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.

Race Report: Peachtree Road Race

Previous PR: 47:53 (5/6/17)
90% Goal: 1:00
50% Goal: 57:00
10% Goal: 55:00
Result: 52:02

I had zero ambition to race or put any effort or pressure into Peachtree 2018. It's always hot, and the course isn't ideal at all for a PR. Beyond that, I knew I was going to have the mile test within five days of July 4. 

 

Bucket List Item: Run Peachtree in a Sports Bra
CHECK.

Pre-race, we had the normal awesome meet-ups with friends, as usual. There is always a huge group of ATC folks who volunteer with Corral C, so that's where the party ends up being. This works out well since I've always been within 1 corral of them. 

pre-race Corral C fun

Because 5:30am is our favorite time for a "date"

We camped out near the port-a-potties for awhile post-photo, and then one of my teammates and I went off for a short warm-up, just to get the lead out of our legs. Ugh, that felt slooooooooooooooow. Saw a few friends as we made our way to Corral B, where we met up with another teammate. B, B, and I had zero plans or ambition for the run, so we all figured we'd just start together and see what happened. 

The first time I looked at my watch was around the 0.7mi mark. I was hoping to see more distance on it. We were definitely going faster than I'd wanted to, but I was holding it, and didn't feel like it was so fast that I wanted to back off from my friends. We clocked the first mile in 8:35. 

Miles 2 and 3 are also primarily downhill. We kept the pace, and even got a bit faster, clocking 8:15 and 8:03. I remember joking "we're slowing down on Cardiac, riiiiight?" to the other girls, thinking that I wanted to get off this progression run train NOW. 

Weeeee, elevation madness

One of my teammates walked a bit as we hit the hill. The other and I continued up, and then circled back (yes, we ran extra distance during a race-- literally we ran over to the left sidewalk, ran down it for a bit, opposite the course, until we found our friend, and then rejoined her and continued running). This happened twice before she, ultimately, said she wasn't feeling it and that we should go ahead.

couple walk breaks.. and some crazy high cadence instances

And then there were two. 

I actually think all three of us may have been together for this picture, but the photog only got two... 

We stayed together for another mile or so, until she told me to go ahead and that she was going to slow up a bit. I was feeling GREAT by this point, and really wanted to keep going and finish strong... even if "finish strong" meant "run another two miles strong". So, I did. 

It was fun to push a bit. I wasn't pushing anywhere close to a race pace, was definitely at or around a tempo effort for where I was. I kept up the pace for the rest of the race, keeping effort steady. I had a few moments where I felt like slowing up, but those passed quickly (as soon as I reached the top of those little hills). 

When I finally turned on 10th, I reminded myself I still had a looooooong way to go. I saw another runner friend ahead of me and wondered if I could catch him without too much effort. Nope. I gave a solid push, but so did he. Could I have caught him? Eh, maybe... but it would have required more effort than I was willing to give. 

whoa, my HR monitor graph looks feasible for once!!!

zoomy zoom

I finished in 52:00 chip time, which is pretty awesome. That's my 2nd fastest 10K ever, and a huge Peachtree PR, so I'm quite pleased. Plus, I love how this race FELT. There was no pressure, and I performed really well, especially the back 5K, because of it. I'm also super grateful to my teammates for the fast start, because I wouldn't have ever gone out that fast on my own.  

check out that last LONG kick

After I crossed the finish, I waited for my teammates, which was my favorite. I loved getting to go through the chute with them, collecting t-shirts, taking pictures, etc. So much love for these women. 

#team

Post-Race Reflections:

• I am SO ready to turn this mile training into something more. Today fueled my fire for another race. I can't wait to see what I can do in a 5K or 10K this fall.
• I had EXACTLY even 5K splits this race. How crazy is that? 

• The Top 500 Female cutoff this year was 50:02. I'm a little bummed that I took it SO easy because that was completely in-range for me today, but, had I "gone for it", my race day would have been a lot more stressful and not nearly as fun. Plus, the mental pressure might've slowed me down so much that I wouldn't have gotten it at all. Who knows? 
• Yay, Peachtree.