Water Drop Dash 5k and Publix Georgia (Half) Marathon

Water Drop Dash Stats/Goals

Distance: 5k
Location: Roswell, GA (Riverside)
Current PR: 20:10 (Hearts and Soles, Jan 2016)
90% Goal: 21:00
50% Goal: 20:30
10% Goal: 20:00

Result: 20:21 (http://tinyurl.com/jzre2rz)

GPS: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1090616262

Publix Half Marathon Stats/Goals

Distance: Half Marathon
Location: Atlanta, GA
Goal: Successfully pace friend to her goal time (1:50)

Result: 1:48:47 (http://tinyurl.com/zoragjb)

GPS: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1092449373

Summary

I'm writing this a few weeks after the fact, and all I remember was a super busy weekend.  Water Drop was a 5k PR attempt that I wasn't too sure about.  Publix was the day after and was just a long fun shake out run pacing a friend.  While I missed a PR at the 5k, I still got second in my AG and had a blast at Publix the day after.

Water Drop Dash

This race popped onto my radar about three weeks out.  Two weeks out, I finally decided to sign up.  It was local and flat, so it had a lot going for it in terms of a PR race.  A few others from my local group were running, so it'd be a blast.

A couple days after I signed up, our 3-month-old brought home Montezuma's Revenge.  Fortunately, he was spared the brunt of it, but mom and dad were awfully sick for about 48 hours.  I'm not too sure how much this impacted the race (since it was 10 days or so out) but it certainly didn't help.

Race day rolled around.  Weather was supposed to be awful (rain forecasted) but it held off.  Weather was actually pretty ideal.  Organization at the event was fine.  I eyeball-guessed no more than 1000 people and the results had about 550.  What really stood out was the large contingent of middle-school runners.  The female 10-14 winner finished around 18:15 (!!!).

I started out a little too strong (~6:15 first mile).  By mile 2, I was still on pace for a 20:00 finish, but wasn't able to hold onto it much into mile 3.  I think the biggest thing I need to do is more long intervals.  When doing the speedwork at Ocee, I was able to do four 1milers at a 6:15 average.  It was certainly hard, but I should be able to  translate that better to a race.

I was a little disappointed at not hitting my big time, but, for how I felt going into it, I'm content with my performance.

Just before 1 mile, still loose and feeling OK

Around 2.5.  Form has gone to hell (left arm crossing over, right arm super tight), PR is already missed

Post-Race Bling!  All of us took home age group awards

Publix Georgia Half Marathon

Publix was the day after water drop.  I was pacing a friend through the race, so my only goal was to run easy and for my heart rate to reflect that.

Water Drop 5k

Publix Half

Heart Rate Success!

This was probably the most fun I have had at a race since last year's 10 Miler (where we had a group that ran the race really easy, only to run up Cardiac Hill as fast as we could to snag a super-cool mug).

We started out with the 1:50 pace group, but we ended up taking the early miles a bit faster and put them behind us.  I was trying to focus on keeping even pace and making sure we weren't going too fast.  I had a few spots where I couldn't stop myself from blazing down a hill, but that's just fun.

I don't think we slowed down much, but the front of the 1:50 group managed to catch us in the Georgia Tech area (about 3 miles to go) and I said something along the lines of "it's put up or shut up time", and we ended up powering down the last few hills.

Over the last mile, I was completely out of any kind of motivating things to say.  My friend was on pace for a PR (on a much more difficult course) and was completely out of her conversational range.  To keep her mind off things, I started reading every sign we passed.  Street signs, race signs, parking signs, you name it, it was free game.  At one point I said, "Look!  Parking only $10!"

Something must have worked, because we ended up closing the distance and finished with a completely unexpected PR which was completely awesome.

Down the stretch

Finish Bling

Women's 5k

The following weekend, Angelina did the Women's 5k (pushing the stroller, like a Boss.)  I'm not going to go too much detail (I didn't run or anything) but I will close with this:

Shamrock 'N Roll 5k/10k

So, this was my first race as self-titled "Peachtree Rex".  It.  Was.  A.  Blast.

GPS of run

If you aren't following Peachtree Rex already, WHY NOT?

Having no concept of how fast I'd be, I had the idea of 30 mins as a good target.  I got up to a 12 min pace with no issues on the treadmill (of course, that lasted less than a minute).  It just seemed like a nice, round number.

I'm going to depart from my normal format and just have a point/counterpoint for T-Rex running:

Pro

You're a friggin' T-Rex

Con

After the 1 mile mark, I had a lot of difficulty seeing out of the viewing window

Pro

Tons of people wanted to take pictures with me

Con

I got incredibly hot and had to step out of the costume briefly to cool off

Pro

Starting at the very back of the "runners" wave and hearing the surprised reactions of people as you pass them

Con

For the first time in years, I fell while running

Pro

When I fell, I caught myself pretty well because I had to run with my hands holding the front of the costume so I could (kind of) see

Con

While running, I had my forehead pressed against the front of the costume to keep the viewing area steady, which ended up rubbing it raw.

Reflections

Running a race in a T-Rex costume is awesome, but not without its challenges.  I spent most of the race trying to follow any runner in front of me that I could find.  I would not recommend this costume on a sparsely populated race or one open to traffic where you would have to respond to police directions particularly quickly.

I would also recommended a headband or sweatband of sorts.  Both as a sweatband as well as for protecting your head against the inside of the costume.

Heat-wise, I was OK as long as I was either not running or in the shade.  It was only about 45 out, so I doubt I will take this out in much warmer conditions, or significantly dial back the pace.  I'm also not sure I could handle distances over 5k.

The costume did fine, overall.  One pre-race concern was how the tail would hold up being dragged on the ground for 3 miles.  At the end, there was a small hole.  I'll probably put a layer of duct tape on it before the next race.  Seeing out of the costume was bad, but probably not worse than what I expected.  I tripped once (probably on a pothole, not 100% sure), but was uninjured.

I had a great time taking pictures with people, entertaining (and sometimes scaring) kids, and frightening every single dog there.  I even had the Atlanta Hawks guy come over and have me shoot some baskets at their tent for a while (I think it took me 15 shoots before I actually made one).

Flat family picture

Just a T-Rex...shooting some hoops

The most majestic starting line you'll ever see

Hearts and Soles

Stats/Goals

Distance: 5k
Location: Atlanta (Decatur), GA
Current PR: 20:23 (Braves 5k, 6/20/2015)
Previous Course PR: 21:36 (2/9/2013)
90% Goal: 22:00
50% Goal: 21:00
10% Goal: 20:00

Result: 20:10 (http://tinyurl.com/hywakar)

Mile Splits: (https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1041085467)
6:11
6:28
6:49
0:40 (0.12mi)

Summary

I had quiet optimism going into this race, but had a bit of a gut check over the past week.  Conditions ended up being cold, but not unbearable.  I think I've gotten better at starting out in the cold without all of the layers.  I ended up having an awesome race.  I died a bit in the last half mile, but I still managed a PR.

Race Prep

With my hamstring injury in the rear-view mirror, I was hoping Hearts and Soles could be a good effort 5k.  I've been able to fit speed work in most of the past month, so I felt mostly prepared.  I ran a 3k indicator run last weekend and had a bit of a reality check.  I ran it about 40 seconds slower than my 3k last spring.  It was cold; I had extra gear on; I pushed too hard on the 2 mile warmup; I did speedwork 2 days prior; blah blah blah stupid reasons.

I, unintentionally, had a 3 day taper prior to this run.  Ideally, I would have had run either 4 easy on Wed or 1 hard Friday morning.  Wednesday didn't happen because I came home from work super stressed; Friday didn't happen because I was lazy/cold-averse and didn't wake up.

Given the conditions and my recent performance, I set my sights a little lower.  I kept the same 10% goal that I've had for a while, but I relaxed my 50/90% goals because I wasn't too sure how I would handle the cold.

When we arrived, the car said it was 28 outside.  Brr.  Once I got moving around some, I felt a lot better.  I managed to shed my jackets and ended up in tights, under armor, light jacket, hat, and gloves.  I started with the speedy people from our 8 min group.

Race

As usual, I was a bit on the fast side out of the gates.  I fell behind the trainee I was trying to keep up with on the first hill, but managed to catch back up to him on the downhill.  He slowly pulled away from me for the rest of the race (wha whaaa).

I felt really good on the first half, but, at the turnaround, the course had changed from what I ran in 2013.  Instead of using a roundabout as a turnaround, the course went through the roundabout and had a hairpin cone turn instead 50m or so beyond the roundabout.  Not a big deal, just a tougher turn than I had expected.

From about 1.5 to 2, one of the ATC employees was running right around me and between her and I, we had an awesome cheering section from the runners that were still on the first half.  I didn't actually see her, but I heard Angelina cheer for me at some point.  We were going into the sun, so it was hard to make out any faces.  I didn't even see the water stop until I was passing it.

Another trainee caught up to me around the 2.5 mark and I managed to stick with her for a little but, but I faded up the last hill.  I ended up having to walk 30 paces or so to catch my breath before cresting the hill.  I felt I finished well, but was just behind my reach goal.

Post Race

There were a ton of people sporting new PRs today.  I managed to drop mine by about 15 seconds, but I heard as big as 3-5 minutes I think.  Awesome day for a run.

Most of the training group went out for 7 more after the race.  I might have been able to slog through, but my body was better served sitting in the car for a bit and changing into dry clothes.  After the race adrenaline and numbness wore off, I realized pretty quickly that I had pain in both little toes.  I'm afraid I'll lose a couple toenails, but it's nothing I haven't gone through before.

Had an awesome time at the Fun Sized Tailgate Birthday Celebration.  People brought food and shared in fun times.

Conclusion

20 minutes has never been closer (quite literally).  I kept my pace for the first 2.5 miles.  Had I not stopped to walk up the last hill, I think I would have been just behind the mark.  I need to keep my speedwork up and keep putting in the miles.

Race Report: Resolution Run, 2015 Recap, 2016 Goals

Stats/Goals

Distance: 1 mile
Location: Atlanta (Brookhaven), GA
Current PR: 5:55 (6/2/2015, ATC All Comers Mile)
90% Goal: 7:00
50% Goal: 6:30
10% Goal: 6:30

Result: 5:44 (http://tinyurl.com/ocxrfnx)

Quarter Mile Splits: (From watch)
1:16
1:28
1:31
1:40

Summary

Last year, I came into the Resolution Run nursing a calf strain.  This time, I hurt my hamstring in late November and have been on the mend since.  I had a few good runs the week before, but expected to take it easy.  Oops.

Race Prep

I had very low expectations for this race.  I've been injured most of the winter (I put up 24 miles in December after averaging well over 100 per month for rest of the year).  I had finally gotten back into the swing of things the week before the race.  I had a few run/walks with Angelina and Holden that went fine and then a pair of four milers where I pushed to the low 8/high 7 range.

This was Holden's first appearance at a race.  It was a little on the cold side, but we had him bundled up tight.  Angelina was going to walk the mile with him.  This was the first time most of the runner friends had a chance to meet the little guy.

A half hour before the race, we took Holden back to the car for a quick change/feed and loaded him into Angelina's carrier.  I ran the stroller back to the training tent so she wouldn't have to carry him around post-race and got to warming up.

I felt like 10 kinds of awesome after my warm-up.  I did some quick intervals and everything felt like it was firing on full.  My biggest worry following my injury was running up hills more than it was running fast.

Race

For once at an ATC race, I toed the line at the start.  The race is paired with a 4 miler, which most of the serious runners gravitate towards.  To my right was the woman who went on to win the race and to my left was a 8 or 9 year old that I nearly tripped over at the start.  Fortunately for everyone, no one got tangled up at the start went off without a hitch.

The course itself was pretty flat, but the first half was downhill making the latter half up.  I had a pretty torrid pace off the start, mostly because I wanted to avoid the aforementioned sprinting kids.  I was around 5th at the first quarter, 6th at the half way point, and fell two more spots to 8th in the final straight away.  With the uphill finish, I didn't want to push any harder than I felt comfortable.

The clock that I assumed was the mile clock was registering about 5:30 as I approached.  That seemed super fast, but wasn't unreasonable.  My watch had the course about 0.03 miles short.  I coasted for the last hundredths so my watch registered the full mile (which was about 20 seconds past my actual finish time at 6:03).

Post Race

I didn't actually SEE the finish, but I had assumed my friend at the start line had held onto the lead she had at the final turn.  I could tell she was super pumped.  I ran over and yelled "YOU WON!" right in her face and she yelled "I KNOW!"  Great excitement for all.  The biggest excitement was that it was her first race since being injured in June.  Rock Star.

I ran back along the course to find Angelina and Holden and walked the two of them in.  She came in ahead of her 20 minute goal.  Not to shabby for walking with a baby strapped to your chest.

Conclusion

Even though I haven't been able to run much lately, I'm still a lot stronger than I thought.  I continue to show that I'm a lot better in the middle distances.  This new mile PR was a 65% age-graded percentile rating (vs 63% 5k, 61% 10k, and 61% half marathon).  I am looking forward to this year's all-comers meets.  Maybe 5:30 is within reach this year?

2015 Review

This is mostly a copy/paste from my Facebook status, with a little more commentary.

1) Run a marathon (4:00 goal): completed on a very hard Publix course.  My body certainly struggled with the training (193 miles in February, would have had my first 200 mile month had it been a 30/31 day month).  If there was any doubt that I'm a middle distance athlete, this erased it.  I'm not that eager to train up for another.  It takes a lot of time and dedication which I'm unwilling to put in at this point.  I'm sure I'll do another one eventually, but it's not going to be a priority.  At this point, I'm going to wait until I'm down to 1:30 in the half.

2) Run 1500 miles...: I came up short on this one.  I was on pace at the end of October, but then ran 74 miles in November and 24 in December due to a hamstring injury.

3) ...at a faster pace than 2014: Despite running 300+ miles more than 2014, I dropped my average pace about 15 seconds (to 8:39).  I had hoped to be around 8:30, but I'm content.

4) Mile PR: I took 7 seconds off of my fastest mile form high school at an All Comers meet.  Then, I took off 11 more seconds at a race this morning (5:44)

5) 5k PR: Besides my mile, this had been my oldest PR (a super flat race in Savannah from when I was just starting to get more serious about running).  I took off 19 seconds off on a much more challenging course (20:23).

6) 10k PR: I had hoped for a bigger PR here, but a PR is a PR.  I took 4 seconds off of my previous PR, but this time I had to slow down a walk a bit on a stretch during mile 5 of Peachtree.

7) 1/2 PR: Missed on this one.  I had a great first 10k in Savannah (30 seconds faster than the 10k split on my PR), but the weather got to me and I died in the second half.

2016 Goals

1) Run 1000 miles: I'm sure my mileage will drop this year.  No marathon training plus a kid that I want to spend as much time with as I can will mean the time I put into running will go down.  I don't know if this goal is going to be super easy, super hard, or just right.  So I'm going to go with just right and wing it.

2) 20 minute 5k: I've had this goal in the back of my head for a long time.  It has been a long time since I've specifically trained for a 5k.  I plan on making 2016 the year of the 5k.  I'll probably run a half (Thanksgiving), but I'm not going to make it a centerpiece of my running year.

3) Peachtree Subseed Qualifier: I doubt I can accomplish this prior to registration in March, so I'll probably stick in A Wave this year.  However, if I can get the 20min 5k, this should follow along with it (subseed qual time last year was 20:14 for the 5k, 9 seconds faster than my time at Braves).

4) Top 1000 Peachtree.  This was a goal I threw in a couple months before Peachtree last year.  I ended up around 1200th I believe.  I would have had to run about 30 seconds faster to get there.  I'll have to do more faster runs this year on actual hills, not just speed work at the river.

5) Run all of the ATC Grand Prix races...: This is more of a logistical goal than anything else.  Hopefully I can make the All Comers meet work out.

6) ...and finish top 3 in my age group for the Grand Prix: This will be a lot harder.  For those unfamiliar with the Grand Prix, you get 10 points for showing up at an event, 100 for winning your AG, 80 for second, yadda yadda.  I snagged 80 points at Resolution run and there are 4 or 5 more races that I can realistically expect to get into the top 5.  Third place last year was 360 points.  If there are 12 events, I will currently have 190 points (80 from Resolution + 110 from the other races), so I'll need to scrape together at least 150 bonus points from placement.

Race Report: Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Stats/Goals

Distance: 13.1 miles
Location: Savannah, GA
Current PR: 1:38:26 (11/28/2014, Atlanta Half marathon)
90% Goal: 1:40:00
50% Goal: 1:35:00
10% Goal: 1:32:30 (Peachtree Subseed Qualifier)

Result: 1:47:18 (http://tinyurl.com/p58xzfz)

Mile Splits:
7:15
7:12
7:11
5k: 21:59 (7:05 pace)
7:20
7:39
7:32
10k: 45:09 (7:16 pace) => 1:08 off PR 10k
8:12
8:42
8:55
9:05
10m: 1:18:13 (7:50 pace) => 5 mins faster than my time at the Atlanta 10miler
9:09
8:28
10:20

Summary

I had very high hopes for my performance heading into this race.  I came out very strong (too strong?) for the first 10k, and petered out over the last half of the race.  I was really down on myself initially, but, after seeing how the rest of the day went for everyone, I'm content with how the day went down.  As with the Alien Half earlier this season, it was an important lesson in mental strength.

Race Prep

Savannah was a bit of a last second race.  I didn't sign up for it until the weekend before.  We wanted to wait to see if Angelina was feeling well enough to travel and if she was could get around Savannah on her own.  It was going to be her training partner's (Brandi) first marathon, Angelina wanted to be there to cheer and hold signs for her.

Travel there was uneventful.  Getting to the expo by 4:00 was one of the best decisions we made.  While parking took us 10-15 minutes (which was irritating at the time), the line was backed up across most of the Talmadge Bridge (read: very very far).  I don't really understand while R&R Savannah continues to have their expo at such an inaccessible location while not offering any kind of bib-via-mail pickup.

We got up at 4:00, out of the hotel by 4:30, and had zero issues with parking.  I checked my bag of post-race snacks/gear because I was going to have to fend for myself after the race.

It was a little warmer  than we had anticipated.  Forecasts said the start was supposed to be in the low 70s, getting up to the 80s later with very high humidity.  I had hoped the cloud cover would mitigate the heat.

ATC Fall Distance Training Group Shot Thing Place People WOO

Race

I filed into my corral about 20 minutes before race start.  There wasn't much running room, so I had to settle for bouncing around to get loose.  There was a guy from the 2013 marathon training group who recognized me and we talked for a while ("Hey, you're the guy that broke his foot!").  Then Courtney, one of the other Riverside runners, made her way in and we talked a bit.  The race ended up starting about 15 minutes late with no real explanation.

I started off fast, but I felt comfortable.  The first 5k was only 1:30 off my 5k PR, which meant it was probably way too fast.  After the first 3 miles, I bounced between a 7:30 and 7:15 pace where I'd feel comfortable then realize I was pushing too hard.

Mile 6.  Before the Crash.

I saw Angelina at the 6 mile mark and she was smiling and supportive as always.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hold my pace much past the 10k mark.  The heat was getting to me (thought I didn't really consider it much at the time).

I ended up run/walking the rest of the race with no particular pattern.  Telling myself "I'll make it to the next mile mark" and usually falling short.  I let a LOT of negative thinking into my head when the 3:15 marathon pace group (1:37:30 half marathon) went by around mile 9.

Around 10, Courtney caught up to me.  She was a bit behind her target pace, but ahead of her PR pace.  Seeing her made me pick up my pace just to stay with her.  We were counting down the quarters.  I managed to hang with her until mile 12 when my legs felt like they were loaded with lead.

I saw Angelina for the second time while I was walking around 12.5.  She was on her way out to cheer on Brandi at the half/full split.  She yelled out, "I'm still proud of you!" (she knew I was way off pace)  For some reason, when I was getting down on myself, the first thought had been: "Angelina is going to be disappointed in you."  Now, thinking with a non-running-addled mind, I know that that she would never say or feel that, but it was in my head and it made me feel awful.  Just that little bit of a cheer form her made me feel much better (but not faster).

I felt as good as I look.  Perhaps worse.

I wasn't able to power down the last half mile, but I was content.  I was going to finish.  I got to run with a friend for a mile and a half of her new PR race.

Post Race

It wasn't until I staggered through the finish that I realized how much it had warmed up during the day.  I had cloud cover for most of my run, but standing in the park afterwards was awful.  I sought shade and waited for everyone to start coming in.  Angelina ended up missing Brandi at the split (Brandi passed by too fast) and the back half of the course was pretty inaccessible.  So she just headed to the finish.

Shortly after she got back to the park, we saw a post from one of our marathon friends that he got redirected on course and that the race was shutting down due to the heat.  Medical resources were being pushed to the limit and most of the marathoners were still on course.

Everyone in our group eventually made it in.  The marathoners ran anywhere from 17 miles up to 25ish.  I ran with Brandi for a mile and a half, to make sure she actually made the full distance.  The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like she "didn't run a marathon".

MARATHONER!

Afterwards, we got an awesome burger and watched football for the rest of the evening.

 Conclusion

In the moment, I was really hard on myself.  A lot harder than I was after the Alien Half.  In that race, I didn't have a lot of prep work, the course was a lot hillier than I expected, and the weather was a lot hotter.

I had a similar amount of prep time for Savannah (I registered only a week in advance), but I kind of knew it was always a possibility.  The terrain of the course was a lot easier.  The starting conditions were close to ideal (if a little warm).

Seeing the aftermath of people getting fluid IVs and two runners tragically passing, I'm a lot more willing to cut myself some slack.  I know I left some time on the course just from mentally beating myself up on course, but, despite the flat course, conditions were not in favor for running.

One of my goals for 2015 had been to hit a new PR at the major distances.  I narrowly made 5k and 10k PRs earlier in the year, but neither of the halfs I ran were anywhere near PR material this year.  It's a bit of a disappointment, but more fuel for the fire next year.

Potato was a champ walking around Savannah all day

Race Report: Atlanta 10 Miler

Stats/Goals

Distance: 10 miles (1 mile Conquer Cardiac Challenge)
Location: Atlantic Station, Atlanta, GA
Current PR: 1:23:54 (10/26/2014, Atlanta 10 Miler)  7:02 (10/26/2014, Cardiac Split)
90% Goal: 7:00 on Cardiac Challenge (beat last year's time)
50% Goal: Get in Top 100 again
10% Goal: 6:30 on Cardiac Challenge

Result: 1:23:51 (http://tinyurl.com/q3qkcwz)
Mile Splits:
8:46
8:51
8:33
8:37
8:47
8:41
7:05
9:14
7:58
[Missed last mile, watch only clocked 9.95]

Cardiac Split:
6:29

Summary

The Atlanta 10 Miler may be giving Run Around the Park a run for its money on the title of "Favorite Race in Atlanta".  I had a blast running with a small group of friends at a relaxed pace for 6 miles, focusing up and powering up Cardiac Hill as fast as possible, and then cruising in to finish.

Race Prep

Last year, the 10 Miler started a "Cardiac Challenge" where, within the race, they timed participants up the iconic hill going up Peachtree Road (also featured on the Peachtree Road Race).  The catch is this is one of the hilliest courses they could think of and the Challenge doesn't come until about 6.5 miles in.

Instead of racing the 10 Miler last year, I started off easy with Angelina and one of her friends and ran my guts out on Cardiac hill.  For finishing in the top 100, I was rewarded an awesome beer mug:

#carbup

I wanted to do something similar again this year.  I polled the Run Leads and assembled a little band of "engines-that-could".  We would meet up at the training tent, line up at the front of Wave C, and run at a high 8/low 9 minute pace until we got to the hill and then fly up as fast as we could.

C is for CARDIAC CHALLENGE

Race

We had zero pre-race issues.  We got there super early, so parking wasn't an issue.  The training tent was super easy to find and everyone showed up.

Meanwhile, Operation Cardiac was in full swing.  We went out a little faster than our initial plan, but not a whole lot (we were closer to 8:30 than the 8:45 I was shooting for).

For the most part during races, I'm used to hearing labored breathing and footfalls with the occasional cheer from a spectator or volunteer directing me to water or Powerade.  This was not one of those races.  The seven of us spent the whole first hour cutting up, making awful jokes, innuendos about Ikea's meatballs, and discussing the proper pronunciation of root beer (seriously, does "root" rhyme with "shoot" or "shut"?  The answer seems pretty easy to me...)  Some even had the audacity to question the dominance of Clemson Football.

Around the 4 mile mark, there's a very steep downhill and I absolutely love running down steep hills as fast as I can.  Unfortunately, this one left me with a couple flat tires at the bottom.  The upper on both shoes tore on the outside near my pinkie toes.  They were still serviceable for the rest of the race, but they're probably ready to be retired now.

Does anyone have AAA?

I picked up my pace about a half mile out from the actual hill, which separated me from the group for the challenge.  Some of them had struck up a conversation with some others from Minnesota, and I knew I needed a few minutes at a medium pace before pushing a mile uphill.

It would have been fun crossing the start at the same time and having a true race up the hill.  I probably would have been able to push a little harder with them right around me, but it would have also caused some logistical issues with having to weave around those taking the hill at a more reasonable pace.

The first few hundred yards of the hill were flat, so it's a good spot to bank a little time.  This year, they had markers at all of the quarters going up the hill, so it was easier to keep track of my progress.  They also had cheering groups all along Peachtree up that hill.  The only thing I'd change about the course is they had a water stop about 100 yards before the end of the hill.  I'd much rather put that 100 yards AFTER the hill so you didn't have to backtrack to get to it.

The group caught up and we exchanged time estimates.  I had hit my lap timer a little late at the start (missed 15-20 seconds) and had timed 6:07 up the rest of the hill.  Everyone else was in the same general range, so we weren't sure at all who had won.

After the hill, the group broke up a bit.  I decided that, just in case I hadn't won the race up the hill, I would at least win the race to the finish line, so I pumped back up to a 7ish pace for the last couple miles.

Post Race

Angelina finished with her "Bump Support Group."  As she crossed the finish line, she finished her 1000th mile run since getting pregnant this past March.  So proud of her.

Bump the jams bump it up, while your feet is runnin'

Eventually, we figured out how to access the race results on our phones.  Three of us managed to finish within ONE SECOND of each other (I had edged them out 6:29 to 6:30).  The top 100 cutoff last year was 7:22, and I had assumed it would get faster, but it got pushed all the way down to 6:48.  The group did great, five finishing in the top 100 and the other two missing by seconds.

Brad, below, DOES get a good amount of bragging rights for having just come off of a half marathon the week before and Ragnar Tennessee the night before.  Bradley Bling, fo' sho'.

Agony of Defeat

Thrill of Victory

 Conclusion

If we keep doing this, the 10 Miler will easily replace Run Around the Park as my favorite ATC event.  I had a great time running with my friends enjoying the city and still got to be hyper-competitive with them, if only for a fleeting 7 minutes.

Race Report: AJC Peachtree Road Race

Stats/Goals
Distance: 10 km
Location: Lenox Mall to Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA
Current PR: 44:05, (7/4/2014, AJC PRR, Atlanta GA)
90% Goal: 44:04
50% Goal: 43:00 (top 1000)
10% Goal: 42:00 (subseed qualifier)

Result: 44:01 (http://tinyurl.com/nstny3m)
Mile Splits: 
7:03
6:45
6:33
7:23
7:29
7:15

Summary
Rainy day, but a fun race.  I was a little disappointed in my performance, but it pointed out a hole in my training that I certainly knew about, but didn't do anything to change.

Expo
The day before the race, I woke up and did a normal, short/fast pre-race run.  I warmed up with an easy half mile, mile at race pace (ended up around 6:55) and a half mile to cool down.

Angelina came home from her morning run and we headed down to the Peachtree Expo.  As soon as we pulled up, it started pouring down rain (this would be the weekend's theme).  Despite my umbrella, my shoes and socks soaked all the way through.  Fortunately, it was the PRR Expo, so I could buy dry socks and just roll with it.

I was there for my first job as an ATC Ambassador.  Our primary job was to get people signed up as members with the track club and talk about the benefits of the organization.  I ended up spending a good bit of my time playing unofficial bouncer/photographer for the American elite team who was there for a meet and greet with people.

Pre-Race
I woke up at 4:30, downed a Clif bar, threw on my gear, and drove down to North Springs MARTA. Since I didn't want to run with my handheld, I took a bottle of Gatorade with me which I nursed the hour before the race.

After getting off at Buckhead station, we got routed a different way from last year, which turned our half mile walk into a mile and a half.  It wasn't too bad, just irritating to listen to a couple people there half freaking out that we were lost and going to be late (despite the start being over an hour away).

Rain rolled in just as we were getting to the corral area, so we took shelter under an awning.  It came down pretty hard for about 20 minutes, but it subsided a bit before 7:00 when I took off to warm up.  I did about a mile total running around the later corrals just varying fast/slow.  Nothing too major.  After saying "hi" to friends in C, I proceeded to A and put myself about 4 deep from the front.

Race
I forced myself to start a little slower than I went out last year.  It was comfortable, but still pushed.  It was the standard PRR start (blowing by a handful of people while a handful of others were blowing by me).  All of that stopped after the first mile or so.

I let my legs go on the early downhills.  I knew I would need to make up time there to make up for the later hills.  If anything, I think I need to take the early downhills faster in the future.

Cardiac wasn't too bad.  I wanted to stop by the time I got to the top, but didn't let myself.  The real slog was climbing up from the interstate overpass.  I ended up having to walk twice through midtown which probably cost me at least 30 seconds.  The rain came back and even got a bit heavy about when I passed 12th street.  I can't really say that it had much of an impact hitting that late.

I was able to gather myself and make a good push after the turn on 10th.  I knew in my head (and on my watch) that it was still a half mile to go at that point, but it always seems like the finish line should be so much closer.  I had a strong finish (last 1/4 was about a 6:00 pace).

Post Race
I must say, ATC *really* stepped its game up this year.  In the past, they had a large area fenced off where they had a photo booth and some food from Waffle House.  Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

This year, they rented out Park Tavern, which is a restaurant right on Piedmont Park. In addition to the standard post-race food, they were handing out beer tickets and had a large tented area which was perfect for the rain.  I got to stand around under cover while all my running friends and trainees streamed in.

Conclusion
I'm not completely sure how it completely dropped off my radar, but I did very little of my own training at speed in hilly conditions.  I ran on hills plenty, but most of my long/hilly runs have been when I'm doing the run-lead thing, so I wasn't running at the pace I needed to prepare myself.

I'm pleased with my performance, but not overly happy.  I thought I could shave a minute off (or at least break a 7:00 pace), but that will have to wait for another race.  I missed top 1000 by about 40 seconds.