his mother Wanda Cooper-Jones. Then the race MC, Ronnel Blackmon, introduced Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the famous athlete from the 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996 Summer Olympic Games, as our honorary starter. Wow! 

I had taken a position near the back of wave A, but as we crossed the starting mat, I found myself in a slow-moving pack. After a couple of blocks and a right turn onto Ted Turner Drive, I found a relatively clear line to run. The shoes were so light, I felt like I was jogging, although my watch showed that I had averaged sub-9 minute / mile pace even in the crowd. The construction of these shoes favors a fore-foot strike, which supports a faster pace. I found myself moving ahead of other runners, gradually taking my average pace down to my goal of 8:20 minute / mile. I'm sure it helped that we were running down a gentle but perceptible incline. Shortly after a left turn onto Trinity Avenue, my watch sounded the 1 mile alert: 8:10. I backed off of my speedy pace just a bit. Even with Supershoes, I still had to run a smart race. My pulse race was around 160 bpm, a little high this early in a race. At this stage, several fast runners passed me - probably wave B speedsters catching up with me, although I couldn't read their bibs. 

We made another left turn onto Memorial Drive, passing the new Georgia Supreme Court building to our right. This was very gradually uphill, and I began to notice the exertion. I hadn't planned on whether or not I would take water or walk through the water station at the turnaround point, but when I reached that stage, a little more than halfway through the race, I definitely walked for 30 seconds, drinking an entire cup of water. Turning onto Martin Luther King Drive, I quickly got back up to speed, and passed some of the people that had gone by during my short walk break. My pulse was still reading 160 bpm (but only later did I realize it had been closer to 170 bpm prior to the walk break). I could see the gold dome atop the State Capitol building up ahead. I was at 16 minutes elapsed approaching the interstate-75/85 overpass, then the mile 2 alert sounded at 16:29 elapsed, 8:19 for the second mile. 

I was tired, but with just 1.11 miles to go, I was determined not to give in. Supershoes weren't going to help if I had not paced myself properly, but my earlier mistake from mile 1 was baked in to what I could run in mile 3. Amazingly, my gums weren't hurting at all. I was definitely fighting for my breath, signalling oxygen debt. We were going uphill, nothing extreme, but definitely noticeable. I felt my legs slowing down. Then the thought of Ahmaud Arbery unsuccessfully trying to outrun his pursuers (in two trucks) spurred me to not give in to an unplanned walk break, although I was totally in the anaerobic zone. Right turn onto Central Avenue, how many blocks to Decatur Street? 

It probably wasn't a great idea to run more than half of the race in zone 5. 
I wonder if that was due to recovering from oral surgery. 

The answer was just two blocks. At the left turn, a volunteer called out "Just a half-mile to go!" My watch showed 21 minutes at that point. Four years ago, a half-mile in a 5K race would have been about 4 minutes for me. Actually the distance remaining was about 0.6 miles, 1 kilometer, still less than 5 minutes at my peak fitness. But now I was really struggling. Several runners passed me, one wearing a wave C bib (I learned afterwards). My eyes were closed, sweat was streaming down my face despite the cool temperature (around 60 deg F). Then someone called my name, from an Atlanta Track Club truck heading the opposite direction. That woke me up, I took a quick glance at my watch, 24 minutes elapsed. I could see the CNN tower ahead, a landmark from the final half-mile of the marathon. I gradually forced myself to speed up, coinciding with cresting the hill. It was a slight downhill the rest of the way, I tried to let the Supershoes carry me along. Mile 3 alert at 25:09 elapsed, 8:39 for mile 3. Even having slowed down, that was substantially better than my progress in the Northside Beltline 5K three weeks ago. "It's gotta be the shoes" I thought, especially since I was in better shape three weeks ago. 

As the finish line came into view, 100 - 150 feet away, it seemed that there was no one in front of me. Then a runner passed on my left, moved quickly in front, but that spurred me to expend my last calories of energy. I noted 26 minutes and change on the official race clock, stopped my watch after crossing the finish line at 26:07. Wow, definitely better than I expected to run today. 

Post-race photo.
This may be the first race I've run wearing the official race shirt,
normally a no-no, but seemed totally appropriate today. 

My official time was 26:01, and shocker - 3rd place age group! I think only 5 people older than me ran faster today, based on a quick survey of the results by age group. 

I'm grateful that I get to do this, and at age 60

April 23, 2023: The South River 15K

Before today, I've run only two 15K races: an Atlanta Track Club race in 2015 that hasn't been run in recent years, and a trail race later that year. My personal best for the 15K race distance was 1:27:38, although I've covered the first 15K of my best 10-miler and half-marathon races in less time. This year was the inaugural event of the South River 15K. I fondly recall running a long section of the South River / Michelle Obama PATH trail during a 22-mile marathon training run about five years ago. A couple of years ago, Bonnie and I walked a shorter section which may have been near the turn-around point in today's race. I was excited to register for this race distance and this nice location. 

We parked at Barack H. Obama Elementary School, which opened in 2017,
honoring our 44th US president. 

After a disappointing second-half performance in the marathon in February, and an overall sub-par half-marathon in March, I was determined to prove to myself that I could run a smart race, maybe at the shorter 15K distance. I had finished the half-marathon in 2:07, but I hadn't run it well. I decided that my "A goal" would be a new personal best for the 15K distance (faster than 1:27:38), and my "B goal" would be a sub-1:30 finish that was run fairly consistently, corresponding to a 2:07 half-marathon run in a quality fashion. "C goal" was to finish whatever I started without injury. My plan was to continuously run three 5K splits, walking only through the water stops at the 5K and 10K mark, and to run the return 7.5 kilometers faster than the outbound 7.5 km, i.e. a "negative split". My plan was to run the first mile no faster than 9:30, and then very gradually progress to faster paces.  

It was a beautiful crisp spring morning when I arrived for the start, at the Barack H. Obama Elementary School in Gresham Park, just southeast of the city of Atlanta. The race organizers had limited registration to 200 participants, so it was a fairly small race. The starting area was discreetly marked, just a couple of small signs where the timing mats were located. Seeing a lot of strong runners among the participants, I took a position about 2/3 of the way back from the starting line. Shortly after 7:30 am, we received a few instructions from the race organizer, then a three-count start: "On your mark - get set - GO!" I took my time getting to the starting mat (24 seconds according to the results) but upon crossing the starting mat, I was running with the "right" group, around 10 min / mile pace for the first minute or two, then as we warmed up and spread out a bit, dipping a little below the 10 min / mile pace. I didn't pay too much attention to the watch, simply satisfied that I wasn't running faster than 9:30 and slower than 10 min / mile pace. 

Today's race route. It was an out-and-back race.
Red shows where I ran faster in the return direction! 

If there was a challenge, it was that we ran downhill for most of the first two miles. I knew that we would return up the same hills in the last two miles. Fortunately my patience and mantra "relax and glide" carried me to the first mile in a comfortable 9:37, and then I sped up slightly to 9:22 for the second mile. We passed under Interstate 285 just after the mile 1 marker. I mentally noted that as an important landmark for the return, anticipating that I would feel tired but could push through knowing exactly how little I had left to run. There were a couple of small uphills in the first two miles, but it was mostly downhill, as the PATH trail gradually descended to the South River. Even after the first two miles, I still felt like I was running downhill at times. Indeed mile 3 descended 20 feet, which I covered in 9:26. This section, including a boardwalk over wetlands, paralleled part of the route for Atlanta Track Club's Hearts and Soles 5K races when they were held in Panthersville from the time I joined the club in 2014 to the pre-pandemic race in February 2020. This felt like the best of trail running: through a beautiful forest, no competition with auto traffic, but on a finished path without any tree roots to potentially trip me up. 

There was a junction on the boardwalk: straight would have taken us to the Georgia State University Panthersville campus, but we turned right to follow the river. Immediately to the left was a water stop, so I slowed to a walk and accepted a cup of water and and a cup of sport drink. I had decided against carrying my own water or nutrition. Having thoroughly hydrated yesterday, in addition to the cool temperature this morning, I thought the advantage of running light was worth the risk to rely solely on what the race provided. Just past the water stop was the 5 km timing mat with a clock that ticked over to 30 minutes as I crossed. Chip time for 5K, 29:38, on pace for a 1:29 finish. 

The PATH was flat for mile 4. The lead runner passed me when my watch showed 3.60 miles. Wow, that runner is 2 miles ahead of me! I thought. With the out-and-back course, I had wondered before the race if there would be a problem, but we were all nicely spread out. I finished mile 4 in 9:25, even with the ca. 30-second walk break. Now I was looking for the turnaround: less than 6 minutes away, then less, then seemingly running just a bit downhill, I saw three people standing around cones, calling out encouragement. I made the turn, a man who was probably a race organizer smiled and gave me a high-five. My legs were burning, and I thought of taking a short but unscheduled walk break shortly after I was out of sight of the organizers. But running slightly uphill, I suddenly felt a sense of freshness in my legs. Of course! I've been using my quadriceps more than my hamstrings to run downhill, but now my hamstrings and glutes are fresh when I need them to take on the extra work of running uphill. It actually felt good to run slightly uphill, probably because some muscles were getting a well-deserved rest. I didn't check my time at that moment, but Garmin subsequently showed me at 44:15 when I turned around. 

Had I banked enough energy for the net uphill return? I was still moving quickly enough, 9:21 for mile 5 with 47 minutes elapsed. Working through the next mile, one or two people passed me, but they were moving more quickly. I occasionally checked my watch, satisfied that I wasn't slowing down, "My race, my pace." For that matter, I passed a couple of people. I would run behind them for a moment, assess if they were really running slowly or if that was just momentary, but inevitably I was able to pass. There were no more runners in the outbound lane, so I could pass widely on the left side. When I had the entire width of the PATH to work with, I ran the tangents through some gentle curves. On a couple of occasions I passed people who stayed in their lane. Although I expected some difficulty running uphill, the return PATH seemed relatively level. Maybe this is why it's generally recommended to run on a treadmill at 1 degree slope, it's the most comfortable setting for the legs and maybe the mind. 9:08 for mile 6, my fastest mile so far. That buoyed my confidence. When I ran my first 15K in 2015, I had run my first half-marathon only two months earlier, so 15K still seemed like a long distance. But today, with so much experience, it was just 3-1/3 miles more to run. If the course was accurately measured - and/or if my watch was accurately measuring, the water stop and my well-earned walk break were coming soon. I was behind and to the left side of another runner. I didn't really want to pass at that moment, I wanted to be in position when the water stop came up on the right. But as I saw the red light of the 10K split clock shining through the leaves, the other runner definitely slowed. I sprinted by quickly but then darted to my right to make it clear that I was primarily interested in the water stop rather than making a competitive point. I slowed to a walk as I crossed the timing mat, showing 59 minutes on the clock at 10K. A 29 minute 5K split (actually 28:51) was moving me more closely toward achieving my "A goal."

After drinking Powerade and water, and walking for about 30 seconds, I was ready to finish strongly. A couple of people had passed me at the water stop, but I quickly caught up to and passed one of them. The boardwalk was flat, I was running strongly and confidently. I started thinking about one of Jeff Galloway's mental tricks, throwing an imaginary giant rubber band over the person ahead of me, using their momentum to pull me closer to them. I passed two people using that technique. Mile 7 was 9:09, which included the walk break. 1:05:30 elapsed, 2.3 miles to go, which I could cover in less than 23 minutes, so a sub-1:28 finish was arithmetically possible. I just had to make my legs follow the math equation. I'm thinking "15K is my new favorite race distance!" 

Things had gone great to this stage, but I was a little tired. Not badly tired, but I noticed the seams in the PATH. And I began thinking about the risk of tripping over a little seam due to being tired. I took a scary tumble 2 weeks ago on the Westside Beltline, on a tiny seam in a sidewalk, and considered myself lucky to have gotten away with little more than a scrape on the knee, now almost healed. "Pick up your legs" I told myself. Since I wasn't confident that my legs were listening, I moved to the far right side of the PATH. If I tripped and began to fall forward, maybe I could throw myself to the right into the softer grass. First negative thought of the race! Of course one should always keep safety in mind, but I also reminded myself that "I'm a f%&$@' badass!! I've run 9 marathons and 30 half marathons, this 15K is just a fraction of those distances." Mile 8, 9:10, 1:14:40 elapsed. 

Just 1-1/3 miles to go. I might cover that distance in 12 minutes; maybe I can finish under 1:27? It's just a little more than 5 laps on the track. Except a track is flat, and I knew that there were some uphill stretches ahead. My mind shifted from aggressive to "gratitude, gratitude that I can do this, gratitude to be fully and literally alive on this beautiful morning." Yesterday Bonnie and I attended a funeral for one of her former co-workers, tragically dead at age 55. "Gratitude that I'm here and happy this morning." Those thoughts were front and center as we began running up the first hill. That wasn't too bad. Then we were heading downhill. I could hear the sounds of vehicles on the highway, very close as we drew parallel to the interstate highway, but it seemed like a full minute before I saw the underpass. At that low elevation point, the PATH was a little sandy, probably due to rain swelling the river in previous months. "1 mile to go" once I was on the other side. I kept truckin' on, thinking about my form, tucking in my arms to move parallel with my forward direction. I caught up with a man in a red shirt, I began to pass him, but he was running well, so we ran together. I didn't have the energy for conversation, but if we were able run together, then we were well-matched for an exciting race to the finish line. I guess we were both pushing each other a bit, because we caught up with a man in a white shirt who had passed me ca. 15 minutes earlier. Now all three of us were going up a big hill. I began to suffer but didn't want to slow down. I remembered "this hill isn't as big as the one in last week's Northside 5K" and "we're all running the same hill, the same course at the same time."

We reached the top of the hill, then there was a nice downhill stretch that I didn't remember going up in the first mile. I bounded ahead of both men in that stretch. Mile 9, 9:07, THAT was my fastest mile of the race, even having to conquer a big hill. 1:23:45 elapsed, "I can cover 0.33 miles in 3 minutes." I saw the flashing blue lights of a police car up ahead, marking the site where we would turn onto the sidewalk to get to the finish. I never before was so happy to see police car lights! Meanwhile my new competitors caught up to me. The man in the white shirt moved in front, the man in red and I ran together. As we ran the wide sidewalk on Clifton Springs Road approaching Obama Elementary, he pulled a step or two ahead of me. I put in a surge to dash ahead, but I couldn't maintain enough speed to open a gap. We ran together for another moment, he got a little bit ahead again. We were running uphill but it wasn't too difficult. I saw the traffic lights at the intersection where I had turned into the parking lot near the start/finish 2 hours earlier. My hazy mind thought that the finish was a right turn at that intersection. I threw in a strong surge, passing the man in red. Then as we approached the intersection, I saw the row of orange cones and realized that we had to run another 100 feet or so, to turn to the finish line. I fell back into third. Making the turn toward the finish line, all three of us accelerated. I saw 1:27:20 on the clock as I passed, knew that I had a new personal best! After crossing the timing mats, the two men in front held hands as a show of mutual respect, then they turned toward me as I joined my hands with them. "Congratulations, great race!" I said. 28:30 for my last 5K, a little faster than the first and second 5K - perfect! 

I'm really happy with my progression through each 5K.
 

After I picked up a bottle of water and had eaten a banana, I scanned a QR code for my result. I found the man in a red shirt and congratulated him again, as I scrolled down the list of finishers. I finished in 70th place, at 1:27:00 flat! "A goal" achieved! Then I looked at the name above mine, saw "Korey Castleberry". I turned to the man and said "You're Korey?" he nodded. "I'm Frank!" I replied. "We follow each other on Strava!" Korey broke into a big smile, we shook hands again. It seems that we had not previously met. I happily chatted about how pleased I was with my race. On Strava I noticed that I had run a progressively paced race. Korey and I now know each other, and will see each other in a couple of weeks for the Ahmaud Arbery 5K on May 6. Then fellow Coach Carl trainee Jessie Abraham walked up. I hadn't realized that she was in the race, but she did the 15K as the first part of her 16-mile marathon training day, preparing for the Fargo Marathon on May 20. 

with Korey post-race

with Jessie

This was not only a great race for me, but also a well-run event. It was small, but the organizers didn't over-extend themselves, so I was pleased with their execution of this race. Although I typically prefer courses with the uphill at the beginning and then to be rewarded with a downhill finish, the elevation changes were mostly gentle enough that I ran with fairly consistent effort, nicely turning up the pace for miles 6 - 9. I put aside the memory that 3 years ago, I could run this distance more quickly. What was important today was that I ran this race in quality fashion, following my plan to near-perfection, achieving the best that my current physical ability can provide. I hope to run this race again next year! 

I'm very happy with miles 6 - 9. 
And I'm amused that the final 0.33 miles that I "raced" hard
was my slowest split on Strava! 

Two scheduled walk breaks, steady the rest of the way. 
I slowed down but did not walk up the hills near the end! 

Extended threshold "Orange Theory" run