. 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
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.
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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.
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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!
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I'm really happy with my progression through each 5K.
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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.
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| with Korey post-race |
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| 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!
