Peachtree Road Race 10K

35th Place in 32:10

Well, this past 4th of July I attended the prestigious Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta, Georgia, to open my season of summer racing and to check my fitness level. I had always heard about Peachtree and fortunately this was the year I was able to attend the world's largest 10K, with over 55,000 participants.

First off, Atlanta has to be the hilliest city in America. I arrived on Sunday morning and was scheduled for a 10-mile training run the day before the race, so I as left from my hotel room, I tried to keep in mind what my Coach had said, "find some flats to run on..," meaning, "stay away from the hills, you flat-lander to minimize the damage on your muscles." After about 5 minutes of running, I was just about walking up an incline. Every street I turned onto to avoid hills, just brought more and more hills. Finally, I had to call it a day, as I was afraid I was trashing my legs prior to the race. My simple 10-mile run was turning into quite a workout, and all I could think about was how unfair it would be to train in such a hilly environment. The strength-advantages gained from such inclines and declines could be nothing but positive, and I started hating the fact that I lived in Houston...

But if there is a positive to living in Houston, it is the acclimitazation to heat. I had been training in up to 110-degree (heat index) weather, so on race morning, when the thermometer read 73-degrees, I found it quite pleasant. Now, I could have done without the 93% humidity (actually, I am sure everyone could have done without that), but I had to take what was given on race day. All the locals were complaining about how hot and humid it was and I was standing there reveling in how nice it was... but complaining about the HILLS!

Peachtree has a phenomenal wheelchair race. I have never seen so many wheelchair competitors. Peachtree completely caters to the three-wheeling road racers and they were sent off in waves on Monday morning. After warming up in a parking garage (the only flat land I could find), I headed to the starting line where I met up with Australian Andrew Letherby. Letherby and I both competed in the now defunct Trans America Athletic Conference and he won the Cross Country championships for Georgia State my freshman year at FIU where I placed 11th and I just remember him destroying the field and running so easily on the muddy course (he is about 5'3). Letherby went on to win Bronze at the Commonwealth Marathon Championships in 2002. Anyhow, we both lined up on the women's side of the starting mats, chatting, as I soon noticed that course record-holder (30:32!) Lornah Kiplagat was lining up...

Lornah Kiplagat is a running goddess. Her 30:32 course record at Peachtree is as stout as course records come, and I knew I would not have a chance if she was in such shape. Kiplagat entered this race on a 7-race win streak to start 2005, and was a 3-time champion of Peachtree. After checking her out, I decided to key off of her, because I knew she was fit. How fit, I would soon find out...

The gun sounds and we're off. My goal for this race was to approach 32:00, as close as possible. 5:05-5:10 miles. Granted, the course gradually heads downhill to 2.5 miles before you begin on the unforgiving hills. Within 100 meters of the start, Kiplagat is gone, as she would lead the entire field through the opening mile in 4:31! I tried to run steady and relaxed and was running well as I passed through the Mile in 4:55, fast, but comfortable even though I was behind about 10 of the lead women. I did not catch my 2-mile split, but hit three miles in high-14:40's, passing 5K in 15:26 and actually thinking I may have an opportunity for a road best, as I was feeling good, but then the hills started, and that was my unraveling. I remember thinking about Lance Armstrong, as before I had left for Atlanta, my family and I had watched his amazing individual time trial and that inspired me. So, I started thinking, "Lance's time trial.. catch Ullrich (Kiplagat).. push yourself, if he can give the effort, so can you." Perhaps I got too aggressive at this point, but..

I am usually a strong hill runner, as I perform best on challenging courses, but I had gone out too hard and my legs were beginning to feel that "trashed" sensation. I passed 4 miles in 20:20 and than really started struggling, as my left leg just shut down. Passing 5 miles in 25:45, the hills never stopped and I just wanted to finish, though I was having some good battles within the race with a couple of other Americans. All I could wait for was the finish line to be in sight and for my leg to come alive, but it almost didn't until I got passed by some guy in a pair of Nike Pegasus, like he was on a training run. That startled me into a wild kick the last .2 miles, as I caught one last runner before the line. I didn't even know my time. My legs were trashed, I was soaked and tired, and it was a lonely walk to get the coveted Peachtree T-Shirt.

Seriously, the Peachtree T-Shirt is a huge deal, as they even had an "American Idol-like" cellphone voting. Being one of the first to finish (35th I would later learn), I was amazed how many people stopped me on my walk to the MARTA (train station that was close to 3 miles away and I was in no mood to jog there) to look at the shirt, "wow, that's THE shirt! Can I see it.." Sure.

I ended up having breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts (wish Houston had them) and then just lying in bed, physically sick. I had really pushed myself almost beyond my fitness, especially with that final sprint to the finish and with the 93% humidity perhaps I had dehydrated and been too confident in my Houston-heat training, but I laid in bed feverish, shaky, and just feeling like I could die. I took as much a nap as I could before awaking and heading out to the airport to head home and spend the 4th with Perla and Madelyn, for I knew they would make me feel better.

And, of course they did, as Perla had plenty of stories about Madelyn's 1K at the RunWild 5K... but more on that, later...