rob field

Etowah River Run 5K
(Boling Park, Canton, GA)
#80 5K 22:48 (results)

It was a stressful week at work with long hours and I spent Friday night mostly tossing and turning before waking long before planed at 3:00 AM. I sipped a sports drink and flipped channels before heading over to my parent’s house to pickup my mom.

The race start was actually at Cherokee High School, after running out of the parking lot the first half-mile consisted of a short downhill, a short uphill, and a longer sweeping downhill. After that, the course was fast and flat, mostly on asphalt, with short sections over dirt and grass. I started better than usual. I did not feel like I was moving that fast, but when I get to the first split I discovered that I did the first mile in 7 minutes. This race my focus was not to drop off the pace in the middle of the race. I would lock in on the next runner in front of me and mentally pull myself past them. If someone tried to pass me, I would try to project an invisible wall to either side of me that a competitor might push on, but would not be able to get through. Towards the middle of the race, I fought off one such runner for almost a mile before my wall crumbled, my pace faltered just a bit, and he pulled ahead. I did not let him out of my sights and almost caught him at the finish line. It was interesting study in contrasts. For everyone he passed he had words of encouragement. An attitude I have the utmost respect for, and even perhaps a little envy. Everyone I pass makes me feel a bit like a pilot in the Rebel Alliance who had just taken out another Tie-Fighter.

My pace did fall off on the final third of the race to an 8:00/mi, giving me a finishing time of 22:48 with an overall average pace of 7:20/mi. That makes this race one of my fastest to date.

Note: It was mom however, that took home the first place trophy in the age group-which-I-am-not-allowed-to-divulge. I did win one of the door prizes however, a four pack of two-liter diet cokes.

#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.

#9853 4M 32:36

I noticed this race on the Atlanta Track Club schedule on Thursday, but had not really intended on doing it so I ran my normal 7.25 miles on Friday morning. As the day wore on however I started to get that itch to go run a race. Then last night when before I went to bed, I decided to go give it my best shot. I figured that I would probably have a hard time, but I would give it my best effort. I run every other day runner and always take the day off before a race (or do a short easy run if I absolutely have to get out there.)

The race is over near the Emory University Campus, just down the street from the Rainbow Natural Food Store. I got there in plenty of time, signed in, got my race number. I lined up in a decent spot near the front. I did not want to be right at the front because I was not figuring to be very fast. I was just out to have a good time.

The race started promptly at 7:30 AM and I promptly forget that I was planning to take it easy. I fell into a good pace and was shocked when at the first mile they were calling out time to find that I had done a 7:34 /mi. It was already well over 80 degrees at the start of the race and I began to feel both the heat and the miles from the day before. The course was also a very hilly one. By the end of the second mile, my pace had fallen to over 8:30 /mi. I had passed many folks on miles one and two, but by the third mile, folks were starting to pass me. I had to suck it up, let them go, and focus on just finishing the race.

I was tired as I rounded the last corner and headed for the finish. I felt a lot more worn out than when I finished the Peachtree. I could not have been more surprised that my time was 32:36, which meant my average pace was 8:09 /mi. (My pace on the Peachtree was 8:47 /mi; my goal 10K pace is 7:53/mi).

It is a pretty course through tree shaded neighborhoods, but there were some significant hills. The Track Club, as always, did a wonderful job of organizing and hosting the event. (#9853)

54:27 53:29

The Peachtree did not go as well as I might have hoped, but certainly better than I had any right to expect. I had a bout of food poisoning just three days before the race and had just been able to start eating solid foods again the day before the race, so my plan was to take it easy. That was the plan, which I forgot about completely as soon as the race started.

At 7:30 when the race started, it was a balmy 74 degrees, but with no cloud cover to speak of, only a slight haze, it was only to get warmer from there. I had a great starting position in time group 1a, just behind the invited runners, the seeded and sub-seeded runners. There were maybe a thousand folks ahead of me at the start, but a good 65,000 behind me. I was a little nervous about that and of being able to keep the pace starting in a group where everyone where everyone had to submit a qualifying 10K time of under 50:00 to get there. I had done it, but it had been about 10 months and, at least for the moment, I am not quite that fast.

I started the race running at a pretty good clip. I passed the first mile mark after 9 minutes, which given the slow start of any big race, meant I was running at a fast pace. The temperature climbed steadily as the race progressed and the sun rose in the sky. I am usually not big on water stations, but given my recent illness and its dehydrating effects, I hit most of the water stations grabbing both water to drink and to dump over my head.

As we ran past the Catholic Church close to mile 2, they had the holy water sprinklers running as well as the priests splashing out blessing and holy water. I didn’t burst into flames, which I took as a good sign.

The Peachtree is flat or downhill until mile 3 and that is about where I started to remember that I was going to relax, take it easy, and just enjoy the run. In fact, what I had done was push as hard as possible and worked to pass as many people as possible. Suddenly it was as if someone turned of the energy spigot. I was exhausted. Much more exhausted that I normally get on my morning runs. The climb up the aptly named “Cardiac Hill” was tough. I slowed way, way down as I made my way up. I was not the only one. Many folks slowed way down or just started walking up the hill at that point.

I made the top of the hill without stopping, but after that, it became a real effort of will to keep going and my pace dropped way down. At least it felt like it did. In retrospect, I think the perceived effort went way up, and the pace only dropped of a little.

Mile 5 was the next uphill section, but only mildly so. At this point, my focus was on finishing the race without having to stop and walk. I hand no more time goals. My goal was just to finish, finish, finish.

Just after mile 5, the race makes its only turn off Peachtree onto 10th Street. I was past the hills and getting a little confidence back. I passed the photo bridge where the photographer’s were out snapping everyone’s photo. I stepped up the pace thinking I was just about at the finish, only to discover I had done so a few hundred yards too early. I was out of gas and was ready to coast on to the finish line until I heard someone call out a time of 53:00. I didn’t think I had any energy left in the tank, but as soon as I heard that, I kicked it up another notch and pushed it as hard as I could. I cussed, swore, and exhorted myself to get moving. I was determined to cross the finish under the 55-minute mark. And I did. In the men’s open division, I placed 1292. Overall, I placed 3061. My official finish time, as measured from the starting gun, was 54:27. My bragging rights time, as measured from when I crossed the starting line, was 53:29.

That's my mom in the picture with me. She ran as well, at an age that cannot be disclosed if I ever want a home cooked meal again. How cool is that!

course map (#12192)