Day 1,788: Atlanta Half Marathon

So today came and all I was really thinking about this race were the hills from last year that did me in.

At the time, I still had a nice race -- it was at the time my fastest half-marathon in Georgia and my third-fastest time overall.

But every race is different.

This year, mainly thanks to my slackness and needing to do long runs to make 30 miles for the week, I'd put in a bunch of long run time in -- a 14-mile run in August, a 12.5-mile run in October and an 8.5 mile run as recently as last week.

The race started out and I told myself to take it easy. I did this even as lots of people passed me left and right. I was just enjoying the run as it went from Turner Field to downtown past my office building to Atlantic Station.

In Midtown, I didn't push myself up the 14th Street hill like I did last year. It even seemed to me to be a much smaller hill than I thought it was last year.

Even through Piedmont Park, I just ran and enjoyed everything. I laughed when I saw some dude accelerating to the exit gate of the park -- I was thinking like, dude, you have no idea what you're in for.

And then came 10th Street. This is the start of the brutal inclines of the race. This hill pretty much goes up to Juniper, where the turn is. Then it's rolling hills all the way to Auburn Avenue.

Last year, this was where I started to fall off my pace.

On 10th Street, I let myself accelerate through the crowd -- it felt good, even though I knew more hills were in store.

I did the same for the entrance hills on Juniper through about 5th Street. I run so much of this course on other routes, it felt natural.

I made a slight mistake in thinking that on Courtland Street we'd have to go over the overpass near Georgia State but was relieved when I saw that Auburn Avenue came right before it.

This was around the 9 mile mark. Usually I'll eat a GU gel here -- it will last for about 4 miles. But I felt pretty good and decided not to take one. I also did not drink any water/sport drink for the entire race.

On Auburn Avenue, my pace was good and cautious. I ran down through the short tunnel on Boulevard thinking that the next hill -- Boulevard leading to Memorial -- was coming.

It turns out the hill continues on Moreland. No worries. I fell into pace behind a pretty quick girl as the course continued on Moreland to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Things continued to go great. I knew at this point, only two main hills remained -- the double stack on Mitchell Street before Capitol Avenue and the I-20 overpass on Hank Aaron Drive.

When I got to the overpass, I could see the 1:50 pacers ahead of me. Even running pretty fast it was hard to catch up.

But I passed them with maybe .2 of a mile left in the race. The finish was strong and I was pleased with my sub 1:50 time.

Later today when I looked at my Garmin Connect data from the races, I notice something significant. In 2010, I logged fast times through mile 7 out of Piedmont Park and then started to lose my pace.

This year, I ran at a steady pace (about 8:30/mile) through mile 7 and then ran 8-minute miles the rest of the way.

Saving your energy for the hills when you need it is definitely the way to go.

Time: 7:35 a.m.
Temp: 42 degrees
Gear: Tech T, long (Big Peach 5-miler), Tech-T short (Asics blue), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 27/A.

Day 1,787: A new pair of shoes!

I just ordered a brand-new pair of Nike Air Pegasus+ 28s from Nikestore.com.

My current shoes have more than 306 miles on them and I should have a new pair to break in before I run up 500 miles on the old ones.

Normally I'd troll the Internet to see who has the cheapest Pegasus shoes, and that's usually an older season's pair. But now, about once a year, I'll have enough points on My Coke Rewards to get a $50 Nike gift card.

In doing so, I can buy the latest shoe for the price of what I'd normally pay for a previous season's shoe.

It takes me about a year to get enough points (drink enough Diet Coke) to do so, but it's been worth it. I last bought a pair of Nikes this way on Nov. 10, 2010, but I didn't blog about it here.

It takes a long time to accumulate the points, but just like running day after day, it's worth it.

Day 1,786: A spartan expo

Today before I went to work I walked over from my office building to the Marriott Marquis to get my bib number and T-shirt for Thursday's Atlanta Half Marathon.

This year they changed the location of the expo from the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead to downtown. It makes sense as the start and finish of this race is now in Turner Field.

Everything went pretty smoothly, from getting my bib number to T-shirt. I was surprised though, at how small the rest of the expo was. Normally you see lots and lots of vendors. There are great free samples and it's a nice atmosphere, especially at the Rock'n'Roll half marathon series, in which Brooks has their carnival-esque displays that include freebies, from knit gloves and hats to T-shirts and water bottles.

My wife and I joke about how for the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon they even had a mock-up of a grocery store at the expo, as if it were a demo for people who had never seen an American grocery store before.

Anyway, the Atlanta Half Marathon expo served its purpose. I bought a GU energy gel from the Big Peach expo store and returned back to work.

Day 1,739 12.5 mile run

Today I needed to catch up on my miles for the week and thought about doing a long run, using the ING Georgia Half Marathon course.

It was my first long run since my 14.1-mile run on Aug. 26 and my 14.5-mile run the week before that was the longest run that I had done since the Oct. 10, 2010 Chicago Marathon.

Today the weather was just right (56 degrees/90 percent humidity). At many parts I didn't feel like my legs were really in it but I think they had enough to see me through the end.

I cut through on Highland/Baker and N. Highland Avenue and likely could have done another 14-mile run had I continued on the ING course but since I didn't have to, I didn't.

Another nice run in the books!

Time: 9:26 a.m.
Temp: 56 degrees (90 percent humidity, but I didn't feel it)
Gear: T-shirt, short (orange Nike Peachtree), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 27/A.

Day 1,721: Time for long sleeves

Today before the run my phone said it was 56 degrees, which meant long sleeves.

Since the streak (and this blog), I've developed a system to tell myself what I should wear during a run.

Over 70 degrees: Technical T-shirt, short sleeves
60-70 degrees: Cotton T-shirt, short
50-60 degrees: Long sleeve T-shirt, cotton
40-50 degrees: Technical T-shirt, long
30-40 degrees: Technical T-shirt, long under a cotton T-shirt, short sleeves, likely running pants instead of shorts

Anyway, that's the general rule. I've drifted away from it in the last few years knowing that I can wear less warm clothes for chillier temperatures, but usually when the season first changes, warmer is better.

Time: 8 a.m.
Temp: 56 degrees
Gear: Long sleeve T-shirt, cotton (Run the Reagan Half Marathon), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 27/A.

Day 1,710: Will run for a biscuit!

This week, Chick-fil-A is offering a free breakfast selection. You have to register in advance and I chose today.

They did this before, or at least I did this before, when they rolled out the spicy chicken sandwich.

I reserved the same location, the Chick-fil-A at Colony Square, and headed off on my Atlantic Station run.

I basically made sure I turned around before IKEA first before stopping to get my chicken biscuit.

I should say I've never had trouble running immediately after eating. I learned this when I trained for the 2000 Portland Marathon.

And sure enough, no such worries. I basically ran home, tummy happy, knowing that I would be able to check a few things off today's to-do list.

Time: 8:42 a.m.
Temp: 63 degrees (90 percent humidity), drizzle
Gear: T-shirt (Atlanta AIDS run 5K), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 27.

Day 1,707: Will run for ice cream!

Many times I'll need motivation to get out the door. Sure, there's the streak and I know I'll at least get a mile in, but exactly when is the real issue.

I've been known to waste an entire hour just thinking about the different routes available before I head out. Or I might get distracted by what's on TV or checking my e-mail.

Deciding what to do for today's run was pretty easy. One of my four-mile routes runs right by Jake's Ice Cream, one of the best in the city!

In the past we've stopped there in the middle of the route to cool off and eat some fresh ice cream.

Today I decided to do the next best thing, to order a couple of pints. I brought a fanny pack for the occasion and they fit perfectly. There wasn't a lot of bounce with the pints, so the run back was ok.

About 17 minutes later, I was home with the delicious afternoon snack!