Year of Races

Tartan Trot 10k Shirt

Throw out the excuses.  I guess I didn’t need them after all.  My first 10k went well this morning and exceeded all of my expectations.  It was a nice event even though the weather was kind of yucky.

I got to St. Luke’s a little later than I usually arrive.  Parking was full and I had to park a block away on the street.  I hustled in to check in and got my race bib, timing chip and shirt.  I got the timing chip attached to my shoe, but was stressed when I realized I didn’t have any safety pins in my packet.  They were all out!  Luckily a guy saw me looking through my stuff and, after asking me if I needed anything, he graciously gave me his two bottom safety pins.  This was really cool and I thanked him heartily.

I headed out to the starting line and prepared for the start of the race.  It was about 35° and drizzly.  Thankfully the rain held off.  It was really just a constant mist.  I did some stretching and bouncing around trying to stay warm.  A couple minutes later we were off!

I started out fairly slow.  Probably around a 9:15/mile pace.  I wasn’t sure though because I had forgotten my iPod Nano, so I didn’t have my Nike+ rocking.  I ended up running at a fairly consistent pace for the first couple of miles.  The 5k folks veered off and it was just us 10k racers left.  I think it was about this point that this woman shuffled past me quite easily.  She had obviously been here before, but it was a little disheartening.  I trudged on.

At about mile 3, I realized that I was feeling pretty good.  I had gotten into a decent rhythm.  At about this same time, we approached the killer section of the course.  A steep incline that went on for a half mile.  I never stopped to walk, but passed quite a few runners who did.  I powered right up the hill and still felt good.  This was going much better than I had expected, and I knew at this point I could finish this sucker with no problem.

I guess because it was a 10k and didn’t have too many participants, the pack really thinned out.  I found myself running alone or with only 1 or 2 guys around me.  This was nice and, even though it was cold and rainy, I really appreciated the morning run through the Dunwoody neighborhood.  The cops and volunteers did a fantastic job keeping the traffic at bay.  It was one of the first times where I realized I actually enjoyed being outside running.  It wasn’t just exercise; it was something more.

So, around mile 4 I started picking up my pace.  I felt so good, I really wanted to get under 55 minutes and knew I had a good shot at it.  About a mile from the finish, I noticed a pack of runners about 60 yards ahead of me.  There were 4 of them, and lo and behold, they were led by the shuffling woman who had passed me early on.  I decided to make it my goal to push hard and pass every one of those guys.  I started really moving and ended up picking them off one by one.  It was down to me and the woman.  I turned the corner and it was a sprint to the finish.  I ended up blowing by her right at the end and beating her by a couple of seconds.  I sensed she was kind of miffed about this.  I read somewhere (I wish I could find it – UPDATE:  found one) that some folks don’t care for runners who sprint to the finish.  I personally don’t see the issue.  If I want to finish hard, then why not?  It’s not like I’m running anyone over.  Anyway, I finished with a time of 53:14 according to my watch.  I don’t have the official time yet, but I’ll update the post as soon as I get it.  (UPDATE: official times are here.  Finished 15th in my age group.)

Overall, I’m really pleased with my finish.  I was stronger at the end and passed quite a few folks struggling on the hills.  I took time to appreciate the fact that I’m healthy enough to run a 10k in 35° weather on a dreary Saturday morning.  Not everyone has the opportunity and I’m grateful for it.

Tidbits from the Tartan Trot 10k:

• The shirt may be my favorite one yet.  Another nice technical long sleeve shirt.  I’ve worn it all day.   I’m such a dork.
• There weren’t any mile markers or volunteers yelling out times.  Without a GPS device, I was kind of clueless to where I was on the course.  It was just me and my Timex.
• Quite a few runners in kilts.  They were giving an award for fastest time in a kilt.
• I don’t see how so many people can run in pants/tights.  I ran in shorts again.  I really think I’d roast in long pants.
• Again, just like last week, I didn’t see a starting mat to trigger the chip system.  Maybe I missed it, but I kind of just guessed when I thought I was crossing the starting line.
• This was another Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series event.  Hopefully I finished in the top 20 in my age group so I can earn some points.
• I didn’t stick around for the awards ceremony this time, so I don’t know what the podium runners’ times were in my age group.  I’ll find out as soon as I get my eyes on the official results.
• Here are some reviews of the race.

Next week is the 9th Annual Chattahoochee Challenge 10k.  Really looking forward to it, but, of course, you can expect more from me on that one later this week.

There is a very high probability that tomorrow morning’s race is going to suck.  I’m not above pre-registering my excuses here in this forum, so that I can refer back to them and use them during the race tomorrow.  Let’s go ahead and get them out in the open.

Excuse #1

According to the harbingers of bad news, weather.com, the weather is going to be crappy.  We’re looking at 33° with a 50% chance of rain.  This is after it has already rained all night.  Pretty crappy indeed.  I’ve never run in freezing rain, so I imagine it will affect me in some way.

crappy weather

Excuse #2

The wonderful folks who are organizing the Tartan Trot have made the course map accessible via mapmyrun.com.  That’s great.  What’s not so great is that the final half of the race is uphill.  Considering this is my first 10k race distance, this will most likely affect me in some way.

Hilly

Excuse #3

I’m the captain of a tennis team here in Atlanta.  I haven’t played much in the past few months, but I agreed to be captain anyways.  I was forced into action on Wednesday night after my regular lineup didn’t work out.  My partner and I made quick work of our opponents 6-3, 6-0.  Here’s the problem though.  I used some muscles during that match that I haven’t used in quite some time and now, I feel like I fell down a flight of stairs.  In particular, my left gluteus maximus is so sore that it’s sensitive to the touch.  I’m hoping this soreness will miraculously subside by tomorrow morning, but, if it doesn’t, this will most likely affect me in some way.

My butt hurts

There you have it.  3 valid reasons as to why it’s going to suck in the morning.  I have officially lodged these excuses and they are now available for use.  Wish me and my butt luck!  We’ll need it.

Tartan Trot

Saturday morning will be my first ever 10k.  I’ll be in Dunwoody, GA at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church running the Tartan Trot 10k.  I’ve been increasing my mileage for the Berry Half Marathon in March, but I just don’t feel too comfortable about the 10k distance yet.  I’m kind of a pessimist by nature, so maybe I’m just worrying about nothing.  My goal is under an hour.  If I make it, great.  If not, well, I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll have plenty of room for improvement.

The event looks like it will be well organized.  They’re using the Ipico chip timing system.  I haven’t seen this one yet, but I like the fact that there will be a chip timing system at all.  They also have a 5k if anyone’s interested in a shorter distance.  Also, as a bonus, they have a nice website with all the race information and a course map linked from mapmyrun.  This was a definite game changer when I was deciding which race to run this weekend.  A nice website is usually a sign of a well run event.

Hope to see some folks out there.  Hope I’m not the one puking after the race.

Polar Bear Shirt 5k

Wow!  What a fun run!  I had a blast running the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Polar Bear 5k.  Let’s jump right into the details…

First of all, the weather was cold and windy.  Temperatures were in the 40s and, with the wind, it felt even colder.  This would normally be a big downer, but luckily all the check-in tables were set up in the gym, so we got to hang out in the warmth of the gym until we were ready to start.  I got my number quickly and was happy to see that it had the timing strip on the back.  This typically makes the post-race awards ceremony get started much quicker.

They had the starting line set up out on Johnson Ferry Rd.  Now, those of you that aren’t familiar with the area, Johnson Ferry is a busy 4 lane road.  We were set up in the 2 lanes heading south.  Obviously they can’t hold traffic for the entire race, so immediately after crossing the starting line we were herded into just the right lane.  This was pretty tight and I know from a lot of the Active.com comments that the racers in the middle to back of the pack were severely hindered by this.

I’m not sure why, but I decided to try a little bit different strategy for this race.  I normally line up near the back of the pack, but today I went up close to the front.  I decided I would go out fast and see how long I could last.  This strategy really ended up paying off because I wasn’t as affected by the crowds getting pushed into 1 lane.  The real problem I had with the start though other than the tight grouping was that they didn’t have a starting mat to trigger my bib timing system.  So, even though the race advertised the timing system, we were still measured by the finish time only.  Luckily, I chose to start closer to the front and only was behind by a few seconds.

I took off faster than usual but felt pretty good and found some similar runners to pace myself by.  My splits were: 7:25, 14:49, 22:58.  I never stopped to walk and kept up a pretty fast pace for me.  I’m definitely improving as a runner and I’m thrilled with my time!  The course was fast and flat with just a couple rolling hills.  After last week’s Etowah Soccer 5k, I felt like I was running at the beach it was so flat.  I finished up and had my bib scanned with the wand to record my time.  So, with the seconds it took me to cross the start and the time it took me to slow down enough for them to scan my bib with the wand, my official time was 23:06.  I bettered my previous P.R. by >2 minutes!  Even though I ran a 22:58 by my watch, I’ll use the 23:06 as my new P.R.  Besides, I plan on beating that again soon…

They had lots of food available at the end.  All the volunteers were really nice and helpful.  I stuck around for the awards presentation (also in the gym) to see what kind of times the winners in my age group ran.  This race was pretty popular and had around 1500 entrants, so I knew I hadn’t placed, but I was curious.  The third place guy in my group ran an 18:11.  Dang.  I’ve got lots more work to do.

A couple of interesting things:

• My pace was 7:27/mi and I got passed by a woman pushing a stroller somewhere after the 2 mile mark.  Awesome.
• For the second week in a row, saw someone puking after the race – this time a woman.
• Finished 15th in my age group out of 87 guys.  Pretty proud of that and I hope I got a few points in the Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series.
• The shirt is really nice.  Technical long sleeve shirt with the polar bear logo.
• The race director said the course was 260 ft short of a full 5k.  This clearly helped my time, but I still would have P.R.’d.
• UPDATE:  Here are 2 pics of me from the race.  Pic 1, Pic 2

Next weekend is the Tartan Trot 10k.  This will be my first ever 10k.  Kind of nervous about it.  I’ll have more about that race later.

Click to enlarge

I’m running the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Polar Bear 5k on Saturday morning.  This is supposedly the 22nd annual running of this event.  That’s great!  I’m really looking forward to getting out there in a big event again after the last two weeks of smaller crowds.  The weather’s looking great so far:  partly cloudy with a low of 48°.  I’m always hesitant about setting goals, but I wouldn’t mind cracking 25 minutes.  So far, 25:12 is my PR, but I’ve been running more the past couple of weeks, so we’ll see if it pays off.  I just hope the course is less hilly than last week.

Also, this will be my first Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series event.  This is a cool series of races around Georgia throughout the entire year.  Finishing in the top 20 in your age group earns you points.  The series is put on by GeorgiaRunner.com and has been around for 20 years!

Anyone else out there running this event?  Let me know in the comments.

If it sounds like something you’d like to do, you better hurry!  Registration closes 1/20 @ 9:00pm.  Register at active.com.

Etowah Soccer 5k Shirt

I ran the Etowah Soccer 5k this morning.  I had a GREAT time even though the course was extremely hilly.  My good friend Reid (@reidtrego for you twitter folks) came and ran with me.  I really enjoyed having some company out there.  It definitely helps take your mind off the pain.

Reid, hot off his Disney Marathon, pulled away from me at the end and finished a very respectable 25:53.  I was close behind with a 26:09.  Not a P.R. for me this time, but a solid time considering the difficulty of the course.

As I had guessed, the event was pretty low-key.  They didn’t have race numbers, but rather handed you a placement card when you finished in which you wrote your name, time, gender & age.  The awards groupings were broken into under High School age, High School age & over High School age.  Kind of a shame really because, considering the large number of high schoolers and lack of old folks like us, Reid and I may have placed in our age group (35-39).

The t-shirt isn’t a technical shirt, but I do like the look of it.  It’s definitely one I’ll find myself wearing once the weather warms up (even though it is an Etowah shirt).

As I mentioned above, the course was super hilly.  I’ve plugged it into the awesome mapping site mapmyrun.com.  Check it out here.  I was moving along pretty well until the final hill heading back up towards the parking lot.  It was a killer for me.  According to mapmyrun, we had an elevation change of approximately 200 ft.  Yikes!  I hope the next race is flatter.

I’ll update this post with the official time results if they get posted somewhere online and also any links to pictures that may have been taken.

Etowah Soccer 5k

I’ve got another 5k this weekend.  This time we’re a little closer to home which is nice.  I’ll be at Etowah High School hanging with some Eagles and braving the cold at the Etowah Soccer 5k.  After last week’s 20 degree weather, Saturday should feel downright balmy.  It’s looking like 45 degrees.  Nice!

I’m not expecting too big of a turnout for this race.  They didn’t have online registration, which, in this day and age, can be kind of annoying.  I snail mailed my check in though (albeit a couple days late) and am ready to go.  I hope they have a shirt for me though because, technically, I was past the pre-registration cutoff.  Oh well.  It’s an Etowah shirt and I live in the Sequoyah district.  My son probably wouldn’t let me wear the shirt anyways…

Frostbite 5k shirt & medal

I ran the Frostbite 5k in Acworth, GA this morning.  Due to the icy streets, they postponed the race an hour.  It didn’t really do much for the ice, but it did give me more time to talk myself into going.  The race started at a little after 10am.  Not a big turnout at all, so it was just a handful of us winter warriors out there.  I actually think this helped me a bit because I didn’t have to spend so much time weaving in and out of slower runners.  I was able to quickly get into a rhythm and ended up posting a P.R. of 25:12.

It was definitely cold and miserable, but I felt so good afterward.  I didn’t want to go, but ended up forcing myself to get out the door.  Then, to set a new P.R. and finish 2nd in my age group made it all worthwhile.  Yes, you read that right, I finished 2nd in my age group.  Please ignore the fact that there were only 3 runners in my age group.  That doesn’t matter. 

The official results are here.

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Tomorrow morning I’ll be over in Acworth, GA participating in the Frostbite 5k.  Cute name for the race on a normal day, however, it’s a cool 18 degrees today, so I may actually get frostbitten tomorrow.  We’ve had a bit of snow here in Atlanta, and it’s made the roads icy and treacherous for us winter wusses here in the South.  I’m hoping the roads aren’t too bad in the morning.

Anyway, if you see me at the race tomorrow, say Hi.  I’ll be the guy bundled up like an eskimo with snotsicles. 

I participated in the Atlanta Track Club Resolution Run 5k in Kennesaw, GA this morning.  It was my first race for 2010 and it was great to get started.  According to my watch, I ran a 27:30.  Not my best, but the good thing is I have lots of room for improvement.  It was only my 3rd 5k ever, so I’m still a newbie.

About the race:

• The temperature was in the mid-40s and windy.  I decided to ditch the sweat pants and run in shorts, UA pullover, gloves and beanie.
• We had a few hundred participants in the 5k.  (There was also a 10k being run.  Maybe one day I’ll get there.)
• Very well organized and run.
• DAG timing chip
• T-shirts handed out AFTER the race which is always better IMO
• Water station at the halfway point
• Timely award presentation.  We didn’t have to wait around too long.  As I said, I’m still a newb at this running stuff, but I’m assuming this is because of the DAG timing chip.
• Long-sleeve technical shirt.  Very nice actually.
• Route had some rolling hills, but nothing too steep
• The port-a-potties had a bit of a line, but I’ve seen worse

All in all, I felt like it was a great race to start the year with.  I’d grade it an A.

The results are already posted at www.atlantatrackclub.org.  I guess the time they’re posting is the clock time.  They say I finished in 28:40, but it took me about a minute to cross the starting line.  I finished 7th in my age group (35-39).  Hopefully as the year progresses, I’ll start seeing some improvement.

The AJC also has some photos up from the event.  Alas, none of me.

UPDATED:  More pics here.