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Race Report for Zoom-Zoom's 10K (Read 580 times)

Wingz


Professional Noob

    [this space reserved for Kirsten's race report] Big grin No pressure, Kirsten.... Wink

    Roads were made for journeys...

    zoom-zoom


    rectumdamnnearkilledem

      I'm gonna say this much--had that been my first race I don't know that I'd sign up for any more. It sucked. I woke earlier than I had planned because I had intestinal cramping. Ended up having a little bit of the runs (sorry for the TMI) before leaving for the race, but I mostly felt pretty good once I got things "out of my system." Got there plenty early to stretch, empty bladder a few times, make sure I knew where I was going, etc. Discovered that even though the race was chipped, everyone had the same start time, as there was no time pad at the start line. Oh, well, my time is not exactly crucial, LOL! It was already about 80ยบ and humid as heck at the start of the race...not much breeze, either. And as backroadrunner will tell you, I'm a bit of a delicate flower when it gets warm. My blood is at least half Viking and a quarter Scot...Nordic, cold-hardy, frigid weather types. The first half of the race was actually not so bad...mostly in the shade. The worst part was the hills--lots of them, especially at the beginning (and one pretty miserable one at the end). Luckily I don't do so terribly on hills (I think it must be the sprinter in me...never minded hill workouts in HS, either, and it was about the only workout I felt stronger on than the distance folks). But the second half...whole 'nother story. I just felt miserable...started getting chills and a bit queasy, so even though I was in no pain I really had to take it slower than I had wanted (my mile pace was pretty much about the same pace as a typical long run for me, around 11:30). Then nearing the end some dude working on the race crew told us that we were at the 5 mile marker, so I started to pick up the pace again--turns out he was at the 4.5 mile mark. And after that a few of us lost the route, as it was in no way marked and we stragglers at the back had no one ahead of us to follow and there were no race officials anywhere in sight. Luckily we didn't get too far off course, but probably lost a minute or two. Then for about a half mile I was alone and saw no one in front of me, so again I thought I was lost...and started to slow down. I was on course, but had no way of knowing it. The last 1.5-2 miles was so poorly marked. And since I thought I only had a little over a mile to go after that knucklehead told us we were at 5 miles that last 1.5+ miles seemed to never end (and was uphill for a bit, which added insult to injury). Once I got to the finish line there was no one to take my timing chip and no one seemed to know what I was to do with the little tear tab on my number. People I asked for info. were a bit condescending and almost rude. VERY different from the first race I did a month ago, which was super well organized. I guess last year they really botched-up the 5k and it was only a 4k. Not sure I will waste my money to do this race again, which is too bad, since it is a scenic run and a nice length.

      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

           ~ Sarah Kay

      zoom-zoom


      rectumdamnnearkilledem

        Oh, and my time was hilarious...1:11:11. How crazy is that?! I missed my goal time by 1:11--I had hoped to finish in under 70 minutes (and that was a pretty conservative goal, as was)...

        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

             ~ Sarah Kay

        Wingz


        Professional Noob

          Yeah, you might want to find out who the organizer is and avoid them in the future. Around here, one company does the timing & a lot of the organizing for almost all the races, but they do a pretty good job. Sounds like you may have run into a little dehydration issue! The "runs" before a run on a hot day is a good way to have that problem!!! Sad It's too bad you missed your time, but it sounds like next time you do this length you'll definitely make it! All you have to do is not get lost! Smile Congrats on your first 10K finish!!! Cool

          Roads were made for journeys...

          zoom-zoom


          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            Thanks! Big grin Yeah, I was thinking dehydration, too...and not enough caffeine this AM (I avoided it because of the bowel issues and I didn't want to have to pee mid-race...which I did, anyhow). I had a headache before the race even began, though I was drinking as much water as I could without feeling like I was gonna float down the river. I have heard that this race is notoriously poor on organization...which is sad, since it has been held for decades. I think next year I will probably skip it, since I plan to do a 4 miler with my brother the following weekend (assuming that it's still the first weekend of Aug.) at the Johnsonville Bratwurst Festival, the "Brat Trot." And, like you said, next race of this length should be lots faster...though I don't really know of any other 10k races around here. I need to start looking so that I can wipe that PR off my record! Wink k

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay

              Sounds as if a number of things came together, all at the wrong time, to make this a less-than-stellar event for you. On the bright side, your next race has got to be better, right? So, something to look forward to. Way to hang in there, though. Any other day, you would have come in under goal time for sure. And, if I was in a race, and saw no one in front of me, I would know for sure I was off course! Good report.
              My Masters (>50) Race PR's: 5K - 20:17 10K - 42:36 HM - 1:31:22 Marathon - 3:20:48
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              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                On the bright side, your next race has got to be better, right?
                That's how I look at it, too...can't get any worse, so it HAS to get better! Big grin Oh, interesting sidenote. For a while I was running along with a woman who kept running faster than me, then walking, running, walking...so she was always pretty close to me. We were talking a bit and near an out-and-back section of the course when she saw a friend of hers who was ahead of us and headed back. She told me that typically she is a better runner than her friend, but that her friend handles heat MUCH better. I found that kind of interesting. I'll bet there was a lot of that today--stronger runners really being slowed-down by the weather, while weaker runners with less heat sensitivity could get a leg-up. So it was a double-whammy for me (slow AND heat-sensitive runner). Wink k

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay

                Mile Collector


                Abs of Flabs

                  Kirsten, Congrats! It wasn't pretty, but you can blame it on the organizers. Too bad you couldn't have a better experience for your first 10k, but then, doubt you will ever forget it either.
                  bas


                    Oh, and my time was hilarious...1:11:11. How crazy is that?!
                    That's still faster than I did on an equally disastrous 10K last year in Amsterdam. It was a hot day in june, I had been helping my father move some furniture (including carrying a table and tv-set to his third floor appartment) and I thought I could do this race on the same day anyway. Well, I could not Undecided About KM 7 things started to rotate around me and I had to sit down against a tree. After a few minutes of this, and after seeing hundreds of people running past me and giving me sorry looks, I got up again and first walked and then (slowly) ran the rest of the course. 1:11:18. It is written for all eternity on a Dutch racing results site. Oh well... No

                    52° 21' North, 4° 52' East