Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Peachtree Road Race
I rolled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and ate a Cliff Bar. It was that time again, July 4th, time for the 38th Running of The Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10K with 55,000 runners. The race starts at 7:30 am. I am lucky in the fact that I don’t have far to travel to get to the starting line. I drove approximately a half mile to the Lindberg Marta Station, parked my car in the lot, and then walked to the start of the race.
To handle such a large number of runners, the Peachtree divides folks up into time groups of about 5000 that start in waves. To get into the top time groups you need to submit a qualifying time with your race application. In the front of the pack, you have the seeded and sub-seeded runners expected to finish in less than 42 minutes. Behind them in time group 1A and 1B, you have the folks expected to finish in 55 minutes or less. In the remaining time groups, there are slower runners and runners that did not include any documented times on their race application. They release a group about every ten minutes, so the folks in the back have a bit of a wait until they get to run. (Been there, done that!)
I have been fighting multiple injuries this year, and it has just been in the last few weeks that I have felt that I have returned to any kind of running form, so I was looking forward to this race. Then last night as I got in the car after work, I found I had managed to do something to my elbow, causing a burning pain when I bent it too far. I was in a foul mood last night wondering if it was going to affect my race the next day. It did cause me some discomfort, but less than it might have. I still wish I knew exactly what I did. On the other hand, maybe I don’t because if it were the wrong thing then there is a good possibility that I would still keep doing whatever it was, but would be sorry later that I did.
The weather was perfect for the Peachtree this year, sunny and warm with low humidity. The race started on time and the organization and support from the volunteers unbelievable. The crowds lining the course were terrifically supportive. Although I did have one wee complaint… Eye of the Tiger is a great song, but it is not the only song out there to run to. At a number of points along the course, folks were playing highly amplified music. I heard Eye of the Tiger at least 5 times. Come on folks!
I ran a very steady pace through the entire race. For once I showed some patience at the beginning of the race and settled into my pace rather than taking off too fast. At almost every water station, I grabbed a Dixie cup or two to pour over my head. For the first half of the race it felt like I was being passed a lot, but at about the midpoint of the race it suddenly seemed like I was doing a lot more of the passing. By mile six, I was steadily moving up. At the finish, I dashed across the finish line into Piedmont Park in great shape.
My final time gun time 52:46, chip time was 51:39. I ran at an 8:19 pace which put me at 3111th over all.
To handle such a large number of runners, the Peachtree divides folks up into time groups of about 5000 that start in waves. To get into the top time groups you need to submit a qualifying time with your race application. In the front of the pack, you have the seeded and sub-seeded runners expected to finish in less than 42 minutes. Behind them in time group 1A and 1B, you have the folks expected to finish in 55 minutes or less. In the remaining time groups, there are slower runners and runners that did not include any documented times on their race application. They release a group about every ten minutes, so the folks in the back have a bit of a wait until they get to run. (Been there, done that!)
I have been fighting multiple injuries this year, and it has just been in the last few weeks that I have felt that I have returned to any kind of running form, so I was looking forward to this race. Then last night as I got in the car after work, I found I had managed to do something to my elbow, causing a burning pain when I bent it too far. I was in a foul mood last night wondering if it was going to affect my race the next day. It did cause me some discomfort, but less than it might have. I still wish I knew exactly what I did. On the other hand, maybe I don’t because if it were the wrong thing then there is a good possibility that I would still keep doing whatever it was, but would be sorry later that I did.
The weather was perfect for the Peachtree this year, sunny and warm with low humidity. The race started on time and the organization and support from the volunteers unbelievable. The crowds lining the course were terrifically supportive. Although I did have one wee complaint… Eye of the Tiger is a great song, but it is not the only song out there to run to. At a number of points along the course, folks were playing highly amplified music. I heard Eye of the Tiger at least 5 times. Come on folks!
I ran a very steady pace through the entire race. For once I showed some patience at the beginning of the race and settled into my pace rather than taking off too fast. At almost every water station, I grabbed a Dixie cup or two to pour over my head. For the first half of the race it felt like I was being passed a lot, but at about the midpoint of the race it suddenly seemed like I was doing a lot more of the passing. By mile six, I was steadily moving up. At the finish, I dashed across the finish line into Piedmont Park in great shape.
My final time gun time 52:46, chip time was 51:39. I ran at an 8:19 pace which put me at 3111th over all.
