Friday, November 25, 2005
Atlanta Thanksgiving Half-Marthon
I experienced a lot of frustration in the three weeks leading up to the race. I injured my right hip flexor, probably tendonitis from overtraining, and I have not been able to run. If I had any sense I would have spent the time in the gym, but I let work and personal issues get in the way. Besides, compared to running, I hate the gym. A month ago, I was in great shape for a half-marathon, but Thanksgiving morning I was not feeling confident of my conditioning or of my hip.
The alarm went off at 4 AM with the Black Eyed Peas singing “Let’s Get it Started.” While wandering about the apartment getting ready, I was pleasantly surprised when I turned on the television and found it was about 20 degrees warmer that I had expected, a relatively balmy 50 F (10 C). I was somewhat prepared for colder temperatures having had purchased some gloves and a hat when I picked up my number at the race expo the day before. I went with shorts, long sleeve jersey, and gloves which left me a little cold waiting for the race to start (okay by the time the race started my teeth had started to chatter), but dressed perfectly for the race itself.
I took the local metro transit train to the race starting line just a few miles north of my apartment. My plan was to start towards the back and run slow and easy. While this was the smart thing to do, it was also very frustrating. I don’t know the official count, but according to the Track Club’s website usually about 8000 people sign up for the race and from the crowd at the start I believe it. After the starting gun, it was a good ten minutes before I even reached the starting line and then for the first mile or more, the crowd of runners on the course made it very difficult to settle into any kind of pace. This had the effect of forcing me to stick to my plan and start very slow and easy. It’s probably why the race turned out to be such a pleasant experience. Next year however, I am going to get there early and nab a spot closer to the front.
It was a beautiful day. The race started just at the sun began to peak over the horizon starting the transition from a star filled sky to an unbroken field of clear blue. It was sunny enough so that by the end of the race, I was wishing I had brought sunglasses.
I was extremely anxious for the first part of the race worrying about my hip and being unable to settle into a comfortable pace because of the crowd. It was immensely frustrating to hear them call a split of 20 minutes as I passed the 1-mile mark still hemmed in. After about two miles, the pack of runners thinned out as much as it was going to and I was able to settle into some semblance of a rhythm/pace. Around mile three, I started to relax and enjoy the run.
The half-marathon is a beautiful run through Atlanta. You start just north of the Buckhead business district and run south straight down Peachtree. You run right through the city, past the Woodruff Arts Center, the Fabulous Fox Theater, Underground Atlanta, Coca-Cola Museum, the State Capital, and finish up at Turner Field.
After all that worrying about my hip, it did not really start causing me any difficulty until the last mile or so of the race. Going up the last hill next to the state capital is when I really started to feel some pain, but knowing I was closing in on the finish was a great motivator to keep going. Still, that last mile was tough. I did not have much in the way of reserves as I approached the finished.
When I finished it was with a sense of unreality. Although I did not have any goals for the race other than finishing, I crossed the finish line at 2:01:01 (which placed me 317 out of 600 in Men 35-39 age group.) That means somehow my average pace was around 9 minutes a mile. Given that my first mile took over 20 minutes and I felt like I was crawling the last mile, somewhere in there I must have been running at a good pace. It was not an issue this year because of the warm weather, but next year I am going to be sure that I have warm clothes waiting for me at the finish line.
Next up? I am not sure. I am going to try to get my hip healed up and then start training a little less aggressively. I am still planning on a marathon, but it looks like I am going to have to pick one on a later date.
post-race picture
The alarm went off at 4 AM with the Black Eyed Peas singing “Let’s Get it Started.” While wandering about the apartment getting ready, I was pleasantly surprised when I turned on the television and found it was about 20 degrees warmer that I had expected, a relatively balmy 50 F (10 C). I was somewhat prepared for colder temperatures having had purchased some gloves and a hat when I picked up my number at the race expo the day before. I went with shorts, long sleeve jersey, and gloves which left me a little cold waiting for the race to start (okay by the time the race started my teeth had started to chatter), but dressed perfectly for the race itself.
I took the local metro transit train to the race starting line just a few miles north of my apartment. My plan was to start towards the back and run slow and easy. While this was the smart thing to do, it was also very frustrating. I don’t know the official count, but according to the Track Club’s website usually about 8000 people sign up for the race and from the crowd at the start I believe it. After the starting gun, it was a good ten minutes before I even reached the starting line and then for the first mile or more, the crowd of runners on the course made it very difficult to settle into any kind of pace. This had the effect of forcing me to stick to my plan and start very slow and easy. It’s probably why the race turned out to be such a pleasant experience. Next year however, I am going to get there early and nab a spot closer to the front.
It was a beautiful day. The race started just at the sun began to peak over the horizon starting the transition from a star filled sky to an unbroken field of clear blue. It was sunny enough so that by the end of the race, I was wishing I had brought sunglasses.
I was extremely anxious for the first part of the race worrying about my hip and being unable to settle into a comfortable pace because of the crowd. It was immensely frustrating to hear them call a split of 20 minutes as I passed the 1-mile mark still hemmed in. After about two miles, the pack of runners thinned out as much as it was going to and I was able to settle into some semblance of a rhythm/pace. Around mile three, I started to relax and enjoy the run.
The half-marathon is a beautiful run through Atlanta. You start just north of the Buckhead business district and run south straight down Peachtree. You run right through the city, past the Woodruff Arts Center, the Fabulous Fox Theater, Underground Atlanta, Coca-Cola Museum, the State Capital, and finish up at Turner Field.
After all that worrying about my hip, it did not really start causing me any difficulty until the last mile or so of the race. Going up the last hill next to the state capital is when I really started to feel some pain, but knowing I was closing in on the finish was a great motivator to keep going. Still, that last mile was tough. I did not have much in the way of reserves as I approached the finished.
When I finished it was with a sense of unreality. Although I did not have any goals for the race other than finishing, I crossed the finish line at 2:01:01 (which placed me 317 out of 600 in Men 35-39 age group.) That means somehow my average pace was around 9 minutes a mile. Given that my first mile took over 20 minutes and I felt like I was crawling the last mile, somewhere in there I must have been running at a good pace. It was not an issue this year because of the warm weather, but next year I am going to be sure that I have warm clothes waiting for me at the finish line.
Next up? I am not sure. I am going to try to get my hip healed up and then start training a little less aggressively. I am still planning on a marathon, but it looks like I am going to have to pick one on a later date.
post-race picture
