Today I ran my first 10K which also happened to be the largest 10K in the world - the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. 60,000 runners take part in this race every July 4th (and many more apply but it's always limited at 60,000). Sadly my wife could not run with me due to a sprained ankle, but she will be back up and running in less than 2 weeks if the doctor OK's it. So I got up very, very early today at 3AM and took my time getting ready and eating some oatmeal, bread, and a banana. I organized all my stuff the night before so it was ready to go without much thinking. I had to drive over 30 minutes to get to the nearest MARTA train station but it was enjoyable with little to no traffic. The only other people at the station at such an early hour were fellow runners. I was thinking we must all be crazy to get up so early and come out on a rainy holiday to run 6.2 miles.

I made it to the race start area with two hours to kill before we were due to start. I always seem to leave too early but with this being my first time I didn't want to take any chances. It was raining steadily and people were gathering under any building overhang they could find. I spent the time walking around, staying hydrated, and using the porta-potty about a dozen times. It was a little boring until the wheelchair racers started their races. Then I knew our time was coming soon. People started slowly gathering in their start waves (each wave is several thousand runners). Then we got the signal to start moving forward, slowly & anxiously getting closer to the start. I was in wave D so I had two waves of top seeds and the main waves A-C ahead of me. Roughly 14,000 runners would be already on the course by the time I got my chance. It was about this time that the rain finally stopped, and would not return for the rest of the race. When we reached the start line my heart rate was already over 100. We got the signal and made a slow jog over the timing strips before gaining a bit more speed. Thousands of runners just don't get moving very fast at one time.

The first mile was a challenge due to the sheer density of runners at that point. Fortunately it was nice and level and I snaked my way through slower traffic as best I could. I took my time and didn't rush it. Close to the end of the first mile it finally started thinning out enough to get some open air ahead of me. As we hit our 2nd mile, the course began to descend. I picked up a little speed at this point but I still wasn't trying to push it too much. At the end of mile 2 I saw someone off to the side lying on the ground getting CPR. That was shocking and I felt so bad to just keep on running but that's what you do. I don't remember much about mile 3 except it was still downhill and I was picking up more speed. As we hit the halfway point I was looking for the "Cardiac Hill" everyone talks about (right next to a hospital). I went up a small hill which then leveled out and I thought "was that it?" Nope - another larger hill came into view - that was it. But honestly it wasn't that bad. My pace dropped a little but I was passing people all the way up that hill. The top was around the end of 4 miles and the course rolled gently up and down most of the way after that. By now I was still feeling very good so I pushed on a bit faster. Around the end of mile 5 there's one last short hill and then it's a downhill dash to the finish. I really felt energized as I approached mile 6 and poured on the speed on the downhill slope. My Garmin had already told me I ran 6.2 miles but I was just hitting the 6-mile course marker. Darn those GPS units for always making me think I am further along! I saw the finish line at this point and gave it all I could. When I crossed the line I felt an enormous sense of relief, although I couldn't help but keep thinking about that guy at mile 2.

We made our left turn into Piedmont Park to collect water, T-shirts, and snacks. With all the rain we had the park was a total mud pit. Not quite the epic level of Woodstock but close. Our shoes sunk and squished into a brown ooze hiding deceptively under lush green grass. I finished my ice-cold water in record time and got my coveted Peachtree T-shirt and hit the track club tent for some Waffle House food. I didn't linger around long and made the long, uphill walk back to the nearest MARTA station. It was a sweaty ride back with that train packed full of runners!

After getting home and looking at my Garmin record I was hoping I would get an official time under 50 minutes. My software told me I ran 6.34 miles with a best 10K time somewhere in there of 49:48. This afternoon the official times were posted and mine was 50:40. Darn - not under 50 but I am still happy with that. I am even happier that I did it while feeling great the entire race. First time that happened! Based on my place I am in the top 7% of runners in that race.

Here are my split times

Mile Pace (min/mile)
1 8:44
2 8:08
3 7:47
4 8:14 - this was the hills
5 7:53
6 7:45
7 7:01 - this was the last 0.34 mile

Sorry for the long post! I hope everyone has a safe & happy holiday! Rain is coming again here so we will just stay in and rest.

-Tim