Late last year when the Atlanta Track Club announced that they were moving the spring marathon to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, I was pleasantly surprised! I had assumed that there would not be a spring marathon. I thought about it carefully before signing up, but I was eager for the challenge. I really hoped to improve on my personal record time from March 2020, and arranged a training plan with Coach Carl Leivers. The only problem was, my base training was not as strong at the start of this training cycle as it was a year earlier. And in the very first week of the training plan, I got a sobering reminder of that in my Thanksgiving Day 14-mile run. Although I ran all of the workouts and completed all of the distances in the plan, I struggled with the longer runs for various reasons. It wasn't until a successful 16-mile run in the second weekend in January 2021 that I regained a positive attitude about training. By that time, I was also beginning to accept that improving my personal marathon best was not a realistic goal for early 2021. So my goals for this marathon were:
Tier 3 or Bronze level goal: Faster than 4:48, which would be my second-fastest marathon
Tier 2 or Silver level goal: Run ca. 4:35, with a negative split.
Tier 1 or Gold level goal: Faster than 4:30, perhaps make an attempt in the second-half of the race for 4:24 if I felt unexpectedly strong in the final 10K.
The nice thing about the silver level goal, which I built my plan around, was that I could get there with a comfortable easy 20-mile jog, and then rnu a 10K race. And in the final days before the marathon, I was talking about an easy 23-mile jog, and then finish with a 5K race.
The weather is usually pleasantly cool in the early mornings in late February. But as race day approached, the temperature forecast for February 28 kept increasing, with a prediction of 55 deg F at the start, rising to 70 deg F by 12:00 pm, around the time of my projected finish. I had never run a marathon in temperatures that warm. To prepare myself as best as I could, I hydrated thoroughly on Friday and Saturday before the race. I must have gone to the bathroom every hour or two during the day. But I was confident that preparation would help me especially as the temperatures warmed.
We drove to McDonough, Georgia to stay in a hotel overnight, so that Bonnie ran the 5K on Saturday evening, then we spared ourselves two long nighttime drives from our home in Tucker. We stayed at the Tru hotel by Hilton, in a modern building near Interstate 75, about 7 miles from the racetrack. Bonnie had a good race, finishing under the lights at the racetrack. I watched from the stands, and got a good sense of the huge size of the racetrack. The runners looked like ants as they entered the from the west, although watching carefully, I could see Bonnie when she entered and in the first part of her lap until she went onto the backstretch. Fortunately I could estimate when Bonnie would reach the halfway point, and her finish time, so I was able to watch her finish even though she was very far away.
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| Dramatic photos shortly after sundown, facing southeast (above), south (middle), and southwest (bottom) |
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| Foggy pre-dawn photo with fellow Tucker runners Rebecca Ludwig (kneeling) and Robin Mitchell (standing). They both ran the half-marathon. |
We only needed about 15 minutes to get to the racetrack and to park. In another 10 - 15 minutes, I had check-in through health screening, picked up the race bib, and emptied the bladder. 15 minutes before my 7:20 am starting time, I checked in at the first staging area, then in 5 minutes moved up to a second area where I found a yellow circle 6-feet away from others. In that zone, Nick Varvel, a young professor in the Emory School of Medicine, said hello! We both use the Blomeyer gym at Emory, but since the gym has been closed for nearly a full year, I haven't seen him since, except in a seminar on Zoom in summer 2020, introducing members of the Biological Discovery through Chemical Innovation initiative at Emory. It was nice to catch up with Nick for a few minutes. Then it was our turn to line up! I strategically took a place near the back of the pack, so that I could start very conservatively. The master of ceremonies, Ronell, set a great mood for our start in the morning mist. My attitude was positive, but calm. As the last minute ticked down, then with 30 seconds to go, we were allowed to remove our masks, which I tucked away in an empty pocket on a running belt. Then the airhorn sounded and we were on our way!
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| I was one of the last people out of the starting area. But that was OK, for a conservative start! |
I hadn't gone more than 100 yards when I heard the sounds of runners coming up behind me! It turns out that it was the Kyle Pease Foundation wheelchair racers in teams of five: the racer in the wheelchair, and four other team members taking turns pushing along the route. I managed to stay out of the way, and after a few miles, had separated from the bunch. I was committed to a 4:30 run / 0:30 walk interval. In the first walk break, my watch showed that I had run a 7 min / mile pace! Surely there was a glitch with the Garmin signal, and indeed when I checked my result after the race, it looks like I ran at least a quarter-mile across an airport runway to get to the start! So my watch consistently signalled about 2/10 of a mile before each mile marker on the course. That wasn't a problem, as the course was well-marked, so I was nearly 11 minutes into my run when I passed the mile 1 mark. Perfect!
The first loop was a couple of out-and-back sections, the first one heading toward the speedway very flat, the second one away from the speedway a little hilly, but nothing difficult. It was great seeing the other runners on the out-and-back sections, including my Dean, Michael Elliott, and Tommy Daniels, both of whom started ahead of me, and one of the older runners, John Wallace who started shortly after me. In mile 4, we were alerted to keep to the right as an "Olympic runner!" was coming back at a rapid clip, on his second loop. There was a water station at mile 4 which I skipped, since I was carrying my own water bottle of Nuun, but said hello to Kristi Swartz as I passed.
We ran past a small airport adjacent to the racetrack, then continued southbound on Speedway Boulevard. My plan was to take a gel every 50 minutes or so, carrying 5 gels to get through the race distance. After mile 5, we made a gentle turn onto Richard Petty Boulevard. This was a five-lane road, with the left three lanes reserved for runners. The sixth mile felt like a long haul, as I thought I saw the turnaround point a couple of times before we actually reached it! After we made a rather sharp return, we left the roadway at mile 7, passing the second water station. This time I took a bottle of Dasani, and managed to top off my water bottle without dropping the lid or anything else while running. Probably I should have just carried the water bottle until my next walk break!
Shortly afterwards, we approached the speedway. The path to the left was for the final (third) lap, which no one seemed to take on this round. This was the only Atlanta-esque steep hill, but it was short, and then we could overlook the speedway. As we passed mile 8, we went back downhill onto the roadway. That was actually tougher for me than running uphill, as I could feel my toes braking against the front of my shoes.
We ran another mile on the roads surrounding the race track. At the mile 9 marker, Tes Sobomehin Marshall was cheering us on as a course monitor! We turned onto a road immediately adjacent to the outer wall of the speedway. There were three pedestrian overpasses where I was looking for Bonnie. I was due for a walk break and my second gel, but I didn't want to walk or eat when Bonnie could photograph me. So vain! But it was great to see Bonnie as I passed. After I knew that I was out of sight, I took my delayed walk break and the gel.
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| Still feeling good at mile 9. The fog finally dispersed, but fortunately it remained mostly cloudy overhead. |
Passing mile 10, we began our second lap. I was still running very easily, enjoying the run and the experience. Somehow the out-and-back sections seemed just a little shorter the second time around! As I approached the half-marathon mark, I checked my time: 2:17:40 as I crossed the 13.1 mile timing mat. Perfect timing for a 4:35 finish! As the temperature gradually increased, I made sure to drink a little during most walk breaks, so I needed to fill up again at the mile 4 / mile 14 water stop, this time pouring some Powerade into my water bottle, and taking another gel around this point.
As we made our way on Richard Petty Boulevard for the second time, there seemed to be some confusion about the route. Some runners were turning left toward the speedway. I was pretty sure that was mile 10 for the half-marathon runners, although I had not paid that much attention to that route. One of the course monitors asked me what mile I was in: I replied "14 or 15, I'm not sure." What I did know was that my answer would assure him that I was running the marathon and not the half-marathon.
Unfortunately, I was beginning to feel the number of miles, 16, then 17 miles at the second water station. One of Coach Carl's 10 Commandments for marathon running:
Uh oh. Last year at this stage, I felt great, even exhilarated! Today, my legs were beginning to tire, despite my very easy pacing. Nine miles to go. I tried to remind myself: "Just run the next mile", the advice that Dick Beardsley kept telling himself in the epic 1982 Boston Marathon, the duel-in-the-sun with Alberto Salazar. Another dash up the steep hill to overlook the speedway: that wasn't bad. But the return downhill was even tougher. Fortunately the next mile was very level. I took a gel while running that stretch. And as I passed the mile 19 marker, I saw Bonnie on the overpass. "Gotta look good for Bonnie" I told myself. She was excited that I was so far along, and I guess I looked OK to her.
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| At 19 miles |
The final loop was shorter. Once again we passed the exit point for the half-marathon route, and I kept running straight, passing the mile 20 marker. The subsequent stretch along Richard Petty Boulevard was tougher than the previous loop. Up ahead, I heard a scream of pain: it was a runner lying in the road suffering a leg cramp. Wow, that looked really bad. Someone had stopped to help him, and a policeman was running down the road to assist as well. I've never felt anything like that on a run. I hope I never do. As we came back on the return leg, there was a small vehicle on the side of the road. I don't know if they were picking him up or if they were treating him in an attempt to help him resume the run and get to the finish line.
At that point, I was entering my own crisis zone, but not as serious. I had completed 22 quality miles, but my legs were really, really tired. I began to think, "I'm never running another marathon." That's going to be my new standard for judging the toughness of the marathon: at what mile does that thought come up? In March 2020, it didn't happen until I was past the mile 25 marker. A line from the 1980's movie "Something Wild" came to mind: "Charlie, attempt to be cool." I think that's from the scene where the Jeff Bridges character is changing clothes inside the convenience store at a gas station. Coach Carl's 7th commandment:
I thought I was ready for this. But when I checked my heart rate, I was above 170 beats per mile. With 4 miles to go, and nothing to gain by pushing myself harder, I took a long walk break through the last water station. Bob Wells was working the station, and gave me a concerned look - I could see it in his eyes, even though the rest of his face was covered by his mask. I assured him, "I'm OK, I just need to slow down so I can run when I get on the race track." Once I cleared the water station, approaching the speedway, I began running again. At the fork in the route, I was grateful to take the path to the left toward the entrance to the speedway. Unfortunately I could not continue running for 4-1/2 minutes at a stretch. I hated taking the extra walk breaks, but I was still on a sub-4:40 pace. I let the negative split goal slip away, just wanting to get onto the speedway race track and then run well.
The path went downhill on a curve, then onto the Speedway grounds, into a tunnel, and onto the infield! I had arrived, with about 3 miles remaining. But sadly, I was moving very slowly. I had to take a walk break every couple of minutes, and wasn't running very fast when I was running. Despite my struggle, I was absorbing the experience of running on the race track. It was really cool to see the banked walls rising to my right as we ran the curve. In the lane next to me, I saw Susie Kim on her final lap. I tried to say hi, but I don't think she heard me. Probably I was hardly getting the words out. Anyway she moved ahead as I slowed to a walk. Most people around me were walking. I only remember one person passing me while I was running, although it certainly happened when I was walking. Around the next curve, a course monitor was guiding us: first lap to the left, second lap to the right for the finish. I toyed with the idea of taking the right lane, but knew that I would be disappointed with myself, and had no doubt that my short-cut would be detected. Plus, I paid for 26.2 miles, so I was gonna get my money's worth!
On the straightaway, the song "Happy" was playing. I wasn't happy, but was moving along, envious of the runners in the lane to my right that were approaching the finish line. The straightaway was really, really long. From running on 400 meter tracks, I'm accustomed to the straightaway being less than 100 meters, but this must have been a half-mile. Bonnie told me afterwards that she saw me on the straightaway, looking like I was heading for a 4:28 - 4:29 finish. She shouted to the people around her, "My husband is ahead of his goal pace!!" Then she saw me pass the finish line and continue running. And that's when she realized that I had one more lap. 1.5 miles to go.
Bonnie's video of my first lap
At this point, I knew that if I gave up and just walked the rest of the way, I would lose my Bronze goal of breaking 4:48. Determined to run my second-best marathon time, I pushed myself to run. I took short walk breaks when I needed it, counted to 30, then resumed running for as long as I could, which was a minute or two. When I approached the course monitor again, I was so happy to pass him to his right. Where was the mile 26 marker? I don't recall seeing it. But I just needed to get onto the straightaway and then I would finish, going for sub-4:45.
Onto the straightaway, I could see the finish area. But it was really far away. I tried to pick up my pace, checking my watch: 4:44:40 elapsed. Run, run, run. But the finish line wasn't getting much closer. It was as if the finish line was trying to run away from me. Some other runners picked up their pace. I tried to run faster, but just didn't have that extra gear. 4:45:00 elapsed on my watch. Finally I was closing in on the finish line. Finally, finally, I was through the line.
Bonnie's video of my finish
I remember putting up both arms in victory. But in Bonnie's video, my hands didn't make it above my head. Nonetheless I had enough wits about me to remember the pre-race instruction to put my mask back on immediately after crossing the finish line. It took me a minute or two to fish it out of my running belt. And only then did I think to stop my watch, at 4:47 and change, so my finish is less impressive on Strava. Fortunately the Atlanta Track Club recorded my official time.
Although I wish that I had run closer to my Silver level goal, realistically today's result was the best that I could achieve with the training that I completed. Fortunately I've recovered quickly, both physically and mentally. I'm looking forward to running another marathon, but only upon committing to a better training cycle, and better preparation in the months before beginning the marathon build.
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| Smiling behind the mask |
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| Cruelty: we had to climb a set of stairs to make our way out of the speedway. It was difficult, but at least it didn't hurt (much), which was a promising sign. |
