Day 5,876: That fever dream known as the Tokyo Marathon (star #3!)

Runaway train, never going back

Wrong way on a one-way track

Seems like I should be getting somewhere

Somehow I'm neither here nor there

 -Soul Asylum

About a year ago I received a notification from the Tokyo Marathon Foundation that I was one of 50 people globally to win a bib to the 2023 Tokyo Marathon by participating in one of the foundation's virtual half marathons. It was an incredible gift as Tokyo is one of the hardest World Marathon Majors to get into via lottery or really by any other means other than charity or tour group.

It would be a chance to earn my third star as part of the majors' Six Star Finisher program -- I'd received my first star in Chicago in 2010 and my second in Berlin in 2018.

This past training cycle it was all about regaining my focus. After I finished my second Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon last April (in 3:53) I was all out of focus. I kind of sleptwalked through the Philmont Scout Ranch's first ever trail race (I ran in the 19-mile heavy half, at altitudes up to 9,200') and then really struggled in the California International Marathon in December, running it in 4:47 after almost trying to find an Uber off the course at Mile 18 until one of my Hyland's teammates found me and then we walked/ran to the finish.

So for the next three months a fire was lit under me to train better. And for the most part it worked, as this race was the first time in 14 marathons that I felt like I ran strong from start to finish, even passing people in the last mile. The caveat was that I ran it really slowly, finishing in 4:19 but at least now my third star is out of the way and I can look forward to training harder for my fourth star, the TCS New York City Marathon in November.

Getting There

I lived in Japan for nearly four years, first as an exchange student in college and later as an English teacher. But that part of my life was 30 years ago and it's been 20 years since I last visited Japan. I was a little nervous about what of the language, etc. I remembered.

Last year, the marathon's expo was on the days leading up to the race but you could only go on the day you were assigned. So that forced me to fly in nearly a week before the race. After I made my reservations, they announced that anyone could go on any expo day. Still, it was good to fly in and get acclimated to the jet lag (which I pretty much always have).

I stayed in the Remm Hibiya, which basically is classified in Japan as a "business hotel." It had no frills but was fantastic at about $130 a night and was exactly what I needed. It was a 5 minute walk from Hibiya Park and the same distance from two subway lines. It was about a 10-minute line from the Japan Railways line that provides connection to the Tokyo Monorail, which is an easy way to get to and from Haneda International Airport (and only cost about $5).

From there I spent the days leading up to the start of the expo on Thursday traveling around the city, hunting for plush Pokemon for my kids at the various Pokemon Centers around the city and even catching some early blossoms at nearby Yoyogi Park (where I think I even saw the elite runners doing shakeout runs).

The expo

I decided to go to the expo first thing at 10 a.m. on Thursday. I connected from the west side of the city where I visited Yoyogi Park and the kitschy Harajuku neighborhood. The expo is at Tokyo Big Sight and it's a large convention space. When I got there there was a pretty long line and they hadn't even set up the crowd lines so it was a little chaotic.

All week I had to record my temperature in a health app and they checked for this before letting you in the expo. Still it was amazing to see lots of people not having done this at all, especially when we received several emails from the marathon telling us to do this.

After that you had to go to the bib pick-up spot that was assigned to you. My spot, #7, was not crowded but I saw and heard that a lot of foreigners were assigned to spots #16 and #17 and they waited about 90 minutes for their bib.

From there was a crowded expo space that included another long line to pick up the race T-shirt that was optional and you had to order in advance. It was cash only and I was glad I had on hand the $40 or so needed to get it although when I saw the shirt it didn't impress me that much. From there I could have waited in another long line for the sponsor Asics for other Tokyo Marathon shirts. They had what was available high on display near the top of the expo space. I guess my eyesight wasn't good; I was a little tired from walking around Harajuku previously and didn't get into the second (third?) line for those shirts. Later I had FOMO when I saw some of the designs, which were way better than the official optional shirt I purchased.

Scouting out the start

One of the things they mentioned was for you to scout out the start area since based on your corral (which was based on a recent marathon, hence my 3:53 from Mt. Charleston) you could only enter a particular gate. This area is by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku which is on the west side of the city. So on Saturday I made my way there and sure enough it was pretty confusing but I started from the start and backtracked my way all the way to the train station to know exactly which way to go.

Race day

On race morning I must have gotten up like at 3:30 a.m. because of jet lag. Earlier in the week I had been absolutely hitting the wall starving around 10 a.m. so I wanted to make sure I had eaten sufficiently before the start of the race, which was at 9:05 a.m. By 6:30 a.m. I was out and made my way to the red line Ginza station which has direct service to Shinjuku, about 8 stops. You get a 24-hour metro pass from the expo and it was cool to use. I was a little surprised that the train was not as crowded as I thought it would be. 

From there I navigated the same way as my Saturday scouting mission but right before I got to the part where I would go from the subway to the surface level they had a volunteer with a sign saying to go back the way you came for Gates 1 and 2. I decided to abandon the way I wanted to go and did this. One issue I had was that it was maybe mid-40s out. The subway car was extremely warm and when I got outside and hit the cold air ... I immediately had to go potty.

I was a little worried because the way the volunteer had us go was some kind of long underpass that was already crammed full of people. Despite Shinjuku being a huge train station there did not appear to be a bathroom near me and I started to worry about my options. I surfaced and thought about trying to make it to one of the luxury hotels. The race information instructed us not to do this and sure enough one of the hotels (which coincidentally was one of the first hotels I ever staying in Japan years ago) was checking hotel cards for entry. So I decided to just try to make my way to Gate 2 and hope for the best.

Luckily, there really weren't lines for Gate 2. You had to show on your health app that you had entered in the information from the two antigen tests they gave you at the expo and after that there were dozens of portapotties with no lines. I was very thankful.

Almost like a video game, from there, I climbed some stairs and saw a bunch of Japanese runners changing shoes, etc. before they got to the gear drop. I decided to do the same and changed in my shoes and got everything ready. I had brought a long sleeve shirt from the Tartan Trot that was too snug on me, a silver mylar space blanket and one of those throwaway Atlanta Track Club painters jackets that they gave out after races. I put the painters jacket in my gear bag and checked it and then got in a long line for another portapotty (I should have gone back to the other portapotties but didn't have anything else to do) which took about 50 minutes waiting.

So with just a few minutes to spare I was in the corral. There were a few dozen foreign dudes urinating on the side of buildings before the start, something that was in the race instructions for people not to do. I was pretty cold and shivering and was wondering if I should have brought more clothes. We started to walk up to the start and I ditched the space blanket and long sleeve shirt. I was really shivering and was even deciding whether to pick up someone's random clothes cast aside to stay warm.

The race

Two weird things happened right before the race. For some reason the power meter setting on my watch face got replaced with the timer function (so I had 2 of 4 fields telling me how much time had elapsed)  without me doing anything to the watch and my iPhone had completely gone dead. So I spent my last few moments before the start trying to reboot my phone so I could listen to my playlist.

When the race started there wasn't really anything like it that I've ever experienced. It looked like a stampede! There were probably eight lanes and they were jammed full of runners! It was extremely cool to be running on the street and see trains whizzing by overhead or in the distance. I laughed when my favorite songs from the 90's started to play -- the same songs I used to listen to on a mini disc player when I lived here.

I thought I was running at an 8:45/mile pace and I felt good. But my watch had reverted to regular GPS mode instead of foot pod calculated measuring and the skyscrapers wreaked absolute havoc on my watch. I was running at a 10 min/mile pace and didn't know it. My watch says I finished the marathon having run 27.9 miles. I thought at some point my pace would correct everything but when I crossed the halfway mark in 2:04 I knew that this would likely not happen and I would not break 4 hours today.

Still, I felt really strong. At each 5K I stopped to take a gel and a SaltStick electrolyte capsule. I usually bring fast chews and that's what I thought I had with me but these were capsules and I thought I had to just stop and swallow one. It worked fine though. It was nice to see that my pace was not really hindered too much by stopping (although at 35K I really wondered what I was doing out there).

The marathon course looks like a spider's leg. You have about 4 out and backs along it and it goes clockwise from the metro headquarters to the Imperial Palace on the east side of the city. I stayed maybe about a half mile from the finish sort of like I did in Berlin and I felt it was a huge advantage in the end to recognize landmarks so late in the race.

The first 5 miles of the race are downhill like everybody says and it is basically downhill although there are some long CIM-style inclines, one that is around the 31K mark of the course. But I plodded along and felt really good the whole way. 

Near the end, maybe 34K I was a little concerned when the 4:30 pace group passed me (and I never caught the group although I did catch a pacer with a few hundred meters to go) but with my calculations I thought there was no way I would finish in 4:30 nor would the pace group. It left me thinking though that they must have dropped a bunch of prospective 4:30 runners since the last thing you want when you're shooting for a certain time is to have your pacers run 15 minutes faster than your mark.

The last kilometer is all on some kind of square cobblestone. That distance is about the distance from where you turn onto 10th Street in the Peachtree Road Race to the finish. I felt super good at this point and even did not stop to take my last capsule at 40K, feeling I would deal with any leg cramps if I had any at that point. 

As soon as the turn started I started to kick. I ran as fast as I could and passed dozens of people. The one thing about Nike's super shoes are that if you have the leg strength left, they absolutely have the gears. I floated along the stones and didn't even think about them on the way to the finish. It was the first time I'd ever finished a marathon in this way and I can definitely see the allure.

The 27th mile

After the race I got to experience what I'd only heard about -- the so-called 27th mile. When you finish you are diverted based on your bib color which corresponds to your gear check location. Mine was in Japan's Otemachi district, basically their Wall Street. And I walked no less than eight city blocks to get to my gear bag. It was not something I wanted to do at that point and it was unfortunately in the wrong direction from my hotel. Ever since running in the Chicago Marathon in 2010 and developing painful leg cramps I'd always wanted to stay close to the finish.

I got my gear bag but I was not done. From there I was directed into the ballroom of a skyscraper and there all the guys changed into their street clothes. My guess is so Japanese runners can go back to looking as normal as possible (and I guess maybe less smelly for the subway). But in my mind I didn't want to put clean clothes over my sweaty body, especially since I didn't bring many clothes for the trip. But I did take off my bib and running shirt and replaced it with a fresh shirt. From there I realized I was nearly 2 kilometers way from my hotel (from what was only a half-mile from the finish) and made my slow way back there. The road right before my hotel was still blocked off for the race and so I had to make my way down sets of subway stairs and back up just to return.

The aftermath

I felt pretty good after the race and was happy on how I ran it even if it was much slower than I would have liked. This race was the first time where I really saw the energy that comes from all the people chasing their six stars (maybe since Tokyo is both so hard to get into and so far many save it for last). That energy is contagious and it really reinforced my desire to someday get my last three stars. It really was a whirlwind trip and even for someone like me who has been to Japan many times, one of my top experiences. 

I realized when I was there this also could be a victory lap. It had been 20 years since I was last in Japan and very easily could be the last time that I ever set foot in the country. All those memories combined with my new experiences were almost overwhelming. 

When I was about to board the plane at the airport, the gate agent who was checking my boarding pass told me in broken English, "Please come back for the marathon last year." I could only laugh since I know how hard it is to get into this marathon. But what if? lol

Atlanta Track Club announces member seeding benefit for the AJC Peachtree Road Race

 

Last July I decided not to run in the AJC Peachtree Road Race. I had run the 10K race the last 12 times (including the virtual version) and I decided it wouldn't matter to me if I ran it or not.

But then I discovered I had major FOMO after I saw the cool race shirt from the Atlanta Track Club's new sponsor, Adidas.

Had I run last year, the time I submitted -- a 45:09 PR from the 2021 Peachtree Road Race -- would only have been good for Wave B of the storied race. Last year you needed to be sub-45 to get into the first wave.

I knew I definitely wanted to be in the race this year and with that I needed a race time, since you typically could only submit a race time from the past year with your Peachtree registration. A little more than a week ago, I ran in the Jan. 1 Resolution Run 5K, finishing in 23:11. It was my first Peachtree Qualifying time since July 4, 2021. It wasn't good enough for Wave A but at least I had a time that I could submit.

Tonight, it turns out, I will be able to continue my Peachtree Road Race Wave A streak, thanks to the track club's generous seeding benefit for its members -- and the fact that the track club is allowing runners to submit race times that go all the way back to 2021 -- when I ran my PR. The announcement was made during the track club's annual Town Hall meeting. (The track club also announced then this year's member gift is an Adidas hat).

The track club is trying to encourage as many people as possible to become members, using its most famous road race as a carrot (or a stick?). In the picture above, to get into Wave A as a non-member (that's the chart on the right, the track club has a typo that lists both charts for "Members") you would have to run a 10K under 44:59 (7:14/mile pace).

But members such as myself only have to run under 47:59 (7:43/mile pace). Additionally, while the race's waves go all the way down to Wave Y (for runners submitting no proof of a previous race time), a track club member submitting no time will run no lower than Wave M.

It's cool seeing the wave standards before the race -- in the past the track club would post the standards on their website after the race, causing you to guess. I think that was in part because they tried to keep each wave with a uniform number of people in the past, something they are abandoning this year. 

This is just one major change coming to the race -- last fall, the track club announced it was getting rid of the registration lottery and will take runners signing up on a first-come, first-served basis. Track club members get early registration starting March 8. Tonight they said the race, which had a pre-pandemic capacity of 60,000 people, will be capped at 52,000 this year. (They did say cryptically that registration will end when they reach 52,000 people unless the registree is a track club member).

I can coast this year with my 2021 time but I still have work to do -- my 23:11 from the Resolution Run would most likely be good for Wave B next year, and I'll likely keep looking around for a faster time, with a goal of beating 22:59 in a 5K to get me into Wave A.

Day 5,268: My 17th Peachtree Road Race (PR)

 

It's been more than 15 months since my last in-person race and since I've updated this blog. But my 17th Peachtree Road Race happened today and so I have to write about it!

The last 15 months I've run in countless races, many of them I was pleased to be a part of, including my 16th Peachtree which was virtual (I ran it at Jekyll Island). In the last few months, however, I found it difficult to get motivated for those races and even thought or wondered if I would have coaxed myself to run faster if there were other people around.

For this year's race you could choose Saturday July 3 or today. I chose today since July 4th is the traditional day of the race. While I expected everything to be the same, it wasn't! I would have missed my start time if it wasn't for the wife who read an elite runner's post that said she would be there at 6:20 a.m.

While the elite women's race starts before the elite men and the rest of the field, I was expecting to show up for a 7 a.m. race. It turned out my race started a half hour earlier at 6:30! Anyway, this meant I had to change a little bit of my morning wake up and drop off routine.

These days I usually like to wake up an hour before heading out for my regular workouts/virtual races. This gives me enough time to get ready. So I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and then around 5 a.m. I got on the treadmill and ran very easy for five minutes. I've found the muscles in my left leg are pretty tight around my knee and I can feel it if I run cold so I usually like to run very slowly at first and after about five minutes I am good to go.

By 5:20 a.m. we were in the car and I was headed to the drop off on Piedmont Avenue. Only this time the police blocked off the road a block earlier than the usual drop off at the Atlanta Bread Company at East Paces Ferry. No problem, I got out and then walked the extra block. There were a lot fewer people out and it seemed on our way there lots of non-runners crowding restaurants, etc. 

From the drop off it's about a mile to the corrals. This time around I decided to wear a pair of running shoes that I would leave at the start and carried a brand-new pair of Nike Vaporfly Next% racing shoes. I casually made my way up Piedmont Avenue with the shoes in tow. Two guys ran past me, one of them noticed and said, "Nice shoes."

When I got up to Peachtree Street I saw three members of the Atlanta Track Club's female elite runners doing a warmup jog. It was like 40 minutes before their race started and I wondered why they would warm up so early since a lot of stuff I read said it's not helpful unless you do it right before you start running. 

Then I passed a young guy throwing up in the bushes. And then, the sound of extremely fast light feet running up on me from behind. The woman stopped a few feet in front of me on the street (I was on the sidewalk) and it occurred to me that this might be Sara Hall, who as announcers later said, holds the distinction for being the second fastest female marathoner in American history. I hadn't heard anything about Sara Hall running in this race, though, so I wondered if it was someone else. I could tell though that the woman's shoes were Hall's sponsor, Asics. In any event, the woman then sped up and ran off. When I got to the corral they announced her first in the women's field.

I made my way around and through Lenox Square and turned up Lenox where you would typically turn to make your way to the start and the corrals. But this was blocked off. We had to walk several blocks more, to Wieuca Road and the Container Store where they had a junction for vaccinated people and those who weren't and had to be screened. I made my way up to Peachtree Street finally and then walked right through Corrals D-B until I finally made it to A. It was 6:20, an hour after I left home! My stomach was growling since I had only eaten a quarter of a Picky Bar (I usually eat an entire bar before a workout). It forced me to consume prior to the race the gel that I brought.

Here I changed my shoes and left my old shoes in the mulched median of the road. I was able to do a few strides before the race started. It wasn't very crowded although I was still near the back of the corral. In years past I would have made my way up but this year I didn't want to crowd anyone so I didn't. And maybe that was a mistake?

 

The race started and I could tell right away that something was wrong with my watch. It said we were running at a 10-minute mile pace. I know I started in the back of the corral but could this be right? I was near a trio of young guys who had one letter each of "USA" painted on their backs and they ran in formation. I felt like I would try to stay behind them and certainly they wouldn't be running at a 10-minute mile pace? The first mile beeped and I could see that I ran it in 7:06.

Confused, I made my way through the next two downhill miles in 7:03 and 7:02. I tried to estimate my pace based on the numbers that appeared to me on my watch and I really didn't know. When the hills started after Mile 3 I did my best to try to take it easy yet still keep a decent pace. Mile 4 beeped and when I saw 7:43 I wondered if I ran it too slow. Still I couldn't really run any faster and I made my way up the second set of hills to Mile 5 (7:29).

I crested the hill at 14th Street and tried to work myself into a decent pace, thinking I would try to run faster after the turn on 10th Street. When Mile 6 arrived, my watch beeped 7:08 and I wasn't really able to determine whether I would be breaking 45 minutes today. I kept on pressing but not kicking, passing up the crosswalk light at my old apartment, then the next crosswalk at the Yoshino Cherry pokestop where I kicked during my PR in 2019.

Not too long after a young guy in his 20s started to kick and I decided to just go with him. He got about three seconds on me to the finish and I hoped it was enough. I finished in 45:09, besting my PR from the last time I ran the Peachtree in 2019 by two seconds. I covered the last .27 miles in 1:38 at a 5:54 pace.

This time around I carried a small bottle with Nuun in it thinking I might need to drink during the race. I didn't but it was helpful afterward when I guzzled the entire bottle. The weather was exceptional (64 degrees via my phone, 61 degrees reported by my watch) and my fitness seemed ok, especially tied with the extremely comfortable Vaporflys. The one thing that still sticks out in my mind is my erratic footpod-derived pace reporting. Every race you tweak some part of your plan to get better, whether that's more mileage, speedwork or at-home exercises. This time it looks like I'll be trying to fix my watch.

Day 4,814: Snickers Half Marathon (or, I'll do it for the shirt!)

So two half marathons in 7 days? Well, I liked the shirt!

ALBANY, Ga. -- If last week's Publix Atlanta Half Marathon wasn't on my radar, this race certainly wasn't -- it's difficult for me to break free for a Friday expo and a Saturday race.

Then they released the reveal for this year's race shirts and I was hooked. This year's color was black and I really loved the all-black look of the half marathon shirt.

So just 16 days before the race, I signed up.

In my mind, I was always going to take it easy on this one, what with the Publix half just six days before and especially knowing I would really have to run in that one to keep up with Silver medalist Meb.

But after running 1:39:49 in that race, I wanted to test out what it would be like to run this one entirely on power. I also knew that I've run a few times similar performances just a week after running in a previous race.

There was also a little peer pressure, as my friend Anna, who picked up my race packet, told me her friend Jessica was running in the half. "I told her to look for you, since you've run 1:39," she said. "So you may have a blonde chasing you!"

I left Atlanta much later than I did two years ago when I ran in this marathon and got my 3:40 PR, which still stands today. One benefit of leaving at 6:30 p.m. was that a lot of the traffic had left. But that meant much of the drive was in the dark, which turned out to be not so bad.

I ended up getting to my hotel room at 10 p.m. and ate a bowl of leftover spaghetti I brought with me. As I ate it, I thought it might not be a great idea since I'd be getting up at 4:30 a.m. but I ate it anyway.

When I got up, I ate a serving-size bowl of Picky Oats' "Can't Beet Chocolate" and made my way to the Albany Civic Center where the race was to start. Because of recent heavy rain part of the parking lot was a lake. Still there was enough parking and I had about an hour to kill. I stayed in my car until 20 minutes before the race started, went to a portapotty and then did a .6/mile warmup around the parking lot.

Unlike six days ago in Atlanta, it was fairly warm -- 38 degrees. So I didn't even need to use the throwaway painters jacket I received at the end of the Publix race. I just left everything I didn't need in the car and then went to the start line. The announcer had everyone sing the National Anthem -- I don't think I've ever experienced this in the probably 175 races I've done in my life -- and just like that the race started.

My goal for the race was to run at about 250 watts and this meant I had to slow a little on the first turn out of the civic center on Oglethorpe Boulevard. It also meant that I was chasing a small pack of people who were running way faster than I was, including Anna's friend Jessica. I paid that no mind and made sure that I kept my wattage in check on this first long hill. Mile 1 = 7:35.

As we ran the next few miles (Mile 2 7:29, Mile 3 7:22), I found myself still maybe 30 seconds behind Jessica's pack and way ahead of anybody else. I thought it would be prudent if I kept this lead pack in sight at least and let my power increase a little. Mile 4 = 7:12.

Just before Mile 4 we turned northward into the neighborhoods that would bisect the marathon route. During this time I could feel my left hamstring, it wasn't pain but it was definitely tight and I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up pulling it and causing my half marathon effort to be done. But I decided to push ahead, especially when I realized I had caught up to this small group and had passed them.

I knew this northerly push would last to about Mile 7, where the route would push southeast toward the finish. About a half mile after Mile 5 (7:26) we turned on Dawson Road and this taller gray haired man passed me. He was running at too great of a clip for me to even consider catching up with him and I let him go. I was still a little worried about my hamstring but my effort felt pretty decent given my wattage goal and I just wanted to get to Mile 7 and assess how I was doing.

At Mile 6 (7:18) I took the first of my Salt Stick chewables. I reached Mile 7 in decent shape (7:20) and, having seen my split times to now, was really thinking if I just took it easy and didn't do anything rash I would have a PR on my hands. So that fed my thinking the next few miles (Mile 8 7:12, Mile 9 7:27).

At Mile 9 I reached in my waist belt and pulled out a caffeinated Spring gel. In the Publix race I didn't take any gels and I thought I really suffered the last few miles. So out came a gel and at Mile 10 (7:23) I started to get fairly excited. The second half of the course puts you through neighborhoods which are filled with turns and rolling hills. At times it felt disorienting, running at a fast pace and turning all the time. I took a second chewable at Mile 10 and noted my 10-mile split was maybe a minute above my 1:14:52 PR.

Mile 11 (7:17) flew by but just before Mile 12 (7:27) I felt a slight twinge in my right calf. This basically continued every quarter of a mile until the finish. I knew at Mile 13 (7:29) I was maybe three tenths of a mile off of what my watch said I had done and the official race distance, but I still hoped for the best.

I made the final turn for the finish and could see ... 1:39. I was a little deflated as I thought my splits had set me up for a massive PR and I worked to finish as quickly as I could, finishing in 1:39:27. My GPS said I'd run 13.5 miles (the last bit at a 6:59/mile pace) and my Strava also said I'd run nearly as far, 13.49 miles.

I'm not sure of the discrepancy, since the course was fairly compact given it was on small neighborhood roads and I'd even tried to run the tangents after passing the small pack in front of me at Mile 4 and definitely as I chased the older gentleman who passed me at Mile 5.5. The race was altered from its original course because of the flooding but since the marathon is a popular BQ race they made sure the alteration was recertified well before race day.

Jessica came running in 40 seconds behind me and I gave her a big high five at the finish. I'd thought she was the next finisher after me but it turned out two men finished in between. I received my race medal and a foil space blanket, which was helpful.

I wasn't sure if I'd placed or not so I waited around, my muscles getting pretty tight in the process. Finally there was a big line in front of the award table, so I waited my turn in line and meekly said, "I'm embarrassed to say I'm 49 and I'm not sure if I placed?"

But it turned out I did, good enough for second place in my age group. I might have placed anyway even if I had trouble or took it easier since third place was 1:47. I received a nice black fleece pullover with the race logo on it. I was happy for this as I immediately put it on and made the walk back to the parking lot. I made a mental note that if I ever ran this race again I'd park in the spaces in front of the civic center instead of behind, just a little farther to go.

Still, I was more than pleased having just run my second fastest half marathon (and two 1:39 halfs in 7 days) and being inspired for even better results in the future. It was such a well put-together race and one I guess I'll be happy having done for a while since now races for the time being have been canceled.

Time: 7 a.m.
Temp: 38 degrees
Gear: Technical T-shirt, short (Team BEEF), shorts, cep compression calf sleeves, Nike Zoom Vaporfly Flyknit 4%/B.

Day 4,808: Running with Meb aka Publix Atlanta Half Marathon

Running with Meb! Following the 1:40 pace group through Virginia-Highland. Note my Group B bib among the sea of A's.

Don't stop, get it, get it/Peep how your captain's in it/Steady, watch me navigate, ha ha ha ha ha! - "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz

This race wasn't on my radar. I mean, I had a great time running sub-1:45 last year because I loved the race shirt but this year, not really.

That was until I learned I could volunteer for the February 29 Olympic Trials Marathon. The one condition was that you either had to volunteer for the March 1 Publix Atlanta Half Marathon or Marathon or -- you could run in the race.

So I decided on the latter. I didn't really devote any extra training in it as it's in the middle of my training cycle for the April 4 Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C. And I really hadn't thought much about the Publix half -- I even thought about switching to the 5K.

That was before I learned Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi was going to lead the 1:40 pace group! The best I'd ever done on this course was 1:42:40 but I thought I still could do it. There was one problem, however ... I would be in the wrong corral from the 1:40 group.

On race morning I arrived downtown at about 5:50 a.m., an hour before the race started. Despite my problems finding street parking the last few years I actually found a few spaces where I have parked in the past. So I parked there and put on the free painter's jacket they give you at the end of races and a space blanket -- it was 32 degrees and pretty chilly but the space blanket made the difference.

I arrived and no one was in any of the corrals. So I couldn't determine where the 1:40 pace group would be. My corral was B and there was a 10-minute difference in start times, making it impossible for me to start in B and even reach this pace group if it was in A.

About 30 minutes before the start I decided to go into the Omni to try to use the bathroom but unlike years past this time there was a long line. So I left the hotel and walked across to try to use the portapotties in the race village. Still long lines there too.

That was when I saw two guys holding 1:40 pace group signs. I disregarded them at first but then made a beeline over to them when I saw that other portapotties were just as crowded. They and a female runner were headed directly for Corral A, where there was a line of bib checkers. I tucked in with them and still had my painter's jacket covering my bib -- and walked right in.

So I parked myself right behind their sign and waited for the race to start. It got wall-to-wall crowded in minutes and then Meb made his way to the pace group. He was signing people's bibs and taking selfies.

In no time the race started and we were off. I followed directly behind one of the pacers and the first mile was actually quite off the 7:40/mile pace we needed for a 1:40 half. There was even a guy who asked the pacer, who confirmed they would be speeding up.

The first three miles seemed difficult for me and at times I was 10 to 20 seconds behind Meb and the pace group. Lots of people chatted him up and took selfies but I felt like my business was trying to stick with this 1:40 group. The official time says I hit 5K at 24:19 for a 7:49/mile pace.

The next few miles we sped up a little bit -- my 10K split was at a 7:42/mile pace. Since the last time I tried to run a half really fast I ended up with calf cramps, I made sure to consume a salt stick chewable tablet at Mile 6. I'd never tried one before and they reminded me of a Sweet Tart.

At this point I was running right behind Meb as we went up Freedom Parkway toward North Highland Avenue. I wasn't real close but it reminded me of how he didn't like Galen Rupp drafting off of him in the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. Just as I was thinking this, he put in a quick surge and instantly was about 15-20 feet in front of me!

As we rounded Freedom Parkway toward North Avenue I started to lose the pack again and I knew that once we ended up on North Highland Avenue the pacers and Meb would be speeding up again. Because of the cold I wore two technical T-shirts and really regretted this although there was no way I could take one off at this point. I was running at 7:10/mile pace for Miles 7 and 8. (I had just a sip of water at Mile 7 and my second and final salt chewie at Mile 8). I saw my friend Josh in front of Limerick Junction, which gave me a pick-me-up.

I didn't see my family across from John Howell Park like I did last year so I stashed my Headsweats visor and a pair of (now really sweaty) arm sleeves off on a stone wall at Inman Middle School (it was still there a few hours later after we came back from brunch). I had been about 7 seconds behind Meb and I figured if my family saw me I would be behind the pack, nothing that I could do about it.

I slowed a little when I turned on Park Avenue but caught up with the pack, which inexplicably slowed down when I saw a woman on the sidewalk who I thought was my wife. It wasn't her but my wife was actually just the next block over! At this point I was actually running alongside Meb and the only thing I could say was to yell out, "Meb, that's my wife!" and pointed while she took pictures. He was extremely gracious and gave us all smiles for the picture above. I thanked him and then made my way ahead of the pace group into Piedmont Park.

I'd been mentally preparing myself for this point. In this race, to me at least, it doesn't start until you exit the park -- here you have the long incline along 10th Street and the rolling hills of Juniper Avenue. I took my time but was starting to get passed by the pacers. I was even more behind on Juniper but there was nothing I could do. I kept trucking along and the great energy I had last year for these hills were gone, at least in my mind. I ran 7:40/mile for Mile 10 and 7:29/mile for Mile 11.

I knew there were two more giant hills left -- the one alongside Bobby Dodd Stadium on North Avenue and then the one on Techwood Drive. I ran my slowest mile here since Mile 1, a 7:55 for Mile 12.

As soon as I passed Mile 12, I reset my lap counter so it would measure the last mile. The two slight inclines here were pretty monstrous to me and maybe a dozen people passed me here. Nothing I could do about it although I ran 7:40 at this point. In the last tenth of a mile I was speeding up but before I could turn the corner into the park and the Finish I could hear the announcer say, "Only 100m to go for Meb!"

When I made the last straightaway I tucked in behind a young woman and put my head down and focused on my final kick. Since I accidentally started my watch about a minute after the race started I didn't have a good idea of the final seconds of the race. All I could see was the race clock saying 1:40 and counting. I figured there wasn't too much difference in my time and the clock time since I started in Group A and I told myself if I couldn't break 1:40 at least I could try the best I could to finish under 1:41.

Meb and the 1:40 pacers finished 12 seconds ahead of me. As soon as I crossed the line I jumped in with a big crowd surrounding Meb for a group picture. Then as I walked away, my wife texted me with my final time: 1:39:49, which is my second fastest half marathon time and just bonkers for me since the course is so hilly.

So this race ended up being really rewarding -- I never thought I'd break 1:40 here but it took a special day and a celebrity to do it.

Time: 6:55 a.m.
Temp: 36 degrees
Gear: Technical T-shirt, short x2 (Chicago Marathon 2019, Team Beef Georgia), shorts, cep compression sleeves, Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4 percent Flyknit/B.

Day 4,781: Hot Chocolate 5K

It turned out this race was over for me before it began! I planned everything pretty well, I thought, until I took a slightly longer than usual warmup before the race start and found myself outside a crowded corral with two minutes before the race started, giving me little hope of a fast start that is crucial for a good 5K time.

In that moment I decided to wait with a bunch of people outside the corral and only was able to get in after the gun went off, maybe getting to the starting line about 45 seconds after. When I started running I was stuck behind the 9:30 minute/mile pacers for the 15K. I decided to just run when I could and just enjoy the race.

I finished the race in 23:04, losing about a minute in the congested first mile (the 5K and 15K racers share the road until the 5K split at about 1K into the race). My splits were 7:51/7:12/7:07 This actually could be a positive in that I need to make sure I get into the corral early when I am running in the Publix Georgia Half Marathon next month.

Here's some notes just for my own planning purposes in the future:

Getting There: Free street parking is really scarce downtown now. I drove around a bit and finally found a space on John Wesley Dobbs close to I-75/85. Gonna have to plan better for this next time.

Prerace: I walked up to the empty corral at 7 a.m., about 30 minutes before the race started. Since it was cold out I decided to walk toward Centennial Olympic Park and the portapotty lines when I remembered before last year's Publix half I went to the Omni for the restrooms and to shelter from the cold. This year I stayed in the lobby until 15 minutes before the race when I did my warmup.

Warmup: I wanted to see the last couple hundred meters before the finish but it meant running 1.08 miles, a little more than I would usually for a warmup. It was valuable to see this downhill finish but this got me to the corral just two minutes before race start and that meant having to wait in a line outside the crowded corral.

Gear: It was cold out (36 degrees at race start) but I wore too many layers for the race. I wore a Mizuno Breath Thermo layer under a technical T-shirt. Over that I had a throwaway long-sleeved technical T-shirt. But after Mile 2 I really wished I'd just worn the short sleeved tech shirt and obviously couldn't discard the under layer in the middle of the race.

Course: It is a little hilly, it had some screaming downhill but a half-mile incline that included a huge hill overpass with a half mile left in the race.

Day 4,748: The runstreak is now 13 years!

A short 2-mile run today closed out 13 years of the runstreak! I ended up with 2,130.11 miles for the year, the most I've ever run for that time period (I ran 2,104.33 miles in 2014).

All in all, it was a pretty good year. I focused much of my training on two marathons (Revel Mt. Charleston and the Chicago Marathon) but was happy that my times in shorter distances were good, including an unexpected PR in the Peachtree Road Race.

I'm hoping to work on my half marathon PR (1:39:14) this year and am training specifically for a PR in the April Cherry Blossom Ten Miler (1:14:52). I got into the Chicago Marathon for next year and that will be my 11th marathon.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a great 2020!