April 30, 2016: Beat the Street for Little Feet 5K

One of my colleagues recommended a 5K fundraiser for his son's preschool, the Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool in Decatur.  It turns out that I had heard about this race from The Running Cat blog, where Kurokitty described his race experience in 2014.  What I didn't know until today is that Pete the Cat is a beloved character in a set of children's books and artwork produced by a local artist and two local authors.  I guess that not knowing about this is another downside of not having children.  

Bonnie and I before the race

Oakhurst is a neighborhood on the west side of Decatur, bordering the Kirkwood neighborhood of east Atlanta, both just south of the MARTA Blue Line, the east-west line connecting downtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur.  I've discovered the joys of the Oakhurst and Kirkwood neighborhoods on several Thursday evening group runs out of the Big Peach Running Company, a little gem of a running store just a block from Decatur Square.  Like many other areas of metro Atlanta, the neighborhood is hilly, but conquering hills is what makes us strong! 

Race route, with kilometer markers.  Bonnie calls the little semi-loop on the right "the hernia".
Adams Street, running north-south on the east side of the race route, is two blocks of uphill joy.

The race began on Mead Road in front of Oakhurst Elementary School.  There wasn't a timing strip at the start, so I lined up just a few rows behind the fast group, hoping that I wouldn't get run down by anyone behind me.  The starter actually had a real starter's pistol, and with a shot we were off!  In the first block, I felt that I was pressing a bit at an 8 min/mile pace, even though I had warmed up fairly well, but then settled into a comfort zone.  At the Oakhurst Village crossing, we made a left, and then onto Oakview Road, where we passed a group training for the Peachtree Road Race going in the opposite direction.  I finished the first kilometer in 4:42, which was right on plan.  But with a right turn onto Adams Street, I found myself looking up a steep hill.  That was a struggle but I managed to get up the two-block hill at a 10 min / mile pace, turning left onto the appropriately named Hill Street.  This was still uphill but more gently, and then leveled out as I approached the 1 mile mark.  I checked my watch as I passed the sign, at 8:03, so I was doing OK, although not on personal record pace. 

The Adams Street hill was shortly before the 1 mile mark.
 I didn't appreciate that the first 0.6 mile was a subtle downhill, actually 56 feet downhill! 

See how much my pace dropped going up the hills.
But at least I had one burst of speed in a downhill section
shortly before the 2-mile marker. 

Closing the loop on the "hernia", we now ran through the Oakhurst Village intersection, returning onto Oakview Road, which was a nice boulevard through a residential neighborhood. heading into Kirkwood, in the city of Atlanta.  A couple of children wearing Pete the Cat shirts were cheering us on from their front yard.  I finished the second kilometer in 5:15 (34 feet net uphill) and had sped up a bit for the third kilometer in 4:55 (32 feet downhill).  I passed the 2-mile marker a few seconds faster than 16 minutes.  Here we turned northward onto Sisson Avenue, which was a subtle uphill grade.  I knew the challenge of Sisson Avenue from the Thursday evening group runs, and realized at that moment that I was tailing off the end of the lead pack, with no one particularly close behind me.  I began having thoughts of being the old animal that would be picked off by the tiger stalking the herd, and while that might sound very negative to the reader, that gave me the motivation to keep pressing, finishing the fourth kilometer in 5:22 (net 31 feet uphill).  Finally we made the turn onto College Avenue, which would take us to the finish line.  I took a quick glance to the right as I turned, confirming that there was still a substantial gap between me and the next runner.  For the first time I needed sunglasses as we ran eastward, and as I put them on I told myself, maybe the glasses will make me look faster!  Unfortunately there was more uphill on the overpass at East Lake Drive, just past the East Lake MARTA station, but I was keeping up with the closest runner in front of me.  I thought of the cheetah that I had seen putting on a speed demonstration at the Australia Zoo some 15 years ago.  Channeling my inner cheetah, I forced myself to speed up just a bit, as the finish sign came into view, just under 24 minutes past.  I felt that it would take me more than a minute to reach the finish line, as we could see it from a few blocks away.  Then, I heard the footsteps of someone sprinting up behind me - and he raced past me and the next runner in front of the spectators at Revolution Doughnuts.  Maybe he was the cheetah and I was a mere housecat.  But he was the only one to pass me coming into the finish, at 25:23.  

I checked my watch before stopping it to make sure that it was a legitimate 5K, and seeing 5.00 km at 25:26, was satisfied with the outcome.  

After I finished, I enjoyed walking back down the course a few blocks to cheer on the other runners.
These children must have decided to run the last part of the race,
giving Dad an empty stroller for the uphill push to the end.
My only complaint about this race: see the automobile in the runner's lane?!
I noticed at about 40 minutes in, the Atlanta police at the west end of the route
on College Avenue must have begun letting traffic through.  The slower runners
had to deal with automobiles passing them on the roadway.  What's worse,
the runners were on the right side of the road (should have been our reserved lane)
so they couldn't see the cars coming up behind them. 

My race was a bit slower than I was hoping for, but it was probably a hillier course than the last 5K run three weeks ago, and the weather was 20 degrees warmer.  I may not be setting any more PRs in the next six months, but am hopeful that running in warmer weather will pay dividends when the weather cools again in October and November.  

Bonnie had a strong finish, passing four other runners in the last few hundred yards!

A sign outside of a restaurant in Kirkwood on College Avenue

Smokey cat, now 17 years old.  She had an apparent stroke a
couple of years ago, and was partially paralyzed and even blind for several days.
Remarkably, she began to regain her mobility and sight within a week,
and has made a strong recovery.  She's not quite back to where she was
before the stroke, but well enough to enjoy her life as our pampered kitty. 

April 17, 2016: The Morningside Mile

2015 time: 7:03

I'm a fair-weather runner. 

Last spring I ran my first one-mile race through the Virginia-Highland and Morningside neighborhoods.  I recalled that it was a fun race and decided that I would run it again this year if the weather was promising.  Bonnie was also interested and so I signed both of us up a few days ahead of race day.  My only concern was running two races on consecutive days, having run the Singleton 10K yesterday morning, but thanks to The Miracle Body Buffer, we were both ready to run again today.  It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky!

As with last year's race, the elite runners (faster than 6 minute / mile) started their race at 12:00 pm.  I watched their start from the sidewalk.  Then it was time for the second wave, "Amateurs.  6 - 9 minute mile runners.  No kids under 16."  That last sentence was ignored.  As I tried to get into the second wave, I found that the only place available for me behind the start line was immediately in front of a parked car, with the back of my legs touching the front bumper.  I was a little worried about being on the front line until I heard the instructions, asking for runners at a 6 - 7 minute pace to come to the front.  Hoping to improve on last year's time, I was attempting to finish in less than 7 minutes.  

Panorama of the intersection where the race began, with Lanier Boulevard from left to right and
 Virginia Avenue straight ahead.  The race began on the left side of this photo, running left to right.
 I started immediately in front of the parked car, visible on the far left of the photo. 

We began at the bottom of the map
and ran to the north, more or less. 

Our race began at 12:15 pm.  Although I had warmed up fairly well, I felt a sharp pain in the center of each gluteus as I began running, but fortunately that disappeared after a few steps.  We began with a nice downhill section, so I decided to go all out once I had passed the children, mostly to see how fast I could go.  Within a few hundred feet of the start, an small insect had the misfortune to hover at the same elevation as my mouth, and the little creature perished somewhere deep in my lungs.  That didn't slow me at all.  Afterwards, the Garmin revealed that I reached 11.2 mph at 0.15 miles into the race.  Amazingly, I began to tire, even with the gravity assist.  If more blood had been going to my brain, I would have worried more about the uphill section to come, but fortunately I was just running, GO-GO-GO!!!  At the bottom of the hill, just past the midpoint of the race, I was still moving at 9.1 mph.  We turned onto Morningside Drive, to begin the first uphill section.  Although I certainly slowed down (to 7.6 mph), it wasn't too bad, in fact it felt 'good' to use different muscles after the downhill start.  Morningside Drive leveled out after a block, and I got back to 8.1 mph.  Then we made a right turn onto Lanier Place, which was the toughest uphill stage of the race, slowing down to 7.4 mph.  Fortunately it was only one short block, then we turned right onto North Highland Avenue for the dash to the finish line.  I was really tired but I knew that I didn't have much further to go, getting back up to 8.0 mph.  As the finish line came into view, I realized that I would achieve my goal!  The clock read 6:52 as I crossed the finish line. 

Not a negative split! But I'm still very pleased with my run.  

Immediately after finishing, I had an intense sensation of soreness in the back of my throat, and then remembered having the same problem last year.  I think that once again, I had inhaled a considerable amount of tree pollen in the short duration of the race.  I needed several bottles of water - and several sprays of Chloraseptic when we got home - but I will survive.  I checked in with Temilola "Tes" Sobomehin at the runningnerds tent, who was advertising the 1-mile race series.  At the moment that I was talking with her, I couldn't imagine running another 1-mile race, as I was still breathing hard from today's race.  But with the passage of a few hours, my interest has been piqued.

Representing runningnerds

runningnerd nation moving up in the world!

I got back to the race finish area just in time to
photograph Bonnie finishing her first one-mile race! 

Bonnie and I stayed at the post-race party for the awards ceremony (I was 50 seconds slower than the 50 - 59 male age group winner), then walked a few feet to Alon's Bakery for sandwiches.  Although there was no seating available at Alon's, we drove to Piedmont Park and enjoyed delicious lamb and garlic sandwiches along with savory Monte Enebro cheese on baguette slices, on a beautiful afternoon. 

With Bonnie at Piedmont Park, after the race

   Morningside Mile

Amendment, April 19: The photos have been posted on the Morningside Mile Facebook page.  Although I'm obscured by the runner immediately in front of me, it looks like I finished in 6:53 or maybe even 6:54.  6:52 was the last number that I saw on the clock but that was a step or two before crossing the finish line.  I'm awaiting official results to see how I did relative to others in my age group! 
Amendment, April 21: The official result is 6:52.  In the photos it looks like there are two clocks, one facing each direction.  I wonder if the two clocks weren't perfectly synchronized, not that a couple of seconds really matters at my pace!

Above: I'm in the green shirt, above the number "9" on the clock.
Below: I'm immediately behind runner #1312.

April 16, 2016: The Singleton 10K

2015 Singleton 10K time: 53:50
10K PR: 53:43 (Charles Harris, February 2016)

Having run a couple of 5K races at personal record pace, I was eager to see how I might fare in a 10K.  In last year's Singleton 10K, in Norcross in the northeast Atlanta suburbs, I set a personal record that stood for 10 months.  I had read somewhere that a 10K is generally run about 6% slower than a 5K, so multiplying my 5K PRs of ca. 24 minutes x 2 = 48 minutes x 1.06 predicts a 10K time of approximately 51 minutes.  That correlation has not held up for me, but I decided to run hard in today's race and see how I would fare.  My goal was to run splits averaging 8:30 minutes / mile, or 5:15 minutes / kilometer, which would get me below 53 minutes for the 10K distance. 

Earlier in the week, a Facebook inquiry on the Tucker Running Club page degenerated into a little trash-talkin' between Curt Walker, Brian Minor and me:

On race day, Brian and I discussed whether to start in the back of wave A or with wave B.  My concern about starting with wave A (7:30 min / mi or faster) was that I might be passed later in the race by a large number of 5K runners who had started with wave B, (8:30 min / mi or faster).  Since I wasn't planning to run a 5K pace, I thought it would be better to start with wave B.  Curt and Kathie Walker started as usual in wave A.  Brian and I lined up about three rows from the front of wave B, and our race began exactly two minutes after the official start.  That proved to be a good decision, as the runners around us began at the same pace, and the start wasn't crowded.  I had warmed up by jogging about 2 miles earlier in the morning, so my legs felt good from the beginning, and I had no trouble establishing the desired pace, 5:06 minutes for the first kilometer.  

A selfie before the race, with a frog on a bench in Thrasher Park, in historic downtown Norcross.
You can see more of these frog statues in the Botanical Gardens in midtown Atlanta. 

Brian and I went back and forth for the first couple of miles, and he passed me when I took a walk break through the water station shortly before the mile 2 marker.  I managed to catch up to Brian by the turn-around and even yelled something like "Right behind you, Brian Minor!"  I opened up a gap on Brian in the third mile, just hoping that I wouldn't burn out later in the race.  I caught up with Kathie Walker around the mile 3 marker - she was battling a flare-up with an Achilles tendon - and after completing the first 5K loop in 25:16, I managed to stay in front of her as well.  One of the fun things about this race was a couple of out-and-back loops into neighborhoods, so you could see the runners a couple of minutes in front and a couple of minutes in back of you, saying hello - and also comparing progress against friendly competitors.  Curt Walker stayed in front of me for the entire race, but I felt that there was less than a 2-minute gap between us, so I felt really good about my race and pace.  As we approached the mile 3 marker, I realized that some of the 5K runners in my vicinity were starting to sprint to the end of their race, and so I kept to the right and just ran steadily through the chute to begin the second lap. 

The first 5K might have gone a bit faster than planned - and faster than my first lap in the 2015 race (26:13) - but I felt good and was maintaining a decent pace, taking short walk breaks only at the water stations, three in total.  I slowed down slightly in the second lap, but was still running about 5:20 min / km average pace.  When I passed the mile 5 marker at 43 minutes on the clock (41 minutes chip time), I knew that I was definitely on a PR pace, having run five miles in the Livvy's Love race in January in about 42 minutes.  Once we were back onto North Peachtree Street, I started pressing to maintain speed.  I saw 51 minutes on the clock as I passed the mile 6 marker (just under 50 minutes chip time) and realized that I might even beat 52 minutes if I kept up my pace.  Making the final two turns around the park, enjoying a steep downhill for the next-to-last block, I entered the finishing chute seeing 53 minutes on the clock, crossing the timing mat at 53:42!  I threw both arms in the air as I crossed the line in celebration, knowing that I had smashed my old PR!  Official time, 51:40!!

That was an amazing run.  While I had to work for it, the overall 8:20 min / mile pace was pretty comfortable for me, compared with last week's 5K at a 7:40 min / mile pace.  My heart rate monitor didn't sound until after the mile 5 marker, as I was going up the last hill, and as the road levelled off, the heart rate monitor was largely quiet until I began to push with about one-half mile to go. 

Kathie Walker won her age group, finishing about 25 seconds after me.  I ended up with a chip time slightly faster than Curt Walker - who placed 3rd in his age group.  I outran Brian Minor by a little more than 2 minutes, but he was happy to record a 10K personal record on the course.  Bonnie also finished strongly, just a minute slower than her 10K PR (set on a net downhill course), so it was a good day all around. 

Next race: Morningside Mile, tomorrow! (gulp)

April 9, 2016: The Atlanta Hawks Fast Break 5K

5K PR: 24:00 (February 2016)

In our Weight Watchers meeting a few weeks ago, Melva Noel told me that she was training for her first 5K, and would be running this upcoming race, sponsored by the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Track Club.  Bonnie and I decided at that moment that we would also register for the race to join Melva in celebrating her first 5K.  The race registration has come with a ticket for a late-season home game, so we've decided to get our tickets for the last home game of the season, against the Boston Celtics.  Going into the final week of the season, both Boston and Atlanta are tied for 3rd place in the conference, and are jockeying for home court advantage in the early rounds of the playoffs.  We have not been to an Atlanta Hawks game this season, so that is a fun bonus to the race. 

With Bonnie Youn and Melva Noel, a few minutes before the start.

In February I smashed my old 5K record with a time of 24:00 in the Hearts and Soles 5K.  That was an amazing run for me, and one that I wasn't sure that I could duplicate.  Nevertheless, I decided to take the same strategy to prepare for this race: 1) arrive early enough to jog the race route, both to get a good warmup and to familiarize myself with any challenges along the route; 2) set my watch to kilometer settings, as I felt that it would be easier to aim for better than 5 minute / kilometer paces and just put five of those laps together; and 3) start in the back of wave A.  

Wave A runners shortly before the start.  Harry the Hawk is posing for photos near the starting line.
(Spoiler alert: I finished ahead of Harry the Hawk!)
P.S. Harry the Hawk really had a lot of energy, not only did he run the 5K in the morning,
but he was dancing up a storm at the basketball game 12 hours later! 

On the morning of the race, the temperature was relatively cold, around 45 degrees F.  I wasn't familiar with the streets south of downtown into the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, so I was glad to reconnoiter the route ahead of time.  Returning to the start-finish area at Philips Arena, I caught up with Bonnie and Melva for a pre-race selfie, and then jogged up to wave A.  I was surprised to see that the wave was sparsely populated, and quite a few of us, probably those around the 7:30 pace, waited some distance behind the starting line until the volunteers instructed us to move closer to the start.   Right before we started, a woman wearing runningnerds gear ran up to me to give me a high-five - I was also wearing a runningnerds racing team (rrt) shirt, we wished each other good luck, and then we got the signal to begin!

The race route, with distances marked in kilometers.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could keep up with the group in the first kilometer, although I had to focus to avoid slowing down.  The other runningnerd opened a gap in front of me and it seemed that there was a 100-foot gap between me and the lead group, yet I was running about 4:30 min/km pace down Marietta street (about 7:15 min / mile).  As I made the turn onto Pryor Street, the first kilometer alert sounded at 4:32.  Shortly before making another turn, onto Trinity Avenue, I passed the one mile marker at 7:15 on the clock.  Could I really be running this fast?  I told myself, don't think too much, just RUN!  The second kilometer ticked by quite quickly, in 4:36.  As I approached the water stop, I heard the first alert from my heart rate monitor, and decided to walk through the water station.  A few of the runners in front of me didn't take water, but most of those who did also walked for a few seconds.  I got back up to speed, finishing the third kilometer in 4:56.  I realized that I was on pace to run another 24 minute 5K race if I could maintain just under a 5 min / kilometer pace.  There was the turn onto McDaniel Street, with the clock at the mile 2 marker reading 15:00 as I passed.  Go - GO - GO!!! 

Turning onto Northside Drive, the route was now uphill for a couple of blocks, although I managed to stay around a 5 min / km pace.  The heart rate monitor sounded again but then we began to go downhill in the direction of the new Atlanta football stadium (under construction).  I just flew down the road, letting gravity do the hard work, and the alarm stopped sounding for a moment.  I was delighted to hear the 4 km alert at 19 minutes even (4:51 for the fourth kilometer), but that was followed by the heart rate monitor saying slow down, SLOW DOWN!  Then we turned onto Markham Drive and the road was clearly going uphill.  The heart rate monitor beeped more insistently, SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN!!  I said NO!  GO  GO  GO!  Another runner passed me on that street, running strongly, pumping his right arm over his head to pump us up, GO  GO  GO  GO!  

Now for the toughest part of the race: up the exit lane onto Walker Street.  Volunteers were cheering loudly, which drowned out the inner voice telling me "Shouldn't you take a walk break?"  NO!!  GO  GO  GO!!!  Upon reaching Walker Street we continued going up over the Mitchell Street overpass, with my heart rate monitor beeping continuously.  Now I could see Philips Arena ahead, and knew that I was in the home stretch.  My progress to that point of kilometer 5 was at about a 5:20 min / km pace, and somehow I found a higher gear, catching up to and passing a couple of runners that seemed to be flagging.  The clock at the 3-mile marker wasn't operating, but my watch showed 23:10 elapsed.  I might just make the 24 minute time if I hustled, GO!  GO!!  GO!!!  Don't throw up!  GO!  GO!!  GO!!!  GO!!!!  as I made the final turn toward the finish.  

In that moment: a runner that I had caught up to put on his afterburners and streaked ahead of me; it was downhill to the finish; and I saw 23:45 on the clock.  GO!  GO!  GO!  GO!   and I crossed the finish line with 23:57 showing on the clock  I DID IT!!!  Fist pump in the air!  I DID IT!  I didn't throw up!  I did it, I did it! 

And my official result: 23:52!  A new PR by 8 seconds!  

After cooling down and regaining my wits, I slowly walked most of the last kilometer, to get photos of Melva and Bonnie as they made their way to the finish.  Melva had a great debut at just over 48 minutes, and Bonnie finished at 54 minutes even. 

What a great race, what a great day!  

After the race, with the Mercedes-Benz stadium in the background, due to open for the 2017 NFL season.
The new stadium will host not only the Atlanta Falcons, but also a new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United FC. 

Given the small size of the field in wave A, I wondered if I might place in my age group.  They didn't call my name during the awards ceremony, but when I checked the results after the race, I was 4th out of 37 in my age group, just 10 seconds behind third place, and 66th out of 778 finishers.  I was very satisfied to knock out another 24 minute 5K, so I guess that February race wasn't an aberration!  Also, starting with the speedsters in wave A really helped.  I can't run that fast on my own, but chasing some "rabbits" and being chased myself really helped me find the speed that I didn't know that I had. 

One of the reasons that I originally decided to work on longer distances was the hope that I might get a little faster in the shorter distances.  That seems to have worked!  Granted, I'm quite certain that I could not have run one more kilometer at that pace.  I know that I ran my best possible race in my current physical shape, so there was nowhere that I lost the 10 second difference between me and third place.  Getting faster will require additional training, but I certainly feel motivated to continue working out, especially mid-week speed workouts. 

http://www.atlantatrackclub.org/fast-break-5k

March 20, 2016: The Publix Georgia Half Marathon

2015 Course Time: 2:05:36

Half-Marathon PR: 1:59:48 (December 2015)

Since breaking the 2-hour barrier in December, I've gone half-marathon crazy, signing up for five 2016 races: Thrill in the Hills in February, today's race, the Hotlanta Half in June, the Buford Highway Half in October, and the Jeff Galloway 13.1 in December. 

Spring in my neighborhood

To celebrate the spring equinox, Atlanta hosted the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon this morning.  We have had a beautiful early spring, with the trees coming into bud, albeit with corresponding rises in pollen levels.  It was a wonderful morning for running, about 45 deg at the start with clear skies, slightly marred only by a bit of wind.  We had a great turnout from the Tucker Running Club, at least 11 half-marathon runners and 4 marathon runners. 

Left-to-right: Kalpana Patel, Corey Tanner, Crystal Tanner, Malisa Anderson-Strait, Paula Klingman-Palk, Robin Valentine Mitchell, Priscilla Bray Hammond, your author, Kathie Walker, Curt Walker, Brian Minor, and Beverly Ford

Bonnie and I on the 5:15 am train from Doraville Station

Arriving in wave C and finding the 2:00 pace team

With Brian Minor about 1 minute before we began.
Friends at the start, competitors for the next 13.1 miles!

At this point, I'm always trying for a 2-hour half-marathon.  For this course I knew that it would be much more challenging than the Galloway.  Nonetheless I was confident that I could improve on last year's time, as the 2015 race was only my second half-marathon and I had run it fairly conservatively.  I was assigned to corral C, which was also the starting point for the 2:00 half and 4:00 full marathon pace leaders.  However the race was also well-attended, over 7000 finishers in the two races, and the start was quite crowded.  I had trouble keeping up with the pace leaders, not so much because of the speed, but constantly dodging around other runners.  However, I knocked out the first two miles at 9:23 for each mile, which was approximately the pace that I had hoped to begin with.  In fact, the race route never really thinned out that much, so that I had to run fairly carefully from start to finish to avoid running over anyone.  I had originally planned to run intervals of 4:30 with walk breaks of 30 seconds, also walking through each water station, but it was so crowded in many areas that I felt that it would be unwise to slow down to a walk in most other sections of the route other than the water stations.  I was concerned about maintaining the pace for 13 miles without taking the walk breaks that I had rehearsed.  But my legs felt fairly good throughout the race.  I actually became concerned that I might not make up the time lost in walk breaks, so other than the hydration stations, I only took a couple of additional walk breaks, one when I was having trouble opening a tube of Shot Bloks in the fifth mile, and a second in the eleventh mile when I was struggling up a hill on the Georgia Tech campus on North Avenue. 

Turning the corner onto Auburn Avenue in front of the King Center, in the fourth mile

Near the mile 1 marker, on Piedmont Road.  I didn't know Bonnie was there!

Bonnie managed to take photos around mile 1 (Piedmont Road and Auburn Avenue) and again in the middle of the fourth mile near the Martin Luther King Historic Site.  There weren't really any bands or music along the way other than a few residents who set out speakers outside of their homes (or perhaps opened their windows), but I enjoyed the drummer on Park Avenue in the ninth mile, and really appreciated the Phiddippides Cheering Group at the mile 9 marker as we crossed the historic Park Avenue bridge into Piedmont Park, which is my favorite part of this route.  That might be because the last 4.1 miles of the race will be 180 feet uphill!  My spirits were also raised by the decorations on the Georgia Tech campus in mile 12, an arch across the street decorated with yellow and black balloons along with a large Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket balloon to greet us before we left campus. 

The hills after mile 9 are brutal!

Overall I generally executed most of my goals for this race, including running the first ten miles about 4 minutes faster than last year.  At the ten-mile mark, I realized that a 2-hour half-marathon time might be achieved if I ran a 9-minute pace for the rest of the way.  Unfortunately I struggled a bit more than I remembered from last year in miles 11, 12, and 13.  For instance, when I finished mile 11, I calculated that I needed to run two 8-minute miles to nail a 2-hour finish, but I didn't have that kind of 5K speed in my legs that far into the race.  When I reached the mile 12 marker after turning onto Marietta Street, I resolved to put on a kick and managed an 8:20 pace for about a quarter mile, but then I began slowly down despite my brain shouting GO! GO! GO!  In that stretch, my Peachtree-in-Training coach and Tucker Running Club teammate Kathie Walker passed me in the middle of the 13th mile on Marietta Street.  I momentarily tried to keep up with her, GO! GO! GO! but wasn't able to stay with her faster pace and ended up dropping back.  I probably decided to dial it back a bit when I realized that I wasn't going to manage a 2-hour finish.  However, I made it past Baker Street, just three blocks from the finish, when my watch signaled the 2-hour mark.  When I checked my time afterwards, I required an additional 30 seconds for the last 3.1 miles over last year's race.  Still, I was very happy to finish 3-1/2 minutes faster than last year, and very much encouraged by my continued improvement.  Maybe 2017 will be the year that I break the 2-hour barrier on that tough course! 

My mile splits, elapsed times, and elevation changes are below:

Mile 1, 9:23, 9:23 elapsed, - 47 feet

Mile 2, 9:23, 18:46 elapsed, + 1 foot

Mile 3, 9:24, 28:10 elapsed, -15 feet

Mile 4, 9:27, 37:36 elapsed, +71 feet

Mile 5, 8:58, 46:34 elapsed, -28 feet

Mile 6, 9:10, 55:44 elapsed, -25 feet

Mile 7, 9:19, 1:05:03 elapsed, +22 feet

Mile 8, 9:13, 1:14:15 elapsed, -54 feet

Mile 9, 8:49, 1:23:04 elapsed, -118 feet

Mile 10, 9:30, 1:32:33 elapsed, +115 feet

Mile 11, 9:22, 1:41:55 elapsed, -38 feet

Mile 12, 9:52, 1:51:47 elapsed, +68 feet

Mile 13, 9:23, 2:01:10 elapsed, +37 feet

the last 0.1 mile, 0:53, 2:02:03 elapsed, 0 feet change, an 8:28 pace for the final sprint. 

In fact the official results show that I ran very slightly a negative split race, although it certainly didn't feel like it in the last few miles! 

March 3, 2016: Peachtree Road Race, 2015 Start Wave Standards

The purpose of the waves is to evenly distribute the start times for 60,000 registrants, so standards may change from year to year, based on the range of finish times submitted during March registration.  Last year some of the times changed by only a few seconds, at least in the B - C - D waves relevant to my times.  In my opinion this is a useful approximate guide, but is not a guarantee of the wave assignments for 2016. 

March 2, 2016: List of Peachtree Road Race Qualifiers

Now that the registration window is opening for the 2016 Peachtree Road Race, I thought it would be useful to share the qualifying races that the Atlanta Track Club lists in the registration portal.  This information is more difficult to find once the registration window closes later this month, but may be useful in the future for planning. 

Races are listed by name, distance, location of start line (state of Georgia unless otherwise listed), and the month that the race is typically run.  

MLK Day, 5K, Atlanta, January
Peachtree City, 5K or 10K, Peachtree City, January
Hot Chocolate, 5K or 15K, Atlanta, January

Hearts and Soles, 5K, Decatur, February
Tartan Trot, 5K or 10K, Dunwoody, February
Run Wild, 5K, Miami (FL), February
Spring Tune-Up, 8K or 15K, Atlanta, February
Charles Harris Run for Leukemia, 10K, Tucker, February
Chattahoochee Challenge, 10K, Roswell, February
Gasparilla, 15K, Tampa (FL), February

Chattahoochee Road Race, 5K or 10K, Sandy Springs, March
Intown Ten, 10K, Atlanta, March
Shamrock & Roll, 5K or 10K, Atlanta, March
Silver Comet, 10K, Mableton, March
Gate River Run, 15K, Jacksonville (FL), March
Publix Georgia, 13.1Mi, Atlanta, March (5K was run through 2015)
Atlanta Women's, 5K, Atlanta, March
Berry, 5K, 10K or 13.1Mi, Rome, March

Cooper River Bridge Run, 10K, Mt. Pleasant (SC), April
Atlanta Hawks Fast Break, 5K, Atlanta, April
Singleton, 5K or 10K, Norcross, April
Run the Reagan, 5K, 10K or 13.1Mi, Snellville, April (was run in February through 2015)

Braves Country, 5K, Atlanta, June

Peachtree Road Race, 10K, Atlanta, July

Jog Days of Summer, 5K, Atlanta, August
Atlanta's Finest, 5K, Atlanta, August

Tailgate, 5K, Buford, September
Big Peach Sizzler, 10K, Chamblee, September
Doug Kessler Lightning, 10K, Sandy Springs, September
Rise Up and Run, 5K, Atlanta, September

Michelob Ultra Atlanta, 13.1Mi, Atlanta, October
Peachtree City Classic, 5K or 15K, Peachtree City, October
Atlanta, 5K or 10Mi, Atlanta, October
AthHalf, 13.1Mi, Athens, October

Silver Comet, 13.1Mi, Mableton, October

Rock 'n' Roll Savannah, 13.1Mi, Savannah, November
Thanksgiving, 5K or 13.1Mi, Atlanta, November

The list of qualifying races may change from year to year.  I didn't include some 2014 races that are on the list but were not run in 2015 and apparently are not planned for 2016, such as the Carterville 10K.   Also, this is just the list posted in the registration portal by the Atlanta Track Club, but there are several other races run in metro Atlanta and hundreds of races in other parts of the country that are USATF certified.  Your finish time in those races will presumably be accepted if you provide the USATF certified road race name, date, distance, and your finish time.  The race must generally have been run in the past two years: for March 2016 entry, finish times back to January 1, 2014 are accepted.