March 10, 2018: The Charles Harris Run for Leukemia (10K)

Bonnie snapped this photo at bib pickup before the race,
making it look like I was about to be devoured
by the Tucker Tiger, while I was attaching my race bib.  

The training cycle for next weekend's Publix Georgia Marathon has gone very well for me, knocking out the long runs with the 10 min / mile pace group.  After completing a 22.5 mile run four weeks ago, I declared myself ready to run the marathon, with considerable confidence that I would break the 4:30 mark.  And then, three weeks ago:

I ran the Southside 12K.

Coach Amy Begley had advised us to run the race at marathon pace, which for me would have been a 10 min / mile pace, finishing just under 75 minutes.  But I had realized, if I could maintain my 10K personal record 8 min / mile pace for two more kilometers, I would finish in less than 60 minutes.  And I did just that, recording a time of 59:36 for my first 12K race.  I deployed a new mantra that pushed me up the last tough hill going into the finish line.  

But I paid dearly for that effort.  I didn't think that I was injured at first, but as the general soreness faded in the next day or two, I was left with a sore Achilles on the left ankle, weakness in the right ankle, and a painful left hip, which was either an IT band or a quadriceps strain, maybe both.  I've struggled with several runs since then.  Two weeks ago, I did finish a 20.5-mile run at a 12 min / mile pace to complete my third 20+ long run of the cycle.  But the injuries are still bothering me, despite spending considerable time on the foam roller and less time actually running.  Certainly I haven't been overdoing it during the taper period.  I just hope that I can run without too much pain next weekend.

Good turnout by the Tucker Running Club!

For the fifth consecutive year, I registered for the Charles Harris Run for Leukemia.  This is a fast net downhill course, typically held in the weeks before Peachtree Road Race registration closes.  If I hadn't injured myself a few weeks ago, I probably would have raced hard today to see if I could trim a few seconds off my previous personal record of 49:28.  But I was in no shape to do that today.  In fact I deliberately made sure that I registered a week ago for the Peachtree Road Race, to remove one major reason to try too hard today. 

Part of the Ben's Wizards team, before the race:
(l-to-r) Richard Wilson, me, Teresa Ducuara, Michele Richard 

The main motivation for continuing with the race was to join the Ben's Wizards team.  A few years ago, one of my running buddies Richard Wilson lost a friend and co-worker to leukemia.  Ben Newman was only in his 40's when he passed away.  Richard had told me a little about Ben in the past, and when Richard and his fiancé invited me to join Ben's Wizards, I was happy to join.  They created purple shirts for the team, purple being the color adopted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  

I warmed up with about a quarter mile walk inside the Tucker High School gym and then began to run slowly, feeling considerable pain in my left hip.  After less than a half-mile, I stopped for the Tucker Running Club photo, then resumed with two laps on the track outside, barely at a 10 min / mile pace.  With some trepidation, I headed for the start, taking a position near the back of the pack.  

With Donna Roberts, who worked the water station at the Southside 12K

My main running goal for today was to try out a new mantra.  Turns out, the mantra that I used in the Southside 12K was "too strong," pushing me so hard that I injured myself!  So I needed a more appropriate mantra.  

At the 40 km water station in last month's Tokyo Marathon, Yuta Shitara picked up a badge
with his mantra, driving him to a second-place finish and a new marathon record for a Japanese runner.

While that might have worked for Yuta Shitara in the Tokyo Marathon, in which he won a 100 million yen award for setting a new marathon record for a Japanese runner, that would be too mild for me.  And then I realized that I've been carrying the perfect mantra on my wrist ID: "Quitting is not an option."  That comes from our Weight Watchers leader, encouraging healthy eating in moderation, while in the midst of a largely sedentary society with abundant and inexpensive fast food options.

Mantra slightly modified due to Road ID character limit

The race started shortly before 8 am.  Some of my friends in the Tucker Running Club were a little surprised to see me starting behind them, but I needed to start slowly and carefully.  I had set my watch to a 4:30 run, 0:30 walk, and took the first walk break midway through the first mile.  Getting back to a run was a little difficult for the first few steps, but as my legs warmed up, I was able to stride a bit better.  Intending to run the race at a 10 min / mile pace, I was a little surprised to complete the first mile in 9:40.  I decided that if I could stick with the 9:40 min / mile pace, I would finish in a respectable time of 60 minutes.  But in mile 2, I slowed to 9:57, and needed 10:04 for mile 3.  I passed the 5K marker at 31 minutes even, on pace for a 62 minute finish. 

It's amazing how an injury can plant so many negative thoughts in my mind.  I started to wonder, in next week's race, should I drop from the marathon to the half-marathon? or the 5K? That would really be a shame after all of the effort that I've made to prepare for 26.2 miles.  "Quitting is not an option!"  And that's when I decided that I would try to push myself a little harder.  For mile 4, I was back to a 9:43 pace.  I also realized that the transition from walking to running was part of my problem, so decided to skip some of the walk breaks for the rest of the race.  I certainly wasn't winded, as my voice was strong as I thanked the volunteers at the water station.  I was beginning to pass other runners, and hadn't been passed by anyone since I had stopped taking walk breaks.  My attitude began to improve as I just focused on running.  "Quitting is not an option!"  Finishing mile 5 in 9:21, and less than 49 minutes elapsed, I realized that I could run the last 1.22 miles in 11 minutes if I managed a 9 min / mile pace for the rest of the race.  The great thing about the Charles Harris Run is that the mile 5 marker is at the top of a hill, with a 100-foot drop over the next half-mile or so.  I started to accelerate, passing more runners heading downhill.  The pain was still there but wasn't any worse, so I just focused on setting a faster pace, enjoying the easiest part of the course.  At the bottom of the hill, we turned onto North Druid Hills Road, with a slight uphill. "QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!"  Since I wasn't winded, I ran strongly uphill, passing more and more and more people as I drew closer to the finish line.  As I reached the 6 mile marker (8:42 for mile 6, 57:30 elapsed, I could see the top of the finish line banner in the distance, and I realized that I would definitely complete the race in less than an hour.  I passed a few more runners, which encouraged them to run faster trying to stay ahead of me.  I wasn't really racing them, I just wanted a good finish for myself.  As I drew near the finish line, I could see Bonnie ahead, ready to capture my photo.  At the start of the race, I hadn't expected to celebrate at the end, but as I crossed the timing mat, I flashed a big smile and raised both hands, pleased that I had run better than I had expected. 

59:50 gun time thanks to a strong finish!

I forgot to stop my watch until I had pulled off to the side to chat with Richard and Bonnie, but I estimate that my official time was between 59:30 and 59:40.  Although my legs were sore, I didn't feel any worse for the effort.  In fact the race has improved my confidence that I may continue to recover in the week remaining before the marathon. 

With Richard after the race - mission accomplished,
paying our respects to Ben's memory.
Ben's Wizards will run the Winship Cancer Institute 5K in the fall. 

February 17, 2018: Southside 12K, and trying out a mantra for the marathon

The Atlanta Track Club sponsored a new race this year, the Southside 12K, in suburban College Park on the southwest side of metro Atlanta.  I've not previously run in this area, nor have I run a 12K race before today.  The only other 12K that I've heard of is the "Bay to Breakers" race in San Francisco, which has been run for more than 100 years, and is famous for centipede teams of runners.  

As part of the marathon training program, Coach Amy Begley suggested that we should warm up for a mile and then run the race at marathon pace, followed by about 6 more miles in the area.  For today, our Saturday mileage was limited to 14 - 15 miles, a "dropback" week, before our 22-mile long run next weekend.  I decided to test my stamina by setting an ambitious goal of completing the 12K in 60 minutes.  As I recently broke the 50-minute mark for a 10K, this would mean maintaining the same pace for 2 more kilometers.  

On the 45-minute drive to the race, I replayed part of the Running Rogue podcast from January 28, in which coaches Chris McClung and Steve Sisson interviewed a couple of speedsters in the Running Rogue on-line training program.  About 23 minutes into the podcast, the first interview with Lee began.  Lee is a 41-year old runner who formerly ran for St. Louis University, and has run a 2:45 marathon.  He is training for the Boston Marathon in April, and is gunning for another 2:45 finish, with a longer-term goal to complete a marathon in 2:40.  So Lee and I have nothing in common when it comes to speed.  Anyway, the Running Rogue coaches have asked each participant to write a "statement of purpose" for their running.  Lee wrote a rambling but nice statement, saying among other things that his inspirations included remembering "1 and 3 mile runs with my Dad where we would race the last 100 meters, and now I run with my daughters from time to time, and I think that there is something beautiful about that."  When Lee needs to "toughen up I can think of some tough times, if I need to be sappy and soft I can talk about my Dad and my daughters..."  The coaches were polite at first, but around 34:30, coach Steve Sisson took over with "Now the tough part comes."  After pressing Lee for a few minutes, Steve asked what Lee will reach for when things get tough at mile 22, when he is going for the 2:45 time at Boston.  Lee admitted that "at mile 22 on a tough day, I am not thinking about sunshine and rainbows at that point ... and I'm not thinking about my daughters or my Dad ... I'm thinking about a lot of cuss words and try to figure out how to get to the next mile marker ..."   But Lee just couldn't utter a statement that was suitably tough enough for Steve and Chris.  Finally, at 39:30 Steve said, "You do this because, you're a ------- bad-ass, and you know it."  

When I heard that, I realized that was why I so proudly slapped the first 13.1 sticker on my car in December 2014.  And that was what I was feeling, even if those words weren't quite in mind, when I added the 26.2 sticker before I left the parking lot after completing the Chickamauga Marathon in November 2016.  Given how I've struggled in the final miles of the three marathons that I've run, I need a mantra that is that powerful, if I'm going to finish strongly in the Publix Georgia Marathon next month, both psychologically as well as physically.  

The race started and finished near the Wolf Creek Amphitheater.  I warmed up with about 1.2 miles, starting with the training group and then breaking away to push myself up the hill to the finish line.  Whew, that was going to be tough after 7 miles.  Then I realized that we would run this hill twice, as most of the race route was on a two-loop course.  Planning for an 8:00 min / mile pace for as long as I could maintain it, I lined up in wave B, for runners 8:30 min / mile and faster.  We started 2 minutes after wave A, and from the beginning this proved to be a very good decision for me.  The majority of the runners around me were also moving at a similar pace, and there were no walkers ahead of us, so we all ran unimpeded.  About 0.3 miles into the race, we took a left turn out of the amphitheater parking entrance, onto Merk Road.  The map showed an out-and-back section, and I had assumed that we would see the lead runners at the front of wave A shortly after we entered Merk Road.  In fact I didn't see the first runners until I was more than 1/2 mile into the race, even though they had a 2-minute head start and were running faster than a 6 min / mile pace.  Before long, my wave was entering a parking lot for a church, and we passed the 1-mile marker before getting back onto Merk Road.  7:59 for mile 1, perfect start!  However, the return trip was slightly uphill, and I began to slow a bit.  Then I heard footsteps approaching rapidly from behind: could it be one of the lead runners lapping us?  Already?!  then a woman with a blond ponytail passed at high speed!  It seemed that she was a faster runner who had begun in wave C, but about 50 feet ahead of me, she slowed down to a similar pace to one I was running.  She was my "pacer" for most of the remainder of the race.  

Pre-race photo with runningnerds.  I've worn this shirt in my second half-marathon
 (my first good half-marathon) and my first marathon, so it has positive associations for me. 

Yes, I'm "out of uniform".  My short-sleeve TRC shirts were dirty.
I brought a TRC singlet, but with 52 deg F temperature at the start,
I was more comfortable wearing short sleeves.
And the runningnerds shirt helped me run faster! 

After we passed the Tom Lowe Skeet Range, the road turned uphill, and I had to work to maintain a decent pace.  The mile 2 marker (finished in 8:15, 16:14 elapsed) was midway up a 100 foot hill.  I had expected that the road would eventually turn downhill, but we made a right turn onto Miles Road and continued going uphill, perhaps not as sharply as earlier.  Shortly before the mile 3 marker, I slowed for a cup of water.  I saw Donna Roberts from Tucker Running Club as the last volunteer at the water station, and accepted a cup of water from her as she cheered me on with "See you again on the second loop!" she said.  I took a 20 second walk break as I drank the entire cup of water.  Only one person passed me while I was walking, and shortly after I resumed running, I caught up with her. I needed 8:14 to reach the mile 3 marker (24:28 elapsed) but then the road leveled out, and then we began running downhill.  I picked up speed as we approached Enon Road, making another right turn and seeing a long gentle downhill ahead.  My "pacer" picked up a little speed, I started to follow at her pace, and then relaxed, knowing that I would have a second opportunity to fly down this section in the second loop.  In other races, I have actually worn myself out running downhill, and there was no point in risking the quality of my race at the midpoint.  I saw the mile 7 marker and then we turned right onto the back entrance to the Amphitheater property, passing the mile 4 marker at 32:16, 7:48 elapsed for mile 4. 

But now we had to run up the hill to the start-finish area, to finish the first loop.  I'm sure that I slowed a little (and the Garmin results afterwards confirmed this) but not too badly.    At that moment I happened to be running in a small pack with four other men.  As the start-finish area came into view, I said to the group "At least we haven't been lapped by the winner!" which was greeted with a few laughs.  As I crossed the timing mat, I noticed that we were at 4.31 miles, and my split time recorded at 34:53.   

I was a little tired but I was confident that I could manage another 5K at a similar pace.  I was some seconds behind where I needed to be to finish within 60 minutes, so I made every effort to run strongly.  We made a right turn back onto Merk Road, heading uphill again.  This time we ran in the left lane, with the right lane reserved for the slower runners and walkers.  We approached the skeet shooting establishment again, and this time we heard the sounds of someone firing what sounded to me like a machine gun.  I thought that skeet shooting was about taking one shot at a flying clay pigeon, not 100 shots at a time - but I think what was disturbing to me was remembering the tragic news from Wednesday of another school shooting in Florida, in which the murderer used a military type of automatic weapon.  Maybe I ran a little faster to get away from there, although realistically it is unlikely that I or anyone else in the race was in danger.  Anyway, near the mile 5 marker, I passed the "back of the pack" sweepers.  8:07 for mile 5, 40:23 elapsed.  My watch was reading that the overall pace was 8:05 min / mile: to finish 12K in 60 minutes, I needed to average an 8:03 min / mile.  So I wasn't too far off the necessary pace.  Unfortunately the hill seemed to have increased in elevation since the first loop.  And I kept expecting the water station to come up any minute, but it wasn't until 5.8 miles and 47 minutes elapsed that I saw the volunteers again.  I ran to Donna for another cup of water.  I don't remember exactly what she said, but she was encouraging, and after a 20 second walk break to finish the water, I took off again.  Mile 6 was the slowest of my race, 8:26 and 48:49 elapsed, but it also had the greatest difference in elevation, 125 feet uphill and only 34 feet downhill.  I was working on an overall pace of 8:08 min / mile. 

Elevation (top); pace (bottom).  The hills were no joke!  

Just in time, the downhill section began.  This time I launched myself forward, pumping my arms hard to take advantage of the favorable downhill slope.  I was easily lapping slower runners in their first loop, and I don't recall anyone passing me.  I even caught up to the woman with the ponytail for a moment, then she pulled ahead.  Nonetheless I passed a few runners that were probably on their second loop - that felt good.  I saw the overall pace number on my watch slowly drop to 8:06, then 8:05.  7:28 for mile 7, at 56:17 elapsed. 

I had hoped to pass the mile 7 marker before my watch ticked over to 56 minutes to get the 8:00 min / mile overall pace.  When I saw an 8:03 overall pace on my watch, I realized that I was exactly on track for a 60 minute finish, as long as I didn't slow down over the remaining 0.45 mile.  All I had to do was get up the hill at an 8 min / mile pace and I would definitely achieve my goal.  At the corner, a volunteer cheered me on by name and said "Curt Walker is just ahead of you!"  Curt is a 71-year old elite runner, one of my coaches in the 2014 Peachtree 10K training course, and an original member of the Tucker Running Club.  I looked for Curt up ahead but didn't see him, just younger and faster runners on the left passing slower runners on the right.  

When I had passed the mile 4 marker a little more than 20 minutes ago, I remembered that I had only 0.31 miles to the timing mat from that point.  A quick glance at my watch: just a few seconds past 57 minutes!  I could definitely get to the finish line in less than 3 minutes if the final section was mostly flat.  But it wasn't flat.  I was so sore and so tired and in some pain from all the hard work that I had done to this point.  Running up that steep hill was so tough.  And then, I remembered that one of my goals for today was to try out my mantra.  To myself, "I'm a ------- bad-ass", and a couple of seconds later, out loud but quietly, "I'm a ------- bad-ass!!"  

Voilà!  I found a reserve of speed.  Or maybe it was just obstinacy and toughness.  Churning my legs as fast as I could up that mountain, passing a few people on the way up, past the porta-potties in the parking lot where we had gathered an hour ago, looking for the finish line, and finally seeing the clock reading 61 minutes and about 30 seconds - with the 2-minute delay for the wave B start, I was going to make it - there is the timing mat - and over the mat - big fist pump - stop the watch - 59:39! 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

59:36 official time, 126th overall out of 756 finishers, and 8th out of 31 in my age group!  

I desperately needed to cool down and stretch after the race.  I waited for the others in the 10 min / mile group to arrive for the final miles of today's workout, instead of taking off with the 9 min / mile group.  That was a good decision, because I had trouble starting up again.  My right ankle hurt, and my legs were so heavy.  I limped for the first hundred yards, but then found a better gait.  We reached a paved trail, to run 1 mile loops.  I lagged behind the others in my group.  After the 3rd loop, I wanted to quit.  I decided to walk for a moment with Ginger, a runner in the 10 min / mile group who might be injured from a recent fall.  Then I decided, "I'm really sore, everything hurts right now, but - I'm not injured."  Today I would be fine within a few minutes of stopping and stretching again.  And I knew then that I would regret not having the toughness to finish today's workout.  I realized that the most important part of today's run was to practice the mental toughness that I will need in the final miles of the marathon.  Yes, "I'm a ------- bad-ass."  I continued for two more loops, completing 5.7 miles after the race, and 14.3 miles altogether for the morning. 

Sure enough, after a few minutes of stretching, even though I was still a little tired and sore, I knew for certain that I wasn't injured.  

Yes, I'm very proud of this result! 

February 10, 2018: Hearts & Soles 5K, followed by a long training run

Week 13 of the marathon training log,
documenting an 18-week program

My running since the New Year has been 100% focused on preparing for the Publix Georgia Marathon on March 18.  I'm training with the Atlanta Track Club marathon program, and also continuing the speed workouts with Coach Carl Leivers at the Emory University track on Tuesday evenings.  I've kept up with the Level 3 long runs, keeping at the front of the pack with the 10 min / mile pace group.  I've maintained a steady schedule of midweek runs, getting off track for only one week in mid-January due to a confluence of work, visitors, and snow.  In short, this cycle of marathon training is going very well.  I'm healthy, strong, and growing in confidence. 

For today, the plan was to join the Atlanta Track Club's annual Hearts & Soles 5K race, followed by a long run to get a total of 20 miles, at least as I understood it.  Coach Amy Begley strongly encouraged us not to run the 5K as a typical race, but to run at about half-marathon pace, which for me is about a 9 min / mile pace.  I needed a few days to give up on any idea of trying to run faster - or even slower, to practice a marathon start at a 10 min / mile pace.  But as we were watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics last night, I said to Bonnie, "Coach Amy is an Olympian, who am I to contradict her recommendation?!" 

I arrived at the race site more than an hour in advance.  It had rained overnight, and the forecast earlier in the week had been for rain for most of today.  But with an hour to go before the race start, the short-range forecast was that rain was unlikely to begin before 1 pm.  And the temperature was around 50 deg F, so I was able to run in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.  After taking a group photo with the Tucker Running Club, I made my way to the Atlanta Track Club marathon training tent, and did a couple of rounds of dynamic stretches until it was time to walk to the start.  I had resisted the strong temptation to warm up with 2 or 3 easy miles as I would typically do for a 5K race.  I did an easy jog for a couple of hundred years to the car to get a couple of sips of water before the race, to make sure that the running motion was comfortable, and then to the starting area.  Since I was not racing today, I started near the front of wave C, for runners at a 9:30 min / mile pace or faster.  I started to feel some excitement as our wave moved up after wave A began, and had to tamp that down: this is just a training run, I kept telling myself.  

With Tucker Running Club, on a foggy morning.
photo credit: Curt Walker

Ray Ganga, the crew chief of the Atlanta Track Club race volunteers, counted down to the start, and blew the airhorn.  As I started my watch and crossed the timing mat, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to avoid looking at my watch, except as I passed mile markers.  I tried to gauge my pace by feel and by the majority of the runners around me, aiming to run without significant exertion.  As we reached the mile 1 marker, I checked my watch for the first time: 9:03 - Wow, I couldn't have run that better if I had been staring at my watch the entire time!  I suppressed the urge to speed up, just enjoyed looking around, chatting with people that I knew as I reached them.  As this was an out-and-back course, I could cheer the leaders of the race on their return.  After making the turnaround myself, continuing at the easy pace, I reached the mile 2 marker: 9:02!  I was beginning to sweat a bit, but that was partially due to the humidity and fog from the overnight rain.  I remember checking my heart rate, which was 151 bpm, maybe a little high for an "easy" run, but still a rate that I could maintain for a long time.  I passed quite a few runners as we headed up a hill midway through the third mile, not racing, just maintaining pace, and then here was the mile 3 marker: 8:54!!  It had been a long time since I been so excited to be at the 3 mile marker well after the 25 minute mark, but I was thrilled to have nailed my goal.  In my first 5K in October 2013, I had run as fast as I could for 3.11 miles to finish in 28:45, and now I can run that pace fairly easily.  Smiling as I crossed the finish line at an easy jog, here was my official result:

Mission accomplished! 

I picked up a half banana and a bottle of water, dropped my race bib and picked up my water belt and a cap, and jogged over to the marathon training tent.  The 9 min / mile group was about to leave, and I thought about joining them for a moment.  Last week, one of the runners with the 10 min / mile group suggested that I "should run with the 'nines'".  I knew that would be fine for half-marathon training, but not for 26.2 miles, not yet.  Fortunately it didn't take more than a couple of minutes to gather about 10 runners and a couple of run leaders for the 10 min / mile group to start, so we didn't get stiff.  And off we went, to run another 17 miles for a 20 mile day. 

I had not previously realized that the PATH foundation had recently opened a new trail in the area, but the South River Trail began at the end of the parking lot where we had gathered for the race.  And the section of the trail that we were running was recently named in honor of the former First Lady, Michelle Obama.  One of the nice things about marathon training is discovering new parts of the city, and new places to run.  And in recent years, the Atlanta metro area has continued to develop new pedestrian-friendly paths.  The path began through a swamp, then into a forested area, reaching the South River before crossing under I-285.  After about 3 miles, the trail joined the sidewalk along Clifton Church Road, as we passed the new campus of the Barack H. Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology, which opened last year.  

One of the other groups in our training group posted this photo on the Facebook page.
I wish I had thought to take a few photos of our group!
photo credit: Victoria Nicole Deycard

At the intersection, our group split up.  I was part of a group of a half-dozen trainees.  Andrew and I had each run three marathons, and the others: Alex, Angela, Colleen, and Ginger, were each training for their first.  I've run with most of them in previous weeks, and we had plenty of time for nice conversation along the way, especially since we didn't have to worry about cars for most of the route.   In Gresham Park, we reached the turnaround point about 4.3 miles in, and began our return.  The path had a few hilly sections, but it was a gentler route in terms of elevation than most of the routes that we have run in previous weeks.  After having run the first part at about a 10:30 min / mile pace, we sped up a little to average about 10:00 min / mile for the return trip.  

Running along the Michelle Obama - South River trail

When we returned to the training tent, just past 8.5 miles, we filled up our water bottles, a few people used the Porta-Potties from the race, and then we took off again.  Coach Amy mentioned that we would go a little further on this leg.  At that moment I realized that this run would be longer than 17 miles total.  And now that I think about it, the people in the Porta-Potties may have missed that little bit of information.  Anyway we started out again, running the same route as before.  I had eight shot block cubes left,  which I had been taking an average of one per mile, so I would need to stretch that our just a little.  When we got to the turnaround point from the first leg, I mentioned to Colleen that we were going to cover more than 17 miles.  It appeared like we were going to run 20 miles in addition to the 5K race that we had completed!  Good thing I didn't run a few warmup miles, otherwise I would have covered 26.2 in total.  I was a little concerned that some of the others in our group were making a jump in mileage from 18 miles last week to 23 miles.  I myself had run 20 miles two weeks ago, so I was less concerned about my own legs.  Five of us continued forward, which proved to be another mile or so.  In this section, we climbed a fairly steep hill!  We reached the trailhead and a water stop, waited for a couple of minutes to see if anyone else was coming to join us, and then headed back. 

My legs were starting to get a little sore, but I was managing well enough.  We were talking about pain in marathon running, and if we could tell the difference between just hurting vs. developing an injury.  In the 2017 Chickamauga marathon, I had been in quite a bit of pain for the final 10K, yet within 10 minutes of finishing, I was fine, just a little tired, and was "kicking myself" afterwards for having such a bad attitude just 45 minutes earlier.  Around this point, we felt the first drops of rain, which turned into a drizzle, and then fairly hard rain for a few minutes.  

In each long runs of this cycle, I've tried to speed up in the final mile.  I was more motivated today to get back as soon as I could, to get out of wet clothes.  I had applied plenty of Body Glide this morning, so I wasn't chafing.  Before my watch had signaled completing the 17th mile, I decided to speed up a bit, and there was no chance of anyone getting lost at this point.  As my speed increased, the mild pain of the long run morphed into a more familiar feeling of exertion.  I was thrilled to cover mile 18 in 8:49!  I thought that I was maintaining the same speed in mile 19, but noticed that I slowed a little near the end of the mile, around 9:10.  I tried to speed up to see if I could drive the pace reading below 9:00 before recording mile 19, but needed 9:07.  I wasn't able to speed up any more, but managed to maintain the 9:07 pace for the last 1/3 mile until I reached the training tent, 19.36 miles in 3:17:19.  It was pretty clear to me that I would not have been able to run at the 9 min / mile pace for much further, but I was able to manage the 2.5 mile "kick."  I felt a little badly for leaving the others behind, but three in our front group arrived within the next minute, and the others shortly afterwards. 

This was a great running day for me, especially in terms of lessons learned: 

1. I can complete a 20-mile run at a 10 min / mile pace without much trouble; 
2. I should not attempt to run the marathon at a 9 min / mile pace (so I won't try to break the 4 hour mark); and
3. Confirmed that I may be able to speed up a little in a couple of final celebratory miles. 

Total mileage recorded for today: 22.48 miles, recorded time 3:45:15.  If I can reach the 22 mile mark within 3:40 on marathon day, I will be thrilled, so a 4:20 marathon finish may be a realistic goal.  I have one more 20+ mile training run scheduled in two weeks, for a final test. 

Coach Amy snapped our training group photo a few minutes before we started the 5K race.

January 7, 2018: Extra Yard 5K

The Mercedes-Benz stadium in downtown Atlanta replaces the Georgia Dome, which was destroyed by implosion only 25 years after opening in 1992.  Although I think that it's regrettable that the Georgia Dome has not lasted for a lifetime, the replacement stadium is quite remarkable, from its architectural exterior to fan-friendly sight lines inside the stadium.   

Mercedes-Benz stadium just before sunrise.
For an amusing video of the Georgia Dome implosion, click here.

In addition to serving as the home stadium for the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Atlanta United (MLS) teams, Super Bowl LIII will be played at Mercedes-Benz stadium in February 2019.  And tomorrow, the stadium will host the College Football National Championship.  By coincidence, the contestants will be two semi-local teams: the University of Georgia vs. the University of Alabama.  To commemorate the championship game, the Atlanta Track Club has organized a 5K race, starting and finishing near the stadium.  

After Monday's incredibly cold New Year's Resolution Run, I had "resolved" not to subject myself to another frigid race so quickly.  Moreover, I was scheduled for a 16 mile run yesterday in marathon training, and was concerned about running a race within 24 hours of completing a long run.  But after watching Georgia defeat Oklahoma in a thrilling overtime game on New Year's evening, and the possibility of winning a pair of tickets to the game in a lottery, we started talking about what we might have done to stay warmer - and we decided to register for the race. 

Yesterday's 16-mile long run went well, keeping up with the front part of the 10 min / mile pace group.  Despite thoroughly stretching after the run, and periodic therapy at home with the foam roller, my legs were pretty sore when I went to bed last night.  To my surprise, I felt pretty good when I woke this morning.  

Many of the runners today were wearing Georgia Bulldogs gear, with a smaller number wearing Alabama Crimson Tide.  Since I'm neither a Georgia nor an Alabama fan, I decided to proudly represent Emory University football in today's race.  (As I had hoped, this got quite a few laughs throughout the morning.)

As a Georgia resident, if not an alumnus, I will cheer for the
Georgia Bulldogs in tomorrow night's championship game.
A student perspective on "Emory football"
The history of athletics at Emory

After a thorough round of dynamic stretches inside the heated Georgia World Convention Center lobby, I headed outside for a couple of warmup miles, running the first mile and the last kilometer of the race route.   I was amazed that my legs felt really good, I didn't feel like I had run 16 miles yesterday.  Nonetheless I resolved to hold back a little in the first mile of the race, to avoid getting an overuse injury.  I made it back to the starting area as runners were gathering in waves, just in time for the National Anthem.  Once again I started with wave B, but this time took a position a few rows behind the starting mat.  That proved to be a good decision, as I got off to a comfortable pace, not too fast, but not held back by slower runners.  Making a couple of turns around the south side of the station, we started onto Northside Drive, running past the former site of the Georgia Dome.  

The first mile was mostly downhill, so I found myself speeding up a bit, while still running easily and smoothly.  I had originally aimed to cover the first mile around 7:45 min / mile pace and then evaluate whether I could speed up.  But it didn't make sense not to take advantage of the favorable elevation, knowing that we would run uphill on the return to the start - finish area.  I passed the 1-mile marker at 7:21.  As the route wasn't too crowded, I was careful to run the tangents along the gentle curves of Northside Drive, heading to a right turn onto North Avenue.  Passing through an underpass, I was concerned that there might be some ice on the roadway, but I never felt that I was slipping at all and decided that it was probably road salt or sand that I was noticing.  Emerging from the underpass, the campus of Georgia Tech was on the left, the Coca-Cola headquarters on the right.  At the two-mile marker just ahead of the 15 minute point, 7:33 minutes for mile 2.  Wow, I was a few seconds ahead of my personal record-setting pace from Monday!  

Upon making another right turn onto Luckie Street, heading south, I maintained pace for a moment, but as the road started to progress gently but unmistakably uphill, I began to feel the lactate buildup in my legs.  Fortunately I was on familiar ground, as this was mile 13 in the Hotlanta Half Marathon.  I reached the top of the hill at Ivan Allen Boulevard at 19 minutes flat, 2.5 miles elapsed.  Could I cover the last kilometer in 4-1/2 minutes?  I sped up for a moment on a level stretch of roadway, but turning onto Baker Street, I was slowed by another uphill.  And with a left turn onto Marietta Street, I knew from experience in the Georgia Marathon (and half-marathons) that it was another gentle uphill.  I was able to maintain a decent pace, and shortly after turning onto Andrew Young International Boulevard, I passed the mile 3 marker, 22:55 elapsed and 7:57 for mile 3.  I realized that I wouldn't set a new personal record today, but I was on track for another sub-24 minute finish.  That gave me the impetus to tap one last bit of additional speed, crossing the finish line at 23:51 elapsed. 

With the elevations, this seems like a consistent effort from start to finish. 

This was my second best 5K time, just 21 seconds off of my recent personal record!  For starting out with a "conservative" race plan, I did much better than I had expected.  I was a little winded after crossing the finish line but I felt that I was in decent shape, and by the time I had walked 100 yards to accept the race medal and a bottle of water, my heart rate was recovering nicely.  

Although neither Bonnie nor I nor anyone else we knew won the Championship Game ticket lottery, I had enough optimism to listen carefully when the announcer called out names of the male 55 - 59 awardees, hearing "Frank McDonald, third place" and I said to Bonnie and other friends "Wow, I won something!"  People in front of me graciously stepped aside as I headed through the crowd to accept the award: a commemorative miniature green football helmet!

My age group award! 

This is my first ever placement in an Atlanta Track Club race!  I would have been 7th in the male 50 - 54 age group, so I'm definitely enjoying one advantage of getting older! 

Age group result (above)
Overall result, 137th out of over 1500 finishers (below)

P.S.  Last night a friend forwarded a photo, taken by an ESPN film crew, as I passed them shortly after the start.

January 1, 2018: Resolution Run 5K

After my good friend Brian Minor rewarded me with a free breakfast upon setting a personal record in the Atlanta 10-miler in October, we have been looking for an event to compete in a head-to-head, mano-a-mano race, with a friendly wager that the loser buys brunch.  A few weeks ago, we set the Resolution Run 5K as our big race day.  As Brian's speed has improved much more than mine over the past two years, I didn't really expect to win the race unless Brian was having a bad day, but I was hoping that the competition would drive me to a new personal record.  My goal was to break my April 2016 5K PR of 23:52. 

This photo is from October 2017, before the Atlanta 10-miler.
It was so cold this morning that I don't have any photos from the race,
but will add later if the Atlanta Track Club photographer
has managed to capture some good photos. 

With the challenge thrown down, I've taken advantage of the winter break and the beginning of a marathon training cycle to step up my training.  I ran every other day in the week after the Galloway Half Marathon (20 miles total), and last week ran 5 out of 7 days, including a successful speed workout on the track on Wednesday, and a 15 mile long run on Saturday at sub-10 min/mile pace (35 miles total).  On Thursday evening, I ran the route for today's race, to get a sense of the hills on the race route.  There would be three challenges: in mile 1, an uphill section from Piedmont Park into the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, early in mile 2, an uphill section from the north end of Piedmont Park past the Orpheus Brewery, and later in mile 2, a particularly steep if short hill heading up to the Sage Parking Deck, which continued more gently uphill past the tennis courts, with slight downhill for mile 3.  These sections would be mitigated by equal downhill sections, but I found myself intimidated by those hills after the survey run.  

But with attention to my mental preparation in the intervening days, I turned trepidation into a positive mindset brimming with confidence.  Although the weather was predicted to be quite cold, any chance of rain or snow on the preceding day evaporated, so the course would be dry and without icy spots.  I decided to try four layers on top: I ran two warmup miles comfortably enough, and decided to try a third warmup mile without the hoodie, and felt fine especially once my body was literally warmed up by the gentle exertion.  There were a few snow flurries, subliming from minimal humidity in the 19 deg F air.  I aimed to run the race at a 7:30 min / mile pace, which would get me to my "stretch" goal of a 23:20 finish, 30 seconds faster than my personal record.  Brian and I might have reasonably started in the back of wave A, but by starting on the front line of wave B, we would be certain to cross the line together and likely have a clear field ahead of us at the beginning.  

Brian and I walked to the front of wave B, trying to stay in motion due to the cold.  My fingers were freezing despite the gloves and handwarmers, and I could hardly speak due to frozen lips, but blowing on my hands helped to stave off frostbite on both fingers and lips.  I bounced on my toes, doing butt kicks to keep my legs limber, but also burning nervous energy.  Brian was to my left, the MC counted down the seconds to the start.  Pre-race fistbumps, "Mano-a-mano!"  As the airhorn sounded, my brain sent the signal to

RUN!!!!!

And run I did!  Five of us were leading the pack, including Brian and I, except for a little boy that ran past me, bumping his head on my right elbow (sorry!), but that didn't slow him down.  The first minute was a blur as we ran past the south side of Lake Clara Meer and made the sharp turn onto the paved road above the Active Oval.  We were running uphill but I was running fast.  Brian fell behind me but I kept pushing.  That was a surprise, I thought that I would be following Brian, and had hoped to keep him in sight.  I stole a look at my watch and saw 6:40 min / mile pace, which I couldn't maintain much longer.  The little boy was quickly out of sight.  I began to pass slower runners from wave A, as two or three faster runners in wave B passed me.  That spurred me to keep pushing forward.  As we left the Active Oval, Sheelagh O'Malley was cheering us as we started the steady climb to the Botanical Gardens.  I had run that hill several times in marathon training in fall 2016.  It didn't seem to slow me down too much, but by the top of the hill my pace was now in the low 7 min / mile range, closer to the pace in my race plan.  As soon as I crested the hill, I sped up again.  Now I began to pay attention to running the tangents.  There were other runners around but it wasn't too crowded so I could set my sights on the curve ahead and aim straight for it, trying to run the shortest possible route.  I needed every single edge to have a chance to win against Brian, and to set a personal record.  

Atlanta Track Club members photo.
Most of the participants didn't leave the heating lamps for the photo.
I'm near the back, middle left, hands in the air. 

We turned right onto Piedmont Road onto a nice downhill that I had flown down in the Galloway Half Marathon.  I didn't feel like I sped up that much today.  Brian told me after the race that he caught up to me on this downhill section, although he didn't try to pass me.  I passed the mile 1 marker at 7:20 elapsed, a little faster than optimal, but I didn't feel tired.  With the cold temperature, I knew that I had no chance of overheating, so I continued to push myself as hard as I could.  Returning to Piedmont Park for a few seconds (so it felt), we hit the second uphill section, up a steep rise into the Orpheus Brewery parking area.  I made it up the steepest section without slowing down too much, but then the elevation continued uphill through the parking area, and I definitely slowed down.  I wanted to look around to see if Brian was going to pass me, but I remembered an admonition from my mother when I was a little boy: "Don't look back when you run, because it will slow you down!"  Thanks Mom, I didn't look back!  For most of the second and third miles, I was surging back and forth with a runner who was wearing Vibram five-finger footwear, who had also started the race on the front line.  A water station was on the right shortly before we turned onto Monroe Drive.  Hardly anyone slowed down for water, I wasn't thirsty, so I didn't slow down either.  No walk break needed today!  As the road leveled out, I felt strong again, and was able to speed up.  I had slowed to a mid-8 min / mile pace, so I needed to hustle if I was going to set a PR. 

My pace (blue area) vs. elevation (green trace)

It was amazing how fast landmarks passed by when I was running quickly.  It was all a blur, hopefully not because my vision was impaired by any lack of blood to the brain!   Then the last steep hill heading up to the pedestrian entrance to the Sage Parking Deck loomed ahead.  This hill had concerned me the most in my survey run, but as I started uphill, I remembered some advice I had read from Jeff Galloway: take short steps with a rapid cadence heading uphill.  That worked!  At least no one passed me, and I didn't need to walk at all.  Running past the entrance to the parking deck, we turned right heading past the tennis courts, still heading uphill.  I saw the 2-mile marker ahead as the race clock clicked ahead past 17 minutes.  With the 2 minute delay for wave B, I was running behind pace, seeing about 17:20 on the clock, 15:20 elapsed for me.  8:00 min for mile 2.  At least the worst of the hills were now behind me.  We headed down into the bowl of the Active Oval, running the soft surface of the 100-year-old track.  I remembered running many miles on the Active Oval in marathon training speed work in fall 2016, and ran strongly as if I was in the first repetition of a workout.  We ran about halfway around the Active Oval.  Above to my right, I could see participants in the later waves.  I looked for Bonnie, who was wearing a bright yellow hoodie, but didn't see her.  As we stepped off of the Active Oval, I finally stole a glance over my left shoulder, looking for Brian.  I didn't see him!  Was he so far back that I was a minute or more ahead of him, or was he directly behind me?  I didn't dare take another look, just kept running as fast as I could.  Indeed I thought I could occasionally hear him breathing behind me and to my right.  After the race, Brian admitted that when he saw me look over my left shoulder, he moved to my right to stay out of view!  

About half of the Tucker Running Club members running today's races.
It was so cold that we couldn't wait for any late-comers,
many of whom were staying warm in their cars or under heating lamps.
I was down to two layers for this photo,
and decided to put the red Atlanta Track Club shirt  back on for the race. 

Now we were on the north side of Lake Clara Meer.  I was paying attention to the tangents again, with a series of gentle curves in the road.  I heard the MC announcing the fastest finishers.  From the survey run as well as this morning's warmup, I knew that I had about 1/2 mile to the finish, and that it would be fairly level for the rest of the race route.  I sped up hoping to gun into the finish.  Fortunately I didn't look at my watch: when I looked at the Garmin data this afternoon, I was at the 20 minute mark at that stage, and might have panicked thinking that I was on pace for a 24-something minute finish, not 23-something.  Finally I checked my watch as we turned the corner near the Park Avenue bridge: 0.3 miles to go, 21:30 on my watch.  A woman cheered for me by name, but I was running so fast that I didn't recognize her - sorry!  Could I get to the finish line in 2 minutes?  I sped up a little more.  As I approached the mile 3 marker, I could see the finish line banner in the distance.  I was almost blocked out by a couple of slower runners, and stepped into the mulch along the left side of the course for a dozen steps to get past them.   I didn't dare check my watch, I just ran as fast as I could.  And then, a runner in a green jacket passed me on my right.  Oh no, it's Brian!  Speed up, speed up, SPEED UP! but Brian's kick was more than I could match.  Nonetheless I was motivated to finish strongly, as I knew that I was on a personal record pace.  I passed the MC encouraging runners to finish, I didn't spare the energy to reach for a high-five.  Sunny Youn, Bonnie's sister, had run the 1-mile race earlier in the morning, and she was cheering me as I flew past.  No one else passed me, I was following Brian into the finish.  On the race clock, I saw 25 minutes, which meant that I was going to finish in 23 minutes and ... and ... 23:30 !!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

4 second win for Brian! 

I congratulated Brian, and also thanked him because I set a new personal record today!  My fingers were frozen and hardly functional, with all the blood going to essential organs over the past 23 minutes.  Fortunately they warmed up over the next few hours, so I escaped frostbite for today.  

Reflecting on my progress since my first race in October 2013, I've trimmed more than 5 minutes from my 5K time.  This is a great way to start 2018! 

This may be my first Atlanta Track Club event in which I've finished in the top 10%!

Brian and I had a back-to-back finish, both gun time and chip time. 

P.S. We enjoyed lunch at Einstein's on Juniper - happy to treat, celebrating Brian's win and my new personal record!