Atlanta Half Marathon - Earned My Turkey!

I ran my first Marathon on November 8th and didn't think I would recover fast enough to run the half 2.5 weeks later. I ran this race last year but I haven't run the distance since then as I prepared for my first marathon. A friend suggested that I approach the Thanksgiving day run just as a fun run for the experience and tradition. So I signed up.

The next morning I called Fleet Feet and begged them to let me ride their bus to and from the race despite the sign-up window closing a week earlier. Their generocity shined upon me and I was told that if I came in that day they would let me ride... so I did. I was told I was "absolutely the last person" they would let sign up. Maybe the several hundred dollars I've spent there this year swayed them... The nice thing about the bus is that you don't have to worry about dragging your family out of bed or riding the train. The bus is allowed inside the closed road portion of the start area, less than a block from my start corral. The bus was heated with a toilet onboard so we could stay warm right up until 15 minutes before the start of the race. It really is worth the $30 bucks they charge. They even throw in a T-shirt, a pair of throw away gloves, a separate baggage claim, a finishers tent with better food, drinks, and even beer for those who want it. I don't think I would run this race without that option. It is nice to be spoiled every so often.

Oh yeah, I ran a race too... This whole "fun run" thing just doesn't compute in my head. I had only run 15 miles since my marathon, none of which were at a pace faster than 9 min/mile. I programmed the pace alarm on my watch for 8 minute pace the first 5 miles, 7:45 pace the next two downhill miles, 8:15 pace for miles 7-12, and gave myself 9 minutes for the last 1.1 miles. That would give me a finishing time of 1:45:45, slightly slower than the first half of my marathon but conservative considering my recovery and lack of proper taper and all that. If you remember, I ran the first half of my marathon in 1:44:12 (7:57 pace) and I think that led to my struggles at mile 23 (my goal pace that day was closer to 8:40).

The weather was almost perfect, perhaps a little cold but nothing too bitter cold and definately better than the downpour during the first mile last year. Since the Weather Channel was sponsoring the event perhaps they had something to do with the nice weather. ;)

Something new this year was corrals for the runners. During registration they asked for your estimated finish time (I said 1:50) and assigned you to 1 of 5 corrals. I was in the second corral, perhaps a little further back than I should have been. But its always a good feeling to start a race passing a lot of people.

The first several miles I was feeling really good and my splits were showing it: 7:35, 7:24, 7:39, 7:31, 7:40. I think 5 miles in I knew my 1:44:12 was going to be broken, but it was a matter by how much. I then hit the downhill 2-mile portion: 7:21, 7:08. At the bottom of the hill was an aid station and Jelly Belly sports beans. I love those things but unfortunately, at 35 degrees, they are more jawbreaker than jelly bean.

The next mile is a HILL. It is the same hill that is run as part of the 4th of July Peachtree Road Race. It is lovingly called Cardiac Hill due to the hospital conveniently located near the crest. It slowed me down a bit: 8:08. From there though the course proceeds through a series of flat to rolling but with more up than down: 7:36, 7:55, 8:06, 8:04.

I had begun to contemplate the possibility of a sub 1:40:00 run somewhere around mile 10 but I had forgotten how rough some of those late hills could be and with miles 11 and 12 over 8 minutes that possibility slipped away. Surprisingly I was feeling really good. My breathing was much faster than it had ever gotten during my marathon but nothing ached, not my knee, hips or calfs.

At the 12 mile marker I did the math and realized that it would take a 7:50 final 1.1 to go under 1:40 and although that was unprobable, that didn't stop me from trying. Of course that short steap hill from 12.25 through 12.5 had something to say about that... I continued to push but my lungs started burning but then I caught sight of the Olympic Rings that marked the finish line of the 1996 Olympic Marathon. It is amazing how that sight lifts the runners spirits.

I kicked to a sprint and enjoyed the refreshing and empowering feeling of passing others in that final stretch. But alas, I was not fast enough to go sub 1:40:00 but still far better than I had expected at the start of the day. My final split for 1.1 miles was 8:24. I had a chip time of 1:40:35 (7:41/mile pace).

There were 11500 registrants but only 8695 ran with a chip that makes them part of the official results. Here are my official results:

- Overall Place = 702/8695
- 35-39 Males = 94/708
- All Males = 575/4433
- Clock Time = 1:42:04
- Chip Time = 1:40:35

For perspective, last year this race was my first (and only) Half-Marathon with a time of 1:59:05. From summer 2006 until that race in 2007 I lost 55 lbs. In 2008 I only lost 15 lbs... but I would say that this is the year that I moved from jogger, to runner.

A runner with the ID of Boo*Boo on the Runner's World discussion boards had encouraged me earlier in the week with her story of her best race ever when she ran a 15k race few weeks after a full marathon. Those words of encouragement helped me to believe in myself when I started out fast. I too had the "best race of my life"... so far.