July 17, 2016: The Lindbergh Mile

Mile PR: 6:52 (April 2016)

When I began running races in 2013, I occasionally saw runners wearing shirts reading "rrt", and eventually learned that rrt stood for "runningnerds racing team".  At some point, I must have given my e-mail address or Facebook contact to runningnerds, and early in 2015 I received an invitation to join up.  

How did I meet the criteria to join the runningnerds racing team, you might ask?  I do run, albeit in the middle of the pack.  But there is no doubt that I am a nerd.  On account of my nerdiness, I'm sure that they are very happy to have me.  In fact this group is one of the coolest, most fun running groups in Atlanta: without me on board, they would hardly be runningnerds!  

Temilola Sobomehin, creator of the runningnerds

All kidding aside, runningnerds is really a great group of people, very inclusive and with fun events and group runs throughout the year.  Temilola Sobomehin, a k a "Tes Sobo", founded runningnerdnation.com just a few years ago.  I encourage you to click on one of the runningnerds links [here!] and join the team - it will be well worth it!  I've enjoyed several free group runs, the late winter annual party at TopGolf (also free), the summer solstice run at Stone Mountain (free), and meeting fellow runningnerds at many races in metro Atlanta (you guessed it, free!)  In addition to involving runningnerds in training for and volunteering at many of the established races in metro Atlanta, Tes has also started several regular race series, including the 1 Mile Race Series, in its second year.  I haven't managed to run any of these races before today, often because they have been on the same day or the day before a big race for me.  In one case the race day conflicted with a work commitment.  But today's race was the day after the Decatur-DeKalb 4 miler.  I'm now more confident in running back-to-back races as long as neither race is a particularly long distance.  One of my buddies in the Tucker Running Club, Brian Minor, told me that he wanted to run a 1-mile race after he heard about my participation in the Morningside Mile.  We agreed to try today's mile, running with Brian's girlfriend Beverly Ford, at the Lindbergh MARTA station. 

The Lindbergh MARTA station is one of the larger transportation hubs for the city of Atlanta.  A residential community has developed around the station, across Piedmont Road from a redeveloped shopping center.  Even early on Sunday morning, the area was relatively busy, not only with MARTA buses and vans, but also with taxis and a few private vehicles.  During our warmup run about 30 minutes before the 8:30 am race start, we had to be careful of automobile traffic in the area.  However, the cones were laid out as we were running, the police were arriving at key intersections, and streets were beginning to close down, so it was apparent that our route would be well-protected.  Having warmed up with a couple of easy miles, Brian, Beverly, and I gathered at the starting line.  There were several dozen of us at the start (actually 72 finishers when I looked at the official results).  I didn't remember to sync my Garmin until a couple of minutes before the start, and it wasn't ready when the siren sounded to begin the race at 8:30 sharp. 

We took off with the siren, running through a parking garage for the first part of the race.  I had started off to one side of the pack so was able to advance without much difficulty past slower runners to reach a steady, comfortable, yet relatively quick pace.  Before we emerged from the garage, Brian sprinted past me on my left, then he settled in at a similar pace ahead of me.  Emerging from the garage, I noticed that my watch had synced and so I started the time, mostly to get data on my heart rate monitor.  After the first third of a mile, we were fairly well spread out, and Brian was about 50 - 75 feet ahead of me, with two other runners between us.  I didn't have a good sense of my pace, as the Garmin wasn't registering properly due to the tall buildings in the area but felt comfortable enough to maintain the pace for a mile.  At the south end of the route, we headed slightly uphill, but the change in elevation was moderate and only for a short distance, and it hardly slowed me down.  Before long, we had turned onto Piedmont Avenue heading north for the finish line.  Unfortunately my heart rate monitor sounded at this point, but knowing that I didn't have much further to go, I could safely ignore the warning.  I passed the two runners between Brian and me - actually I think that they slowed down - but I wasn't able to close the distance on Brian.  Afterwards he told me that he was trying to close on Tes Sobo, but he was similarly unsuccessful in catching up to her!  We turned onto Morosgo Drive and then very quickly onto Lindbergh Lane for the straightaway to the finish.  I ran past a long line of MARTA vans in the opposite lane of traffic, hoping that no one would open a door as I dashed by.  Then the finish line came into view!  I had not managed to close the distance on Brian, but had maintained a strong pace, and didn't sense anyone close behind me.  The clock read 6:47 as I crossed the finish line!  

The video begins with three runners in close succession (the third is Temilola Sobomehin finishing at 6:57), followed by Brian Minor at 7:01, and then yours truly at 7:07!  

Thanks to Bonnie for the video.   She slowed down the last part of the video capturing Brian's and my finishes.  

Whew, that was fun but the fun was over much too quickly!  Comparing with other runners who had accurately tracked their times, I learned that the clock had probably started about 20 seconds after we had started, so it seemed unlikely that I had broken my personal record for the mile.  But I was certainly happy with the sense that I had run consistently from start to finish.  I didn't have any more acceleration to give at the end but I didn't konk out either.  

As this was a fairly small race, I hoped that I might win an age group award, and was not disappointed!  The top person in my age group won an overall masters award, so I was announced as first place in the male 50 - 54 group, with an official time of 7:07, not bad on a relatively warm summer morning!  Brian also won his age group (male 40 - 44) at 7:01.  Beverly set a personal record at 8:28, although her age group was the largest one represented in today's race, and one of the few age groups where some of the participants didn't win or place.  Although it was a small event, I think (and I hope) that Tes has big plans for these races, as this event was a lot of fun and well-organized.  I hope that the runningnerds community will continue to grow in the next few years.   

My reward, a pin commemorating the 1 mile race series! 

Our morning of exercise wasn't done: we then drove to Stone Mountain and climbed to the top, to earn our lunch at the Commons restaurant at the Stone Mountain golf club.

Brian and Beverly's short video from the top of Stone Mountain

A panorama view from the top of Stone Mountain

Roxana Allen from Tucker Running Club was heading up as we were going back down.

Don't forget, you too can become a runningnerd !

Learn more at runningnerdnation.com

July 16, 2016: The Decatur-DeKalb 4-Miler

2014 course time: 35:49

2015 course time: 34:51

4-mile PR (January 2016): 33:30

The Decatur-DeKalb 4-mile race is one of the Atlanta Track Club's original races, which has been run on virtually the same course for nearly 50 years.  Today's race included Bruce LaBudde, who won the race in its first year in 1967.  49 years later, he is still going strong, winning second in his age group today in a time of 35:05. 

Bruce LaBudde (above) also ran the very first Peachtree Road Race in 1970, one of the "Original 110".
Betty Lindberg (below) at the start of her race, on the way to winning in the 90-94 category.
I run today so that hopefully I'm still breathing and moving in a few decades from now! 

In my opinion, this is one of the toughest races.  4 miles isn't much longer than a 5K, but the Druid Hills neighborhood presents considerable challenges, combined with the mid-July date, giving runners an abundance of "Heat, Hills, and Humidity".  I like to think of the roads south of the Emory campus as my "home court", as I've done quite a few early evening runs in this area starting from the chemistry department or the Blomeyer Fitness Center.  

However, I also enjoy group runs with the Tucker Running Club, and these days I tend to join them more often than running alone.  Running with a group has not only improved my endurance, but a great additional benefit of running is meeting a more diverse group of people outside of the bubble of the university. 

Great turnout from Tucker Running Club this morning!

Brian Minor and I jogged a couple of miles to warm up before the race, and then it was time to begin.  We decided to start at the back of wave A, hoping that the faster runners would help pull us along.  Knowing how much Brian has improved in the past year, I also hoped that trying to keep up with him would help me go a bit faster.  

Pre-race selfie: Bonnie, Brian, and I.
Unfortunately Bonnie could not run today due to oral surgery yesterday,
but she took quite a few photos including the finishes of virtually all of the Tucker Running Club members. 

We started right at 7:30 am, and right away I started out a bit too fast, at a 7:30 min / mile pace.  I actually felt pretty good, thanks to the long warmup, and kept up with Brian for the first mile (7:32).  Unfortunately, my heart rate monitor signaled going up a hill early in the second mile, so I slowed down a bit, knowing that I still had most of three miles to go.  Nonetheless I still maintained a good pace, finishing mile 2 in 8:18.  At the water station just after the 2-mile marker, I lost sight of Brian as I took a 30-second walk break.  The third mile was particularly tough, and I felt the toll of my fast start on a never-ending uphill section on Clifton Road and onto North Decatur Road.  I took another walk break shortly before the 3-mile marker, even moving to the sidewalk.  Examining my Garmin stats after the race, I was 'horrified' to discover that I took a full minute for the unplanned walk break.  No wonder my time for mile 3 was 9:26.  As I got back up to speed, a runner passed me with the name "Simon" on the back of his singlet, and then I realized it was my colleague Simon Blakey from the same floor of the Atwood Chemistry Center.  Simon is very fast (and 13 years younger) and he started with wave B, so he had made up the two-minute headstart between waves A and B, but I managed to speed up a bit to keep him in sight for most of the remainder of the race.  I finished the race in 34:16 chip time, finishing mile 4 in 9:00.  

For some reason I had thought that my time last year was a few seconds faster, but after getting home and checking last year's results (and this blog) I realized that I had run today's race 35 seconds faster than last year!  Despite starting out too fast, I did manage to bank enough time to improve my overall time.  But I think that I might have enjoyed today's race a bit more if I had started out a little slower, perhaps with wave B (where I really belong).  

It took me awhile to recover, but as usual the finish area was well-stocked with plenty of water and Powerade as well as bagel halves.  While cooling down, I saw Elisabeth Blanchard, who writes one of my favorite blogs, Running on E.  We've met on several occasions and we even did a group run together last year, but I think this is the first time that I remembered to get a photo with her.  

With Elisabeth Blanchard; looks like she is wearing a 26.2 with DONNA shirt! 

In summary, I'm very happy to see that my time has improved a bit over last year's race.  One good thing about running the first mile too fast: I have confidence that I can push it a bit more tomorrow morning in the Lindbergh Mile! 

Atlanta Track Club's Decatur DeKalb 4 Miler

  

July 4, 2016: The Peachtree Road Race (10K), my third year

2014 course time: 55:36

2015 course time: 54:38

Goal: Get to the highest point of the course at 12th Street in good enough shape to give it my all in the final mile for a strong finish. 

Atlanta's Peachtree Road Race is always a really fun event where 55,000 - 60,000 runners and many more thousands of volunteers and spectators celebrate Independence Day with the biggest 10K road race in the world.  I really enjoy every minute of the event, from the energy of the fellow runners on the MARTA train from Doraville Station to Lenox Mall, through the race and to the post-race party in Piedmont Park.  But this is a tough course: while the first 5K features a 176 feet drop in elevation to Peachtree Creek, the second 5K rises net 104 feet, most of it in miles 4 and 5.  Due to the temperature, I went into today's race with modest expectations, even expecting that it might be my slowest of three Peachtree Road Races.  Running the Reject Race on Saturday was actually helpful in lowering expectations for a fast time today.  My main goal for this race was simply to finish strong, hopefully passing more people in the final mile than would pass me.  I've managed good finishes in 2014 and in 2015: that's what really matters to me in races, that's what makes it fun, more than the actual time. 

Panorama of the wave C starting area, around 7:15 am

I placed in starting wave C this year with a 24:00 5K in February, missing wave B by just two seconds.  This year's cutoff was 23:58, and I actually ran 23:52 in a 5K in April several weeks after the registration window had closed!  However, the regular reader of this blog will be aware that I've slowed down quite a bit with the summer heat, and so I had no complaint about beginning with wave C this morning.  

Tatyana McFadden winning the Boston Marathon (2015 photo from her website)

We arrived in time to watch from a distance as the wheelchair racers began shortly before 7 am.  Tatyana McFadden won the Peachtree Road Race last year, and in April 2016 I watched on television as she won the Boston Marathon.  Her life story to this stage is inspirational.  Her parents did not let others set limits for their daughter when she was younger, and now Tatyana McFadden is the world's champion female wheelchair racer.  She didn't disappoint today, winning Peachtree in just over 23 minutes. 

"Cooter" sharing his words of experience...

On a lighter note, a few days ago I saw a spoof video from a guy named "Cooter", how not to run the Peachtree Road Race!  "Cooter" gave the memorable advice, "I don't think you've tried unless you've gone to the medical tent."  !!!   

The race route

For this race, my advice is to generally enjoy the spectacle of this fantastic celebration, watching the spectators and letting the experience soak in - as well as soaking up as many water sprays as possible on a hot day.  For the first three miles, I ran at a fairly relaxed pace, just keeping up with the flow at about 8:30 min / mile, perfectly on plan.  I didn't take many walk breaks other than walking through most of the water stations, but I didn't push it too hard either, wanting to save energy for the finish.  That's right Cooter, I didn't try that hard but I didn't want to end up in the medical tent.  As we started up Cardiac Hill, I crossed the 5K timing strip at 26:50. 

Temperatures at the start (left, middle) and shortly after the finish (right)

Many congratulations to the Atlanta Track Club for organizing plenty of water stations on this warm day.  Water was available on both sides of the road every mile or so.  I'm grateful to the many volunteers who served probably half a million cups of water today, and the police and medical personnel that were ready to help anyone in distress.  I saw our friend Michele Hoover at her usual position at the intersection with Lindbergh Drive, near the halfway point of the race, and exchanged a quick high-five as I dashed by.  

Heading up Cardiac Hill, I took it fairly easy, slowing down to a 10 min / mile pace for the fourth mile.  I was determined not to burn myself out today, and sped up again when I reached the top.  As expected, there was another uphill stage after crossing Interstate 85, entering Midtown Atlanta.  Around the 5-mile mark, I found Tucker Running Club member Jan Dunaway at the water station in front of the High Museum of Art, and gratefully accepted a cup of water from Jan before starting up again.  

Free photo from Marathonfoto, taken on Peachtree Street around 14th Street.

As I crossed the "summit" of the race at 12th Street, I began to speed up in earnest, getting back to about an 8:30 min / mile pace.  I was delighted that I was able to find a higher gear this morning.  Turning the corner onto 10th Street, I just kept pushing as hard as I could.  I resolved to stay in the middle of the road this year to avoid any hazards from the fencing or curbs.  10th Street was rolling but net downhill, and I ran about a 7:40 min / mile pace for the length of 10th Street.  It was so much fun to pass a lot of people in that last half-mile!  When I saw the finish line coming up in the last few hundred yards, I gave another burst of acceleration to push through the finish line, 55:12 on my watch, and later I saw that I had run an official time of 55:07! 

This wasn't my fastest time on the course, but I actually ran about 30 seconds faster than my first Peachtree Road Race two years ago when the temperature was about 10 degrees lower.  Best of all, I was able to speed up through the last mile, which was a lot of fun and a great confidence booster going into marathon training, with the kick-off session this coming Saturday.  Today I ran more even splits compared with my race two days earlier, and it paid off in finishing a minute faster and enjoying the entire race experience. 

After seeing Kurokitty's post on today's race, I checked my overall placement.  I was delighted to see substantial improvement in comparison with the rest of the field:

2014: 55:36, 9382nd place out of 57,660 finishers (83rd overall percentile)   
                     690th out of 3242 males aged 50 - 54 (78th age group percentile)

2015: 54:38, 7672nd place out of 54,752 finishers (85th overall percentile)
                     592nd out of 3118 males aged 50 - 54 (81st age group percentile)

2016: 55:07, 5811th place out of 56,913 finishers (89th overall percentile)
                     425th out of 3173 males aged 50 - 54 (86th age group percentile)

I'm continuing to improve!  

Goal: Get to the highest point of the course at 12th Street in good enough shape to give it my all in the final mile for a strong finish: Achieved!  

Bonnie just south of 14th Street

Bonnie making the turn onto 10th Street

July 2, 2016: The Ruppert Landscape's Reject 10K

"Absolutely no qualifications necessary!"

240 years ago, on July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and voted to declare independence from Great Britain.  The famous Declaration of Independence was announced two days later.  In Atlanta, the big event is the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, but there are a few other runs in the days preceding, most notoriously the Peachtree Road Rage on the evening of July 3 (see a couple of hilarious accounts on the 2015 rage by Running on E and Miranda in Motion).  

At the last minute, Bonnie and I decided to run the "Reject Run", which was held this morning in Lilburn on the Camp Creek Greenway.  Originally this was advertised for runners who didn't get into the Peachtree Road Race, but in this morning's announcements, it sounded like they were warned about referring to the race, and it appears that the "Reject Run" website has been slightly modified since I first saw the announcement several weeks ago.  

Bonnie and I have only recently discovered the Greenway, and the Tucker Running Club has adopted Lilburn's Greenway for our regular Sunday afternoon or evening running spot.  Even though Lilburn adjoins the community of Tucker, until very recently we have rarely gone to Lilburn, as it simply isn't in any of our usual directions of travel.  It took only about 10 minutes to get to Lilburn Main Street from our house, probably less than 5 miles.  

Tucker Running Club clowning around before the start:
Frank McDonald with Bonnie Youn, Myriam Fentanes, Linda Bode Phinney, and Jessica Rudd

The 10K began at 8:00 am, with the 5K to begin at 8:15.  The morning was warm, 77 deg F, but I was well hydrated and had a good warmup, running a bit more than a mile on the Greenway while waiting to begin.  When we lined up for the 10K race, we looked around and only about 25 people were running, the other 125 were waiting for the 5K!  I said something about "Medals for Everyone!" as we walked up to the line.  With little fanfare, we were given a starting command and we were off! 

USATF certification makes this a Peachtree Road Race qualifier - oops, can't say that...

I definitely went out too fast, and was 6th in the group heading up Main Street, initially at a 7 min / mile pace.  I managed to slow it down a little, just as a woman passed me - she ended up being the master's female winner - but knocked out the first mile in 8:05 (22 ft net uphill), just as I passed a young man - it turns out he would be the only 10K runner that I passed today.  Turning onto the Greenway, I maintained good speed at first, but approaching the two mile marker, I realized that my left shoe had come untied!  Good lesson for the big race on Monday - retie my shoes before starting!  Fortunately that didn't slow me down too much, no one passed me there and it didn't seem that the 5th place runner opened much more lead on me.  I finished the second mile in 8:36 (10 feet net downhill), right about where I wanted to be with pace.   Turning into Lions Park, I caught up to the 5th place woman, but then was passed by a young woman, and as the three of us worked our way uphill, I started to fall behind, as my heart rate monitor sounded, now in 7th place.  Nonetheless I knocked out a solid 9:07 (78 feet net uphill) for mile three, about a 26 minute 5K, which was my target.  If I could manage the same time for the second 5K, I would be very happy with today's race. 

Heading back downhill, I tried to pick up the pace a bit.  I tried to close the gap on the two runners ahead of me but the heat was getting to me and I managed only 8:56 for mile 4, despite 79 feet net downhill.  I walked through the water station before the mile 4 marker, where another woman passed me.  Now in 8th place, I realized that I was going to pay for my fast start - another lesson to remember for Monday's race!  As we approached the Lilburn City Park, I ran past the 5K turnaround and would be working around the occasional 5K runner for the rest of the race.   There was a water station right before the mile 5 marker, where I picked up another cup of water, then got back to speed to complete mile 5 in 9:36 (6 feet net downhill).  

My plan had been to speed up after the 5-mile mark, but I just didn't have much acceleration today.  As I continued north to the end of the Greenway, I heard a runner approaching behind me and moved from the center to the right half of the walkway.  As he passed me, I looked and realized that he was a likely age-group competitor!  I resisted the urge to interrogate him about his age - in truth I couldn't spare the breath - and sadly he pulled ahead of me.  I tried to speed up as we turned onto Poplar Street heading back to the park for the finish, but to my dismay realized that it it would be a long gradual uphill run.  Settling into 9th place, I could see only one runner behind me (ignoring the slower 5K walkers) but felt that I could stay in front of her.  Mile 6 took 9:40 (34 net uphill) at 54:00 exactly.  It was so much easier to run faster when it was cool in the winter and early spring!  

I did manage to speed up a bit heading into the finish (16 feet net downhill), crossing the line at 56:13 on the clock, 56:11 chip time, but about 30 minutes for the second 5K.   After the results were posted, the man that had passed me in the last mile was indeed in my age group.  He finished 52 seconds ahead of me - congratulations to him for running a smarter race!  I did finish in time to get photos of the others as they crossed the finish line. 

Myriam Fentanes finishing her first race in the United States

Jessica Rudd and Linda Bode Phinney finishing - and in the background, Bonnie Youn has just turned the corner. 

Bonnie finished strongly, moving ahead of the woman in the red shirt in the past 100 feet! 

The awards were unique but in fact probably more useful than any other that I've received - an impatiens plant from Ruppert Landscapes!  I will get a big pot and plant it on my front porch.  

Proudly collecting my award!

Tucker Running Club cleans up on the awards in Lilburn!  Congratulations to Myriam, Jessica, and Linda! 

Proudly displaying my award at the front door!

June 12, 2016: The Hotlanta Half Marathon

2015 Course Time: 2:05:49
Half Marathon PR: 1:59:48

Today's Hotlanta Half was my 8th half marathon (7 road, 1 trail).  Last year I had a good time running this race, despite a torrential thunderstorm in the last third of the race.  It's a point of pride for those of us who ran the 2015 Hotlanta Half, as we enjoy sharing our memorable story of that race.  Despite running through 2 inches of rain in a few sections, the temperature was pleasant throughout the 2015 race.  

Saturday night double date,
on the Eastside Beltline after dinner

For 2016, the weather forecast was probably more in line with what the organizers were thinking when they named this race: temperature at the start at 75 degrees F, humidity at 78%, and of course plenty of the famous Atlanta hills.  13.1 miles of heat, hills, and humidity: what could go wrong?!

Of my usual running cohort in the Tucker Running Club, only Brian Minor and Beverly Ford were running Hotlanta today.  Bonnie and I are becoming good friends with Brian and Beverly, and we had a nice dinner date last night, eating sensibly at Bellina in Ponce City Market, and walking together a part of the Eastside Beltline.  

I was able to stretch out pretty well at home this morning, and when we arrived at Pemberton Place in downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park, I had a good warmup jog.  I had resolved to take it easy due to the temperature, and set my Garmin watch to intervals of 4:30 run, 0:30 walk.  I lined up with corral C, and was greeted by Carl Line, an experienced marathon runner who sometimes runs with me on Thursday evening runs out of Big Peach Running Company - Decatur.  Most of the other runners around me were not carrying their own water, relying on the water stations promised at every mile.  I had decided that while this race was likely to be well-organized with the water stations, I would still carry my own water due to the temperature.  That proved to be a very wise decision. 

We started at 7:00 am sharp.  I stuck with the run-walk plan fairly closely, but I was feeling so good when we started that I had no trouble knocking out 9-minute miles 1, 2, and 3, even though I took a walk break and accepted a cup of water or Nuun at each water station.  

Then there was mile 4, uphill running north past Turner Field.  Before we had reached the mile 4 marker, my heart rate monitor had sounded an alert, so I slowed down a bit, staying just under 10 minutes.  Mile 5 was not as strongly uphill through the Georgia State University campus, but again I barely managed to beat 10 minutes.  Then turning onto John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, after crossing under the I-75/I-85 connector, I took a 2-minute walk break uphill onto Irwin Street.  I never got back up to speed after that point, just trying to run between 10 - 11 minute miles.

Already struggling a bit, in mile 5

passing the Georgia State capitol building

Even on the Eastside Beltline, 110 feet gently downhill for miles 7 and 8, I just couldn't accelerate.  I was really glad to have the water bottle, to take a sip or even pour a bit of water on top of my head without having to wait for the next water station.  Brian had started in corral D but he caught up to and passed me on the Beltline, moving strongly.  

Turning onto 10th Street along the southern border of Piedmont Park, I took another 2 minute walk break, thinking wistfully about how nice it would be running in the other direction in the downhill finish of the Peachtree Road Race in a few weeks.  My reverie was interrupted by the 2:10 pace group passing me.  For a brief moment, I thought that I might be able to keep up with them, but no, wasn't gonna happen today.  I barely finished mile 9 under 12 minutes. 

Mile 10 was a loop through Piedmont Park.  The elevation map is not consistent with my recollection that it was steeply uphill.  I ended up taking a 5-minute walk break through the park, taking 13:15 for mile 10.  When the road leveled out on the west side of the Active Oval, I began jogging again.  Exiting the park onto 12th street, I saw Beverly entering the park, and she looked like she was doing well, less than one mile behind me.   

I looked up the mountain that was 12th street and decided to walk up it.  Last year there was a "King of the Hill" challenge on 12th street that I ran in 1:45; today I allowed myself 3 full minutes to reach the summit. 

Near the top, I recognized a familiar face: Cristal Stoutzenberger with a megaphone encouraging us.  She was with the runningnerds group, passing out cooling towels as we turned onto Juniper Street.  Those towels felt so good!  I thoroughly mopped my face and head, neck and arms, and immediately started to feel better.  Juniper Street was also uphill, but I was able to get back to running some reasonable intervals, mostly running with just 30 second walk breaks.  The 2:20 pace group caught up to me on Juniper Street right before we turned onto 5th Street, but I was able to stay fairly close to them.  

The Big Peach Running Company water station was manned with more familiar faces - it's about time to buy another pair of shoes in the coming week - see you soon!  I needed 12:20 for mile 11 (87 feet net uphill) but started to speed up a bit in mile 12 through the Georgia Tech campus, 11:25 (83 feet net downhill).  

Shortly after passing the mile 12 marker outside of the Georgia Tech football stadium, I finished off my water bottle.  I would have had a more difficult time if I had not carried my own water.  Now that I was in the last mile, I resolved to speed up as much as possible to the finish.  On North Avenue, there was a nice surprise - a second cooling towel station, staffed by Run Family.  It was absolutely wonderful to have those cooling towels at both of those stations, in fact they probably helped to prevent some cases of heat stroke and I'm certain enabled more finishers.  Thank you runningnerds nation and Run Family! 

Turning onto Luckie Street, I saw the street rise up ahead.  I remembered from last year that the last mile was over 100 feet uphill.  The 2:20 pace group seemed to fall apart somewhere in that area.  I saw a couple of the uniformed pacers but didn't see the flag, and passed a couple of the pacers.  At that stage, I was wondering if there was any way that I could finish ahead of my first half-marathon time of 2:19:36.  I had to take a 30 second walk break midway up Luckie Street, but that gave me the strength to finish strongly.  Crossing Ivan Allen Boulevard, I passed the back side of the Georgia Aquarium, kept pushing up the last long block of Luckie Street as strongly as I could knowing that the end was near!  Turning the last corner, the finish line banner was further than I had hoped, but I managed to run fairly well into the finish.  As I crossed a timing mat a couple of hundred feet before the finish, the announcer called my name, and I lifted my arms in acknowledgement.  On the left side I spotted Brian cheering me on, and I moved over to give him a hand slap as I ran toward the finish line.  Brian ran an excellent race, finishing in 2:09 and running consistent 9:30- to 10-minute miles.  He and Beverly have been doing a fitness boot camp, which helped prepare them to run strong races today.  

Giving Brian a high-5 in the last 100 feet

I actually didn't notice the clock when I crossed the finish line, but my official time was 2:20:17.  It was my slowest road half-marathon.  Happily it was not my worst half - the worst one was my first one in December 2014 when I walked most of the last two miles due to a sprained ankle.  Today I wasn't injured, and I even managed a bit of a celebratory fist pump, happy to finish under the hot conditions, probably at least 80 degrees at 9:20 am.  The walk breaks in the middle of the race were essential for me to recover enough to run most of the last three miles.  I felt better within a moment of finishing the race, thanks to an ice cold bottle of water and another cooling towel.  

One of my goals for this race was to decide if my physical and mental conditioning was up to the challenge of training for a marathon.  Although I wasn't very fast today, and I made an error in running the first few miles too quickly for the conditions, I learned a lot from today's race that will hopefully serve me well in training for and eventually running my first marathon.  It also confirmed that I really must train carefully and with a dedicated group if I'm going to run a marathon successfully.  Although I have managed to stay in "half marathon shape" with a long run (12 + miles) each month, I haven't kept up with as much cross-training or mid-week training this year.  I will have to make time for training if I'm to have a good experience in the full marathon. 

So within the next 24 hours, I will register for the Atlanta Track Club's fall marathon program, beginning in mid-July.  My goal race is the Chickamauga Marathon on November 12, exactly five months from today.  

Winning time: 1:17:05

My time: 2:20:17, 720th out of 1597 finishers, and 42 / 75 in my age group

Shortly after our finishes! 

Above: our bling along with the Big Peach Running Company motto.
Typically I don't care about the medal, but this one is quite unique! See the video below:

May 30, 2016: Memorial Day 10K

2014 time, 57:23
2015 time, 54:02
10K PR, 51:40 (April 2016)

For the third year in a row, Bonnie and I ran the Memorial Day races in Marietta, a suburb on the northeast side of Atlanta.  This always seems to be a tough race, with substantial hills in the middle miles of the race.  This year, it also seemed to be a little warmer than in past years, plus I think that I'm about 5 pounds heavier at this moment.  We had the pleasure of watching a Braves game in a luxury suite last night, but my pre-race fueling "strategy" ended up being two hot dogs, two servings of potato salad, a pizza slice, two huge cookies and one gigantic brownie.  

Having carbo-loaded to excess, I then tried the formula that had worked for me in my PR race in April: taking walk breaks only at water stations (about every 2 miles), and aiming for splits of 8 minute miles.   I managed the first two miles in 7:50 and 8:10, but slowed down going up the first big hill at the beginning of mile 3, and never quite recovered again, running the miles 3, 4, and 5 in 9:22, 9:23, and 9:23.  Nevertheless I had covered the first 5K in 26:22, and was satisfied with that mark, on pace for a 53 minute 10K run.  I made it to the 5-mile mark in 44:08, just nine seconds slower than last year's time on this course.  Unfortunately today I didn't quite have much "kick" at the end, managing only 8:53 in mile 6, crossing the finish line at 54:45.  

My feelings were a bit mixed at the end, having avoided the "shame" of a 55-minute finish, but "disappointed" that I didn't improve on last year's time.  In all candor, those words have gone through my mind today, but really I should remind myself how happy I was to run faster than an hour in my first 10K in December 2013, and how thrilled I was when I first broke the 55 minute mark in October 2014.  

Lessons learned from today:

1) It's not easy to haul 5 extra pounds up and down hills.  I know how to improve that one, I just need the self-discipline to get back on track with what I'm eating. 

2) Accept that I'm going to run a bit slower when it's warm outside.  Today it was 68 deg F at the start and 79 deg F when I finished. 

3) Realize that I'm not ready to run 8:00 minute miles for a 10K race.  I went out too fast today, but I'm happy to have tried the experiment.  One day I will manage it, but it will take more training.   

4) Remember that three years ago, I was just beginning to run.  Four years ago, walking three miles or 5K was exhausting.  I doubt that I could covered twice that distance at any pace back then, at least not without a rest break in the middle.