On Thanksgiving morning, November 28, 2013, I completed
the Atlanta Half Marathon with a finish time of 2:29:34 as a volunteer leader
for the 2:30 Pace Team. Two days later, on
November 30, I completed the Helen Holiday Trail Half Marathon with a finish
time of 2:44:13.
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| Photo courtesy of Martin Kratzer Photography |
After several humbling months of injury and inactivity, I am
now training consistently again, and I am well on my way down the long road
that will return me to peak fitness. Unfortunately,
the ability to function in sub-freezing temperatures is still not in my bag of
tricks. Many runners proudly claim that
they love racing in cold weather, and that they would take winter temperatures
over the summer heat any day. I agree
with this mindset, but only to a certain point.
I can stay outside all day in 30 to 40-degree weather, but temperatures
in the low 20s push the envelope of my comfort zone a little too far. When I found my way to the Atlanta Track Club
Pace Team tent in the parking lot of Turner Field next to the start area of the
Atlanta Half Marathon early on this 23-degree morning and waited for my fellow
pace leaders, one friend observed, “Jason,
you look like you’re getting ready to rob a train.” Sure enough, I did look the part, since
my face was covered in a polyester Inov-8 head wrap that resembled one of the
cloth masks worn by Jesse James and other legendary train robbers in centuries
past. I will admit that the idea of
holding up a train simply to come in from the freezing cold and stand by
burning engine coals sounded quite good to me at the time.
Thankfully, the brutal chill was somewhat alleviated when
I took one of the 2:30 pace flags and made my way to the middle of a crowded
corral to join my fellow Pace Team leaders Miranda, Crystal, and Dan. The Atlanta Half Marathon, with its runner
population of nearly 11,000, is the perfect race for those who want to be in
close proximity with others for the duration of the event, so the human windshield
stayed in full force as we crossed the start line and enjoyed the first couple
of miles that led through downtown Atlanta.
In recent years, I have settled into a Thanksgiving
tradition of volunteering to help lead the 2:30 pace team at this race event, because
I enjoy the camaraderie among the runners, many of whom are participating in a
half marathon for the first time. In the
past, the comfortable speed of this pace group has helped me to recover from
longer-distance races during the fall season.
This time around, however, the half marathon distance would be the
farthest distance that I had completed in several months, and I would need the
pace to guide me to the finish. In a
sense, I felt as though I were a first-time half-marathon runner myself. The 2:30 pace team has an established
two-minute-run/one-minute-walk interval routine, so this strategy falls in line
with the Galloway training that I utilize for many pavement races.
The race course of the Atlanta Half Marathon features a
luxurious downhill stretch for a long while after the roads leave the downtown
Atlanta area to circle the western perimeter of the Georgia Tech campus. The first notable hill greets runners just
after five miles, as we leave the Atlantic Station and climb over Peachtree
Road before descending into Piedmont Park.
After we run through Piedmont Park at the seventh mile, the rolling
hills hit full force and keep on rolling for the remainder of the race. Since the Pace Teams must maintain close to
an even speed throughout the event, the ability to keep everyone running
consistently up and down the hills in the final miles can be a challenge. This year, my ability to keep myself running happily
during the final miles was a challenge in itself. My interval timer was keeping me grounded
while the other pace team leaders checked their GPS watches to assure us that
we were maintaining close to the 11:27 minute-per-mile pace necessary to hit
the finish line at the right time. Since
I love motivating others, I took advantage of every opportunity to take my mind
off of my own rusty endurance skills by complimenting the first-time half
marathoners around me.
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| Photo courtesy of Miranda Byrd |
Our group crossed the finish line together at 2:29:34,
and we posed for a photo after collecting our impressively-large medals. I had completed my longest running distance
since my fascia tissue injuries had taken hold during the early summer months,
and my legs felt as though I had just completed a 50-mile ultramarathon. As I returned my pace team flag to the
Atlanta Track Club tent and congratulated others, I felt the need to keep
walking so that my legs would not seize up with pain in the cold weather. Fortunately, I was back to my good old self
after an hour of rest, and I felt great for the rest of the day as I spent the
holiday with my family just north of Atlanta.
The next day, I spent most of my time relaxing on the sofa in my apartment
to watch movies, because I only had this one day to rest before my next half
marathon the following morning.
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The Helen Holiday Trail Half Marathon, which takes place
at Unicoi State Park in Helen, Georgia, was an inaugural race organized and
directed by one of my good running friends, Sean “Run Bum” Blanton, and the
entire event encapsulated the fun-loving aesthetic of his epic sense of
adventure, while providing an excellent opportunity for beginning trail runners
to discover the addictive charms of racing through the woods. The 40-degree temperatures, while chilly,
were noticeably more forgiving on this day than they had been on Thanksgiving
morning, but my friend, Kate, and I were thankful for the 10:00 AM start time
as we carpooled to Helen from Atlanta. When
we arrived at the start area in a field next to the Unicoi Lodge, I was
thankful that I did not have to stand outdoors to help assemble a pace group,
and I enjoyed remaining inside my warm truck until it was time for Sean to
greet the crowd with his introductory speech.
As the race started, I settled into the back of the pack
with another of my local running friends, Elizabeth, since we had both decided
that we would be taking plenty of long walk breaks on this trail course. The first mile of the course consisted mostly
of road running to thin the crowd before we turned onto a generously wide
single-track trail into the woods. An
easy trek around the beautiful Unicoi Lake was just what the doctor ordered to
get the blood flowing in my legs and to ease me back into running mode so soon
after the half marathon two days before.
After circling the lake, we crossed some paved roads and continued to
enjoy the wide trail that took us into picturesque marsh areas before ascending
a few long graduals switchback climbs.
Elizabeth and I had settled into a strategy of walking
almost every notable incline, and, although my pace seemed sluggish compared to
the effortless running of my pre-injury days, I was still happy that we were
passing a handful of other runners. Since
this was my first time running on the trails of Unicoi State Park, and I had no
idea what obstacles awaited me later in the course, I was content to save
energy by running and walking at a conversational pace the entire time. I kept commenting on the beauty of the
terrain, because this course displayed the north Georgia mountains at their
best on a sunny day. Since Sean had
described the course as a series of “30 to 60-second climbs”, our inability to
reach the top of each peak within any remote semblance of that time frame
became an ongoing joke.
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| Photo courtesy of Wayne Downey |
The climbing was balanced out by some of the most fun
downhill stretches that I have ever encountered, since the wide trails provided
ample room for me to watch my step and to pass by, or be passed by, other
runners. All the while, the glorious
scents of late autumn, namely fallen leaves, crisp air, and burning fireplaces
in the distance, kept a smile on my face.
After roughly seven miles of running and hiking up and down these scenic
trail hills, we turned onto a paved road leading us through the town of Helen.
Helen, Georgia, a former logging town that was
subsequently transformed into a re-creation of a Bavarian village, always
impresses me with its well-played balance of rustic charm and tourist trap
atmosphere. A notable feature of this
small community is a funnel cake business that I always loved visiting during
my nutritionally carefree days, because these fresh funnel cakes are usually
worth the six months that each one probably takes off of my life. Since the race course veered along the
outskirts of Helen’s main street, however, I was spared the dilemma of even
having to decide whether or not to halt my run for a funnel cake stop. Temptations always seem to find their way to
me instead of the other way around, and, as we climbed a hill to the second aid
station of the course, I found myself staring at a vast table spread of fresh
pumpkin pie and various other baked goods.
Since I had finally rebooted my Paleo diet over the past month, and
stuck to the plan even on Thanksgiving Day, I simply grabbed a banana, thanked
the volunteers, and resumed my run.
After a mile and half of gentle climbs and speedy
descents, Elizabeth and I arrived at the Mile 9 water crossing, where we
quickly made our way across 20 feet of a calf-deep mountain stream. After running for a short while, though, my
shoes and socks felt completely dry.
The Helen Holiday Trail Half Marathon ultimately ended up
being slightly short of a half marathon distance, but we resumed our casual
pace of downhill running and uphill hiking to conserve energy for the unknown
terrain that lay ahead. I was proud that
my legs were still functioning after completing a half marathon so soon before,
but I also realized that it would be quite a while until I had my full
ultramarathon mojo back. This particular
race lived up to its promise of being a perfect light course to introduce
runners to the trail, though, and my high spirits soared all the while because
of the easy trail stretches. I will not
go so far as to say that the trails of this course were groomed, but they were
noticeably less technical in nature than the terrain that I am accustomed to
running.
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The finish area greeted us much sooner than we expected,
and I thoroughly enjoyed an easy descent that took us into the open, where we
ran around the perimeter of the parking area field and crossed the finish line. I had completed this race in 2:44:13 and
placed 151 out of 190 runners. I gave Sean a high-five as I passed through
the finish chute, and then enjoyed hanging out with other runners for a few
minutes while I ate some orange slices from the food table.
Since I have been completing short distances now that I
am running pain-free again, it was a tall order even to finish two half
marathons back-to-back. I am grateful
that I made the most of the Thanksgiving holidays by completing both the
Atlanta Half Marathon and the Helen Holiday Trail Half Marathon in one piece,
and returning to my workout routine immediately after. It is a blessing to be running consistently
again.
Thanks to the Atlanta Track Club for another perfect
Atlanta Half Marathon and thanks to Sean Blanton and Run Bum Tours for their
brilliant inaugural event with the Helen Holiday Trail Half Marathon. My plans for next year’s Thanksgiving break
are already written in stone.
See you on the trails.
Jason
