Running for the second half of my life

August 23, 2015: The Hotlanta Half Marathon

Goal C: To finish faster than my slowest half-marathon time (2:19:36)

Goal B: To finish under 2:15

Goal A: To test myself against my best half-marathon times, PR on a loop course 2:05:36 (Publix Georgia Half), PR on a point-to-point net downhill course 2:03:09 (Tear Drop Half).

When I first learned of the Hotlanta Half Marathon earlier this year, I was unsure of the wisdom of running such a long distance in August, typically the warmest month in Atlanta. I cut back on training in June after the summer heat began to bother me, and was concerned that I might develop an overuse injury, so for the past two months I've basically run only 3 times a week, two of those runs usually with the Tucker Running Club. However I've done two 13-mile training runs and a 10-mile trail race during that time. I decided to register in mid-July, shortly before the price increased, and figured that the Hotlanta Half would simply be a test of my progress.

I had originally thought that I would just run with the 2:15 pace team, but by race day, I had decided that their pace might be too slow, and that I could safely try for a faster time. I would try to keep the 2:00 pace team in view at the beginning and see how I felt after the first mile or two. I set my Garmin to intervals of 4:00 run, 0:30 walk, and also planned to walk through every water stop near each mile marker. The water stops were manned by various service organizations, who each would receive a share of the money raised from registration fees.

Race route and elevation map

With Jennifer, fellow runner in the Tucker Running Club.
She ran her second half-marathon this morning.

The night before the race, I was awakened around 1 am by intense lightning and loud thunder, which persisted for about an hour. But in the morning, the weather seemed to be calm. With the sunrise, the sky was dotted with light clouds and the temperature seemed comfortable, although it was quite humid. We arrived at Pemberton Place, near the World of Coca-Cola, shortly after 6 am. As part of my pre-race ritual, I knocked back one shot of beet juice around 6:15 am. Then after walking to the start on Baker Street, dividing Pemberton Place from Centennial Olympic Park, I downed another shot of beet juice standing in front of the start-finish banner, around 6:45. I was assigned to corral C, but it looked like we would all start continuously without a break between waves, as we did in the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in March. As the time neared 7:00 am, I heard the beginning of the national anthem, and the crowd buzz dropped to a hush. Within a few seconds of finishing the anthem, the announcer began counting down to the start, and without further fanfare, the race had begun!

Panorama of runners lining up for the start, shortly before 7 am.
I'm the only one waving at the camerawoman!
At that moment, the skies looked promising, like we would have a dry race.

The first mile went south, past the Georgia Dome and the new Atlanta Falcons Stadium (under construction). It seemed like the 2:00 pace group was moving pretty quickly, as I recorded a first mile of 8:54, yet I didn't gain any ground on them. My second mile through downtown was similarly fast (for me), at 9:00. Everything felt really good and so I tried to maintain a 9-minute per mile pace for as long as possible. The third mile turned south toward Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, originally built for the 1996 Olympics. We enjoyed a significant downhill section south of I-20, and I finished the third mile in 8:53.

Upon rounding the south side of the Turner Field complex, the route started uphill. Fortunately I knew this from running the course last weekend, and was prepared to slow down to avoid burning out too quickly. Staying close to the run / walk ratio of 4:00 / 0:30 from the beginning really paid off here, and I made it through challenging mile 4 without too much difficulty, in 9:43. My average pace had now slowed to 9:10 minute / mile, but I was very happy with my race at that stage, and still felt strong and without any pain. However, I could now see ominous dark clouds on the western horizon and it looked like it was just a matter of time before it started to rain on us. Crossing I-20 and heading toward the Georgia State Capitol, I spotted Bonnie at the top of the hill across the street from the Capitol. I sped up to pass a few of the walkers in that area, blowing Bonnie a kiss as I passed. Covering the fifth mile in 9:27 gave me a cumulative time of 46 minutes - I was hoping for anything faster than 48 minutes at mile-5, so I was really pleased.

That was a big hill!

Shortly after turning onto John Wesley Dobbs and crossing under the Downtown Connector (I-75/I-85, 14 lanes through downtown Atlanta) I took my first gel as planned, about 5.5 miles. That required a slightly longer walk break but I quickly got back up to speed, running mile 6 in 9:31. Now for one of my favorite places to run in Atlanta: the Eastside Beltline. Running north, I would enjoy a gradual decline of 100 feet over the next two miles. Staying with the run / walk formula, I tried to speed up in the running sections, covering mile 7 in 9:30 and mile 8 in 9:15. My favorite water stop to this point of the race was at the mile 7 marker, mostly because there was a bubble machine in operation, which definitely lifted my mood. Unfortunately I could hear thunder overhead, and there was a very light drizzle, but the temperature was also cool, for which I was thankful.

Upon leaving the Beltline and crossing Monroe Avenue to run on 10th Street, I knew that the next mile would be challenging. This was mile 9 in the Galloway 13.1 in December, but today I felt better, primarily because I didn't have any injuries of any kind at this point, just a little tiredness. The road went uphill as we passed Piedmont Park, so I took a second gel at this point, taking a slightly longer walk break. The road then dropped an equal amount in elevation as we approached the turn at Piedmont Road, and I was able to speed up again, running mile 9 in 9:37. We were now running through rain, but it wasn't too heavy, and I was enjoying the cool temperature.

Upon turning into Piedmont Park at the 12th Street entrance, I saw a runner make a sharp U-turn, cutting the route at least one mile short. For a second I was outraged and disappointed that I hadn't noticed her race number, but then decided that it probably didn't matter. And perhaps she was injured and just needed to get back to the finish area as quickly as possible, and that would be fine if she was gracious enough not to cross the finish line. But as we ran through the Park, there was a bigger problem. The rain had increased in its intensity. Now it was a full-fledged downpour, a real gulley-washer. My shoes were soaked by this point. We were all trying to avoid running through the deepest puddles, without much success. I finished the tenth mile in 9:55. Despite the slow mile, I was very happy with my elapsed time of 1:33:45, three minutes faster than my first ten miles in the Publix Georgia Half Marathon.

Exiting the park, the next long block was a steep uphill section on 12th Street. I crossed a timing mat at the bottom, and was puzzled by its location, as it didn't correspond to the 10-mile mark. As planned, I took my time going uphill, not wanting to burn myself out with the better part of 3 miles to go to reach the finish line. Only after I crossed another timing mat near the intersection with Juniper Street did I realize that there had been a "King of the Hill" challenge - I had read about it once somewhere but completely forgot about it on race day.

<Late edit: I didn't think that I had done well on this little challenge because I forgot about it and took it easy on the hill, but in fact my time of 1:45 up the hill gave me 361st place, whereas my overall finish was 358th place, practically the same. If you look at the results

http://www.orionsportstiming.com/results/HotlantaHALFKingoftheHill2015.html

after the 808th runner, "Times below here don't reflect a valid time. This is where the timing mats floated away.">

Turning left onto Juniper Street, the runningnerds who weren't running today were gathered at a water stop. When they saw my "rrt" (runningnerds racing team) shirt, they cheered as I passed, and I shared a few high-fives. Their plan was to offer a cooling towel, and that wouldn't have been helpful under these conditions, but thankfully the towel offered was dry. The towel was the only dry thing on my person, at least for a few seconds, and I was grateful to wipe the rain from my face.

I knew that Juniper Street would be uphill, but didn't anticipate the amount of water that we would have to run through at every intersection. Torrents of water were running downhill from Peachtree Street one block to our west, and then pooling in the level street before flowing downhill toward Piedmont Avenue to the east. At every intersection we ran through ankle-deep water. I heard one runner say, twice, "This isn't any fun any longer." I responded, "here is the swimming part of the race! And perhaps we'll have bikes to ride the final miles, so this will be my first triathlon!" My low expectations for my performance in this race helped me stay positive. Although I had expected to struggle with temperature and not water, nonetheless I could take a relaxed attitude, not having a big time goal in mind. And I knew that whatever I accomplished today would be a very good run for me, with the terrible weather conditions in the final miles. When I checked my time for mile 11, I was pleasantly surprised to see 10:30! Uphill and through inches of water!!

Video: salmon swimming upstream

Finally we turned west onto 5th Street. As we crossed Peachtree Street, the employees of Big Peach Midtown were in the street to cheer us on. Andrew, the employee that regularly opens the store early on Saturday mornings for the group runs, recognized me as I approached, and we gave each other enthusiastic double high fives. Thanks to all of the Big Peach Midtown employees that were cheering us on in the heavy rain! Continuing west and across the downtown connector again, we entered the Georgia Tech campus. This was a nice downhill stretch, covering mile 12 in 9:34. As I approached the water stop, I pulled out my last gel. I had planned to take it a few minutes earlier, then debated as to whether I needed it at all, ultimately decided that I didn't want to risk running out of energy at the end. Accepting a cup of water from one of the first volunteers and then holding the cup in my teeth as I tried to rip over the end of the gel, who did I see near the end of the water line but Elizabeth, the blogger for Running on E! With the cup hanging from my teeth, probably not my best look, LOL!

I knew that the final mile would be a challenge, and didn't really have a good strategy for running it. With a negative split strategy, the last mile should be the fastest, but the sadists who laid out this course put a hundred foot elevation rise in the 13th mile. Could I really run a 9-minute mile, uphill, after running 12 before? I think we all know the answer: I needed 10:29 for mile 13. But as I saw familiar landmarks ahead, my mood lifted. I tried to ignore the soreness in every muscle below the belt and the insistent beeping of my heart rate monitor. Crossing Ivan Allen Boulevard, from which I had turned into the parking garage three hours earlier, I forced myself to speed up. I sneaked a peek at my watch and realized that I could finish very close to my time in the Publix Half Marathon. It was a long block past the Georgia Aquarium but volunteers and/or spectators were encouraging us, "not much further!" Making the turn onto Baker Street, I saw the top of the finish line arch, and a welcome downhill section. I gave it every bit of energy possible, speeding up enough to even pass one of the other runners, looking for Bonnie as I approached the finish line. There she was on the left, next to the clock reading 2:06 and a few seconds! I ran down the center of Baker Street, raising my arms in victory after I crossed the timing mat.

Official time, 2:05:49!! Just 13 seconds slower than the Publix Georgia Half Marathon, which was run in a light drizzle, so today's conditions were much more challenging. I accepted the very heavy medal from the volunteers manning the finish line, accepted a welcome bottle of ice cold water, and kept walking for a few minutes to avoid leg cramps. Stretching while watching some of the other runners finish definitely helped later on, and I didn't even feel that stiff after sitting in the car for the 30-minute drive home.

Lessons to share from today's race:

1) Have realistic expectations. I had not trained rigorously enough to expect much improvement. But at least I had maintained a decent level of fitness so that I was able to run a good 13.1 miles.

2) Run the course a week ahead of time. If you live in the area where you plan to run a race, make the effort to cover the course. I knew where all of the hills would be and was able to run a smart race, conserving energy in the tough sections.

3) Have a plan, but prepare to be flexible as required by the conditions. Although the last four miles were pretty slow because of the rain, I had run a very good race for the first nine miles before conditions deteriorated, thanks largely to having run the course last weekend. As a result, my mood was positive even when I was running through huge puddles later in the race, because I knew that I had done my best earlier in the race when conditions had been decent.

4) Bring a complete set of dry clothes, not only shirt and shorts but also underwear, socks and shoes. The drive home was so much more comfortable as a result. It helped that Pemberton Park at the start/finish area had large and permanent public restroom facilities for changing clothes.

5) Wear thin but high quality running socks. In the past I've favored a thicker sock, trying to give more protection to the skin. But I recently heard advice that the thicker socks, when they are wet with sweat, will exacerbate chafing and blister formation. With all of the water that I had to run through this morning, it would have been much worse for my feet if I had worn thicker socks. Although I have some soreness on the tips of my toes, happily I don't have a single blister this afternoon.

6) Liberally apply anti-chafe balm on any skin that could possibly chafe against clothes or shoes, even (especially) the soles and toes of the feet.

It's even legal to drive while intoxicated with
endorphins!

Goal C: To finish faster than my slowest half-marathon time (2:19:36); Achieved easily!

Goal B: To finish under 2:15; again, Achieved easily!

Goal A: To test myself against my best half-marathon times, PR on a loop course 2:05:36 (Publix Georgia Half), PR on a point-to-point net downhill course 2:03:09 (Tear Drop Half); I'm very pleased with a 2:05:49 time. I knew that this wasn't the race to break the 2 hour barrier, but came closer than I had reasonably expected.

I'm looking forward to increasing my training as the temperatures begin to drop in September. Hopefully I can find the time to put in more miles each week. My next long races: Atlanta 10-miler (October 25), and the Galloway 13.1 (December 13).

August 8, 2015: Jog Days of Summer 5K

Goal C: To get in a 5K race between my brother-in-law's wedding rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony

Goal B: To test my stamina in a summer 5K, temperature above 70 deg F

Goal A: To run a certified 5K in less than 25 minutes

The eighth day of August is a particularly lucky day of the year in east Asian cultures. 8/8/2015 marks the wedding day of my brother-in-law, coinciding with the 48th anniversary of his parents! You may recall that the Beijing Olympics opened on 8/8/2008, which was not a coincidence.

The Atlanta Track Club annually holds the Jog Days of Summer 5K race near Chastain Park, on the north side of Atlanta. Last year we were in New York City celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday (not on 8/8 but a few days later), and I wasn't sure if I would manage to run this morning with all of the activity around the wedding. But since it was a free race for members, I signed up a few weeks ago. If there had been a family breakfast or other event this morning, I would have joined that instead. But with our visitors sleeping in late, I decided that I would prefer to run and could get back home by 9 am before anything wedding-related began. Part of my motivation for running was to join some of the other members of the Tucker Running Club, although only two of us had shirts to wear for today's race. I could also burn off a few pounds from last night's Chinese banquet, to make some room for tonight's Korean buffet.

A few Tucker Running Club members before the race:
Kathy Wiegand, Kathie Walker, me, Curt Walker, and Brian Minor.
The women are on the Atlanta Track Club elite team so are expected to wear the uniform,
and Brian is new to the club and the latest printing of shirts has not yet arrived.

The weather was clear but relatively warm, 73 deg F at the start, with 89% humidity recorded. I wasn't feeling that fast when I arrived at the race, and discovered that I had left my shot of Beet Juice at home, arriving only with an empty bottle left over from last Saturday's trail race! But after warming up for a few minutes, I felt that I might be able to run fairly well. I had warmed up around the first part of the course, noting that there would be an uphill finish, which I wondered how I would handle. Lining up in wave B, for runners with a pace of 8:30 minute / mile or faster, I set my Garmin at an 8:00 minute / mile pace. I didn't think that I could maintain an 8 minute (7.5 mph) pace for 3.11 miles, but that's essentially what I would need to do to break my longstanding goal of running a 5K faster than 25 minutes.

The airhorn sounded for wave B precisely 2 minutes after the first wave had started, and we moved forward quickly. The start was downhill and so most of us were running quickly, although I had to slow down to avoid running down a couple of women that were jogging a bit more slowly than the rest of the group. I figured that would help me to avoid going out too fast, although when I checked my watch after the first minute, I was running only about 8:30 minute / mile pace. Turning onto West Wieuca Drive, I gained some clearance and tried to increase my speed a bit, but the road was gently uphill. I could feel the dampness in the air from the humid morning. At one point we were running directly into the morning sun and the light was searing my retina when I couldn't block it with the visor of my cap, even wearing sunglasses. But when we made the sharp right turn onto Lake Forrest Drive, the road turned downhill, and I was able to lengthen my stride and gradually improve my pace. The clock at the one-mile marker was showing just past 10 minutes for the race, and my Garmin recorded a time of 7:58 for my first mile. As the road leveled out, I could tell that I was slowing a bit, with my pace time now creeping above 8:00. We reached the water station, and I decided to accept a cup of water from the last volunteer, slowing to a walk to take a few sips and then pouring the rest on the back of my neck.

That was a very good move, because the road went uphill just past the water station. We all slowed quite a bit, and I just focused on shortening my stride and increasing my step turnover. At the top of that hill, we made a very sharp left onto Powers Ferry Road. Although I was breathing really heavily, I was fairly pleased with my progress up the hill, and was now rewarded with a fairly substantial downhill run. I was able to pick up some speed, keeping up with most of the runners in my section and even passing a few who had either started out much too fast or had begun with wave A and couldn't quite keep up. As we passed the two-mile marker, I saw 19 minutes on the clock (about 17 minutes elapsed for me) and then saw on my Garmin that I had covered the second mile in 9:08, so that my overall pace was hovering just above 8:30 minute / mile. That was momentarily disappointing, but undoubtably was the best that I could have managed with the challenge of the hill.

Graphics for today's race: elevation in green, pace in blue, heart rate in grey

The road momentarily leveled out, and then we enjoyed one more downhill where I passed a woman wearing the shirt from last week's trail race. She had passed me around the one-mile mark and so I was pleased to get ahead of her, for however long it might last. Some of the fastest finishers were jogging their cooldown pace in the opposite direction. One of the volunteers shouted out "Just a half-mile to go!" which helped me to bear down and try to maintain some speed heading uphill. Around the 3-mile mark, we turned onto West Wieuca Road to close the loop, and I was pressing hard, determined that no one was going to pass me, at least not easily. I was getting warnings on my pulse but was close enough to the finish where I wasn't worried about running out of gas. Otherwise I wasn't checking the Garmin at this stage, but afterwards saw that I ran the third mile in 8:12, which was quite good for me at that late stage in the race. We made a left turn to head for the finish line, which was definitely uphill. I had the sensation that the pack of runners ahead of me was increasing their distance from me, which encouraged me to press ahead with one final burst of energy and so I managed to keep up with them, and no one passed me on the final stretch. Heading for the finish chute, I saw Curt Walker lift his camera to photograph me, and saw 28:10 on the clock right before I crossed the finish line, official result 26:04.

Tucker Running Club After. We all managed to smile!
Kathy Wiegand won the women's masters category!
Also it was Brian's first 5K race. He picked a really tough one for his premiere!

This was a really tough race, perhaps the most challenging 5K that I have run, given the hills coupled with the temperature and the humidity. Although I seem to be stuck right around 26 minutes for the 5K distance, when I checked my times against competitors, I saw that most of the other runners had also clocked slower times than usual, so I felt better about my performance when I saw their numbers. With my current level of training and fitness, I think that I managed the race strategy to achieve my best possible effort, so I was satisfied with my outcome given the conditions.

Goal C: To get in a 5K race between my brother-in-law's wedding rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony; Achieved! As you can see, my C goals are fairly modest, but at least I now have a baseline time for this course, as a benchmark for future years. And I made it home just after 9 am!

Goal B: To test my stamina in a summer 5K, temperature above 70 deg F; Information gained! With 73 deg F at the start of today's race, I think that I may have run the race quite well: overall I was 245th out of 1008 finishers, and 10th out of 35 in my age group. I'm usually closer to the 50th percentile in my age group, sometimes considerably slower, so I was pretty happy with that age group outcome.

Goal A: To run a certified 5K in less than 25 minutes; A full minute slower, but encouraged that I didn't bonk in the warm and humid air. I'm excited to consider what I might be able to run when temperatures drop in the fall.

August 1, 2015: The Red Top Roaster, 9.9 mile trail run

Goal C: To finish my first trail race healthy and enjoying a run in the forest

Goal B: To finish in less than 2 hours

Goal A: To compare with my time in the 2014 Atlanta 10-Miler (street race, 1:31:13)

Shortly after I completed my first 5K in fall 2013, I read that one can improve one's speed by doing trail runs. I've done a little slow running at Yellow River park between Stone Mountain and Snellville, but always get lost and after running for a couple of miles, I slow down so that I can figure out how to get back to the parking lot. I had passed on a trail run at Yellow River earlier in the year because I was focused on training for the Publix Georgia half-marathon and didn't want to risk twisting an ankle. But a few weeks ago I saw this race advertised, at Red Top Mountain State Park on Lake Allatoona, and decided to run it. There was a 3.1 mile option, but my finger slipped when I was registering and found myself going for the 9.9 mile race. Honestly I was thinking that it would hardly be worth driving an hour each way just to run a 5K, but as soon as I had registered, I wondered if I shouldn't have done my first trail run at an easier distance.

This should be easy.

Bonnie had asked a couple of days ago about signing up for the 5K, but in the pre-race e-mail on Wednesday morning, the organizers had announced that the race had sold out, 325 participants maximum. On the day of the race, we arrived more than an hour before the start, lucky to get one of the last few remaining parking spots. But when I checked in to pick up my bib, I asked if Bonnie could sign up on-site. They were happy to do so when I had the cash for the registration fee - and Bonnie was dressed to run, as she was hoping to do a workout while waiting for me to finish - so a moment later, she was pinning on a bib!

Always prepared!

While waiting for the start,
we were rewarded with this beautiful sunrise view of Lake Allatoona.

A few other Tucker Running Club members were there!
with Tanisha Grimes, Mary Beth and George Hemenway

The time passed quickly and the race organizer counted down to the 8:00:00 am start. The weather was pleasant, about 70 deg F with light clouds. I took a spot in the middle of the pack, and we started out slowly across a grass field, then onto the parking lot to spread us out. The 5K and 9.9 mile runners were together for the first 0.45 miles, following the organizer on his mountain bike. We entered the Lodge Trail, which could handle only two abreast, so I was running only an 11-minute mile pace. I figured that was OK, I tend to start too quickly, and could make up the time. But we all slowed down as we reached the first uphill section. Before we had even gone half a mile, I had slightly twisted my left ankle! It wasn't too painful but I hoped that it wouldn't cause me trouble later in the race. And I hoped that Bonnie would be able to enjoy the race. I was expecting that the first part would be level and smooth, but that wasn't the case!

Race route: Grass field to Lodge trail to Homestead Trail (clockwise), then to Sweet Gum trail + Visitor Center loop (counter-clockwise), then another loop of the Homestead Trail, finally back on the Lodge trail concluding with the asphalt Lakeside trail to the finish line.

We split after 0.45 miles, as the 5K runners turned left (south) to run the Sweet Gum trail, whereas the 9.9 mile runners turned right (north) onto the Homestead trail, heading clockwise. I knew that there would be a substantial uphill section in the first mile of the Homestead trail, but the grade was more than I had expected from road racing. Of course! It would be difficult for a car to make it up the grade, but hikers, horses, probably mountain bikes should be able to manage it. I passed a few people who were taking walk breaks up the hill, hoping that I didn't regret my faster pace later in the race. I did know that I would have to repeat this loop for miles 7, 8, and 9. Finally we reached the top of the hill, where a couple of volunteers were loudly cheering us on. The path leveled out and I picked up a bit of speed, trying to get back to a 10 minute / mile pace. I had to take it easy on downhill sections, and stubbed my toes on several occasions on roots, but thank goodness I never fell and didn't really come that close to an accident, taking care to watch where I was stepping. Normally I wear sunglasses when running, but I was glad that I left them behind today, so I could see the ground clearly. And the great thing about running in the forest was the shade, which also kept the temperature comfortable.

I really like the shirt. It feels like it will be comfortable
so I expect that it will be one of my favorite running shirts in the coming months.

Around the two-mile mark, I saw Lake Allatoona for the first time on the race route. I was going to say that this was the most beautiful part of the route, but really most of it was quite nice, and I particularly enjoyed looking down on the lake from the trail. The left ankle wasn't bothering me, except when I made a sharp left turn pivoting on the left foot, which was easily avoided when I realized that it made much more sense to push off the right foot when turning left, and vice versa. So far so good. I finished the first loop of the Homestead trail at about 39 minutes elapsed, took a walk break through the water stop, and then resumed running on the Sweet Gum trail. This part was not as hilly, but we had heard that a big storm had come through a few weeks ago and knocked down quite a few trees. We could see that the trail was cleared quite well, except for one section where the workers deliberately left a two-log obstacle, only about 2 feet high but I was careful to hurdle it cleanly. At times we were running on the same track with the returning group, but the route was clearly marked with arrows both way and as long as we stayed single file to the right, there was plenty of room. I later discovered that they were about 1-1/2 miles ahead of us, so moving pretty quickly. The south end of this loop had some uphill sections and now more people were passing me than I was passing myself. I passed the five-mile sign at 56 minutes - normally I'm finishing a 10K by this time. Although we were halfway done, I wasn't sure that I would be able to run the next 4.9 miles in 56 minutes, but still on track to finish in less than two hours. I took a gel shortly after passing the 6 mile marker - probably should have done so a bit sooner given the slower pace - and I felt a bit stronger after taking in few calories.

As we finished the Sweet Gum trail and crossed the road, some of the 5K finishers were walking to their cars! The volunteers were waving me forward to the second loop of the Homestead trail. I joked with a volunteer as I jogged past "Maybe I should have done the 5K!" but was sure to smile so that she knew that I wasn't in distress. As I began the Homestead trail, heading uphill, the faster runners were passing in the other direction, racing downhill and knowing that they had less than one mile to go. For me, about 3-1/2 more miles! The uphill section was much more difficult this time around, and I regretted having run the first loop at too fast of a pace. I took quite a few walk breaks heading uphill, trying to keep my heart rate below 170 bpm. At this stage there weren't too many runners around me. I caught up to a woman around the 7-mile marker on a walk break where I shared my suspicion that trail-running for 10 miles was harder than running a half-marathon on streets. She seemed to have experience and agreed that was the case. She asked what was my next half marathon, which is the Hotlanta Half in just 3 weeks. I hoped that the Hotlanta race might seem easy after this trail race. We started running again and I pulled well ahead of her. But only for a few minutes! She caught up to me and passed when I took my next walk break. I laughed and said "I had a feeling that you were going to catch up to me!"

As we made the turn to look over Lake Allatoona (by now after 9:30 am), there were a couple of motorboats out on the water. I was mostly running by myself, but one other runner caught up to and passed me in the ninth mile. I congratulated him on pacing himself better in the first loop, as I was struggling to maintain speed with every little uphill section. He pulled well ahead, before long more than a couple of hundred feet ahead. On a couple of turns, I looked behind me, and saw nothing but forest. No brightly colored runner shirts to be seen! Surely I couldn't be in last place, but I definitely slowed down a bit without seeing anyone behind me. Right before we finished the Homestead trail, around the 9-mile mark, I spotted a man in a blue shirt a couple of hundred feet behind. So I'm not last! But I took a rather long walk break in advance of the water stop, and he came through just a few seconds after I left the water station.

That break was helpful, however. I recognized the Lodge trail, although going in the opposite direction. I wasn't going to let Mr. Blue Shirt pass me without making him work for it, so I kept a steady pace on the trail. Then we reached a parking lot and I picked up more speed on the asphalt. The volunteers were cheering "Less than a mile to go!" and I was hoping it was more like a kilometer. I could hear sounds from the finish line and the announcer although I couldn't make out what he was saying, I was still too far away. But then there was a nice surprise: the Lakeside trail was a nice soft asphalt surface, similar to the path at Lucky Shoals park near my home! I was still ahead of Mr. Blue Shirt although I think he was hoping to catch me. But I managed to speed up a bit more - at least it felt like it! I stole a few glimpses at my Garmin watch in this section and saw that I was running between 8:30 and 9:00 minute / mile pace, which made me very happy that I still had a little gas in the tank, even though my heart rate monitor was steadily beeping that my pulse was too high (>170 bpm). I could see the lake up ahead, but didn't recognize the area where we had walked before the race. My watch was reading 1:58:15 and I felt that I was more than 1:45 away from the finish. It seemed to take forever to reach a familiar area where we had walked to the lake three hours earlier, and then I saw the finish line to my left. Mr. Blue Shirt had been overtaken by someone wearing an Orange Shirt, who seemed to be gaining on me quite quickly. My watch read 1:59:45, and was pretty sure that I was more than 15 seconds away from the finish line. But with every last bit of effort, I sped up some more. When I could first read the clock at the finish line, I saw 1:59:59 and then 2:00:00. I didn't see the time as I crossed because I had spotted Bonnie on the other side of the finish line taking my photo as I approached. I estimated that I finished around 2:00:10, but the official result recorded was 2:00:19.

Not DFL!

As I crossed the finish line I began beating my chest in imitation of Tarzan, which Bonnie enjoyed. But as I slowed down, I suddenly felt waves of exhaustion, and later I saw that my heart rate had reached 187 bpm crossing the finish line. But after drinking several cups of water and Gatorade at the finish area, I had recovered.

When I checked the results in the afternoon, I saw that the man who had passed me early in the ninth mile had finished in 1:57:18, three minutes faster than me. So I basically missed the 2-hour goal when I was struggling through mile nine and the first part of the last 0.9 mile. The Garmin data revealed that I ran the first loop of the Homestead trail in 33 minutes, but I needed 41 minutes for the second loop, so I obviously used up too much energy in the first half of the race. But it was a good learning experience for my first trail race. Within a few minutes of recovering, I realized that I definitely want to run this race again next year, now that I have a baseline time that I can work on improving.

Age group winners in my division, Male 50 - 54. The man in first place on the podium regularly
wins my division at Atlanta Track Club events; he finished today's race in 1:12:50!

Overall results: 2:00:19 elapsed time, 12:09 minute / mile average pace; 10th out of 12 in my age group, 154th out of 190 finishers. The overall winner, a 27-year-old man from Decatur, finished in 1:02:03 - amazing!

Goal C: To finish my first trail race healthy and enjoying a run in the forest; Achieved! Remarkably the ankle bothered me less in the second half of the race, although that may have been because I was running more slowly. I think that it was not quite as difficult as a half-marathon, or perhaps I am a little stronger than when I ran my first half-marathon last December.

Goal B: To finish in less than 2 hours; I missed that goal by just 19 seconds! Next time I will more rigorously follow the "Galloway method" in the first miles of the race, because in the end that's probably where I lost it, using up too much energy in the first loop.

Goal A: To compare with my time in the 2014 Atlanta 10-Miler (street race, 1:31:13); Now I know that the two races are hardly comparable, at least for me.

http://www.dirtyspokes.com/red-top-mountain/

Comments on the race: This event was very well organized. The course was well-marked throughout, with volunteers at crucial crossings. Although I carried my own water, I took advantage of most of the water stops to hydrate and fuel with a little Gatorade. A volunteer at the top of the hill on the Homestead trail enthusiastically cheered us as we ran uphill both times - and was probably also there to assist if someone had suffered a serious fall or had become ill. The other runners were pleasant, encouraging and friendly, stepping to the side if someone was passing them, and running behind until there was a safe place to pass. Parking was probably a problem for late-comers, but the organizers had warned us to arrive early and to carpool. At 6:50 am we were able to park in the main lot near the lodge. The park is lovely and I hope to visit again just to enjoy the lake and perhaps do some easy hiking with family or visitors.

I had heard that I didn't really need trail running shoes for this course, but I purchased a pair a couple of weeks ago, and was glad to have them. They provided valuable protection when I stubbed my toes on roots - about a half dozen times - and my feet came through the race intact, without blisters, bruises, or bleeds. The rubber tread, with deeper grooves than my usual running shoes, gave me more traction on the dirt surfaces. Although the race was tougher than I had expected, it was a great experience and one that I hope to repeat on occasion.

July 18, 2015: Decatur DeKalb 4-Miler

Goal C: To beat last year's time of 35:49

Goal B: To run another negative split race

Goal A: To finish in less than 34 minutes (8:30 minute / mile pace)

Last year I ran this race on wet pavement after an early morning deluge that tapered off just a few minutes before the start. I deliberately began in the last wave, ran a relatively slow first mile in 9 minutes, and took it easy at a similar pace through the second and third hilly miles. The payoff was the last mile, which I finished just over 8 minutes, passing people and rocketing through the finish chute. That was the first race in which I ran a negative split, and the most fun that I had experienced in a race to that stage. Since that time, my definition of a successful race has been one in which I can finish strongly and pass some people in the final half-mile, whether it's a 5K or a half-marathon.

Game faces on and ready to roll!

For the 2015 edition, the weather was sunny and dry, and also warm, in fact at 79 degrees F by the race start at 7:30 am. I decided to start in the second wave for 8:30 minute / mile runners and faster, but in the middle of the wave so that I wouldn't begin too quickly. Although I had a blast in last year's race, I thought that I probably could have run a little faster if I had not been as cautious in the beginning. I set my Garmin at a pace of 8:30 minute / mile, with the aim not to exceed that pace for the first mile, and then run on feel for the next two miles through the hills, and as fast as I could manage for the final mile. I also resolved that I would take a very brief walk through the water stop after mile 2, and would allow myself a short break at mile 3 if I felt that I needed it to make the strongest possible finish.

With that game plan in mind, our race started precisely on time. The first mile went really easily, and I felt that I was jogging even though I finished in 8:08. The only disconcerting thing is that I realized about a half-mile into the race that I had forgotten to wear my heart rate monitor, and only realized it when my Garmin didn't give those stats! I guess I wasn't quite awake when we left the house - even though I was the driver!

Mile 2 passed under the old railroad bridge near the intersection of Scott Boulevard and Ponce de Leon, followed by a right turn onto Artwood Drive. This was a challenging uphill section and I involuntarily slowed down in this area. Turning again to run past Fernbank Elementary (now well under construction but not far enough alongto open next month), we finally reached Coventry Road for a left turn and a welcome downhill stretch, where I was able to pick up some speed again. We passed the 2-mile sign at 16:46 (8:38 for mile 2), which was on track for my dream goal A of a 34-minute finish.

But I was really beginning to feel the heat at this stage. After circling East Clifton Road and getting onto the main Clifton Road, I happily slowed to a walk for the water station at about 2.4 miles. Running past the Oxford Road intersection (heading to the end of the Emory campus where I work), the road went uphill to North Decatur Road. My pace dropped off quite a bit, in fact to an 11 minute / mile pace, but I decided that I couldn't really fight it. And I needed to save enough to finish strong in the last half-mile. After turning onto North Decatur Road, we passed the 3-mile sign at 25:52 (9:06 for mile 3). I knew that I would have to run an 8 minute final mile to finish in less than 34 minutes, but didn't think that I could press any further up the hills.

I started looking for the extra water station, not so much due to thirst, but I desperately needed to take a walk break. But I was determined to stay on plan as I trudged my way forward. I could muster only about a 9 minute / mile pace in this section. Finally, with about one-half mile to go in the race, I saw the water station, where I accepted a cup of water from the volunteer, took a couple of sips while walking and stretching my right arm over my head, then pouring the last bit of water down my back.

Now to the finish! I did begin to speed up a bit making the turns through the McDonald's parking lot and onto Clairmont Road. One person passed me in this section but for the most part I was running strongly and gaining on some of the runners in front of me. Very quickly I spotted the sign up ahead for the YMCA, then made a sharp turn at the corner of Maediris Drive.

I found the next gear, helped by the downhill slope of the road. I saw a runner 20 feet ahead of me that I had mostly followed throughout the race "Fueled by wine" on the back of his shirt. He seemed to be flagging, I gave every bit of energy to sprint past him as I raced through the finish line! 8:59 for mile 4, 34:51 overall!

As I slowed to a walk, I felt for a moment like I might vomit, but fortunately I had eaten easily digestible breakfast and after a moment I began to feel better, probably as my heart rate began to drop from the maximum effort zone. I found my way to the water station at the end, and after a few minutes talking with an Emory chemistry colleague, had regained sufficient equilibrium to return to the course to watch Bonnie make her finish.

Goal C: To beat last year's time of 35:49; Achieved with 58 second improvement!

Goal B: To run another negative split race; not this time :(

Goal A: To finish in less than 34 minutes (8:30 minute / mile pace); not today but I ran the best race that I could in the heat, so I was satisfied with the improvement from last year!

July 4, 2015: The Peachtree Road Race 10K

Goal C: To have a safe and fun experience in the 46th running of the Peachtree Road Race;

Goal B: To finish the PRR without a shoe coming untied; and

Goal A: To challenge my 2014 PRR time of 55:36

Atlanta's Independence Day Parade has no floats, no marching bands, and no politicians riding down the street in convertibles. Atlanta's Independence Day Parade is 50,000 - 60,000 people running and walking from Lenox Mall in Buckhead on the north side of town, to Piedmont Park in Midtown, in the world's largest 10K. The bands are on the side of the road along with more than 100,000 spectators and several thousand volunteers. And any politicians in our parade join their constituents on the same route, at the same distance, with the same challenges.

On MARTA train, about to depart from Doraville Station, 6:00 am

This year was my second Peachtree Road Race. Last year I really enjoyed the race, and a great experience was marred only by a shoelace coming untied three times during the race! I don't quite understand the origin of the problem and it's not a matter of how the shoes are tied and laced, as it happens only with one pair of shoes. I've liked the way those shoes looked and felt, but the problem with the shoelaces happened again and again, and they have now been retired to walking or gym workouts only.

5 am weather map for North Georgia

The past week has been rather rainy in Atlanta, and the forecast for today deteriorated as the big day drew near. When I awoke around 4 am this morning, it was raining quite hard in Tucker. By the time we left the house around 5:30 am, the rain had tapered to a light drizzle. We joined a festive group of runners at the Doraville MARTA station, and three stops later at Lenox Station, we poured out of the trains, up the escalators, and onto Lenox Road. Within a few minutes of our arrival at Lenox Mall, the intensity of the rain increased and so we took shelter in one of the many parking garages in the area. But after about 15 minutes, the rain had ended, and Bonnie and I resumed our walk to the starting area. Today was Bonnie's first 10K race. She had prepared well, running 10K distances in several training runs at Stone Mountain, and then together we ran the actual course last Saturday morning.

Was I going to run without chugging a dose of beet juice? Not a chance!

Shortly before we separated this morning to go to our respective corrals, I took my ritual shot of beet juice concentrate. The taste is starting to grow on me! I then had plenty of time to do a gradual warmup, and by 7:15 my legs were feeling really good and I was ready for a great run. I joined the wave C runners in front of Phipps Plaza, with 10K qualifying times from 51:06 - 54:01. Thanks to a good run and a downhill finish in the Chattahoochee Road Race in March, I qualified for wave C by just 7 seconds!

Our wave was next to begin, once we had passed beneath the flag.

Shortly before the official start of the first wave at 7:30, I made sure that the knots on my shoelaces were tight and secure. As the first group began, wave C moved forward a few hundred feet. Then it was wave B's turn to begin at 7:35, and we moved up to the starting line. Last year wave C had jogged up to the start line, today everyone followed the sign and walked. But the minutes passed by quickly and precisely at 7:41, the airhorn sounded and we started our race! Because of the wet roads and the likelihood of rain, we were running under a yellow flag, indicating a "moderate" alert level.

From the color of the bibs, this is probably wave C.
I've probably already passed below the frame of the photo.

Even in the first mile, spectators were cheering us on through Buckhead. We started at a good pace, and by keeping up with the runners around me and not trying to pass anyone, I quickly settled in at the target pace of 8:30 minutes per mile. In fact that was my exact time at the 1 mile alert. Having stayed fairly dry before the race, I was comfortable and was running very well. There were some significant puddles along the left side of the roadway, but by staying about 10 - 15 feet away from the curb, I was able to keep my feet dry. I reflected on one big difference from my conditioning last year: in 2014, I had never run a training run more than about 6-1/2 miles. But over the past year, I've finished three half-marathons, and routinely run 6-mile training runs, so I felt much more comfortable with the 10K distance. I even found myself thinking that today's run would be "easy"!

I had planned to take short walk breaks every 5 - 6 minutes, corresponding to major intersections, but once we were running I realized that it would be unsafe to slow down given the number of runners immediately behind me. But I used the first water stop as a safe place to pull over and walk for about 30 seconds, then got back to speed as mile 2 was perceptibly downhill. About halfway down mile 2, I saw a poor guy dart off of the road onto the sidewalk to tie his shoe. That was me last year, three times. I finished mile 2 in 8:10, then turned up the pace a bit more in mile 3 as we approached the low point of the route at Peachtree Creek. We had already begun our way up the infamous "Cardiac Hill" when we reached the Mile 3 marker, and was very happy to record 8:05 for mile 3.

I slowed going uphill, from about 7.5 mph to 6 mph. The drizzle resumed in this section but it wasn't too heavy at first. I took another short walk break for the water stop after the Mile 3 marker, but it didn't seem to take too long to get to the top of the first hill at Piedmont Hospital, where the road leveled out a bit. But at this point the rain began to fall in earnest, not a deluge, but definitely more than a drizzle. I was grateful to be wearing the Atlanta Track Club cap to keep the rain out of my face. I was a little disappointed to record a time slower than 9 minutes for mile 4 (9:21 to be exact) but felt that I was still on a good pace overall, covering 4 miles in less than 35 minutes total.

Elevation map. Mile 3 marker is near the start of "Cardiac Hill".

Shortly after passing the Mile 4 marker, we saw a bright flash! I momentarily thought it was a flash camera, but when I heard the thunder I realized that it was lightning. It probably wasn't terribly close, perhaps about 1 mile away if I correctly counted 5 seconds between the flash and the boom, but I started to wonder if the lightning would continue and what the race organizers would do with tens of thousands of runners already underway. I took a walk break crossing Interstate-85, then resumed running as we entered Midtown. When we reached the Mile 5 marker, the alert banner was now red, warning that potentially dangerous conditions existed. I thought that I heard one more thunder boom behind me, but further away. I just kept running!

What many don't know about the Peachtree Road Race before they have run it themselves, is that the two smaller hills in mile 5 are almost as challenging as Cardiac Hill in mile 4. I finished mile 5 in 9:31, which was a little disappointing. But 14th Street, just past the Arts Center Complex, was near the high point of the course, and after 12th Street the road began to gradually drop in elevation. As we turned onto 10th Street, contagious cries of "The Corner!" rippled through the mass of runners. "1 kilometer to go!" shouted the sideline announcer. Now was the time to turn up the speed, and thankfully I had a bit in reserve this year. The street was lined with spectators, cheering us to the finish line. Crossing Juniper Street, a sign promised just 1/2 mile to the finish. As I approached the overhead photographers, I held up both arms for their photos, then sped up to about 7.5 mph as I crossed Piedmont Road, with 3 long blocks to go. I caught up to a cluster of slower runners, and to get around them I had to go to the extreme far left of the road next to the barricades. I was very careful not to trip over the legs of the barricades as I sped up some more, now at 8 mph according to my Garmin. I could see the green expanse of Piedmont Park to my left as I passed the Mile 6 marker (52:25, 8:48 for mile 6). Not far now, I kept pushing myself forward. Coming over the last small hill, I could see the finish line ahead. And with one last burst of acceleration, reaching 9 mph as I made a diagonal right to avoid crashing into a couple of women who were slowing before they crossed the finish line, I gave a huge fist pump into the air in riotous celebration as I crossed the second timing track. When I turned off my watch, I had run in 54:49!

Fortunately I didn't see this on the course,
but it was posted on the Atlanta Track Club Facebook page.
Waves M and higher were delayed in starting by approximately 30 minutes.

Piedmont Park was already turning into a mud pit when I arrived. As we walked forward to pick up our shirts, the announcer told us that we had to leave the park as soon as we got our shirts, some water and a food box, due to the bad weather. I was trying to check my phone, and saw a text from Bonnie that the start for her wave was delayed due to bad weather. Eventually I circled back around toward the Atlanta Track Club tent outside of the Park Tavern. I passed on the beer ticket but picked up a Powerade Zero, Kin bar and banana. Inside the tent I recognized Daniel, aka Kurokitty, "The Running Cat". We had met for a second about one month ago, but it was good to meet his wife Marianne and chat with them for a few minutes, before I headed back into the rain to meet up with my parents-in-law.

There's my Wonderwoman, in the sixth mile!

Oops, Superman has just passed Wonderwoman!

Hotdoggin' it at the turn onto 10th Street; one kilometer to go!

After refueling with a cappuccino and half of a turkey sandwich at Caribou Coffee at the corner of Piedmont Road and 10th Street, we set out to watch Bonnie's finish. We were able to track her cellphone while we waited, and I was happy to see her making steady progress along the race route. As she crossed 17th Street, I headed out to meet her in the final block of Peachtree Road, between 10th and 11th Street. I was able to cheer her on as she approached, and kept up with her on the sidewalk as she turned the corner onto 10th Street, but then lost her as the sidewalk narrowed while at the same time she went into high gear for her finish. Catching up with her back in Piedmont Park, she was glowing with pride, celebrating the completion of her first 10K race!

Mission Accomplished!