my makeup may be flaking

21.4 miles with Allie in 2:50. Felt ok during the run, but my legs were hurting all day.

Georgia Marathon Course, except for miles 1, 6, and 7. Garmin told me I did 22.32 in 2:35:46 (6:59 pace), as I didn't start my watch immediately.

After a big mileage week, legs felt pretty flat today. 7:30 AP but i was fading fast.

Beltline Tempo in 30:14 (14:44, 15:30) (6:15 pace). Happy with this run, didn't feel good but managed to hold it together. Elevation data in Atlanta is all messed up, course tool says this is worth 5:56 pace

Stopped at a drinking fountain and the water meter was apparently made in "East Jordan". Haha, nice try, that's not a thing.

Finally felt good on a morning run. Drank emergenC right before the run, instead of after. Plus it was raining.

57:25 (6:10 per mile) The announcer at the start was asking a couple of people what their goal pace was, I remember thinking mine is 'probably 6:10'. So I stamp this MEETS EXPECTATIONS. This is probably my best race since the Mercer Island Half last March, so it's definitely good.

This race is truly massive. Atlanta has a large running population, apparently, and not enough races so every race is insane. This one had 7500 in the 15k and another 11000+ in the 5k. However, it's clearly not one of the races targeted by the local fast people as it's put on by an out of state company.

I got in my start corral early which was a mistake, took a quick pulse check and found it was about 75, which is the basically my resting heart rate. I REALLY can't go from 75bpm to race mode quickly so I was that doofus jogging in place for ten minutes. I was also wearing neon calf sleeves and a rust-stained singlet, and I cut my own hair.

In the first 800m or so I ran up beside some guy who I'd noticed had a 15K bib on and asked for his goal time, he said 56mins so I stuck next to him for the first bit and we weaved through 5k people that had gone too fast. First two miles are rolling but a net elevation gain: 6:08, 6:14 for the first two. After two miles, we split so I could really see who was ahead of me. I saw 6 guys that were close, 2 guys barely in view. Apparently, there was another guy who was out of sight but I didn't realize that. I figured if I could beat all 6 of the guys ahead of me, then I might be able to get top 3 and win a second medal or ceramic marshmallow. (This isn't so, of course, but I don't know that.)

Next mile was 5:58, which was truly amazing. This was a flat mile other than the first and I broke 6. It may be the last time ever! Hit 5k in 19:01. Here's the leader board at 5k.

Those 6 guys ahead of me are now down to 4 and still within striking distance! Lucas is the guy I ran with for two miles. I pick up another spot in the fourth mile (5:54!, but downhill) after Kyle loses contact. My legs are starting to burn at this point and that's concerning. I'm inching closer and closer to the guys ahead of me. 6:00 for mile 5 (rolling) and then 6:02 for mile 6 (downhill but 6 turns of 90 degrees or more).

In the second 5k, I didn't really pick up much ground but it seemed like maybe I could still pass those guys. However, miles 7 and 8 consist of a big uphill. I really struggled on this hill and the guys ahead of me pulled away. I ran 6:27, 6:37, then a 8:00 (6:03 pace) for the last 1.3 when the damage was done.

I include these because I have really no sense with these courses. Seems like my finish was ok.

Cooldown was the entire course again, then ran home. I did a lot of weaving on the second loop so it's possible that I ran like 25 miles.

Time Comparison for my last 3 races.

Still sore from Sunday.

Deepdene loop in 55:34 (28:04, 27:30)

22.9 mile long run. Followed Georgia Marathon Miles 0-16 then 18-22 plus running to the start and running home. Ran normal long run pace for 11 miles and then pushed for the next 9. As soon as I got to the tough hills my legs started to really burn, but I'm pretty happy with this performance as I was still pretty sore from yesterday.

4.84 miles in 29:59 (14:23 down, 15:36 up)
 

Lost the data but 11.75 miles @ 6:28 incluing the last 8 miles of the course. 1200ft elevation gain ->6:16 pace.

This is basically the Salt Lake City Track Club winter 15K of Atlanta. It was FREE for members and $10 otherwise. And yet, there were only ~1000 finishers compared to 20,000 for the Hot Chocolate 15K 3 weeks ago. I really don't get that.

Anyway, good race that went about as well as I could have hoped, yet I still feel like I left something out there.

There are two races 8K and 15K, that start together. The 15K loop is the 8k course plus another 7k loop that is almost the same. I ran with a group of guys running the 8K and just tried to let them pull my along.

I got a little excited at the start, and my heart was jumpy. However, my pre-race plan was to be a little agressive and then just hang with whoever was around. I reached the first mile in 5:48 (5:34 on course tool) and I was in oxygen debt, I settled in and cruised the second mile downhill, easily staying with the group 5:41 (5:51).

The third mile contains a megahill which I look at everyday from my daily run and tremble. My daily run is on a rails to trails path that crosses over the race course. Right at that point are some weird sculptures. When I looked up today, I saw that they were really figures writhing in agony. The third mile was somehow 6:11 (5:33), which I only managed by tucking in behind the 8k guys. I seemed to be working much harder than them, which had me concerned. 6:02, 6:01 (5:38,5:48) to finish out the first loop.

Pretty much everyone turned out to finish the 8K and suddenly it was just me. I could see someone else like 40 seconds ahead. I really let down my effort here. 6:17 (6:05) for the 6th mile and the guy ahead was the same distance away. The 7th mile was a cruising downhill: 5:54 (6:07). Then up the megahill in 6:36 (5:59), this time with no one to push me. 8:06 (5:51 adj pace) for the last 1.32 indicating I had some more in the tank. The guy in front of me ended up taking a wrong turn in the last mile so I finished second overall (1st was 54:07).

Beltline tempo in 31:02 (6:25 pace) (14:52 down, 16:10 up). A minute slower than last time but it was pretty cold (~25).

RIP Harris Wittels. May this site preserve his legacy.

Warmup with Allie and then 10 miles at marathon pace (6:31) over the last ten miles of Georgia Marathon course. 7:25 avg pace

*1.05 miles

Snowless snow day.

It's not just that there's no snow here, it's that this is one of the nicer days we've had this year.

In fact, it's not that, it's that the forecast doesn't call for snow until this evening, which means tomorrow should be a snow day, but it won't be.

Edit/Twist: Thursday was a snow day, but only after they made sure that the forecast no longer predicted snow.

Splits 5:24, 5:49, 5:55 pace for last1.107

The 5:24 first mile psyched me out a little. I just tried to stick with the people around me after that and I didn't lose any time relative to them. I think the first mile might have been aided a little plus a slight tailwind. Anyway, I definitely felt like I had a lot left at the end, it's just that I've not run a race shorter than 15k for a very long time.

Given my last race, I should have been maybe 10-20 seconds faster, but I think it's quite possible that I just will forever suck at the 5k due to my heart. Still, this course was not that easy and I still ran 30 seconds faster than any 5k since moving to atlanta.

Not sure what to make of this race. I was hoping to run sub 37 at the very least, however the course tool says this is equivalent to 5:36 pace (and that the course was actually about .08 long)

Mile 1 there was a big pack of 7 that separated. I recognized Graham Merfield, whom I beat by ten seconds at the Tuneup 15 K, and Luke Seder, whom I ran with during that same race (but he stopped at 8k). I didn't recognize the other guys. Hit the first mile in 5:40 (course tool says 5:36).

Miles 2-3 it stayed pretty close together (11:37 combined, 5:37 according to course tool). I was just trying to stick with the pack and probably pushed this way too hard. I cracked before even getting to mile 3 and the top 4 guys would gradualy pull away the rest of the race. My first 5k would likely have been sub 18, and I was feeling it. Up to this point the course had been rolling, but overall a net down.

We started to climb more in the next mile and I dropped back to 6th place. My shoe also came untied. Next mile was 6:23 (5:54 ct), which didn't seem right as I hadn't really lost that much ground. Looking at the map later, it seems like this is were the extra .08 came in as the mile marker doesn't match up with gmap-pedometer, but the others did. Next mile was 5:57(5:40 ct) and I moved back into 5th but the top four were farther away. Last bit to the finish was 7:27 for 1.218 (5:38 ct).

Times were

Stephen Harvell 36:18, Graham Merfield 36:25, Aaron Roseberry 36:31, Thom Hayes 36:35, Me 37:05, Luke Seder 37:35.

	Split	2EG-EL	Adj Split
1	6:33	126	6:18
2	6:04	-65	6:12
3	5:58	-75	6:07
4	6:09	33	6:05
5	7:01	137	6:44
6	6:19	-24	6:22
7	6:15	-55	6:22
8	6:32	59	6:25
9	6:55	102	6:42
10	6:22	-15	6:24
11	6:45	150	6:27
12	7:05	170	6:44
13	6:22	-19	6:24

13.1 in 1:24:20. Splits above don't quite match up with gmaps.

First Atlanta win!

Possible post-Mayan apocalypse 5k PR. 16:40 for 2.98 is 17:24 for 5k

Also a difficult course, with a steep downhill to start and a steep hill to finish (5% grade for 300m maybe).

Race was started by someone dressed as Chuck-E-Cheese. Mile split was 5:22, no other splits.

Oh and part of winning was appearing in the Parade. For some reason I was riding in this firetruck with a bunch of firemen's drunk girlfriends (Allie took this picture and then ran and jumped on the back of the moving firetruck. We figured this was ok after one of the marshalls jumped into the truck in front of us and started drinking. Atltanta is a bit different from Utah.) I didn't feel as awkward as I look.

Last workout: 8.5 miles at marathon pace (54:41, 6:26 pace=2:48:30 for a marathon). Definitely did not feel good as I had my typical electrolyte/low blood pressure problems. I decided to just finish out the workout and hope that this does not happen on Sunday. This happened to me at Ogden and it was a miserable experience.

First two miles I felt good and then my legs started to burn with lactic acid, even though I didn't feel like I was pushing much. It only got worse as I continued and I was very dizzy when I stopped.

Garmin says only 8.47, but gmaps says 8.52

Georgia Marathon in Atlanta

My prerace prediction was 2:56 so I guess I can also stamp this race with MEETS EXPECTATIONS, just like the hot chocolate 15K. However, in a marathon, meeting expectations is good. 

No weird heart issues today, also.

Half marathon and marathon start out together for the first 7 miles so it was a little too easy for me to get caught up with the half marathoners. At 10K I was behind about 30 half-marathoners and also quite a bit ahead of pace.

Just after 10K, Michael Davis caught me and I tried to stay with him for a few miles. He dropped me in mile 8 when I was taking a GU, then I ran pretty hard to catch up to him. He easily dropped me again in mile 11 but I could still see him until about mile 15. Hit halfway, pretty much where I wanted to be: ahead of my predicted pace but not outrunning my fitness. It gets harder to stay motivated when there's no one up ahead to pick off.

Everyone ahead of me is running strongly and apparently someone behind is gaining on me. In the next section of the race I can definitely hear the cheers getting closer, but I don't want to increase my effort until I get to the crazy hills. Mile 16 is 6:14 due to a very steep downhill, but then it very quickly becomes difficult to maintain 7 minute pace. Mile 18 is the first one over 7 and mile 20 is also over 7. But the terrain is getting quite difficult, lots of short uphills followed by short downhills. If I'm feeling good, I can manage around 6:30 pace on this stuff in training, but my legs are pretty shot. Glancing back it looks like there are 3 people chasing me, but it was probably just the one. Mile 21 and 22 and keep it going with a 6:52 and 6:47. These miles are easier, so it's really not all that great, but I'll take it. There's another mat at mile 22! Before the race, I had mentally told myself that a sub 2:25 at mile 22 would give me confidence in the sub 3 (which was my non-negotiable pre-race goal). I actually passed it at 2:25:47, so err... uh oh... I guess. Meanwhile, the guys ahead of me are killing it.

After this mat there's a turnaround in piedmont park that adds an extra hill. It creates a Des News style out and back that allow me to see everyone about 2minutes on either side. I can't see anyone ahead of me as they are all busy negative splitting. I do see Grant, however, who is now less than 1 minute down with 4.2 miles left. Mile 23 is the last really tough mile, and it also happens to be the toughest on the course. Starting at the lowest point on the course and ending at the highest, with an evil turnaround thrown in. I manage a 7:28 which is pretty lousy, but it's not really ruining my race based on the splits from the previos few miles. Grant makes up a ton of ground here though and it now sounds like he's about 25 seconds back, based off the volunteers who keep assuring him he can catch me. Next mile is downhill so I manage another sub 7 (6:57!). Mile 25 is fun, I pass by Allie's old workplace and then my office! Oh but it's up hill and painful and 7:10. Right at mile 25 we have a pretty hard turn and I can see Grant is right there. I find an extra gear in the last mile to hold of Grant (6:55 pace for an uphill mile).

The last mile made me think that maybe I was being kind of a wuss for miles 18-25, and this is kind of confirmed by looking at the final split. I think I would have closed much faster if any of those guys had actually caught up to me.

USATF Georgia 5000 and 3000 racewalk

18:58 5000 and 18:52 3000 RW, it was really hot and I was having heart issues

I did ok in the racewalk. Didn't push it as hard as I could have as I was worried about getting DQd. Didn't really enjoy it though, I don't think I'll do it again.

93 degrees! running back from a conference

17:33, 5:30 1st mile (only split, no watch), close to Post Mayan Apocalypse best.

Quite hot and humid (around 75degrees/71 dew point), Rick Kenah warned us that it was not a day for PRs. I felt ok while I was running, but was a little 2013 tourderunish after I finished. Tucked in behind the top Atlanta Track club women at the start who I figured would be shooting for low 17s. I ran with three of them until the first mile: (Morgan, who smoked a 17:07 in the Hawks 5k, Janel who ran 17:18 at the ATC 5k and Lauren Sara who I didn't know anything about).

I was struggling to stay with them and at about the mile I stupidly let them go and they were probably 5 seconds up on me. I say stupid because I never really made myself hurt after I lost contact. Despite getting dropped by the women, I still passed 2 or 3 guys in the second mile and I was closing in on a big pack of about 5. One of those guys was Bo Brewer, who I have a legit rivalry with at this point.

Our last 3 races: Bo by 3 seconds, me by 20 seconds, me by 1 second.

Morgan starts to fade and I catch up to her right at 2miles and we start to work together. I'm now wishing that I knew these streets better because I have absolutely no idea how close to the finish we are. Suddenly, the stadium appears and I start to kick, dropping Morgan and passing Bo. The last 400meters or so are a little goofy as we make some sharp turns into the stadium and then run out onto the outfield. I was a bit surprised to see 17:30 as I felt like I really let my effort down and was expecting it to be over 18.

17:33 for me 17:37 for Bo, 17:41 for Morgan. (Lauren:17:00, Janel 17:15). Winning time for guys was 15:15 by Nathan Haskins who wins everything here.
 

I have been a little quiet since the marathon because I was feeling slightly off, last few weeks I've been much better. Still just trying to survive the summer here though.

Great race and cool course. I didn't run great though, I didn't emp up doing as much as I wanted. I really regret running that marathon now as I feel like I missed out on the cool races this summer because I'm not firing on all cylinders.

Total for week

Race was not as bad as the time makes it seem. The course was actually quite challenging. I've been 'gimpy' for a bit so not much running, so I'm happy that I haven't seemed to lose that much. Splits were 5:29 (down), 6:21 (up!), then 6:31 for the last 1.107

7.25 miles in 47:36 (6:34 pace)

2.85 (Emory-Deep Dene Park) in 19:05 (6:42)

4.4 (Deep Dene - Home) in 28:31 (6:29)

Mercer Island Snake hill loop in 57:44 (6:33 pace)

4xmile with 90seconds rest (5:45,5:50,6:01,5:50)

6.85 in 46:22 (6:46 pace), wasn't feeling very good.

Splits 5:26, 5:47, 6:05, 30

2014 5:40, 5:58, 6:04, 31

Course was slightly different from last year making the first mile a bit faster due to less climbing and the removal of a 90 degree turn. I would guess it's about a 5 second difference.

Race was super stacked this year, with a ton of Atlanta Track Club people out. Kind of fell off a little at the end as I wasn't racing anyone. I'm still feeling pretty good injury wise so hopefully I can continue to increase the workload as the weather get back into fiddy range.

Big Accomplishment: First time since flat as a pancake 2013 vs flat as a pancake 2012 that I ran faster at a race than I did the year before. Flat as a pancake 2012 was the day after my stress test for my heart and I walked the end of that race, whereas 2013 I followed allie as she ran her 5k PR. Last year at this time I was coming off my dissertation defense and in the middle of a move, so we'll see whether or it can continue.

Emory-Deepdene in 18:39 (6:32 pace)

Deepdene-Home in 28:18 (6:26)

Total of 7.25 in 46:57 (6:29 pace, 6:11 according to course tool)

Double tempo run coming back from Emory 2.75 in 16:57 (6:10), 5mins rest, 2.42 (6:39) in 16:05 (significant uphill)

4xmile w/ 90 seconds rest on beltline (down, up, down, up):5:35,6:07,5:49,6;09. Felt very difficult after the first one.

9 mile tempo run in 59:57

4.5 miles in 29:05 (6:07 adjusted pace)

4xmile on beltline with 5mins jogging recovery (down,up,down,up)

5:39,5:53,5:34,5:52

Splits of 5:52, 5:50, 6:50 and :38. The second mile contains quite a lot of downhill but the last mile is very tough and a little long according to every measurement of it I've done. Course tool says me splits were about even in terms of adjusted pace, which would work out to about 18:20 on a flat course. Not sure why I've done so poorly at this race both this year and last year. I just didn't feel good either time.

I ran :45 seconds faster this year than last year, but the start line was moved so the course was about :35 shorter. So this time was really only worth about :10 seconds better.

11.85 miles in 1:19:37 (6:43 pace, 6:25 course tool)

some splits ( 7 miles: 46:38, 7-10 miles 19:58, 10-11.85 miles 13:01 (7:02 pace, but lots of climbing)

Decent splits 5:44, 5:46, 6:15 for the last 1.1. I wasn't feeling very good, but this course has got to be the easiest I've run in Atlanta.

7.25 mile tempo in 46:14 (6:23 pace, 6:04 adjusted)

4.5 miles in 28:07 (5:54 adjusted pace)

4*mile (down, up, down, up) with 90 seconds rest 5:35,5:57,5:36,5:53

9 miles in 58:12(6:12 adjusted pace)

Workout PR! Previous best was 59:57

Double Tempo workout

2.75 in 16:22 (5:57 pace, 5:54 adjusted) 5mins rest, then 2.42 in 15:44 (6:30, unknown adjusted pace due to weird ATL elevation-allegedly 6:00)

(4 weeks ago: 16:57, 16:05)

4 x mile with 5 mins recovery (down, up, down, up) in 5:45,6:08,5:40,6:07. Not very good, not sure why.

4.5 miles in 28:23 (5:58 adj pace)

1:38:41 for 14.86 miles (adjusted pace=6:20). Pace was right where it should be, but I was having some BP issues the whole way. Shoulders and neck where really hurting the whole time.

7.25 in 45:20(5:57 adjusted pace)

4.5 miles in 27:42 (5:49, adjusted pace)

This was a pretty good workout so it makes sense to write down some splits as benchmarks.

From the start on N Decatur to Mile4 marker was 8:58.

Mile4-Mile3 6:35 (15:33 total)

Mile3-Mile2 5:28 (21:01 total) mile markers on the trail must be off!

Mile2-Mile1 5:55 (26:56 total)

From Mile4 to finish line was 18:44

3 mile split at beltline intersection was 18:47 (this is actually three miles), then 8:55 from beltline intersection home

Freedom trail split was 8:22 (2:39 to BI, then 5:43)

Split from Freedom trail home was 3:12

Deep Dene (8.9 miles) in 57:18 (6:26 unadjusted pace). Felt really, really bad.

9 miles in 57:36 (6:08 adjusted)

Segment splits 20:44,16:48,20:03

More workout PRs!

2.75 in 16:14 (5:52 adj pace) previous best 16:22

2.41 in 15:09 (5:48 adj pace) previous best 15:44

Atl 10 mile course in 67:10 (6:17adjusted pace)

Splits

(6:29,6:52,6:33,6:36,6:45,6:42,6:46,7:03,6:47,6:37)

Adj splits

(6:22,6:20,6:11,6:10,6:13,5:58,6:39,6:20,6:28,6:24)

Clearly faded at the end. Still have a lot of work to do strength wise. Not sure I can get there by Thanksgiving.

Another workout PR! 7.25 miles in 45:15 (5:57 adjusted pace)

6k split=23:22, last 3.5 in 21:53

I doubt that any HSers read my blog, but I noticed a couple of people posting about how they had disappointmenting races at the state meet.

My senior year of XC was very sucky. We were 7th my junior year, we returned 5 of our top 7 and our top two runners were both freshman. As sophomores they should have been much improved. In addition, I had improved from the 12th best runner on the team in XC to the 12th best runner in the league in track, and I was only expected to be our 5th man. We entered the season ranked I think #2 in state, but we just never really put it together with everyone having a good race at the same time. We ended up 13th at state with almost everyone running lousy.

Anyway, my point is that it really sucked. However, it was far from the end competively. I had a decent, not great, track season, but then college XC turned out much better. The important thing is to keep at it and try to learn from what went wrong.

62:20 for 10 miles, 6:14 pace (5:50 adj)

Last year I managed a 63:08 in this race which was good enough for 12th. Last Sunday I ran 67:10 for the full course in a time trial.

Went out way too fast (5:43, 6:29 last week, -46 seconds), which was frustrating. I'm still really bad at pacing myself. This mile isn't as bad as it seems as the first mile is probably the easiest of the race. I was in a small group with Victor Breedveld and Andre Barnes. I stuck with them through mile 2 (6:20,-32 seconds) and 3 (5:56,-37 seconds).

It was here that I lost my nerve. a little. The fourth mile starts with a big uphill and I didn't really attack it. I lost Victor and Andre and another group of 4 people passed me on the hill to form a supergroup of 6 guys ahead of me. For the next two miles I watched all those guys start to pull away. Mile 4 was 6:21, only 15 seconds faster than last weekend and I'm really struggling with the hills. However the nice thing about any Atlanta race is that if you're not feeling good, you can just wait a few minutes and the course will totally change. Mile 5 is a lot more manageable but I slowed down more to 6:24 (-21 seconds).

Standings at half way: (Only including +/- 1minute of me because it's a big race. Men's leader, Andrew Mclain was at 25:18 at halfway and ran 51:17. That adjusts to 4:48 pace which is whack.)

So at halfway I've got a couple of people ahead within striking distance, but I've been steadily losing ground and I'm feeling a little wobbly already. In mile 6 I stop the bleeding with a 6:20 (-22) and catch up to Ken Porterfield. We run together for most of the rest of the way. Mile 7 is 6:14 (-32) which is back on track and I'm starting to feel hopeful that the race won't be a disaster.

The atlanta 10 mile does something interesting where they time the 8th mile separately and list it as 'Conquer Cardiac Hill'. I don't really care about that, but it does mean more mats. I have to figure this out based on the time stamps for each person though.

So at the bottom of cardiac hill (6.8 ish miles), the race around me looks like this.

I've held my ground with everyone around me, unfortunately 'Cardiac Hill' doesn't sound like something I'll do particularly well at. At the top the race now looks like this. Check out Chris Nasser, that sandbagger! Also I had pretty much surrendered my lead on the 2014 ghost runner. I really ran strongly last year until hitting a wall at mile 7.

It's not a disaster. I'm not sure that this is a mile like they advertise, as my actual split for mile 8 is 6:38 (-25 seconds). As soon as we crest the hill, I surge and catch Kenneth. We both pass Lauren Sara and catch up to Andre. Then mile 9 has more uphill and Kenneth drops me again for good (that's three times he passed and dropped me). Mile 9 is 6:14 (-33 seconds) and now I'm feeling pretty positive. It seems clear that I will beat my time from last year, which was very much in doubt at mile 6. I drop Andre for good but now I can hear the cavalry coming in the form of Michael Smith, Chris Nasser and another guy who didn't have any chip splits, but finished 1 second behind me.

My legs are totally trashed in the last mile but I muscle out a 6:04 (-33 seconds), but two guys pass me in the final stretch which is a bummer. It's a strength issue not a speed issue, I think.

 Another long tempo. These runs should be at marathon pace, which I hit pretty comfortably. Last time I did this workout I really struggle the last couple of miles.

Another workout PR! 4.5 miles in 27:39 (5:48 adjusted). Only 3 seconds faster than last time though.