Race Report: Peachtree Road Race

 Previous PR: 47:53 (5/6/2017)

90% Goal: 8:30/mi (52:49)
50% Goal: 8:00/mi (49:43)
10% Goal: 7:45/mi (48:09)
Result: 48:58 official (though, by GPS watch distance, it was 7:45/mi)

Oh, look. I got an "A Wave" bib this year! :D 
(thanks, COVID)

Training:

I'm in the middle of training for a marathon I'm not running with my training partner. The plan we're doing is a custom one by Coach Betsy, and is probably the hardest/most intense plan I've done. We have three workouts a week (not new), and there's almost always a workout component to our long runs (this is new to me). Mileage has been in the high 40s, though I've had a few illnesses over the past few weeks that have taken me out a couple days.

I'm not doing any strength training or yoga while in this six-day-a-week plan, and that's been a bit of a change for me. I'd love to, but now that I'm back in the office full-time, and going to chorus rehearsals on Tuesday nights, and have two kids in daycare/school (read: Contagion Land), it's just tough. 

Coming into Peachtree, here's what my last ~10 days looked like:

Takeaway: there was no "taper" for this race. 

Before:

This was a weird Peachtree, namely because it's the first one I've ever done without my husband. Every year we've lived here, we've traveled to/from the race together, with our pre-race pump-you-up jams blasting while we brush our teeth in the morning and make the drive over to the MARTA station. This year, we opted to split our races between the two available days, hoping to take the kids down to cheer on the running parent (didn't end up happening to due to sick kid). 

Fortunately, my training partner and I ended up carpooling together, which made a huge difference for me. I was beyond grateful to not be heading down to the race "alone", and to have her to warm-up with, talk to, etc. until the start. 

Weee, start line!

Race: 

I wasn't sure how my body would do today, but was kind of hoping for around a 50:00 10K (~8:00). I was also hoping it would feel relatively easy. 

Nope. 

I checked my pace a couple times in the first mile, and was disappointed to see that I was just over an 8:00 pace. This was supposed to be the fast part of the race, the downhill part. If I couldn't get under 8:00 here, there was no way I was going to "make it up" on the latter, uphill half. 

The second and third miles were better, but I remember still feeling like I wanted it to be easier than it was. Every time I looked, I was still perilously close to the 8:00 mark. I desperately wished I were either well under (and could make it an "easy run") or well above (and could say, "eh, never mind"... and make it an easy run without the guilt). 

5K Split: 25:00

Daaaaaaangit. 

I was always just close enough that the sub-50 was within my grasp... if I didn't give up. 

Splits:

8:03

7:49

7:37

8:12

7:40

7:33

and then a kick to close in 48:58. 

so grateful for running friends

Post-Mile Reflections:

I remember when a sub-50 10K was a pipe dream. Today, I did it in the middle of marathon training, on a couple rough nights of sleep, without too much effort. For being as fit as I am now, though, it still felt harder than I wanted. Guess I need to give credit to those "extenuating circumstances". 

I'm proud of my run, happy to have had such a great experience, and also grateful that I did actually beat my Virtual Peachtree 2020 time of 49:37 (with a stroller... but also on flats). Weeeeee, running. 

Oh, and if my counting skills work, I think I might've come away with a "Top 1000" mug for the year, too... !!!! 

This picture represents SO much work over the past 10 years :)

So grateful for everything running has given me.