Saturday, July 22, 2006
Atlanta's Finest 5K
#518 5K 24:28
A race around Piedmont Park to benefit The Atlanta Police Foundation.
I took Marta from the Brookhaven Station down to the Midtown Station, and then walked through the misty drizzle down 10th street to the park entrance. I took a warm up jog around the park, and did some stretching. I fretted about were to line up for the start. I have had a tendency to line up too far back, so this time I positioned myself closer to the front than I would normally. By the time the race started the drizzle was gone and while overcast, the day was starting to warm. The race started up a mild hill moving west on 10th street. Then we turned onto Piedmont and climbed a long serious hill. I kept a good steady pace up that hill and was able to take advantage of the long downhill. My split at the first mile was just over 8:30. At just over the halfway mark, we turned right onto Monroe and more hills. I was able to keep my pace although I was feeling pretty out of breath. I tried to focus on not fading too much in the mid part of the race. (I have a tendency to back off in the middle of races because I am afraid of otherwise not being able to finish.) This week I spent the middle of the race passing people rather than being passed. From Monroe we turned back onto 10th street and headed towards the finish. I held off a runner who made a strong move to pass me just before the finish and as a result finished strong. My time was 24:28 which meant my average pace for the race was under 8:00 /mile. Overall, I felt it was a good race. Certainly, it was a great way to start my weekend.
A race around Piedmont Park to benefit The Atlanta Police Foundation.
I took Marta from the Brookhaven Station down to the Midtown Station, and then walked through the misty drizzle down 10th street to the park entrance. I took a warm up jog around the park, and did some stretching. I fretted about were to line up for the start. I have had a tendency to line up too far back, so this time I positioned myself closer to the front than I would normally. By the time the race started the drizzle was gone and while overcast, the day was starting to warm. The race started up a mild hill moving west on 10th street. Then we turned onto Piedmont and climbed a long serious hill. I kept a good steady pace up that hill and was able to take advantage of the long downhill. My split at the first mile was just over 8:30. At just over the halfway mark, we turned right onto Monroe and more hills. I was able to keep my pace although I was feeling pretty out of breath. I tried to focus on not fading too much in the mid part of the race. (I have a tendency to back off in the middle of races because I am afraid of otherwise not being able to finish.) This week I spent the middle of the race passing people rather than being passed. From Monroe we turned back onto 10th street and headed towards the finish. I held off a runner who made a strong move to pass me just before the finish and as a result finished strong. My time was 24:28 which meant my average pace for the race was under 8:00 /mile. Overall, I felt it was a good race. Certainly, it was a great way to start my weekend.
