July 4th. Fireworks, cookouts, hot days at the beach. For me, it's a new tradition: running the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta, Georgia. This year marked my 5th running of the actual, non-COVID-affected race. I had only one goal: to finish the race strong and without emergency medical assistance. Last year, I blew out a knee a couple of miles in and had to limp to the finish. I just wanted to go the distance. However, I made some adjustments to my race-day routine that I felt would make the experience run more smoothly. Some worked. Some did not. Here we go.
The first change was getting to the race. For the past three years, I have been walking to a Route 30 bus stop, then catching a bus to the Lindburgh subway station. Shuttle buses (one after the other, like clockwork) then transport the runners to a point near the starting area. I did not have much of a reason to change things up the first couple of times. Waiting at the bus stop early in the morning on a holiday was strangely serene; the bus was on time to the minute, there was no wait on the shuttles, and perhaps most importantly, there were port-a-potties at the subway station.
Last year, everything was running smoothly until the shuttle ride. The bus became stuck in heavy traffic and remained stationary for extended periods. Some runners who had early start waves exited the bus early and ran through traffic to get to the start line. While the delay did not significantly impact my pre-race routine, I felt that an alternative would be a good idea to explore.
My plan was simple: take the Route 8 bus to the Brookhaven subway station, then take the subway one whole stop to the Lenox station, which is very close to the starting area. My reasoning with the subway was that Brookhaven was the second stop on the line. With an early start, I doubted that many runners would be on this line. I figured about 10 people would be on the platform. Who knows, maybe I could strike up a conversation with someone and receive some key racing insights.
The bus was on time, and there were about half a dozen other passengers on the bus, but no other runners. As we turned onto the road leading to the subway station, one of the other riders suddenly screamed, "Look at all the people!!" Yes, the platform was full of runners, but at this point, it did not look too bad, and I knew that MARTA was running extra trains. So I exit the bus, get to the platform, and see that it is wall-to-wall runners, four to five people deep. The first train was full, but I managed to squeeze onto the second train with no real time concerns. Glad I took that pre-race shower to get the blood pumping.
We arrived at Lenox just as a southbound train was unloading. This caused a cattle at the stockyard effect, to the point where the escalator had to be monitored for weight limits. However, things got better as soon as I exited the station. The signage to the wave areas was fairly well marked, and there were port-a-potties en route, which I took full advantage of.
At the start area, my usual practice is predictable. Water, another visit to the port-a-potty, more water, a warmup run in some secluded area (thank you Wieuca Road Baptist Church for the use of your empty parking lot), a photo to post to Facebook, and then join my start wave. I try out another change here, listening to music. I am concerned that it will drain my phone's battery and not provide much of a boost, but I will note and evaluate. I am planning to go with a run/walk strategy; 30/30 for the first half of the race, 20/30 for the second. While I use the Galloway method all the time in training, I have rarely changed intervals mid-race. Again, we will soon find out.
The race starts, and some things quickly become apparent. The music is useless; even with headphones, the noise drowns out the radio. The 30/30 is working well; the first half of the race is slightly downhill, and the even pace allows me to bank some time. I am also avoiding unofficial water stops, for now anyway.
At 3 miles, I switch to 20/30 intervals, and the change on my app is seamless. The heat is starting to take a toll, and the back half of the course is much steeper. Walking breaks are longer and more frequent, but I am still hoping to finish under 80 minutes. I am finding that my calibration of finish time is not very good, and at this point, I am just hoping for a healthy run.
I take the turn onto 10th Street with hopes of still making my goal time, but that fades with the narrowing of the road and the sea of humanity I will have to pass to achieve it. I finish at 1:23, not terrible considering the conditions. I got the bottle of water. I got the finisher's peach. And most importantly, the Peachtree finishers' t-shirt. Time well spent.
My wife and daughter did not come to see me run this year, so for the first time, I had to navigate MARTA back home. I had two options: walk about a mile to catch shuttle buses to Lindbergh Station, or walk a mile and four blocks to the Midtown Station. Either way, I would have to go to Brookhaven and catch the bus home. I went with the shuttle buses; there was a lot of waiting for both an empty bus and a northbound train at the station. I hope that next year, my family members will attend, both for a ride and obligatory photos with the grandkids.
I already signed up for next year. I am already evaluating all these things. Isn't it wonderful?
