July 15, 2023: Westside Beltline 8K

"9:25." That was my goal for today's Westside Beltline 8K, 9:25 min / mile pace, at least for the first four miles. That would get me to the finish line in less than 47 minutes, maybe faster than 46:52, which was my time on this course one year ago. Last year's race was rough: I thought I would maintain a sub-9 min / mile pace, but had fallen off of that goal by mile 3, and struggled to finish. 

It was warm and muggy this morning, about 90% humidity, and 78 deg F at the start of the race at 7:30 am. About 30 minutes before the race start, I went out for an easy warmup, about 1/2 mile outbound on the race course, then 3 strides on the return trip. Part of my warmup route was the challenging uphill block on Matthews Street, where I slowed to a walk. I told myself, "In today's race, I will not take a walk break on Matthews Street." 

Before my warmup, with M.C. extraordinaire, Ronnel Blackmon

I started with wave B again this year. The airhorn sounded at 7:32 sharp, Ronnel calling out "Go-go-go-go-go!" We were heading northwest on White Street. I kept my pace easy, checked my watch a few times as the pace dropped from 10:00 to ... 9:25! Perfect, I stuck with that metronomic pace. Other runners streamed past, but I let them go by, confident that I would pass some of them later in the race. I was running on the left side of the lane, next to the cones separating our route from a single lane for auto traffic. At one point, a 25-foot gap opened between me and the crowd of runners ahead of me. I was very conscious of leading a subgroup, hearing dozens of footsteps just behind me, but resisted the urge to fill the gap. My watch displays pace to the nearest 5 seconds, so if it showed 9:25, that meant that I was running between 9:20 - 9:25 min / mile pace; if it showed 9:20, meaning 9:15 - 9:20 min / mile pace, I slowed down a bit.

After we turned left onto the paved Beltline, the mile 1 alert sounded: 9:22! That was as close to perfection as I could have hoped for. "9:25" I kept telling myself, as I ran along the left side. About 14 minutes into the race, I saw the water stop, pulling to the middle of the lane, holding out my right hand to accept a cup of water. Unfortunately for me, four runners immediately ahead of me took each of the cups that two volunteers were holding in each hand. But I heard one of the volunteers call out "Sir! Sir!" as he sprinted from behind to bring me a cup. "Thanks!" I said. I took a short walk break to drink the water - I thought it was 30 seconds, but the Garmin graph showed just a small blip of a dip, perhaps less than 10 seconds. 

I resumed running, working over to the left side of the path. On a gentle uphill section, I passed Jessie Abraham and then Susie Hill, saying each time "We love hills! We love hills!" That didn't seem to inspire anyone other than myself. I just kept chugging along, 9:23 for mile 2. This was going really well! I could have run faster at this stage, but today's race wasn't about being a hero in mile 2. Having refreshed my memory of last year's difficult race by reading my blog report last night, and the more recent memory of struggling through the mile 6 of this year's Peachtree Road Race, I stayed on plan. "Patience!" 

This year the race route proceeded all the way to the north end of the paved Westside Beltline, at Lena Street. (Within a couple of years, this path will continue straight for another couple of miles!) 2.42 miles at the turnaround, 22:35 elapsed, almost halfway. I ran uphill over Martin Luther King Drive, passing several others who had slowed to a walk. That validated for me that my patient start, "9:25", had been the correct strategy for me. 9:15 for mile 3, 28 minute elapsed! I hadn't been looking as carefully at the watch, but no worries, that wasn't way off of the plan, and would get me to the finish line a few seconds faster than last year's time of 46:52. My heart rate was 165 bpm, a little high, but with less than two miles to go, on a familiar route, I felt that I could hold on to this pace. I was running only 8K or ca. 5 miles today, vs. 10K / 6.22 miles earlier this month.  

After passing the underpasses for Interstate-20, I slowed down at the water stop, taking another walk break, but only 15-20 seconds according to Garmin, I guess I need to count to 30 when I do this again. Getting back up to my cautious pace, we passed under a couple more bridges. The lead 5K runners passed us on our right in the northbound direction. They started at 8:00 am. I tried to calculate, with my 28 minute headstart, how fast would a 5K runner need to run to catch up to me? The answer was that a 47 minute 8K finish from wave B would correlate to a 19 minute 5K finish from the front of their wave A. So some of them were likely to pass me before I finished. 

The route curved past the "Crayola" section and uphill to the intersection with White Street. A volunteer called out "Just a few more miles!" as the mile 4 sign came into view. Then I realized that she was cheering for the 5K runners, who had not yet completed their first mile. 9:21 for mile 4! I hadn't thought too much about my plan for the last mile. I hoped to speed up a bit, but at that moment, the route was gently uphill. "Don't force anything, relax and glide" I said to myself. After cresting the small hill, I felt my pace increase ever so slightly. I knew that we had one more hill ahead of us, so I still needed to bank a little energy. Making a diagonal left onto Matthews Street, this block was probably the steepest uphill section of this race course. "I love hills!" I thought to myself, as I shortened the length of my stride, maintaining ca. 180 step / minute cadence. Several others took walk breaks in this block, but not me, not today! I was so glad that I had covered this section during my warmup earlier this morning, I was psychologically prepared for the challenge. Sure, I slowed down a bit, but keeping my cadence kept me moving forward. Turning right into the runner lane on Lawton Street, the route continued going uphill. This is where I had taken an unplanned walk break in last month's Monday Nighter. But not today! I knew that after cresting the Lawton Street overpass, it was all downhill to the finish line. 

I definitely spent the last two miles in the maximum heart rate zone,
but still had enough energy in the bank to finish strongly!  

"Hammer time!" Today my legs responded well, taking full advantage of the gradual downhill. I saw Katie Winter up ahead, I wondered if I could catch up to her. One tricky part of any race on the Westside Beltline is the 180 degree U-turn at the intersection with Donnelly Avenue. I was on the left, Katie was a few steps ahead and to the right, and there was another runner in the mix as well. To avoid colliding with anyone, I grabbed the pole to help me make the tightest possible U-turn, while allowed me to turn without slowing down, getting ahead of Katie and the other runner in just a couple of steps! I don't know if that was a legal move, since I definitely felt a "slingshot" effect on my speed. But I didn't interfere with any other runners while making that turn: that would have been a much bigger faux pas.

Heading down the ramp to get back onto the Beltline, I heard a motorcycle behind me. Shortly after making the right turn at the bottom of the ramp, I stayed to the left side of the Beltline, as the motorcycle passed on my right. I guess that the 5K leader will be passing me soon, I thought. Before that happened, I saw the 3 mile marker for the 5K. "Great, less than a minute to the finish line for me!" and I accelerated some more. The first two runners in the 5K passed on my right, running a sub-6 min / mile pace (the winner finished in 17:33). My own pace had increased, now sub-8 min / mile, as I could hear sounds from the finish line. Ronnel saw the 5K runners approaching. I'm sure that he meant well when he announced, "8K runners stay to the right!" But as I moved over to the right side of the Beltline, the 3rd 5K runner nearly ran into me. "Sorry! I was just following instructions!" I thought to myself, not having any breath to spare to actually speak. A 4th 5K runner passed me, then it was my turn to cross the finish line. The clock showed less than 18 minutes, now on 5K time, but that meant that I had finished in less than 46 minutes! 

This was a really good time trial, showing me what I can currently realistically run. 

Official time, 45:44! And more than my time, I was thrilled with my pacing. The "9:25" strategy paid off, I banked just enough energy to have a fast, fun finish. The only people that I recall passing me in the last half-mile were the first 4 of the 5K runners, so that was a big win for me. Officially my average pace was 9:12; on the watch I measured 9:15 min / mile.

    

A slice of the 8K results

60 - 64 male age group: I'm in the middle of a bunch of fast old men! 

July 4, 2023: Peachtree Road Race 10K

Ass o'clock in the car in Tucker. Bonnie didn't run this year, 
but was my personal chauffeur and photographer. 

5:30 am, full moon through partial clouds.
Cloudy but not rainy will be ideal. 

6:00 am, walking on Lenox Road toward the start. 
It's still dark but the first bit of twilight before the dawn is here. 

I had low expectations for today's Peachtree Road Race. The last month has been very busy at work, mostly very good in terms of having time to write and submit a manuscript (looks like it will be accepted, just have to submit minor revisions tomorrow) and also a grant application that is coming together very nicely (also due tomorrow, before 5:00 pm). There were three thesis defenses last week, all of which went well, but faculty committee members did a lot of speed-reading. Fortunately I knew all of the students' research well (one of them from my lab!) and I've been on the other two students' committee for the past few years so I'm familiar with how their research has developed. 

6:35 am: Celebrity Sighting! 
Betty Lindberg with family members walking to their start corral.

Through this busy period, I've run mostly for personal equilibrium, but then bad storms have prevented me from going on a few of the planned runs in the past few weeks. And now, it's finally summer in Atlanta, hot and humid. I went out for a little shakeout run on Saturday morning - three days ago - and gave up after a single loop of the park. Partly I hadn't slept enough, partly my weight is up, partly my ankle was hurting that morning. On the bright side, we had fun with Brenden Minor and his parents Brian and Beverly, watching Brenden and the other children in the Peachtree Junior on Sunday morning. 

Brenden was 2nd in this group of the 3-year-olds.

Brenden did a good job with mini-hurdles.
Actually this looks like a good footwork drill for adults.

Monday I worked all day in my office at Emory, from around 9 am until 10 pm. It wasn't the best way to relax before a big race, but by the end of the evening, I was pretty comfortable with my priorities: proofreading and wordsmithing every single document that would be uploaded to the proposal site on Wednesday. Around 8 pm on Monday, a tremendous lightning storm came through metro Atlanta. Fortunately I was safely in my 6th floor office in the chemistry building. I looked up to see a bright lightning bolt, which looked like hit the top of the CDC main tower, visible from my north-northwest-facing office window. It was certainly close enough, based on the very short gap between the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder. The rainstorm guaranteed a very humid run for the next morning. 

I continued editing these files all afternoon and evening. A couple of the post 5 pm July 5 files
were revised by staff and sent to me for my records after the deadline. 
Thanks Sonja for helping me through the end, including proof-reading for compliance
 on July 3, when many others took the day off.  

I fell asleep around 11 pm with a 4:30 am alarm. Unfortunately I awoke around 3:30 am, and wasn't able to get back to sleep. I ate a light breakfast of oatmeal and a cup of coffee, then we headed to the MARTA station for the short train ride from Doraville to Lenox Mall, where the race would begin. Fortunately the weather forecast looked like it wouldn't rain or storm this morning. I decided to wear the lightest top in my collection, which came from the Running City Mile in May. I decided not to wear my SuperShoes, since I had no idea of the condition of Piedmont Park after last night's rain but it could have been a mudpit, so I wore my #2 pair, which were almost new when I ran the marathon in them in late February. Perhaps most importantly, Bonnie reminded me to wear sunscreen on my head and shoulders, since I decided not wear a cap. 

I had a wave C bib, using the Hearts and Soles 10K in early February as my qualifying race, 54:47. That morning, it was 27 deg F; today the two digits were flipped, 72 deg F. And 93% humidity. Although the race was heavily advertised, there wasn't a competitive lottery, only around 40,000 people registered (60,000 people capacity), and I heard that it was possible to purchase a last-minute entry at the Expo on Monday - very unusual. I guess Peachtree Road Race hasn't returned to its pre-pandemic glory of the largest 10K race in the world - or as someone else suggested, maybe it was just because this year, Independence Day is on a Tuesday, and not on or adjacent to a weekend. As the official 7:00 am start time for the main race approached, it seemed that wave C was unusually small this year. I tried to hang toward the back, and this year it wasn't difficult. We crossed around 7:06 am. 

With Paul and Caroline Dunn. Despite how it may look,
I'm on the correct side of the fence. 

With Kimberly Harrell and David Bloomquist

As soon as I had crossed the starting line, it didn't seem like such a small race. I picked a middle lane of the southbound direction, so mostly to the right of the entire race course, and reminded myself of "Patience" which meant not darting around people that were going a tiny bit slower than my pace. My goal was to finish in less than an hour, nothing more ambitious than that, usually pretty easy for me to manage. A 9:24 min / mile average pace was what I successfully ran on a warm evening 10K race 3 weeks ago. That would get me to the finish line in about 59 minutes. Today the mile 1 alert sounded at 9:24, 29 feet uphill. Unfortunately my heart rate was already around 150 bpm. That's due to not sleeping enough for the previous week. "Patience" I reminded myself. But my mantra was nearly undercut, as the first band was playing the Johnny Cash classic, "Ring of Fire." Actually the band was playing at an upbeat pace, sounded more like the Social Distortion cover from my younger days, my preferred version. 

"I fell into a burning ring of fire, 

I went down - down - down and the flames went higher,

And it burns - burns - burns, the Ring of Fire, the Ring of Fire."  

Usually up-tempo music would cause me to speed up, especially early in a race. But even though I was now running gently downhill, I was barely moving faster than a 9 min / mile pace. The first water stop came up on my right, I accepted a cup from a volunteer and walked for no more than 30 seconds. Being on the right side of the road, I decided to run through the first water spray, and that felt good, refreshing without getting soaked. More music on the left - this was really upbeat but I didn't recognize the song. As I came closer, I saw a large Ethiopian flag, then a group of women in white dresses with the tricolor stripes at the hem. Definitely the most enthusiastic cheer group of the day. 

Working my way down the road toward Peachtree Creek, I finished mile 2 in 8:53, 18:16 elapsed; 64 feet downhill. One jarring event: a man to my right wanted to avoid a water spray and darted just in front of my from right-to-left, nearly knocking me down! About 2.9 miles in was the bridge over Peachtree Creek, and then a water station, perfectly located at the bottom of Cardiac Hill. A 30-second walk break, then the Mile 3 alert, 8:56, 27:12 elapsed, 143 feet downhill! Shortly afterwards I crossed the 5K timing mat, official result 28:37. Thanks to the walk break, I was able to run all the way up Cardiac Hill. I was definitely slowing near the top, but didn't walk until another perfectly located water stop, near the Shepherd Center and Piedmont Hospital. The road leveled out and I picked up a little speed as I approached the mile 4 marker, 9:52, 37:04 elapsed, 122 feet ascent followed by 23 feet downhill. The only problem was that my heart rate was now above 170 bpm. 

Photos from Bonnie at mile 5:
Daniel Romanchuk, far ahead of the rest of the pack

The lead group of women

And a larger group of men, not yet separated to the final three.
Charles Langat (with the orange shoes) won the men's elite race. 

I crossed the I-85 bridge, which I was thinking was at 4.5 miles in - but actually only 4.28 miles! 40 minutes elapsed. Only 2 miles to go. But the climb on the overpass was now fatiguing me. Thank goodness for the water stop! I didn't realize it until looking at my Garmin results, but I stretched that water stop walk for a full minute. And then running uphill into Midtown past Rhodes Hall, that was also uphill. I know having run this race course 9 times, Cardiac Hill in mile 4 isn't the most difficult one, but it softens up the mentally unprepared runner for the one-two punch to come in mile 5! After passing 17th Street, I began looking for Bonnie, who was planning to be on the right side in front of the High Museum, between 16th and 15th Streets. I saw her in plenty of time to move over to the right, although I had to dash past a guy who had slowed to tap a child's sign "Hit target for power!" Bonnie leaned in for a handslap, which we managed, and then back to work for me. Mile 5 in 10:20, 47:24 elapsed, 47 feet ascent, 28 feet descent. Hmm, I needed to pick up the pace to ensure that I finished in less than an hour. But first, another water stop.

I saw Bonnie

I caught up to the guy to my right

and moved ahead of him toward Bonnie

and then back to the race.

Despite walking for about 45 seconds through the mile 5 water stop, I didn't recover that time, and ran for no more than 45 seconds before I needed to return to walking. After about 45 seconds, David Bloomquist caught up to and passed me, encouraging me "You can do it, Frank!" A second jarring event: I heard the "crack" of either a firecracker, or a gunshot. I can't tell the difference, but a police siren sounded, all was quiet, and no one else seemed to react or comment. With that, I felt recovered enough to resume running. Around that time, I was approaching Colony Square, between 15th and 14th Street. Just north of 14th Street would be 1.00 mile to the finish, which I had managed in less than 7 minutes back in December 2022. I tried to pick up my pace, knowing that I would need more than 7 minutes today - at 51 minutes elapsed to this stage, I only had 9 minutes left. I tried to speed up, then had to slow down until I had gotten up and over 12th Street. Finally, the last real hill was done, and it was net downhill from this point to the finish line. 

Making the left turn onto 10th Street at the iconic "Corner", also marked the 9 kilometer mark. 54:30! I was certain that I could run the last kilometer in 6 minutes, but not much faster. Nevertheless I tried to pick up the pace, as I turned into the middle lane on 10th Street. Passing the photographers, then through the Rainbow Intersection with Piedmont Road, I kept pushing myself. Piedmont Park came up on the right side, I was looking for the mile 6 marker, but then realized that the right lanes were blocked up ahead by an ambulance. We were directed into the leftmost lane: with the bicycle lanes, that was enough room for everyone to get through without having to slow down. I looked to my right but I couldn't see if anyone was down or being treated. Soon the entire road opened up for us again. I never saw the mile 6 sign but on my watch, 10:30, 57:55 elapsed, 43 feet ascent, 39 feet descent. 

I knew from past experience that the final dash to the intersection with Charles Allen always felt longer than it seemed it should be. Fortunately it was downhill, but as much as I was looking ahead, I couldn't see the Finish Line. It's not until crossing a little tiny hill at Taft Avenue that I finally saw the finish line. I looked at my watch and saw the numbers ticking up: 59:50, 59:51, 59:52 .... Not gonna make it, even though I'm sprinting as fast as I can. 59:59, 1:00:00, 1:00:01 .... it was so close - but I needed another 15 seconds at top speed to actually finish. 1:00:21 on my watch, 1:00:16 official. For a moment, I was disappointed to miss what I had thought was a reasonably easy time goal. But I quickly put that aside, joining in the smiles and letting in the words of "Congratulations!" soak in. 

The last walk break was unplanned. 
But I'm pleased to see my acceleration at the very end. 

My heart rate jumped as I began running up Cardiac Hill.

Whew, that was a long time to run while "redlined". 
The walk break around 50 minutes in gave my heart 
a welcome chance to recover, before pushing to the finish.

Definitely passed by a bunch of people in the second 5K. 
But at 8520th place, at least I outran my bib number! 

Link to results

with Sue Landa after the race

Leaving Piedmont Park around 9:30 am, to meet Bonnie.
An hour later, a severe storm closed down the final minutes of the course, 
and forced an evacuation of the Meadow. 

June 12, 2023: The Monday Nighter at the Garage 10K

2018: starting temperature 90 deg F; time 1:05:20

2019: starting temperature 87 deg F; time 59:33

2022: starting temperature 88 deg F; time 1:03:27

2023: starting temperature 79 deg F!!

The full force of summer heat has not yet arrived in Atlanta this year. I've done quite a few runs in the evenings over the past few weeks, so I now feel acclimated to running in 80 deg F temperatures. Although I wasn't going to set any speed records in this race, I felt that I could safely run this year's edition a little faster. My plan was to start at a 9:30 min / mile pace, which I estimated would get me to the finish line in less than an hour, perhaps even going after a personal best on this course. 

Panorama view of the 5K runners, who started 20 minutes before the 10K

Tes Marshall started us at 6:50 pm sharp. I was near the back of the pack, with Tucker Running Club members Judith Noble-Wang, Linda Bode Phinney, and Donna Heusel Roberts. Even though it wasn't scorchingly hot, I carried a small towel with a handful of ice, my trick from last year's race. As we crossed the timing mat at the start, Linda and Donna were in front of me. I drafted behind a couple of tall men as we started through the residential West End neighborhood. We were running so slowly, so it seemed, but the first time that I checked my watch after a couple of blocks, I saw 9:15 min / mile pace, and deliberately forced myself to go more slowly. "Patience" I reminded myself, remembering the hard experience of the later miles from previous years. 

Near the end of the first mile, I passed Donna and caught up with Linda, as we entered the Westside Beltline route. Mile 1 in 9:33, around the underpass at Lawton Avenue. The Beltline followed the sidewalk along White Street. About two months ago, I was a few miles into a Sunday morning group run, with a few people that were probably going a little too fast for me. The tip of a toe caught a tiny seam in the sidewalk in this same location, launching me into a tuck-and-roll. I was fortunate to get out of it with only a scrape on my right knee. This evening I was very deliberate about picking up my feet, watching for every crack in the sidewalk. There were some palm fronds along the left side of the path, which I was careful to duck under, knowing that the edge of the leaves might be sharp. At about 1-1/2 miles in, the first water stop was ahead, at the crosswalk from White Street onto the protected part of the Beltline. I pulled ahead of Linda to get to the right side to walk through the water stop. Since it wasn't extremely warm, I didn't carry my own water, and I knew from past races exactly where the water stops would be.  

30 seconds walking across the street, then I returned to running along the "Crayola" stretch of the Beltline. Mile 2 in 9:25, right on plan. It was warm but not unpleasantly so; at times there was a nice refreshing breeze. Around this point in the race, I was running alongside a younger man who asked me if I used to do the group runs at Big Peach Decatur before the pandemic - and I recognized him as well, Alan was his name. We had a nice chat, catching up. I sensed that I was running a little faster to stay even with Alan, but we were also heading downhill, so my effort was (probably) sustainable. Mile 3 in 9:13, 40 feet net descent. Some of the lead runners were already on the return trip, including Jacque Hartley and then Luke Butler, both running well. At the north end of the paved Beltline at Washington Park, I slowed down for the water stop, accepting a cup of Powerade. Alan continued ahead, while I took a 30-second walk break, then returned to running the short loop around Ella Mae Wade Brayboy park. 

By this time, the ice had completely melted, so I put the cool towel around my neck, trying to adjust it under the top of the singlet so that it stayed in place. Alan was about 50 - 100 feet ahead. Coming out of the park, I accepted a cup of water, another 30 second walk break even though it was only been a few minutes. But I knew from past experience that the return trip would be tough. "Relax and glide" I told myself, going into the second half of the race. Mile 4 in 9:28. I was really happy with my consistency so far, but was beginning to tire. Fortunately I regularly run the Westside Beltline, so I always had a good sense of exactly where I was relative to the finish. I occasionally passed other participants who had slowed down dramatically, I just kept moving streadily ahead. This stage was gently but continually uphill. Approaching the Crayola section, I picked up a little speed, knowing that the White Street water stop was coming up. A couple of volunteers cheered us forward, I gave them both high fives as I passed between them. 

Walking through the water stop, moving onto the White Street sidewalk, the mile 5 alert sounded, just as I remembered from previous years. 9:34 was the slowest mile of my race, but with 42 feet net ascent, that was quite consistent with regard to effort. With just 2 kilometers to go, I now began to push myself a bit, but was confident enough that I had banked enough energy to finish in quality fashion. I remembered the hazardous seams in the sidewalk, remembered again to pick up my feet. We made a left diagonal turn onto Mathews Street. Tim Parker was cheering us at the turn, which I greatly appreciated, as we ran that block uphill. This wasn't a surprise: this time I maintained the running motion, although I was moving more slowly. I passed one walker, kept running all the way past the right turn onto Lawton Street. As we neared the overpass, I finally decided to take another walk break. That wasn't planned, but I felt that I had better take the short break if I wanted to finish strongly. 

Returning to running over the Lawton Street overpass, finally the road levelled out and then gently downhill. The race photographer was ahead, I passed her and then made the U-turn to return to the Beltline. About 50 feet behind me I saw a young woman, I hoped to stay ahead of her. In front of me were a couple of men. I began to pick up some speed running down the ramp. I took a quick look at my watch: 54 minutes and 5.8 miles elapsed. Less than 4 minutes, so I was on track to run a course-best! "Don't slow down!" I told myself. A runner in a white shirt was moving slowly, I caught up to him, passed on the right. It was a little tight on the Beltline, he kindly guided me around him with a hand on my back. Up ahead was another runner in a dark shirt. He was running better but I managed to catch up to him and pass him. At some point, the mile 6 alert sounded, 9:24, 56:37 elapsed. I could see the MARTA track in the distance, the finish line must be close. The Beltline took a gentle left turn and I could see people gathering around the finish area. To my surprise, I heard footsteps on my right, the runner in the dark shirt had thrown in a final kick, passing me as I heard the cheers on the crowd. I couldn't match his strong finish, but consistently moved every closer to the finish line. I could see Bonnie up ahead with her cellphone capturing the finish. I saw 57:33 on the race clock, official time 57:24. Definitely a personal best in four races on this course! 

I'm soaked with sweat

accepting a not-so-high five from Stephanie Batson

I was gasping for oxygen, Bonnie captured the moment

I had used up all of my energy, but I had run the entire race very consistently, very proud to have perfectly managed the pacing from start-to-finish. I needed a few minutes to recover and rehydrate, walked to my car to change into a dry shirt and change out my SuperShoes for regular running shoes, then headed into the Monday Night Garage brewery for the awards ceremony. 2nd place male grandmaster! And I was less than a minute behind 1st place, although I don't think that I could have done anything more to finish faster than I did. 

I was 2nd place, should have stood on the left side of the podium
instead of on the bronze medal lower level! 

The guy that sprinted past me at the end was only 46 years old, 
so I can't feel too badly about that!

May 29, 2023: Memorial Day 15K

I had such a great time running the South River 15K last month, I've decided that I'd like to focus on that distance for awhile. If I can reliably negative split the 15K distance, then can confidently work back toward running a quality-paced half-marathon. 

I waited until last week to register for the Memorial Day race in Marietta, after following the long-term forecast for several days. In fact, this morning's forecast was great running weather, sunrise temperature 57 deg F range. That is definitely out of character for the end of May in metro Atlanta.  

Other than the start and finish, most of the South River route last month was relatively flat, where I set a 15K race personal best of 1:27:00, average pace 9:20 min / mile. Today's course was more representative of metro Atlanta road races, meaning continuously rolling hills. I've run this 10K race four times, the first in 2014 and the most recent in 2019, and the 5K in 2022. At that time, I wasn't interested in racing any further than the 5K distance. For today's race, I decided to target the 1:27 finish time, but focus acutely on pace per mile, keeping the average pace number in my mind (over/under). The strategy was to go for another negative split, now with the challenge of hills. I planned to take 30-second walk breaks every 14 - 15 minutes, about every 2.5 kilometers, and carry my own Nuun / water, since I wasn't 100% confident about the water stations in this race. I never decided on the time interval to program my watch, but I figured that I would get an initial cue at the turnaround point for the 5K runners. Then I realized that since the entire out-and-back route was only 5K long, with the 15K racers making a second loop of the outer 5K, I would get a visual cue every 2.5 K. 14:30 was the average goal for each 2.5 kilometer leg. 

It looks like a larger number of runners this year!

Three races started together: 5K, 10K, 15K

Before the race, I had seen Dave Bloomquist, a regular in this race, and a loyal follower of this blog, at least when he knows that he may be mentioned in the blog post! Dave was warming up while I was stretching. We chatted long enough to establish before the race that he was running the 10K and I was doing 15K. I ran a couple of loops in the parking lot, then went to the street to run the last couple of minutes of the race route. It was good to remind myself of just how far away the finish line would appear when I would make the final turn in the parking lot in today's race. In the last few minutes before the race began, I took a position about midway in the pack. I didn't see Dave anywhere, but we hadn't planned to start together. Meanwhile I overheard a group of men talking about their 15K race experiences, two of whom stood out for their shirts: one a bright orange shirt, the other a bright blue shirt. I thought that I might use them as pacers, but of course it would depend on how they ran. 

After playing a recording of the National Anthem, the race director counted down from 3 - 2 - 1 - <<< airhorn >>> !

The first lap of this race around the parking lot is always tricky, trying not to run into anyone, especially young children. But we got out of the lot without incident, at least what I could see ahead of me, and turned right onto Piedmont Road. The first time that I checked my watch, I saw > 10 min / mile pace, but the number was gradually trending downward, although the road was also gently downhill. The pair of men in orange and blue shirts was ahead of me by about 25 feet, running approximately the same pace as me. Mile 1 elapsed in 9:28, just about perfect (a little over, as planned). My heart rate was in the 140 beats per minute, so I was definitely working, but still in the aerobic zone. 

We were spread out fairly well, as we began to go up the first hill. I felt good, didn't worry that my pace slowed slightly going uphill, as I knew from past years that I would go back downhill. After cresting the hill, I let momentum carry me forward. The men in orange and blue shirts were slowing down, I caught up with them and passed without effort. Midway through the second mile, the turnaround point for the 5K runners was ahead. I stayed on the right of the lane, raised my hand and took my first walk break, taking a couple of swigs of Nuun. My watch showed 15:45 elapsed when I took the walk break, but distance elapsed was 1.70 miles, so I was probably OK with pacing. The men in orange and blue shirts, and several others passed while I counted patiently to 30, then resumed running, almost immediately catching up to and passing the men in orange and blue shirts. 

Although earlier I didn't think that I had really "needed" the walk break or the water, I was grateful that I had followed the plan, because we were now running up to the highest elevation of the race route. I felt fresh, my pace dipped only a little as I climbed the hill. I caught up to a runner in a white shirt, didn't feel like I was going to easily pass him strongly, and decided to settle in with him for a moment. 

"Which race are you doing?" I asked. "15K. And you?" he responded. 

"15K." I think to myself, Compadres! 

"I'm Eric." "I'm Frank." 

"Good to meet you. How old are you?" 

For anyone that isn't a runner that is reading this: a person's age is relevant, but there is no value judgment, so it's not an inappropriate second question amongst runners. 

"60" I responded. "Wow, that's great. I'm 30." 

Mile 2 in 9:41 (over). I had slowed a little with the hill, but I knew that I would later enjoy running downhill in the other direction. 

Anyway Eric and I chatted back and forth for a while. Eric doesn't run that many races, but ran this Memorial Day 15K last year and enjoyed it. I mentioned that I was running this race to improve my pacing, in preparation to return to the "half-marathon" distance sometime soon. I learned that the 15K is the longest distance that Eric has run, but he prefers this over the 5K, and will probably do a half-marathon later this year. We agreed, "You're not really getting your money's worth if you just do the 5K." Definitely it seems true for this race, as the 5K regular price is $40, then the 10K and 15K races cost only $45 and $50, respectively. We've both recently moved up in age group, and have the common experience of comparing our current age group placements and our times, checking what place that time might have earned in the age group that we just departed. 

Photo with Eric, taken after the race

From behind, Dave Bloomquist joined us. Dave introduced me to another runner in the 10K race named Ashley. I commented "Dave, it's a good thing we're not doing the same distance, otherwise we would be racing!" Right now, Dave and I are in the same age group, so it would have really meant something! And he would have probably won. Anyway ..... while running with Dave, I had left Eric behind. Mile 3 in 9:41 (over). Again. Thank goodness I was trying to make up time by relaxing and gliding on the downhills. Or had that been a mistake? I looked at my watch as the turnaround drew near: 29:30. I was alloting 29 minutes for each 5K loop, so I was a little behind. Or, maybe I was right on plan, as long as I banked enough energy to run a little faster in the second half. At 5K elapsed, as we made the turnaround, with 10K to go, it wasn't yet time to start running faster. Just don't slow down. 

I was running behind Ashley and Dave, closer to Dave, so that one time he looked over his shoulder at me. I said "I should draft off of you!" and Dave replied "I'm big enough for it!" Not really true, I thought to myself, I need someone both taller and wider. About a minute later, a man wearing a Marines T-shirt caught up to me. He was both taller and a little wider than Dave, or anyone else that I could see around us on the course. But the Marine was also moving more quickly that I dared. So I stayed with Dave. 

Somehow in the fourth mile, my right knee twisted a bit, almost gave out from under me. Perhaps it was a combination of the crown of the road and running downhill, but I'm not sure. Fortunately I caught myself, wondered if anyone behind me (Eric?) had noticed my momentary limp. Then I put aside pride, to ask myself the more important question, "Am I injured?" The initial tweak had been sharp but very short-duration sensation. I felt a little soreness but was probably lucky that I could still run, and at the same pace. 

Then I realized that I had completely forgotten about the 5K walk break! At the bottom of a hill, I raised my hand, walked and took water. Dave moved ahead for good as I counted to 30 before resuming running. I was glad that I waited to take the walk break at the bottom of the hill, as I was refreshed for running uphill, and gave me a chance to focus on how my right knee felt, but in truth I hadn't been paying attention to the plan. Walk break at 35 minutes elapsed, hopefully I wouldn't regret the delay later on. Even with the walk break, I covered mile 4 in 9:22 (a tiny bit over). So I might be getting back on track, with 9:33 min / mile average pace. More important than my time goal, I'm hoping that the knee doesn't cause trouble, with more than half the race to go. 

Wise words from Coach Carl Leivers

The first part of mile 5 was gently downhill. I tried to make good progress, but reminding myself to "relax and glide". I may have been looking too eagerly for the turnaround, what I estimated would be the 7.5 kilometer mark, but I needed 45 minutes to get there. Only later did I realize that the distance elapsed on the course at that point was 4.75 miles, enough distance to account for an extra minute. Approaching the turnaround, I took the walk break and a couple of swigs of Nuun, counting to 30, then resuming running as we returned south for the second loop. Mile 5 in 9:11 (under), that was nice. I knew that it was net downhill, so at least I was making up time as I had planned / hoped. 

The knee had a little soreness, but it didn't seem that running was causing any damage or that the knee was slowing me down. But running up the long hill, again, was tough: the same hill that had slowed me down in the later part of mile 2 and early in mile 3. I took off my cap, tucked it into my water belt, hoping I wouldn't lose it. Despite the pleasantly cool temperature, I was sweating quite a bit, and it felt good to have a bare head. It had been easier climbing this hill with Eric 30 minutes earlier. Finally cresting the hill, I let off the brakes and floated downhill, which seemed to go on for awhile. Mile 6 in 9:16 (under), definitely an improvement over mile 3. By now I had tested out the knee for more than a mile, and my form was still fine. 

But now I was beginning to feel fatigue. At least I reached the turnaround at 59:30 elapsed, having taken a planned walk break immediately before the turn. 10K completed: could I run the last 5K in 27:30? The hills weren't all that large in this sector, but the struggle had begun. I had seen that Eric wasn't far behind me at the turnaround. I wondered if he would catch up to me with those young legs. I was passing 10K walkers, every once in awhile would pass a runner who was probably also running the 15K. On a few occasions when I checked, my heart rate was in the 160's, a little above my lactate threshold, but then it dropped into the 150's when I was gliding downhill. 

Note that my heart rate closely tracked the change in elevation
(until the last mile of the race, when I was pushing hard). 
 

Knowing that my heart rate dropped with every downhill section must mean that I found the right pace. The strategic walk breaks probably also kept me out of the dreaded "Oxygen Debt." Coach Carl, I could hear your voice as I ran. Mile 7 in 9:32 (over), not bad, as that included the walk break at the 10K turnaround. 

Elapsed time was 1:06:11. Could I run 2.33 miles in less than 21 minutes? I needed to quicken my pace to 9:00 min / mile. But the wind was blowing from the north, a little cool, not that I wanted to complain about the temperature, but I was definitely fighting the wind. Then my right shoulder was hurting (not doing enough core strength work) followed by getting a side stitch in my right side! Fortunately the side stitch wasn't serious, and I was able to rub it out fairly quickly. Those momentary pains made me forget about the right knee pain. 

The voice in my right ear asked "1:27 - Will he make it?" 

The response in the left ear was "Bet he won't." 

Arrghh - enough with the negative thinking. I take over the conversation: "It's not impossible, it will be difficult, but ..... I can do this!" And the wind blew away the demons. Mile 8 in 9:32 (over), my watch showed total elapsed time 1:15:45. 

Now the question was, "1.33 miles in 11 minutes?" After a moment, "I ran a sub-8 minute mile earlier this month. So, yes! Yes, I can!" And the route ahead was a long, gentle downhill. Did I mention that I wore the Adidas Adizero 'Supershoes' today? In that moment I remembered that I was carrying a UCan packet, but I hadn't planned on when I would take it. Now it seemed almost too late, the time lost in digging the gel out of the race belt pocket, working open the package, sipping it down, washing down with Nuun. Nope, not taking it. But I suppose it was a good insurance plan that I just didn't need to use today. 

I was running well, the knee was hardly noticeable. My focus was totally on my eyes: can I see the turn into the parking lot that will get me to the finish line? After a couple of minutes, I saw police lights in the distance in the opposite lane. That must be where we're turning ---- oh no, the police lights were moving this way, passing me, gone. It was a few more minutes before I clearly saw the goal intersection, and a policeman (no car, no lights) protecting the intersection. The mile 9 alert sounded: 9:10 (under). Fastest mile of the day, but at 1:25:00 elapsed, could I cover the last 0.33 miles in 2 minutes? 

The route for the final minutes, from lower right through the 
hairpin turn and then blazing red into the finish line!

1:25:40, I made the turn off Piedmont Road, heading downhill, running a direct tangent to the turn into the parking lot. 

1:26:06, into the parking lot. 

1:26:22, the final turn. Now I can see the finish line. It's far away, but I'm not surprised, thanks to my pre-race reconnaissance of the finish line.

1:26:40, is what I see when I glance at my watch. Maybe the finish line is only 20 seconds away? 

I'm counting 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - halfway there. I throw in a stride (thanks Coach Carl!!) and I'm moving faster - and - and - and over the finish line! (way under for the final stretch, average pace 8:15)

Stop the watch: 1:27:01! And subtracting a second before the race and a second after crossing the line, might I have just run a personal best for the 15K race distance, by a second or two?! 

A two-second new personal best (rounding off to the nearest second)!
And I nailed my goal time! 

That was tough. But I finished, and finished strongly! 

I waited by the finish line until Eric came through, about a minute after I had finished. The official results were available as soon as I checked. Not only had I technically broken the 1:27:00 goal, but what's this - "Male Overall Senior Master 1 of 3"?! The only disappointment was that my Garmin watch measured only 9.26 miles, not 9.33 miles = 10.00 kilometers. But maybe Garmin didn't measure accurately enough. Yeah, let's go with that! 

A lot of data here, but I definitely sped up at the end.
My two slowest miles were in the first half, so perfect race for me! 

Happy to see that I was in the maximum zone for only the last few minutes. 

I've come to admire the simplicity of the Strava "Splits" presentation.
Only the essentials, but everything that I really need to know. 

I like the relative consistency over the hills, and that I 
banked enough energy to run my fastest after mile 8. 

I don't have many medals that say "1st" anything!

I figured out that I was third-fastest man 60+, but the two ahead of me won 2nd- and 3rd-place Grand Master. Now I know that Grand Master is superior to Senior Master. However the award was classified, it was nice to bring home a medal today! 

The only downside is that my right knee is pretty sore. It stiffened up while I was seated writing this blog post. I hope that it improves quickly. Fortunately I haven't registered for any races until the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, so I feel free to rest over the next few weeks if I need the time to fully recover.