Yes, I did it. It could almost be called a dare. It was kind of a big deal. My last race was roughly 10 years ago, and it was a 5k. I had been running intermittently for about 6 months with no real direction after recovery from a loooooong bout with plantar fasciitis (see below). My friend Missy, an Ironman triathlete in Atlanta, said "Hey, you should run this, all the other triathletes from Atlanta are." So, with 3 months of potential training in front of me, I said "what the hell". No one told me how hilly this damned race was. Luckily, I live in the country and it is hilly, but a few well-focused hill workouts would have been advisable. I was able to run 3-4 times a week, run one zone 4-5 heart rate workout per week, and one long 12-13 mile run each week during the last month. Even with only 3 months to train, I was kind of surprised how quickly my fitness improved. I started thinking 6:30 min/mile pace or faster was possible. But, nobody told me about those friggin' hills!
I was watching the weather for the race, and knew it was going to be cold - 35ish F with the wind chill, which didn't change until the afternoon. I did not wear tights. Unless it's really cold, tights are never a good idea in my personal opinion. I wore a stocking cap, gloves, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt over a long-sleeved shirt. It was the perfect combination. I walked down to the race start about 40 min before the race - Jebus it was crowded. I was in wave or zone 1, right behind the elites. I inadvertently stepped in a water puddle walking to the start line and soaked my right foot, which would be a big issue later.
I had decided to try and run this race, since it was my first in almost 10 years, by following my heart rate monitor (HRM). My HR pace would be roughly 85-88% (171-175 bpm) of my maximum HR of 191 bpm. The gun goes off, and I should not have followed my HRM for the first mile. I ran about 6:00 min. I settled down a bit into my pace, but by mile two, I started to develop a side-stitch. It was not my pre-race meal of Ensure and Power Bar. I ate only 400 calories 2 hrs before the race start, which is really the minimum for someone my size. Maybe not enough deep breathing or sit-ups, who knows. This plagued me until the half-way point. I kind of worked it out by running normally on the uphills, but then massaging the sore area during the downhills. I must have strong fingers, because it left a bruise for nearly a week. It was all going well until 'the revenge of the wet sock' started during the downhill right after the 6.5 mile mark. I had never had a hot spot (soon to be blister) develop so fast and be so painful. It literally caused me to change my stride length and running form. After two miles, it suddenly subsided, or as I will point out later in this post, evolved or devolved, depending on your perspective. I was feeling pretty good with 4 miles to go. I was running with a group of about 6 guys, so I took off, and paid for it. They all caught me with about 2 miles to go. I struggled in at 1 hr 27 min and 28 sec chip time, about 6:40 min/mile pace. Not too bad with only 3 months training, a very hilly course, a side-stitch, and a bad blister.
I waited at the finish for my friend Missy, coming off a long layoff, was instructed by her coach to run-walk the race. She was running with a friend, Doug, and he was having bathroom issues: needing to go badly and not being able to find an unoccupied port-a-potty. It was cold, especially when your clothes are sweat-soaked. I bundled-up under a reflective race blanket and waited for 1 and a half hours freezing my ass off. Thinking I missed her in the finish line chaos, I went back to my hotel, only the find out later that I missed her by a mere 3 min. Such is life. I jogged back to the hotel, and the first thing I did was pull off my shoes to discover why my blister had felt so much better after 2 miles: it had burst leaving a blood-soaked sock and a very painful shower experience a few minutes later. Moral of the story is that water puddles are evil, pure evil and probably created by republicans.
Not a bad first race back. Sometimes the worst thing for me is a teeny bit of success. So now, I am shooting to run 1 hr 15 min at the Silver Comet half-marathon at the end of October. It is a flat and fast course. Hopefully it is a nice cool day - you never know in Atlanta.
Any suggestions for races between now and the end of October??? Happy running! Tom.
