Atlanta and North Georgia Runners

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February 2013 (Read 11 times)

rainmakerrc


    How's everybody doing in February?

     

    I'm still in marathon training, and it has continued to go well.  I had a great tune-up race at the Locomotive Half Marathon on Sunday morning. It was damn cold out there (mid-20's), but I broke 1:30 and PR'd by a little over a minute, finishing in 1:29:51. Also finished in 3rd place overall! Feeling good about next month's marathon!  Also looking forward to my goal half in the Fall and seeing what I can do with some HM specific training and focus.

     

    NTS - Nice race report from the MLK Day 5K.  Congrats on your AG win!  I hear you about the start.  I actually didn't hear anything at all and just started running when everybody else took off.  It was crazy, for sure!

     

    camille - Did you end up running the Locomotive Half as well?

    RunTomRun


    Wickedly Average

      Well, now that February's half over (or more), doing great!

       

      Continuing to train for the Gate River Run on March 9 in Jacksonville, FL. I did 10 miles in the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park yesterday on a sunny - but windy - afternoon. I think one more long run before race day, but maybe only 8 miles.

      Tom (formerly known as PhotogTom)

      5K - 25:16, 10K - 55:31,  15K - 1:20:55,   HM - 1:54:54

      camille2


        Wow, Rainmaker!  3rd place overall is amazing!  Congrats!  How was the race?  Pretty organized?

         

        I didn't make the half  My mom got admitted to the ICU Friday with a pulse 35-45 and I spent my weekend there.  It was due to meds-they sorted it out and she's home again now. Between that and a foot injection for my neuroma Mon morning my miles are low. I can run again tomorrow though.

         

        Tom, I hope you have a good race. I'm jealous you ran at the Battlefield.  It's one of my favorite places to run-love those big trees.

         

        Let's try to keep each other posted on races, esp less well known ones.  I haven't done one since the half in Columbus, but hope to find another Ga one before I head to NC for the half.

        RunTomRun


        Wickedly Average

          Camille, I don't know if you like short races or not, but I'm probably going to run a 5K in Ringgold, GA on March 16. It's my birthday and, although it's only a week after the Gate River Run, I think a 5K won't hurt me too much. I want to see what my speed looks like now anyway.

          Tom (formerly known as PhotogTom)

          5K - 25:16, 10K - 55:31,  15K - 1:20:55,   HM - 1:54:54

          camille2


            Tom, I like short races though I  don't seem to do many in GA due to the driving.  I am doing Tobacco Rd on the 17th though.  Hope you have a great birthday run!

              rainmaker: congrats on the PR and 3rd OA! That's a really great time. Glad your training is going well.

               

              Tom: sounds lke your training is going well for your race.

               

              camille: Glad your mom is doing better--that must've been scary. I can't remember where you are exactly, but I just got an email that mentioned this Cupcake Road Race 15K and 5K in Cumming on 3/2. http://totallyrunning.com/

               

              This is my last pretty big week mileage-wise--I have 22 on tap tomorrow with the marathon training group, then a recovery run on Sunday should bring me to around 62 for the week. Then I'm hoping to get a solid MP run in, middle of next week, but next week's overall mileage will only be around 50. The Intown Ten (10K) next weekend will be my next check of fitness before the marathon and I want to be at least a little rested going into it.

               

              Have a great weekend, everyone!

              PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

              camille2


                Swift, sounds like your training is going great!  We'll hope for a cool dry day!  Thanks for the heads up about that race!   I'm east of Jasper and I may do the 15k.  I prob wouldn't  drive it for a 5k, so it's nice they have the longer distance.

                rainmakerrc


                  A little late, but here's my race report for the Locomotive Half Marathon on February 17, 2013.

                   

                  About the Race/Training/Expectations:

                   

                  The Locomotive Half Marathon is a small, local half in Kennesaw, Georgia in Northwest Metro Atlanta. This was my second year running this race, though the organizers held it on a new course this year. This wasn't a goal half;  just a tune-up for the Publix Georgia Marathon on 3/17 (my second marathon). After a strong start to the current  marathon training cycle, I was looking forward to seeing how this tune-up race would turn out. For the 12 weeks prior to this race, I averaged just over 64 MPW, and I was hitting my workout targets consistently 

                  and with more confidence compared to my first cycle of Pfitz 18/70 back in the Fall. The week of the race had 65 miles scheduled, but I trimmed that down a bit to 60 and front and back-loaded the week to give me a slight taper for the  race with minimal compromise of mileage. Heading into this race, my PR for the half was a 1:30:59 I ran back in  October at the Allstate Atlanta 13.1 Marathon (which was a tune-up race for my first marathon at Chickamauga in  November). I felt I had a decent shot at sub-1:30 at this race based on a local 5K I ran on MLK Day just a few  weeks before (19:25, a new PR by 18 seconds). A sub-1:30 half is one of my goals for the year, so if I didn't hit  it at this race, I wasn't going to be too disappointed (BS). Hitting that goal, though, would be a big confidence boost en route to the marathon.

                   

                  Pre-Race:

                   

                  With a start time of 7:30, I was up just before 5:30 for my usual pre-race breakfast of a PB&J, a bottle of water, and coffee (which had to wait until Starbucks on the way to the race, since i didn't want to wake DW and the kids making coffee at home; unlike newer models, our K-Cup machine is freaking loud. Temps were in the 20's at the start, so I was dressed in layers I planned on discarding pre-race. I picked up my race packet, visited the portalets, and hung out in the comfort of my car for awhile before starting my warm up a little before 7:00 (a couple of easy miles with surges at GHMP and a couple of strides). I had a sip of water, ditched the warm-up pants (should've ditched the 1/4 zip pullover as well), and jumped back in the portalet line. While I waited, I set a slow pace alert of 6:50/mi on my Garmin to give me some indication of where I was pacewise during the race. The lines moved quickly, and I got over to the starting line with a few minutes to spare. With a small race, it was easy to line up at the front. After a low-key start (no gun or bell, just the guy saying, "go"), we were off.

                   

                  The Race:

                   

                  Here's the elevation profile of the race:

                   


                  (all mile split times were manual laps at the posted mile markers)

                   

                  Miles 1-6, 6:56, 6:59, 6:46, 7:02, 6:40, 6:39:

                   

                  At the start, I went out with a cluster of five or so runners in front. I didn't want to go out too fast, and an early climb helped to rein me in back towards my goal pace. I ended up a little behind pace the first couple of miles, though I actually didn't mind, and I figured that would give me a little more push for the later miles of the race (unlike the last half I ran in October, which had a slight fade at the end). I was passed by a couple of people during the first couple miles, but there would be some jockeying back and forth among those of us in 4th to 7th place over the next several miles. I passed a younger runner early in mile 3, and I was tailing the female leader heading into a long, steady climb near the airport in mile 4. I pulled even with her at the crest of the hill near the start of mile 5, but she built a significant gap on me on the ensuing downhill. I pushed the pace a bit to keep her from getting too far ahead, but it was too early to start making a move, especially with several climbs left in the race. With some flatter and downhill terrain, miles 5 and 6 ended up being my fastest of the race, and I started to slowly gain some ground on the female leader.


                  Miles 7-12, 6:53, 6:45, 7:03, 6:52, 6:58, 6:51:

                   

                  Mile 7 started at the bottom of the second hill of a set of rollers on an out and back stretch. I went for even effort on the climbs and gained some time back on the downhills as we made it back to the main road. A little more rolling terrain followed in mile 8, but I was getting closer to the female leader, and we were both gaining ground on the guy in front of her. I eventually caught them both at the start of a steeper climb late in mile 9. They were both breathing pretty heavily, but I was feeling great and kept my breathing very relaxed. I fancied it as a mental tactic, but they were probably too focused on their own efforts to notice what I was trying to do. Both the female leader and I pulled ahead of the guy (who was in 4th place, by my estimation) shortly thereafter. As we continued up the hill, she seemed to be fading a bit more, and at the crest of the hill at the start of mile 10, I pulled ahead of her. Mile 10 was one of the longer downhill stretches of the race, and I suspected that she would make a move to catch back up. But it wasn't long before the sound of her breathing faded off, and I ended up putting a big gap between us by the start of mile 11. The race leaders were well ahead of us, so I no longer had a rabbit in front of me (a somewhat unfamiliar position for me in the races I've run so far). Since the course was going to loop back around to some of the earlier climbs in the course, I knew I needed to continue pushing if I wanted to hold my position. Don't look back, just push ahead. During mile 11, I passed by one of the volunteers who confirmed that I was in 4th place. Early in mile 12, I passed by a runner all by himself. I briefly thought that it must have been someone at an earlier point in the half, since the course had now looped back around to what was 
                  originally mile 2, or perhaps someone running the 5K (which started half an hour later than the half and also shared this stretch of the course). Or did I really just move into 3rd place? No time to figure it out. I just continued pushing uphill, knowing that after 11.5 miles, the course would be downhill most of the rest of the way. Near the end of mile 12, a volunteer confirmed that I really was in 3rd place!


                  Mile 13 (6:43) and the Final .11 miles (0:38; 5:51/mi pace):

                   

                  I wasn't about to lose my first opportunity for an OA placing, so I found some extra push in the last mile. Mile 13 was one of those teases where you have to run past the turn where you know the finish line is for a short out and back. I saw one of the leaders coming back on this stretch, and I guessed he was probably a few minutes ahead of me. After the passing the turnaround, the next runner behind me was the female leader (and the second-place female). I still had a gap, but I still needed to push. The finish was slightly uphill, but I dug deep for a little more to kick to the finish at the mile 13 marker. When I saw the finish line clock still in the 1:29's, I knew that I'd have that sub-1:30 to go along with the OA placement.

                   

                   

                  The Finish, Post-Race, and Final Thoughts:

                   

                  I got my medal and a few kudos from the volunteers for finishing in 3rd place. After grabbing a couple of cups of water and a banana, I ran a short cooldown. There were some tasty looking post-race food, but I stuck with another banana and cup of water (I'd really love to slim down a bit more before the marathon). It was still pretty damn cold, so I hung out in the car while waiting for the awards presentation for the half, and I called DW to share the good news. I got a nice little trophy for my 3rd place finish at 1:29:51.

                   

                   

                  It was my first time placing in the OA standings in a race, as well as my first award for a half marathon (my two previous AG awards had been in 5K's). The female leader finished about 30 seconds behind me in 1:30:XX, and the 2nd place female was another 20 seconds or so behind her. The male masters winner was another 15 seconds behind her, so there was a cluster of us around the 1:30 mark. No time to spare.


                  My final results were as follows:

                   

                  Chip Time: 1:29:50 (PR)
                  Gun Time: 1:29:51
                  Overall: 3/340
                  Gender Place: 3/163
                  Division Place (M35-39): 1/30
                  Pace: 6:52/mi


                  I was happy with the effort for this race and was thrilled with the results. It turned out to be one of the better executed races I've had. I am anxious to see how the gains I've made this training cycle will translate for next month's marathon. I am feeling pretty good about my prospects! Not to lose sight of my immediate marathon goal, I am also looking forward to a goal half in the Fall and seeing what I can do with some HM specific training and focus.

                   

                  Thanks for reading.

                  lsp


                  Lump Off

                    That looks like it was a really run race.  I am impressed and am looking forward to hearing about your marathon and the half that you will train for specifically.

                      rainmaker: Great RR, congrats again on a great job and your placing!

                       

                      I accidentally ran almost 21 miles yesterday after missing a turn and then taking some wrong ones while trying to run part of the marathon course. Looking at the map of what I ended up doing, it is hard to believe I got so far off my planned route, but I was trying to do part of the run at close to MP and just totally missed a key turn, then did not realize it for a while. I just moved back to Atlanta in November and forget some of the details of street names and stuff in areas I'm not that familiar with. Plus I have a naturally crappy sense of direction. Good thing that during the marathon the turns will be pretty obvious!

                      PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

                      rainmakerrc


                        Thanks for the kind words, everyone.  I really appreciate it.  I hope to have awesome news to report after the marathon next month.  I want to BQ, which is 3:10 for me.  While the course of my upcoming marathon is pretty hilly, I've run a good deal of similarly hilly terrain in training.  I know it won't be easy, but I hope that everything can come together on race day to get me to where I have trained to be.

                         

                        I had a slight wrench thrown into my taper last night:

                         

                         

                        My car's the black one.  I was heading southbound.  The other car was heading northbound waiting to turn left.  I had the green light, and the other driver had to yield to me and southbound traffic.  I t-boned the other car going about 35-40 when it suddenly turned left across my lane of traffic.  Airbags were deployed (those fumes were pretty damn noxious).  Completely the other driver's fault, and she freely admitted so to me, witnesses, and the police.  I'm OK as far as I can tell (other than a headache and some mild lightheadedness), and the other driver was unharmed.  That is always something to be thankful about.  I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, just to be on the safe side and make sure there's nothing to be concerned about.  Pissed about my car, of course (it's 10 years old, so my guess is my insurer will declare it a total loss).  Strangely enough, I'm actually more pissed/concerned that this could adversely affect next month's marathon.  I guess it's a good thing that I'm already tapering, but I did (at DW's request) have to take a URD today.  I would like to get back to my training schedule tomorrow, though.  Typical runner, LOL.

                          Wow, glad you're ok, rainmaker! As far as being more concerned how it could affect the marathon, I can totally understand. Hope the doc appointment went well. You are really looking to have a great race.

                          PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09