Saturday, October 21, 2006
Peachtree City Classic 15K
15K (9.32 mi)
13/71 Age Group
102 Overall
Time: 1:10:22.35
Pace: 7:33/mi
The Peachtree City 15K is a wonderful race. It takes place mostly on paved golf cart paths that wind through the trees, through short tunnels, and besides some lakes. It is a beautiful course. The 15K race is RRCA Southern Region Championship and the USATF Georgia Association Championship.
Peachtree City is a little less than an hour and a half away from my mom’s house in Roswell. We left early so we would be able to park close to the starting area and have easy access to the car to ditch our outer garments before the start of the race. With about 15 minutes to go before the race started, we shed our coats and headed towards the starting area. Within about 5 minutes, my teeth were chattering away (the temperature was around 40 degrees) and I was wondering if I was under dressed. About sixty seconds after the start I was perfectly comfortable, not noticing the temperature again until about thirty minutes after the race was over, so in retrospect I was dressed correctly in shorts, a light weight long sleeve shirt, and gloves.
The race started at 9:10 AM with about 500 men and 400 women in the 15K event. The first two miles of the race are on wide streets to give the runners a chance to thin out a bit before switching to the narrow golf card paths. From the start to the second mile marker is gently uphill. I ran those first two miles at close to a 7:00/mi pace and was a little worried that I was starting too fast. I had made the mistake of wearing sunglasses thinking the sun would soon be out and I kept fogging them up with my breath, an annoying and needless distraction. Eventually I ixnayed the sunglasses idea and hung them on my shirt collar, they just were not worth the hassle.
Not far after the second mile mark, the course transitioned to the golf cart paths. For me the feel of the race completely changes at that point. Things seem to be moving much faster and I was much more aware of the folks around me. A lot more of my attention was on navigating the path’s twists and turns. I find trail running, or even golf cart path running a lot more interesting than running on the open road.
At this point, I kept fretting about my pace. I did not want to run slower than I was capable, nor did I want to run so fast that burned out before the end. I tried to ease back a bit, but not so much that I felt I was taking it too easy. I was still worrying about this about mile five when another runner passed me. I passed her back, she passed me, we’d run stride for stride for a while, one of us would pass the other, and then the other would return the favor. We ran miles five and six at a 7:00/mi pace or better. Finally, she dropped off the pace a bit and I pulled ahead. A good thing, because I thought that pace was going to kill me. I am not sure which was worse however, being matched stride for stride, or feeling for the rest of the race as if she was right behind me waiting to strike.
By mile eight, I felt I was slowing significantly and I was sure folks were going to start passing me left and right. But when I went back and looked at the numbers, I ran the last mile and a third at exactly the same pace I had run the rest of the race. (7:33)
The last part of the course is particularly beautiful as it winds its way past several lakes. I cannot say that I was able to appreciate it however, by that point I was just thinking over and over, "Where’s that damn finish line."
The Peachtree City Classic is a very well run event. I am not sure I have ever seen as many volunteers stationed along a course to make sure things ran smoothly, safely, to see that runners did not get off the course, and provide traffic control. Veteran folks called out the time splits every mile and there was plenty of food, water, Gatorade, and sweatshirts, even for the late finishers. They used timing chips and the results were available online right away. They gave away an attractive high quality sweatshirt.
A great race.
13/71 Age Group
102 Overall
Time: 1:10:22.35
Pace: 7:33/mi
The Peachtree City 15K is a wonderful race. It takes place mostly on paved golf cart paths that wind through the trees, through short tunnels, and besides some lakes. It is a beautiful course. The 15K race is RRCA Southern Region Championship and the USATF Georgia Association Championship.
Peachtree City is a little less than an hour and a half away from my mom’s house in Roswell. We left early so we would be able to park close to the starting area and have easy access to the car to ditch our outer garments before the start of the race. With about 15 minutes to go before the race started, we shed our coats and headed towards the starting area. Within about 5 minutes, my teeth were chattering away (the temperature was around 40 degrees) and I was wondering if I was under dressed. About sixty seconds after the start I was perfectly comfortable, not noticing the temperature again until about thirty minutes after the race was over, so in retrospect I was dressed correctly in shorts, a light weight long sleeve shirt, and gloves.
The race started at 9:10 AM with about 500 men and 400 women in the 15K event. The first two miles of the race are on wide streets to give the runners a chance to thin out a bit before switching to the narrow golf card paths. From the start to the second mile marker is gently uphill. I ran those first two miles at close to a 7:00/mi pace and was a little worried that I was starting too fast. I had made the mistake of wearing sunglasses thinking the sun would soon be out and I kept fogging them up with my breath, an annoying and needless distraction. Eventually I ixnayed the sunglasses idea and hung them on my shirt collar, they just were not worth the hassle.
Not far after the second mile mark, the course transitioned to the golf cart paths. For me the feel of the race completely changes at that point. Things seem to be moving much faster and I was much more aware of the folks around me. A lot more of my attention was on navigating the path’s twists and turns. I find trail running, or even golf cart path running a lot more interesting than running on the open road.
At this point, I kept fretting about my pace. I did not want to run slower than I was capable, nor did I want to run so fast that burned out before the end. I tried to ease back a bit, but not so much that I felt I was taking it too easy. I was still worrying about this about mile five when another runner passed me. I passed her back, she passed me, we’d run stride for stride for a while, one of us would pass the other, and then the other would return the favor. We ran miles five and six at a 7:00/mi pace or better. Finally, she dropped off the pace a bit and I pulled ahead. A good thing, because I thought that pace was going to kill me. I am not sure which was worse however, being matched stride for stride, or feeling for the rest of the race as if she was right behind me waiting to strike.
By mile eight, I felt I was slowing significantly and I was sure folks were going to start passing me left and right. But when I went back and looked at the numbers, I ran the last mile and a third at exactly the same pace I had run the rest of the race. (7:33)
The last part of the course is particularly beautiful as it winds its way past several lakes. I cannot say that I was able to appreciate it however, by that point I was just thinking over and over, "Where’s that damn finish line."
The Peachtree City Classic is a very well run event. I am not sure I have ever seen as many volunteers stationed along a course to make sure things ran smoothly, safely, to see that runners did not get off the course, and provide traffic control. Veteran folks called out the time splits every mile and there was plenty of food, water, Gatorade, and sweatshirts, even for the late finishers. They used timing chips and the results were available online right away. They gave away an attractive high quality sweatshirt.
A great race.
