Goal C (satisfactory): To finish a race at a new distance
Goal B (good): To finish with the 1:35 pace team
Goal A (dream): To finish in less than 1:30:00
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| The overall race route |
The route was announced with quite a bit of fanfare in early August, including a YouTube video of a few sections taken from a bicycle. I checked out the route by jogging it in two stages on consecutive Saturdays in September. The bicycle video didn't do the route justice, in terms of some of the nice views at various parts of the route.
When I picked up my race packet on Friday evening, I learned that I was in wave D. I must have given them a slow estimated time when I registered back in June, perhaps 1:40, although I don't remember. My training had gone well in the intervening months, and the volunteer was willing to give me a 1:35 pace team bib, but those pacers would be starting in wave C.
Race day: I woke up at 3:45 am (alarm was set for 5:00 am) and had plenty of time to stretch before we left the house shortly before 6:00 am. It was a good thing that we left early, as there was a lot of traffic on the approach ramp to Atlantic Station. However we managed to park by 6:45 am and had plenty of time to get to the starting area and warm up. The temperature was in the mid-50's, and as sunrise drew near, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Since I was in wave D, and I was pretty sure that I could run faster than a 10 minute per mile pace, even for 10 miles, I decided that I could reasonably take a position in the front of the group. The corrals filled up as the time drew near to 7:30. A couple of Emory graduates including one student who was from my lab were in the back of wave C, so we were able to chat for a few minutes. I could see the 1:35 pace sign about 200 feet ahead in wave C.
The start: The organizers delayed the start for a few minutes, because of the traffic problems outside. Around 7:40 am, we heard the air horn of the official start. The waves began moving forward, and by 7:45 am, wave D was approaching the starting line. The electricity of excitement was rising in our group of runners and we were raring to go! This was the first time that I was standing right in front, looking down at the electronic strip on the pavement as the race official counted down to the start. I had originally hoped to catch up with the 1:35 pace group, but with a 2-minute gap between waves, I realized that I would be on my own. As we waited for the signal to start, I kept telling myself, "Don't start too quickly! Don't start too quickly! Don't start too..." and we were off!
As we turned onto Peachtree Road, we crossed a timing strip. This was the start of Mizuno's challenge to "Conquer Cardiac Hill." As we crossed Peachtree Creek, I started to feel some apprehension as to how well I might handle the long uphill stretch ahead. We started uphill just as we passed the mile-7 marker in 9:27 (62:50 elapsed). In fact I felt pretty good in this section. I took my time and ran a steady pace, until I reached a water station midway uphill, and decided to walk through the water station and accepted a cool cup of water. Then I remembered that I was being timed in this mile and returned to a jog! The Walton High School cheering group included a bagpipe quartet, which finished playing just as I approached. I applauded as I passed them, running uphill. I then saw several scattered groups holding Rockdale Special Olympics signs as we approached Piedmont Hospital. It seemed to take a long time before we reached the timing strip at the end of the mile, but in fact I completed the Cardiac Hill Challenge in 9:22, which was very good for me. We passed the Ashford Park Run Club again. Shortly before reaching the Amtrak Station at Deering Road, I saw the mile-8 marker, in 9:34 (72:24 elapsed).
Miles 9 and 10: Near the mile-8 marker, I saw "PRR 4" painted on the pavement, marking the mile-4 marker in the Peachtree Road Race. I was feeling at least as strong today as I had at the same spot on the road on July 4, even though I had run twice as far today. I'm so glad that I took the training seriously for this race. At this stage, I had no doubt that I would finish strong, and would beat my 1:35 goal time. Now it was just a question of how close I might make it to the 1:30 "dream" time. Cheers from the Center for Puppetry Arts encouraged us, as they were playing music that sounded like James Brown. Once we crossed Interstate-75, we began heading uphill. Turning onto Bishop Street, I carefully stepped over a stream of water, which I supposed must have been runoff from a water stop at the top of the hill. I slowed down and decided to take a sip from my water bottle at this point. That buoyed me, along with music from a small combo from the Centennial Place School Foundation, playing an excellent rendition of Michael Jackson's 1980's hit, "Thriller." The volunteers and cheering groups were increasingly enthusiastic as we approached the top of the hill at Bishop Street. Near mile-9, one of the members of my Weight Watchers group spotted me, called out my name and cheered me on. I smiled and waved as I passed. I reached the mile-9 marker at 9:34 (81:58 elapsed), and the race clock was reading 1:28 and a few seconds. I probably couldn't make the 1:30:00 "dream" time, as I didn't think that I had an 8-minute mile in my legs, but I was determined to finish as strongly as possible.
As we turned onto 17th Street, a volunteer shouted "It's downhill after the overpass" crossing 18th Street. I could see the highrises of midtown Atlanta through a bit of haze, with the dome and minaret of a mosque near Georgia Tech in the foreground. I managed to speed up just a bit. As the road curved downward into Atlantic Station, we passed the Atlanta Roller Girls once more. I could see the tall office building ahead where we would turn onto State Street for the finish, and looked to my right for the Millenium Gate. I was running to the far left of the street and was keeping up with the other runners in my area. We turned left onto State Street. I realized that a runner about 20 feet in front of me was taking video of the cheering groups as he was running towards the finish - very cool! We passed the Target store where the starting line had been, and turned into Atlantic Station itself. I could hear the announcer at the finish line, then approached the chute for the finish line. I could see the clock reading 1:37 and just a few seconds, and substracting 6 minutes, I realized that I had indeed run an outstanding race. I crossed the finish line just behind Dracula in a cape, and a Georgia Tech bumblebee, and had enough strength left to raise both hands above my head in celebration.
Overall, 1:31:14 for the race and 9:16 for mile-10! Average pace, 9:08 minutes per mile. That was far ahead of my hoped-for pace of 9:30 per mile, and I was absolutely exhilarated by finishing today's race. Although the race was certainly a challenge, I enjoyed every single mile of the journey. I'm definitely running this race in future years!
mile splits: 8:02, 9:02, 8:52, 9:13, 9:12, 9:02, 9:27, 9:34, 9:34, 9:16.
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| The elevation map for the 10-miler |
Race day: I woke up at 3:45 am (alarm was set for 5:00 am) and had plenty of time to stretch before we left the house shortly before 6:00 am. It was a good thing that we left early, as there was a lot of traffic on the approach ramp to Atlantic Station. However we managed to park by 6:45 am and had plenty of time to get to the starting area and warm up. The temperature was in the mid-50's, and as sunrise drew near, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Since I was in wave D, and I was pretty sure that I could run faster than a 10 minute per mile pace, even for 10 miles, I decided that I could reasonably take a position in the front of the group. The corrals filled up as the time drew near to 7:30. A couple of Emory graduates including one student who was from my lab were in the back of wave C, so we were able to chat for a few minutes. I could see the 1:35 pace sign about 200 feet ahead in wave C.
The start: The organizers delayed the start for a few minutes, because of the traffic problems outside. Around 7:40 am, we heard the air horn of the official start. The waves began moving forward, and by 7:45 am, wave D was approaching the starting line. The electricity of excitement was rising in our group of runners and we were raring to go! This was the first time that I was standing right in front, looking down at the electronic strip on the pavement as the race official counted down to the start. I had originally hoped to catch up with the 1:35 pace group, but with a 2-minute gap between waves, I realized that I would be on my own. As we waited for the signal to start, I kept telling myself, "Don't start too quickly! Don't start too quickly! Don't start too..." and we were off!
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| That's me in the green cap leading wave D over the starting line! Thanks to Atlanta Track Club for the photo. |
The first three miles: As we cleared the starting area, three of us took the lead as we ran down State Street. After several hundred feet, one fellow opened up a gap as the road went downhill. The other fellow and I had just enough self-discipline to stay on the pace that we had established, and we let him go. We were chatting a bit as we ran down the road, in agreement that we needed to save our energy, and we ran together for the first half mile or so. Amazingly, we soon caught up with the tail end of wave C. After turning onto 16th Street, I heard the first 5-minute alert: 0.7 miles! Too fast, although we had been going downhill. I forced myself to slow down just a bit, and although I passed the mile-1 marker at 8:02, I think that I was probably progressing at a better, more reasonable pace for the last part of that mile. At the mile-1 marker, we passed the first organized cheering group, Atlanta Roller Girls. I was far enough to the right so that I was able to exchange some hand slaps with those cheering us. I resolved that I would try to interact with every cheering group ahead, whether hand slaps or just smiles and waves.
For the next mile, I was weaving around wave C runners, although there was enough room to do so safely and without throwing off my pace. Before long, we had dashed up Northside Drive to 17th Street, where we made a right turn to the split for the 5K (to the right) and the 10-mile (to the left). The first water station was coming up, when I realized that one of my shoelaces was loose! Not again!! But at least in a 10-mile race, a short pause probably wouldn't make a difference. I ran past the water station and the split, then stepped onto the sidewalk. The laces had become so tangled in the couple of hundred yards that I had run untied, it took a moment to untangle the laces so that I could retie. I found a safe place to get back on the road and up to speed.
As I passed the mile-2 marker in 9:02 (17:04 elapsed), Back on My Feet was leading a rousing cheering group and that boosted me after the shoelace fiasco. Bishop Street was a nice long downhill stretch, and we were all running more-or-less at the same pace. On Deering Road, we were directed to the left side of the street, and we passed a cheering group from Centennial Place School Foundation. I was looking to my left as we crossed the overpass for Interstate-75, trying to determine if the drivers could see us (probably not, I decided). Then to my shock, I saw a runner coming the other way on the right side of the street. I recognized him from the Memorial Day 10K in Marietta, and he was either the winner of that race or certainly a strong front-runner. We had covered only 2.5 miles: had he really covered 7.5 miles?! I was trying to work out the math, even with a 6-minute lead on wave D, but was amazed at the pace he must have been on - if in fact he was actually running our race. Anyway I reached the mile-3 marker in 8:52 (25:56 elapsed).
Miles 4 - 8: I took a walk break through the water stop on 26th Street, and drank an entire cup of Powerade before resuming running speed. That short break really helped, and I felt completely fresh again. As we made a brief jaunt up Peachtree Street, in front of the Watershed restaurant, the Ashford Park Run Club, mostly children dressed in Irish green, cheered us on. I could smell the aroma from Uncle Julio's Mexican restaurant as we turned onto 28th Street. At this point, a fellow runner complimented me on keeping a steady pace. Then I realized that he thought that I was the 1:35 pace leader because of the bib on my back. I had to explain that I wasn't even in the same corral as the 1:35 pace leader, but the runner seemed happy with my progress and told me that he would try to keep up with me. I warned him that I might slow down on the hills later in the race! The important thing here is that my fitness was good enough that I could carry on a reasonable conversation while running at a 6 - 7 mile per hour pace. That was definitely impossible for me one year ago, perhaps even six months ago. On Ardemore Road we reached a fairly steep uphill stretch heading to Collier Road. I shortened my steps and kept a steady pace, very satisfied to reach the mile-4 marker in 9:13 (35:09 elapsed). This was about the same pace as I had managed on the relatively flat Cartersville 10K at the beginning of October.
At the intersection of Collier Road and Overbrook Drive, the Decatur High Bulldog Boosters were cheering us on. They were a particularly enthusiastic group. We made the turn onto Northside Drive, heading uphill. However I could hear the peppy sounds of drums ahead and that kept me running strong. The Evansdale Foundation was celebrating our approach to the 5-mile marker. Although it's hard to say for sure who was best cheering group today, this group definitely made the most of their prime position at the midway point. As we passed the mile-5 marker in 9:12 (44:21 elapsed), I realized that I was actually on pace to finish in 90 minutes. Also, the overall race clock was reading at 50:00 minutes as I approached. I realized that it would now be easy to track the rest of my splits, if I was running anything near a 10 minute pace.
At the intersection of Collier Road and Overbrook Drive, the Decatur High Bulldog Boosters were cheering us on. They were a particularly enthusiastic group. We made the turn onto Northside Drive, heading uphill. However I could hear the peppy sounds of drums ahead and that kept me running strong. The Evansdale Foundation was celebrating our approach to the 5-mile marker. Although it's hard to say for sure who was best cheering group today, this group definitely made the most of their prime position at the midway point. As we passed the mile-5 marker in 9:12 (44:21 elapsed), I realized that I was actually on pace to finish in 90 minutes. Also, the overall race clock was reading at 50:00 minutes as I approached. I realized that it would now be easy to track the rest of my splits, if I was running anything near a 10 minute pace.
Best of all, I was feeling really strong. I was able to take advantage of the downhill stage to relax and let my heart rate slightly slow as we jogged towards Peachtree Creek. We turned onto Peachtree Battle Avenue, passing the FitWit Foundation at the corner. I reached the mile-6 marker in 9:02 (53:23 elapsed), with the race clock reading ca. 59:30. Ahead was another water stop. Here the first group of volunteers was handing out PowerBar Energy Gels. I slowed to a walk and accepted a double-caffeine gel from the first volunteer, and subsequent volunteers were offering single-caffeine and no-caffeine gels. I had brought a caffeinated gel that I had planned to take before Peachtree Road, but I decided to take a risk on something new. I waited until I reached a water / Powerade station, then opened up the gel. Tangerine flavor, actually pretty good! I washed it down with a full cup of Powerade, then resumed a running pace. At this point, a speedster shot past us on the left. I said to the runners around me "He must have gotten a triple-caffeine gel." Girls on the Run were cheering us on as we approached Peachtree Road.
As we turned onto Peachtree Road, we crossed a timing strip. This was the start of Mizuno's challenge to "Conquer Cardiac Hill." As we crossed Peachtree Creek, I started to feel some apprehension as to how well I might handle the long uphill stretch ahead. We started uphill just as we passed the mile-7 marker in 9:27 (62:50 elapsed). In fact I felt pretty good in this section. I took my time and ran a steady pace, until I reached a water station midway uphill, and decided to walk through the water station and accepted a cool cup of water. Then I remembered that I was being timed in this mile and returned to a jog! The Walton High School cheering group included a bagpipe quartet, which finished playing just as I approached. I applauded as I passed them, running uphill. I then saw several scattered groups holding Rockdale Special Olympics signs as we approached Piedmont Hospital. It seemed to take a long time before we reached the timing strip at the end of the mile, but in fact I completed the Cardiac Hill Challenge in 9:22, which was very good for me. We passed the Ashford Park Run Club again. Shortly before reaching the Amtrak Station at Deering Road, I saw the mile-8 marker, in 9:34 (72:24 elapsed).
Miles 9 and 10: Near the mile-8 marker, I saw "PRR 4" painted on the pavement, marking the mile-4 marker in the Peachtree Road Race. I was feeling at least as strong today as I had at the same spot on the road on July 4, even though I had run twice as far today. I'm so glad that I took the training seriously for this race. At this stage, I had no doubt that I would finish strong, and would beat my 1:35 goal time. Now it was just a question of how close I might make it to the 1:30 "dream" time. Cheers from the Center for Puppetry Arts encouraged us, as they were playing music that sounded like James Brown. Once we crossed Interstate-75, we began heading uphill. Turning onto Bishop Street, I carefully stepped over a stream of water, which I supposed must have been runoff from a water stop at the top of the hill. I slowed down and decided to take a sip from my water bottle at this point. That buoyed me, along with music from a small combo from the Centennial Place School Foundation, playing an excellent rendition of Michael Jackson's 1980's hit, "Thriller." The volunteers and cheering groups were increasingly enthusiastic as we approached the top of the hill at Bishop Street. Near mile-9, one of the members of my Weight Watchers group spotted me, called out my name and cheered me on. I smiled and waved as I passed. I reached the mile-9 marker at 9:34 (81:58 elapsed), and the race clock was reading 1:28 and a few seconds. I probably couldn't make the 1:30:00 "dream" time, as I didn't think that I had an 8-minute mile in my legs, but I was determined to finish as strongly as possible.
As we turned onto 17th Street, a volunteer shouted "It's downhill after the overpass" crossing 18th Street. I could see the highrises of midtown Atlanta through a bit of haze, with the dome and minaret of a mosque near Georgia Tech in the foreground. I managed to speed up just a bit. As the road curved downward into Atlantic Station, we passed the Atlanta Roller Girls once more. I could see the tall office building ahead where we would turn onto State Street for the finish, and looked to my right for the Millenium Gate. I was running to the far left of the street and was keeping up with the other runners in my area. We turned left onto State Street. I realized that a runner about 20 feet in front of me was taking video of the cheering groups as he was running towards the finish - very cool! We passed the Target store where the starting line had been, and turned into Atlantic Station itself. I could hear the announcer at the finish line, then approached the chute for the finish line. I could see the clock reading 1:37 and just a few seconds, and substracting 6 minutes, I realized that I had indeed run an outstanding race. I crossed the finish line just behind Dracula in a cape, and a Georgia Tech bumblebee, and had enough strength left to raise both hands above my head in celebration.
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| Approaching the finish line. Thanks to Bonnie for catching the photo, showing 1:37:14 on the clock. |
mile splits: 8:02, 9:02, 8:52, 9:13, 9:12, 9:02, 9:27, 9:34, 9:34, 9:16.
Goal C (satisfactory): To finish a race at a new distance: Achieved!
Goal B (good): To finish with the 1:35 pace team: Achieved the time, even though I never caught up to the 1:35 pacer!
Goal A (dream): To finish in less than 1:30:00: Much closer than I had realistically expected!
Is a half-marathon next?
Sign me up!!
2 comments:
Great review! (I was probably that volunteer that gave you a 1:35 bib....)
Thanks! If it was Friday evening around 7 pm, it was you!
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