Saturday, August 26, 2006
Habitat for Humidity 5K
Marietta, Ga
#1321 5K 22:55
Age Group: 5 Overall: 77
results - map
Weather conditions were, as they say, hot and humid. Running this race was a last minute decision. I thought seriously about going down to Stone Mountain to do a long run, but I decided to put that off a day and get in a speed workout instead. The sky was overcast and the temperature already climbing when the race started at 7:30. The race started in the parking lot, then turned left (east) on Lower Roswell Road. The race makes a left onto Woodlawn drive, turns right onto Johnson’s Ferry, and then turns right back onto Lower Roswell Road to return to the church, and finally right into the parking lot to return to the finish. The section of the course going in and out of the church parking lot seemed a bit constricted, but the course itself was mostly flat with just a few gentle hills. Part of the course is the same used by the Polar Bear Run I ran in January.
The race was well organized, good facilities, plenty of voulunteers, and good traffic control. Although I had a few gripes. They gave the shirts out before the race, whihc meant a return trip to the car to stow them. (And part of the fun of finishing a race is to go claim your shirt AFTER finishing. I was really annoyed that the volunteers calling out the split time did a poor job. The one at the first mile marker in particular seemed more interested in watching the runners than calling out times. The second gripe was the way they scheduled the morning: there was no way I was going to wait around for the awards. They did the 5K at 7:30, a fun run at 8:30, and then a tot trot at 9:00 I suspect very few of the 5K runners were willing to wait.
I was happy with my performance. I ran a steady 7:21 pace the entire way and had enough kick left at the finish to pass some folks and fend off a fellow runner who really put some pressure on me for the last half-mile or so. We high-fived each other after we crossed the finish line in recognition of each other's efforts.
#1321 5K 22:55
Age Group: 5 Overall: 77
results - map
Weather conditions were, as they say, hot and humid. Running this race was a last minute decision. I thought seriously about going down to Stone Mountain to do a long run, but I decided to put that off a day and get in a speed workout instead. The sky was overcast and the temperature already climbing when the race started at 7:30. The race started in the parking lot, then turned left (east) on Lower Roswell Road. The race makes a left onto Woodlawn drive, turns right onto Johnson’s Ferry, and then turns right back onto Lower Roswell Road to return to the church, and finally right into the parking lot to return to the finish. The section of the course going in and out of the church parking lot seemed a bit constricted, but the course itself was mostly flat with just a few gentle hills. Part of the course is the same used by the Polar Bear Run I ran in January.
The race was well organized, good facilities, plenty of voulunteers, and good traffic control. Although I had a few gripes. They gave the shirts out before the race, whihc meant a return trip to the car to stow them. (And part of the fun of finishing a race is to go claim your shirt AFTER finishing. I was really annoyed that the volunteers calling out the split time did a poor job. The one at the first mile marker in particular seemed more interested in watching the runners than calling out times. The second gripe was the way they scheduled the morning: there was no way I was going to wait around for the awards. They did the 5K at 7:30, a fun run at 8:30, and then a tot trot at 9:00 I suspect very few of the 5K runners were willing to wait.
I was happy with my performance. I ran a steady 7:21 pace the entire way and had enough kick left at the finish to pass some folks and fend off a fellow runner who really put some pressure on me for the last half-mile or so. We high-fived each other after we crossed the finish line in recognition of each other's efforts.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
ATC Grand Finale 5K, 8 a.m., Ansley Mall, Midtown Atlanta
#10370 5K 23:54
They described it on their website as a one-loop course starting and finishing at Ansley Mall, runs through the "Sherwood Forest" neighborhood, a bit of a rolling course but not overly challenging.
Well it turned out to be a challenge for me. It was a warm sunny morning and the race was only a few minutes from my house. Registration and the starting line were in the Ansley Mall parking lot. The course ran out the Piedmont side of the parking lot, turned to the right running uphill for a fair distance, and then turned right into a neighborhood of rolling hills. This part of the course eventually formed a loop, which returned runners to the beginning part of the course on Piedmont. From there it was downhill to the finish in the mall parking lot.
I tried to start at a reasonable pace and I thought I had done a good job. At the first mile, I was running a 7:14 pace. By the second mile that had dropped off to 7:31. That is when something got to me. I don’t know if it was those rolling hills, too fast a pace, the warm day, working out too hard the day before, or what exactly factored into it. However, just after the second mile I started really struggling and dropped way off the pace. For a while, I was very concerned about finishing the race without stopping. I was getting very frustrated as my pace got slower and runners started passing me. I am not sure which hurt worse, the stitches in my side, or the people passing me. (Well, okay I do know, but to say would not make me seem very sporting.) My pace on that 3 rd mile dropped to 8:15 although it seemed much slower to me at the time. I did get it together towards the finish and finished with a surprising burst of speed over the last 100 yards or so.
All in all I was a little disappointed with my performance, but proud of the way that I got it back together and managed to finish fairly strong. On a kind of odd note, my average pace was exactly the same as the 10K I ran two weeks ago.
They described it on their website as a one-loop course starting and finishing at Ansley Mall, runs through the "Sherwood Forest" neighborhood, a bit of a rolling course but not overly challenging.
Well it turned out to be a challenge for me. It was a warm sunny morning and the race was only a few minutes from my house. Registration and the starting line were in the Ansley Mall parking lot. The course ran out the Piedmont side of the parking lot, turned to the right running uphill for a fair distance, and then turned right into a neighborhood of rolling hills. This part of the course eventually formed a loop, which returned runners to the beginning part of the course on Piedmont. From there it was downhill to the finish in the mall parking lot.
I tried to start at a reasonable pace and I thought I had done a good job. At the first mile, I was running a 7:14 pace. By the second mile that had dropped off to 7:31. That is when something got to me. I don’t know if it was those rolling hills, too fast a pace, the warm day, working out too hard the day before, or what exactly factored into it. However, just after the second mile I started really struggling and dropped way off the pace. For a while, I was very concerned about finishing the race without stopping. I was getting very frustrated as my pace got slower and runners started passing me. I am not sure which hurt worse, the stitches in my side, or the people passing me. (Well, okay I do know, but to say would not make me seem very sporting.) My pace on that 3 rd mile dropped to 8:15 although it seemed much slower to me at the time. I did get it together towards the finish and finished with a surprising burst of speed over the last 100 yards or so.
All in all I was a little disappointed with my performance, but proud of the way that I got it back together and managed to finish fairly strong. On a kind of odd note, my average pace was exactly the same as the 10K I ran two weeks ago.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
The Old Soldier’s Day Race (10K)
The Old Soldier’s Day Race
Willis Park, Alpharetta, GA
#379 10K 47:47.6
I had a milestone run on Thursday, dropping the time that it takes me to complete my regular running route under the sixty-minute mark. Even as I was celebrating that performance, I was worried the effort would leave me in less than ideal shape for the race coming up Saturday morning. I was definitely dragging a little Friday and skipped most of my workout in the gym, just doing an easy half-hour on the elliptical trainer.
The weather has been oppressively hot here all week, even in the early morning hours, but I caught a break when a front moved in Friday night and Saturday dawned with the temperatures a bit milder and the air seeming just a bit fresher.
The first half of the course was over city streets. I found myself running the first couple of miles at an almost 7:00 pace. I was feeling pretty bushed as I hit the 5K mark and we turned into the park for the final half of the race. Who would have thought that the rolling asphalt trail would be that much harder? I had to exert a lot of effort to keep the pace up.
The last couple of miles were especially hard for some reason. There were just a couple of people visible in front of me and I was just able to hang with them, and I was just hanging on for dear life. When we turned on the final stretch I attempted to give a final kick toward the finish and pass one more person, but I had left it all out on the course. The runner I was attempting to pass however had plenty left and was not going to hear of it.
I did manage to meet my goal of running a 10K in under 50 minutes. That qualifies me for placement in Time Group 1a again in the Peachtree next year!
Willis Park, Alpharetta, GA
#379 10K 47:47.6
I had a milestone run on Thursday, dropping the time that it takes me to complete my regular running route under the sixty-minute mark. Even as I was celebrating that performance, I was worried the effort would leave me in less than ideal shape for the race coming up Saturday morning. I was definitely dragging a little Friday and skipped most of my workout in the gym, just doing an easy half-hour on the elliptical trainer.
The weather has been oppressively hot here all week, even in the early morning hours, but I caught a break when a front moved in Friday night and Saturday dawned with the temperatures a bit milder and the air seeming just a bit fresher.
The first half of the course was over city streets. I found myself running the first couple of miles at an almost 7:00 pace. I was feeling pretty bushed as I hit the 5K mark and we turned into the park for the final half of the race. Who would have thought that the rolling asphalt trail would be that much harder? I had to exert a lot of effort to keep the pace up.
The last couple of miles were especially hard for some reason. There were just a couple of people visible in front of me and I was just able to hang with them, and I was just hanging on for dear life. When we turned on the final stretch I attempted to give a final kick toward the finish and pass one more person, but I had left it all out on the course. The runner I was attempting to pass however had plenty left and was not going to hear of it.
I did manage to meet my goal of running a 10K in under 50 minutes. That qualifies me for placement in Time Group 1a again in the Peachtree next year!
