2014 AJC Peachtree Road Race – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is a 44 year Atlanta tradition.  Starting with 110 runners in 1970, the race has grown to be the largest 10K in the world at 60,000 participants.  To quote the boss, Bruce Springsteen, "Getting an audience is hard.  Sustaining an audience is hard.  It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time."  With that said, let's get down to the race recap!

The Good

This was my 7^th time running this event and it did not disappoint.  The weather was a perfect cool 66 degrees with what felt like very little humidity.  This was a perfect day for a race to celebrate our country’s independence, US 10K championships, and kick off the holiday weekend.  I felt very good going into the race.  I had a great training period, no nagging injuries, and respectable tune up races where I felt relatively comfortable toeing the start line.

Ahhh… but today was proof that even the best build up, doesn’t translate well on race day.  Overall, I had a great race… but it was definitely 2 different races.  The first half of the race went according to plan.  Oh, but that second half is where I went full on survival mode…

Let's go, let's go!!

I'm giving you all she's got Capt'n!!

I attribute several reasons why the drastic drop in pace, started out faster than I should have, stomach issues at mile 4, Cardiac hill is all they say it is.  All of that doesn’t really matter… I ran my race and very happy with the results… 

3 years running strong!!!

The Bad

For all that was good about the race I struggled to find something negative to say about the event.  Sure there was the issue with the T-shirts, but this isn't the first time it has happened (Peachtree History) and with a race this size I’m sure it won’t be the last.  Sure there was the issue with race timing.  Let’s put this in perspective… there were 57,556 official finishers; of which 28,724 where men and 28,832 where women.  For the Atlanta Track Club (ATC) to organize and put on an event of this scale, +/- 15 seconds in some cases, is not unreasonable to have a glitch or two.  The key thing is that once the issue was realized it was quickly resolved.  Having ran several races of smaller scale I can tell you I haven’t seen race directors/organizations rectify the situation as quickly as ATC did.

Moving on… now I saw reports of food shortages at the finish line.  Many of the back of the pack runners unfortunately didn’t have any food when they finished the race.  One can only speculate some of the reasons for this.  I can only guess this was brought about by 2 factors… happy and energetic volunteers willing to give what they had to the runners, and runners taking enough food to feed their family.  As stated, Peachtree is an annual tradition.  A race this size brings out all types of runners from the beginner to more advanced runner.  Many of the people running Peachtree are either first time runners or only run this one event each year.  I’m of the opinion that the majority of the runners treated this event like a local BBQ or family reunion.  ‘It’s a party, there’s food everywhere, I’m entitled to it, and so is my family’.  The only thing I will say to that is yes it’s a celebration, but for those of us who are fortunate enough to finish early let’s remember there are many other runners still out on the course.  It’s up to the veteran runners to spread the word about race etiquette not only to the new runners but the family and friends that come to cheer you on.  It’s an unrealistic expectation to think the race organizers will have a bottomless supply of food (and T-shirts – stick with the shirt you ordered; resolve it later).

The Ugly

Drum roll…  There is no ugly.  ATC put on a great race.  This was the 44^th year of the Peachtree, 57,556 finishers, +3,500 volunteers, and more than 200,000 people cheering.  There were people who ran their first race/Peachtree and those that celebrated their 20^th running.  Then there was Meb Keflezighi, 2014 Boston Marathon winner, who did the unthinkable… started at the very end and past 22,780 runners to raise money for the Kilometer Kids program.  It was truly an awesome event, an awesome day, and a great way to celebrate Independence Day.  An event like this, in my opinion, there is nothing ugly.

Keep Running!!
Jerome

Keep Running!!!

Braves Country 5K – The little race that could!

The Braves Country 5K, while a new distance, the event itself has become a Father’s Day tradition of sorts.  Starting and finishing inside of Turner Field this is a nice event which presents a reasonable challenge and for some a nice tune up race for the AJC Peachtree Road Race (PRR) on July 4^th.

This year there was a new, yet welcome, twist to the event.  In year’s past this race was a 4 miler, twisting and turning in the neighborhoods near Turner Field.  This year the event was scaled down to a 5K.  In my opinion, this turned out to be a great move by the folks with the Atlanta Track Club.  Any runner in the Atlanta area will tell you… heat, hills, and humidity are just a part of the fabric of the Atlanta running community and I think having 1 mile (technically .9 of a mile) less of hills to contend with was very well received by the race participants. 

Two months removed from my marathon, and with 3 weeks left until PRR, I felt participating in this race would be a good benchmark to see how my training was progressing.  Overall, I’m happy with the results, but I see where there are some areas which need addressing.  Time will tell if I will be able to make the needed adjustments before the PRR.

My final results:

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 19:17.8 3.12 6:11 1 5:50.0 1.00 5:50 2 6:17.9 1.00 6:18 3 6:27.4 1.00 6:27 4 :42.6 0.12 5:41

Bottom of Form

Obviously, you can see I started out fast and my pace started to slow.  I attribute this to focusing more on marathon related workouts as my body is more conditioned to race at a “slower” pace compared to 5K race pace.  Either way I’ll take it.  If you’re in the Atlanta area and can fit this into your schedule next year I highly recommend it.  Until then… Keep Running!!

        

Photo credit: Jennie Coakley

Boston Marathon Recap - The Untold Experience

This race report won’t follow the traditional reports you may be used to seeing.  Given the events of last year, this event is too huge to focus on the marathon itself.  In my opinion, Boston is an experience like none other.  As such, any race report that only focuses on the marathon itself doesn’t give the reader a view into what the Boston Marathon is all about.  The mecca that is the Boston Marathon is about the city, the people who live there, and the unyielding support they give to provide a world class event.  To overcome the largest domestic terrorist threat on US soil since 9-11, the people of Boston opened their arms and we as a running community should be ever grateful.

From the moment I stepped on the plane I could sense a buzz in the air.  People were smiling, the flight crew even joked with us, saying you guys going to run some race?  From the airport a couple of us went right downtown – to the finish line.  We were just in time to see the teen 1KM race.  The energy was electrifying and you knew this weekend would be special.  Many people were saying we are here to finish the race and take our city back. 

Cordell Hull stated, “There is no greater responsibility resting upon peoples and governments everywhere than to make sure that enduring peace will this time – at long last – be established and maintained.”  A marathon by no means can erase the hurt and harm brought to those who tragically lost their lives, neither can it feel a void.  But, it’s as if the event itself has brought a sense of peace to the city, by knowing the event will take place and finish it will bring about an enduring peace.

People from all over the world came to see the city, to run the marathon, or just show their support for their loved ones.  Many, like me, were there to run their first Boston Marathon.  Others were returning to finish the race.  People like my running buddy, Joe Lenahan, were back to “take back the finish line”.  Runners are truly a special breed.  We all come from different walks of life for one common goal.  This goal brings us together to create unique bonds.  It’s through those bonds we are all like family.  I met people from as far away as Australia and India, as well as many others from various states across the US.  We were all happy to play a small part in helping Boston move forward. 

As for the race itself… like any other race, my intentions were to race it.  Miles 1-13 all was going according to plan.  But after mile 13, something hit me… maybe it was the deafening sound of the ladies of Wessley College, or realizing that for the last 13 miles there have been people along the course cheering the entire way.  I found myself not really focusing on racing but actually taking in the various sites and sounds of each of the towns I was going through.  Reading the signs, hearing the cheers, and just getting caught up in the emotion of the event.  It was truly amazing to see first-hand.  About mile 18-21 I tried to check back in and go ahead and finish fast, but I was honestly mentally checked out from a racing standpoint and decided to play with the crowd the rest of the way.  Many spectators were cheering USA, USA… after the race I found out Meb Keflezighi had won the men’s race, so I assume it was for him.  I just can’t say enough good things about the race and the crowd support, which I will grade as an A.  I’ll give myself a C+ for overall racing, but A for Spirit of the Marathon. J

 

Mind Games

Baseball great Yogi Berra once stated, "Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical."  I'm of the opinion this same logic applies to running... any endurance sport for that matter.  Want proof?  Ask any runner you know what's the hardest part of any run - starting.  Once you get going your endorphin's kick in and you start to feel great.  Before you know it you forget all the reasons why you didn't want to run in the first place.  I recently finished reading Elite Minds by Dr. Stan Beecham.  Dr. Beecham is a Sport Psychologist who has worked with many athletes at the collegiate, Olympic, and professional stage.  His views on physical ability versus mental make-up, doing the impossible, and belief there is only one way to fail is what drew me to his book.

"You can't put a limit on anything.  The more you dream, the farther you get." ~ Michael Phelps

Dr. Beecham believes that in order to reach a certain level of success you must be completely all in - give it 100 percent mental focus.  Your brain issues the commands, its your body's job to execute.  As we get older we tend to condition ourselves to think athletic ability is tied to having a perfect body, perfect weather, perfect genes.  Maybe yes, maybe no.  What I do know is this, through hard work, focus, and determination if you fully commit to the process of becoming a better runner by changing your mental outlook to succeed you will then succeed.  "What you believe about yourself and your world is the primary determinant to what you do and, ultimately, how well you do it."

"Do not try and bend the spoon.  That's impossible.  Instead... only try to realize the truth... There is no spoon."

How do the great athletes become successful?  Are they born successful, do they have a secret pirate map that leads them to the treasure, are they the chosen one?  To make the impossible possible you have to find what works for you... do what you are naturally capable of and continue to build on that success.  Dr. Beecham posited a quote on how people achieve success, "First do what is necessary... Then do the possible...And then you will find yourself doing the impossible."  If you want to start running or be a better runner then go out and do what's necessary... put in the work.  Impossible is around the corner.

"I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." ~ Thomas Edison

News flash!  There will come a time where you will stumble.  What you do at that moment is what will define you.  Dr. Beecham illustrates a story of a Special Forces soldier in charge of selecting and training potential candidates.  "The only way one could fail the task was to give up."  Too often when striving to try new things, or get better at something its the grey matter between our ears which causes us to stop before we've accomplished what we were after.  Sometimes if we pause and reflect on where we were, where we are, and what options we have to do next to get to the next goal we may find that we are closer to success than we first thought.  "No matter how desperate your situation may be, there is always something you can do."

My final note...  Success is not a destination, its a journey.  Don't limit your thinking, realize impossible isn't real, and always seek other options.  Get your mind right and the body will follow.  Until next time... and Keep Running!

~ Jerome