GollyGadget
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2017
Des Moines Women’s Race 10K Recap
This was the third race in my spring season and only twelve days since the most recent. There are not a lot of 10Ks in my area so I jumped at the chance to try to break 50 min again. I had attempted this last summer, but the long course and humid conditions resulted in an official finishing time of 51:29. My training plan indicated a finish time of 48:05 and my most recent 5K converted to 47:30 but I was not in peak 10K conditions, so would I be able to pull it off?
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk packet pickup. I went to collect my race swag on Saturday afternoon. There was a yoga session happening on the lawn of the hosting winery and I immediately regretted not joining even though I’m not that into yoga. It just looked like a great relaxing way to get ready for the race weekend. They also had a braid bar with tips supporting a local charity. Sadly there was a long line so add both of these to things to check out next year. The actual collecting of my things was a bit confusing because instead of handing me things, I just got pointed to a table to pick them up myself. The confusing part was that the swag was different depending on your race distance so hopefully I grabbed the right things
This local race company does a great job with their stuff and I was pleased with the 1/4 zip. I already forgot what I did with the wine glass
I went to bed around my normal time and was not happy when Hattie woke me up around 4a. Fortunately, I did manage to fall back asleep but was awake again at 5:30 and decided that I might as well get up. Upon entering the living room, my windows were all the sign I needed to know it was still humid out.
That, my friends, is what 100% humidity looks like. I googled how to adjust for T+D and saw it was about 5 seconds/mile so I set myself a boundary of going no faster than 7:40.
I was actually quite surprised at how chilly it felt during my dog walk and thought maybe the weather wouldn’t be so bad
.
The race start/finish was 1.75 miles from my house. Parking was offsite and required a shuttle so I flip flopped between running there or riding my bike. Ultimately, I decided to ride my bike because my partner would be riding his to the finish and that would make it easier to get home afterward.
The race was scheduled to start at 8am and I was arrived and pottied by 7:30. My legs felt a bit like jelly after the short bike ride and I was worried I had made a mistake. My quick warm up eased that concern as my legs felt fine. However, my warm up also made me realize that the humidity was going to be a HUGE factor so I revised my goal of pacing between 7:50-8:00. I knew as long as I averaged below 8 that I could reach my goal.
I arrived back at the start line around 7:50. There were a couple of pace signs indicating where to line up and the 8mm was basically right at the start line
. I lined up just behind this sign and tried to stay loose.
After a small delay for the parking shuttles, we were off! I kept an eye on my effort and pace because I knew it would be easy to go out too fast for the conditions. I was very surprised by the number of hills since I regularly run in the area and rarely see a hill. There were only a few but the 70 ft elevation change in the first mile is about the same as my typical 6 mile run so I made a mental note that I should do some training on the route this summer to address that weakness of mine.
The Mile 1 sign was slightly ahead of my garmin and I assumed someone had just placed it incorrectly. 7:56. Bullseye
The second mile was full of spectators and so much fun. There were lots of families and children out cheering for the women in their lives. I wasn’t expecting many spectators at all so this was a nice surprise.
The Mile 2 sign was also ahead of my garmin but not too bad. Was I not supposed to be taking the tangents? Literally no one ahead of me was doing a good job at it. All just keeping to the left side of the road. 7:51. Another bullseye
The third mile was mostly uneventful but I knew my partner was going to be at the end and I could hear the drum line. I don’t even remember passing the Mile 3 sign because I was so distracted by all of the amazingness. 7:51
There was even a unicorn character stop! I was on a mission but super impressed that my partner got my photo with the backside of a unicorn
I started the 4th mile off a bit quick because of all the hype and knowing I was nearly halfway but I quickly settled back down as I entered the familiar territory of my regular running route. We entered the park where I run nearly everyday and the family spectators were back. 8:01. A bit slow but still on track.
To exit the park, there is a tunnel underpass and there were children cheering making our very own scream tunnel. I loved it
. This was followed by a quick uphill and a tour through the arboretum. No time for photos though, I’m on a mission!
Just before the Mile 5 sign was a live spin class on the course cheering us on. Their energy was electric and my favorite cheer section of the race. The mileage sign was over a 1/10th of a mile before I expected it and this was when I realized it was very likely the course would be short. 7:54
back on track and time to go!
The runners were mostly strung out by this point but still reasonably close to one another. This was another point in the race where it was apparent that no one else knew about tangents. I had passed a few runners just by taking the shorter route. However I had no idea if they were half marathon or 10K runners. The split point was just barely before the Mile 6 sign and that was the first indication of who was running what. There was also a half marathon relay but I wasn’t worried about them. There was only one runner in my view after the split and way too far ahead for any moves.
I made the turn toward the finish and had hardly anything left. I was really happy to not be running the half in these conditions. There was a small uphill and then a really lovely downhill toward the finish. I blasted past the finish line because the course was in fact short and I wanted that 10K time. Clock time was 48:15. Garmin says 49:14 but either way I got my sub 50!
I made my way back to the finish to collect my medal and then explain to my partner what happened. Apparently the medal volunteer tried to chase after me. This is probably a sign I take my hobby jogging too seriously
I headed toward the post race snacks and to check the results. My partner told me that I was in the top 10. Turns out, I was 9th overall which is likely the highest overall that I’ve ever finished. Thanks in part to the fact that there weren’t any fast men at this race
. I also finished second in my age group but apparently he’s no longer impressed by that sort of thing. Anyway, I’m getting off topic, the point is that this race had the best snacks.
Cookies, fruit, and chocolate.
. All participants also got one free wine.
Overall, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this race. The organizers did a great job at on course entertainment, swag, snacks, and a post race concert. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great. Last year I volunteered at a water stop and the race was delayed then shortened due to thunderstorms. I’ll definitely be back but not sure if I can ever make this my goal race due to the weather instability this time of year.
This was the third race in my spring season and only twelve days since the most recent. There are not a lot of 10Ks in my area so I jumped at the chance to try to break 50 min again. I had attempted this last summer, but the long course and humid conditions resulted in an official finishing time of 51:29. My training plan indicated a finish time of 48:05 and my most recent 5K converted to 47:30 but I was not in peak 10K conditions, so would I be able to pull it off?
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk packet pickup. I went to collect my race swag on Saturday afternoon. There was a yoga session happening on the lawn of the hosting winery and I immediately regretted not joining even though I’m not that into yoga. It just looked like a great relaxing way to get ready for the race weekend. They also had a braid bar with tips supporting a local charity. Sadly there was a long line so add both of these to things to check out next year. The actual collecting of my things was a bit confusing because instead of handing me things, I just got pointed to a table to pick them up myself. The confusing part was that the swag was different depending on your race distance so hopefully I grabbed the right things
This local race company does a great job with their stuff and I was pleased with the 1/4 zip. I already forgot what I did with the wine glass
I went to bed around my normal time and was not happy when Hattie woke me up around 4a. Fortunately, I did manage to fall back asleep but was awake again at 5:30 and decided that I might as well get up. Upon entering the living room, my windows were all the sign I needed to know it was still humid out.
That, my friends, is what 100% humidity looks like. I googled how to adjust for T+D and saw it was about 5 seconds/mile so I set myself a boundary of going no faster than 7:40.
I was actually quite surprised at how chilly it felt during my dog walk and thought maybe the weather wouldn’t be so bad
. The race start/finish was 1.75 miles from my house. Parking was offsite and required a shuttle so I flip flopped between running there or riding my bike. Ultimately, I decided to ride my bike because my partner would be riding his to the finish and that would make it easier to get home afterward.
The race was scheduled to start at 8am and I was arrived and pottied by 7:30. My legs felt a bit like jelly after the short bike ride and I was worried I had made a mistake. My quick warm up eased that concern as my legs felt fine. However, my warm up also made me realize that the humidity was going to be a HUGE factor so I revised my goal of pacing between 7:50-8:00. I knew as long as I averaged below 8 that I could reach my goal.
I arrived back at the start line around 7:50. There were a couple of pace signs indicating where to line up and the 8mm was basically right at the start line
. I lined up just behind this sign and tried to stay loose. After a small delay for the parking shuttles, we were off! I kept an eye on my effort and pace because I knew it would be easy to go out too fast for the conditions. I was very surprised by the number of hills since I regularly run in the area and rarely see a hill. There were only a few but the 70 ft elevation change in the first mile is about the same as my typical 6 mile run so I made a mental note that I should do some training on the route this summer to address that weakness of mine.
The Mile 1 sign was slightly ahead of my garmin and I assumed someone had just placed it incorrectly. 7:56. Bullseye
The second mile was full of spectators and so much fun. There were lots of families and children out cheering for the women in their lives. I wasn’t expecting many spectators at all so this was a nice surprise.
The Mile 2 sign was also ahead of my garmin but not too bad. Was I not supposed to be taking the tangents? Literally no one ahead of me was doing a good job at it. All just keeping to the left side of the road. 7:51. Another bullseye
The third mile was mostly uneventful but I knew my partner was going to be at the end and I could hear the drum line. I don’t even remember passing the Mile 3 sign because I was so distracted by all of the amazingness. 7:51
There was even a unicorn character stop! I was on a mission but super impressed that my partner got my photo with the backside of a unicorn
I started the 4th mile off a bit quick because of all the hype and knowing I was nearly halfway but I quickly settled back down as I entered the familiar territory of my regular running route. We entered the park where I run nearly everyday and the family spectators were back. 8:01. A bit slow but still on track.
To exit the park, there is a tunnel underpass and there were children cheering making our very own scream tunnel. I loved it
. This was followed by a quick uphill and a tour through the arboretum. No time for photos though, I’m on a mission! Just before the Mile 5 sign was a live spin class on the course cheering us on. Their energy was electric and my favorite cheer section of the race. The mileage sign was over a 1/10th of a mile before I expected it and this was when I realized it was very likely the course would be short. 7:54
back on track and time to go!The runners were mostly strung out by this point but still reasonably close to one another. This was another point in the race where it was apparent that no one else knew about tangents. I had passed a few runners just by taking the shorter route. However I had no idea if they were half marathon or 10K runners. The split point was just barely before the Mile 6 sign and that was the first indication of who was running what. There was also a half marathon relay but I wasn’t worried about them. There was only one runner in my view after the split and way too far ahead for any moves.
I made the turn toward the finish and had hardly anything left. I was really happy to not be running the half in these conditions. There was a small uphill and then a really lovely downhill toward the finish. I blasted past the finish line because the course was in fact short and I wanted that 10K time. Clock time was 48:15. Garmin says 49:14 but either way I got my sub 50!
I made my way back to the finish to collect my medal and then explain to my partner what happened. Apparently the medal volunteer tried to chase after me. This is probably a sign I take my hobby jogging too seriously
I headed toward the post race snacks and to check the results. My partner told me that I was in the top 10. Turns out, I was 9th overall which is likely the highest overall that I’ve ever finished. Thanks in part to the fact that there weren’t any fast men at this race
. I also finished second in my age group but apparently he’s no longer impressed by that sort of thing. Anyway, I’m getting off topic, the point is that this race had the best snacks. Cookies, fruit, and chocolate.
. All participants also got one free wine. Overall, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this race. The organizers did a great job at on course entertainment, swag, snacks, and a post race concert. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great. Last year I volunteered at a water stop and the race was delayed then shortened due to thunderstorms. I’ll definitely be back but not sure if I can ever make this my goal race due to the weather instability this time of year.
it was still there on Monday and I wasn’t sure if I should go to GOTR or not. This season we only have two coaches on Mondays and I did not want to leave the other coach with 15 10 year olds so when my COVID test said negative, I decided I should go. I didn’t have much extra energy so I wanted to run my easy 3 miles with the girls. Should be no problem in the 45 minutes we had for running. Obviously, it was a problem 
. I was worried about this one. There’s something scary about running 10+ miles the first time in a while. It was still annoyingly humid so I started out nice and slow, slowly sped up to near long run pace and then finished nice and slow. I forgot how exhausting long runs can be and I was definitely ready to be done about 7 miles in. I knew I could cover the distance though and kept going. A bit nervous about what this means for my endurance. To be fair, I’m four months removed from my marathon and have been focused on speed not endurance. It will come back…I hope. 
