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
Sunday, November 06, 2005
ATC Run Around the Rock
ATC Run Around the Rock 5M/10M/15M
This was an Atlanta Track Club race held on a Saturday morning out at Stone Mountain. The weather was cool, but not cold. Driving over to the park, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. The course was a 5-mile loop around Stone Mountain. Runners had choice of competing at the 5, 10, or 15-mile distances. Initially I could not make up my mind which race I wanted to run. Doing the 15 mile race would have been good training for the half-marathon but I was worried that I would not be able to stick to my own pace in a race situation, surrounded by faster runners focusing on shorter distances. Running the 10-mile distance meant that I would not have to worry so much about pace and completing the distance and could just go out and have fun.
I’ve never run out at Stone Mountain before and although they mentioned hills in the race description, I thought it would be fine because my regular neighborhood run includes a couple of good ones. I started the race strong. (Okay I started the race wondering why in the world I thought I was able to run this morning and wondering if anyone would notice if I dropped out of the race less than 100 yards from the start. That’s how most of my runs start. I have learned to ignore my own litany of complaints and doubts, which generally fade by the first mile split.) I was surprised that despite the early uphill section of the race, when they called out the time at the first mile mark I was running at about a 7:30 pace. I kept that pace going until the next hill between 3- and 4-miles. Then it felt like I had run into a wall. When I finally reached the crest of the hill, I felt like my pace had slowed to a crawl, people were starting to pass me, and I was feeling discouraged. The last mile of the course was a long gentle downhill to the start/finish. When I passed the start/finish and 5-milers peeled off the course, the character of the race changed completely. There were a lot fewer runners out on the course. I finally settled into a groove of sorts and managed to pass a few people, and hold off some of the people that tried to pass me. The hills the second time around did not seem nearly as bad as they had the first time and my last mile down to the start/finish was probably my fastest mile the entire race.
I finished with a time of 1:19:23, which made my average pace 7:56. It was a nice improvement over the PTC 15K where my pace was 8:17 and Stone Mountain was certainly the more difficult course.
Next big race is Nov 24th when I do the Atlanta Half Marathon.
This was an Atlanta Track Club race held on a Saturday morning out at Stone Mountain. The weather was cool, but not cold. Driving over to the park, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. The course was a 5-mile loop around Stone Mountain. Runners had choice of competing at the 5, 10, or 15-mile distances. Initially I could not make up my mind which race I wanted to run. Doing the 15 mile race would have been good training for the half-marathon but I was worried that I would not be able to stick to my own pace in a race situation, surrounded by faster runners focusing on shorter distances. Running the 10-mile distance meant that I would not have to worry so much about pace and completing the distance and could just go out and have fun.
I’ve never run out at Stone Mountain before and although they mentioned hills in the race description, I thought it would be fine because my regular neighborhood run includes a couple of good ones. I started the race strong. (Okay I started the race wondering why in the world I thought I was able to run this morning and wondering if anyone would notice if I dropped out of the race less than 100 yards from the start. That’s how most of my runs start. I have learned to ignore my own litany of complaints and doubts, which generally fade by the first mile split.) I was surprised that despite the early uphill section of the race, when they called out the time at the first mile mark I was running at about a 7:30 pace. I kept that pace going until the next hill between 3- and 4-miles. Then it felt like I had run into a wall. When I finally reached the crest of the hill, I felt like my pace had slowed to a crawl, people were starting to pass me, and I was feeling discouraged. The last mile of the course was a long gentle downhill to the start/finish. When I passed the start/finish and 5-milers peeled off the course, the character of the race changed completely. There were a lot fewer runners out on the course. I finally settled into a groove of sorts and managed to pass a few people, and hold off some of the people that tried to pass me. The hills the second time around did not seem nearly as bad as they had the first time and my last mile down to the start/finish was probably my fastest mile the entire race.
I finished with a time of 1:19:23, which made my average pace 7:56. It was a nice improvement over the PTC 15K where my pace was 8:17 and Stone Mountain was certainly the more difficult course.
Next big race is Nov 24th when I do the Atlanta Half Marathon.
