Summary

Sunday I ran the Columbia Turkey Chase 10k, final time 26:30

Background

I’ve seen this race posted the last two years and never signed up. Both years it was a wise decision as the weather would wind up being cold, windy and maybe rainy. When I registered,  Accuweather forecasted a 55 degree day. Technically, they were correct; however, it was overcast & windy. It was 55 when I left my house in the morning; it dropped to 47 when I returned.

The race started and ended in a business park in Columbia, which is about 45 minutes south of me.  Columbia is a planned community built 40+ years ago. Despite growing up really close to there, then living in the same county for 2 years, I lose any sense of direction there. There are 11 villages, each with a village center (shops, restaurants, etc). All roads are tree lined, all street signs look the same. There is little to no road signage and any that is there is all uniform. So basically every street looks the same as the other, which means no way to use landmarks to determine where you are in the race.

I was a little worried about the course after getting the pre-race e-mail. It was an out-and-back but the roads were not closed. Instead, one lane in each direction was closed. Seeing how drivers are idiots, I don’t feel comfortable running with my back to traffic with just some little orange cones between the cars and I. There was little traffic, so it didn’t seem too bad, just not my preference.

I wound up leaving my house much later than planned, mainly trying to find a hat & gloves. Then I got ¼ mile down the road and realized I forgot my sunglasses, so back to pick them up.  Driving down, my car’s thermometer said it was 55 degrees out. I was dressed for much cooler (like the forecast 45 high), in a short sleeve, long sleeve and tights, plus I had gloves and a hat with me. Seeing that temp, I was planning on picking up my number and then losing the base layer. I never needed to do a wardrobe adjustment, I about froze when I went to get my packet. I got to the race site a little after 7:30, got my packet, did a “warm up” jog from the car to the POP line. I was in the POP line until 7:55, so the .15 mile jog to the line was it. Oops.

Out        28:33 split for 1^st 5k          (9:01, 9:05, 9:21)

I lined up maybe ¼ of the way back. It was a little congested the first ½ mile of so.  One lane of traffic really isn’t that much for 400-500 runners. There were a couple spots where I ran onto the curb to pass people, usually it was when people insisted on running 4 abreast yapping. Seriously, you paid $60 for this race to yap with friends?  At about the 1/2 mile mark, a runner who clearly did not read the race instructions (headphones NOT ALLOWED), dropped her phone/iPod/device at my feet. The evil part of me wanted to kick it,  but I just dodged it and kept going while the owner of the device stopped in the middle of the road to retrieve it.

At the end of the first mile, we started downhill, someone near-by commented we had to come up this at the end of the race. Ugh.  The downhill was short lived. At about mile 1.5, the uphill started. And really didn’t level off until the turnaround point. It wasn’t steep, just felt never ending. I was trying to keep an even effort and really did not want to look at my watch. About the only time I glanced at it was the first downhill when I noticed I was running 5k pace. I think it was after that glance that I felt my left calf cramping, I thought about stopping to stretch it on the curb, but just kept pushing on hoping it would ease, which it did.

Miles 2-5 were on tree lined streets, the trees seemed to provide a decent wind block, It wasn’t until just before the turnaround that I could feel the wind whipping around. I had unzipped my top on the climb, I wound up zipping it back up on this open spot.  The turnaround was a bit of a cluster. There was a relay option, so the relay exchange point was right before the official turnaround, plus they had a water table.  In addition, the side street we turned onto had a traffic choke, so essentially the 100 meters or so on that street meant everyone had to go single file.  Not cool.

Back       27:58     (9:02, 8:49, 9:12, final .25 8:13)

After the 1.5 miles of what seemed like never ending uphill, that meant after the turnaround was 1.5 miles of mostly downhill.  The crowding had thinned out by this point.  Around mile 4.5, I did run into a traffic jam/ dilemma. My understanding of the “rules” is that technically, if there are cones, you must stay inside them. Not sure if it is instant DQ for crossing them, but getting outside the cone also means going into the car lane, which I did not want to do. There is a local group that pushes kids or young adults in wheelchairs in events. They tend to have an entourage for each kid/adult. So the single travel lane was blocked by a wheelchair & the pusher and then 4 members of the entourage.  I looked for a space, and then as quickly as I could, I passed, I didn’t technically go outside a cone, since I did this between cones. Then I was treated to the conversation from the group, which was basically one girl preaching barefoot/minimal running, how much she improved, how her easy pace is so much faster and on and on with the humblebrag . OK, maybe I was cranky because I was cold, I wanted to be done and I was working on this damn hill while she would not STFU about her.  Thankfully, I was able to pull away on the hill—there was actually a spot where I could feel the tailwind while going uphill. After mile 5 was the end of the “main” hills. However, the last mile-1.2 miles was a gain of about 60 feet.  Once I got into the business area, the wind also was much more obvious. It sucks to be at the end of a race and feel cold.

Final thoughts

I thought I had a shot at a PR (55:01). I don’t do many 10ks, mainly because many are larger events, which I absolutely can’t stand, or they are in the middle of summer.  I think the combo of the never ending hills, no warm up and staying too conservative with pacing got me. I also think since I don’t do them often, it’s hard to gauge exactly how to pace.

FInisher medals (yea, I know, not necessary for a 10k, but I took it. Don't judge)

Racers on the road out of the business park, (not me) note the cones, note the crowding and ignoring the cones.

 Summary

Sunday I ran the Columbia Turkey Chase 10k, final time 56:30

 

Background

I’ve seen this race posted the last two years and never signed up. Both years it was a wise decision as the weather would wind up being cold, windy and maybe rainy. When I registered,  Accuweather forecasted a 55 degree day. Technically, they were correct; however, it was overcast & windy. It was 55 when I left my house in the morning; it dropped to 47 when I returned.

 

The race started and ended in a business park in Columbia, which is about 45 minutes south of me.  Columbia is a planned community built 40+ years ago. Despite growing up really close to there, then living in the same county for 2 years, I lose any sense of direction there. There are 11 villages, each with a village center (shops, restaurants, etc). All roads are tree lined, all street signs look the same. There is little to no road signage and any that is there is all uniform. So basically every street looks the same as the other, which means no way to use landmarks to determine where you are in the race.

 

I was a little worried about the course after getting the pre-race e-mail. It was an out-and-back but the roads were not closed. Instead, one lane in each direction was closed. Seeing how drivers are idiots, I don’t feel comfortable running with my back to traffic with just some little orange cones between the cars and I. There was little traffic, so it didn’t seem too bad, just not my preference.

 

I wound up leaving my house much later than planned, mainly trying to find a hat & gloves. Then I got ¼ mile down the road and realized I forgot my sunglasses, so back to pick them up.  Driving down, my car’s thermometer said it was 55 degrees out. I was dressed for much cooler (like the forecast 45 high), in a short sleeve, long sleeve and tights, plus I had gloves and a hat with me. Seeing that temp, I was planning on picking up my number and then losing the base layer. I never needed to do a wardrobe adjustment, I about froze when I went to get my packet. I got to the race site a little after 7:30, got my packet, did a “warm up” jog from the car to the POP line. I was in the POP line until 7:55, so the .15 mile jog to the line was it. Oops.

 

Out        28:33 split for 1^st 5k          (9:01, 9:05, 9:21)

I lined up maybe ¼ of the way back. It was a little congested the first ½ mile of so.  One lane of traffic really isn’t that much for 400-500 runners. There were a couple spots where I ran onto the curb to pass people, usually it was when people insisted on running 4 abreast yapping. Seriously, you paid $60 for this race to yap with friends?  At about the 1/2 mile mark, a runner who clearly did not read the race instructions (headphones NOT ALLOWED), dropped her phone/iPod/device at my feet. The evil part of me wanted to kick it,  but I just dodged it and kept going while the owner of the device stopped in the middle of the road to retrieve it.

 

At the end of the first mile, we started downhill, someone near-by commented we had to come up this at the end of the race. Ugh.  The downhill was short lived. At about mile 1.5, the uphill started. And really didn’t level off until the turnaround point. It wasn’t steep, just felt never ending. I was trying to keep an even effort and really did not want to look at my watch. About the only time I glanced at it was the first downhill when I noticed I was running 5k pace. I think it was after that glance that I felt my left calf cramping, I thought about stopping to stretch it on the curb, but just kept pushing on hoping it would ease, which it did.

 

Miles 2-5 were on tree lined streets, the trees seemed to provide a decent wind block, It wasn’t until just before the turnaround that I could feel the wind whipping around. I had unzipped my top on the climb, I wound up zipping it back up on this open spot.  The turnaround was a bit of a cluster. There was a relay option, so the relay exchange point was right before the official turnaround, plus they had a water table.  In addition, the side street we turned onto had a traffic choke, so essentially the 100 meters or so on that street meant everyone had to go single file.  Not cool.

 

Back       27:58     (9:02, 8:49, 9:12, final .25 8:13)

After the 1.5 miles of what seemed like never ending uphill, that meant after the turnaround was 1.5 miles of mostly downhill.  The crowding had thinned out by this point.  Around mile 4.5, I did run into a traffic jam/ dilemma. My understanding of the “rules” is that technically, if there are cones, you must stay inside them. Not sure if it is instant DQ for crossing them, but getting outside the cone also means going into the car lane, which I did not want to do. There is a local group that pushes kids or young adults in wheelchairs in events. They tend to have an entourage for each kid/adult. So the single travel lane was blocked by a wheelchair & the pusher and then 4 members of the entourage.  I looked for a space, and then as quickly as I could, I passed, I didn’t technically go outside a cone, since I did this between cones. Then I was treated to the conversation from the group, which was basically one girl preaching barefoot/minimal running, how much she improved, how her easy pace is so much faster and on and on with the humblebrag . OK, maybe I was cranky because I was cold, I wanted to be done and I was working on this damn hill while she would not STFU about her.  Thankfully, I was able to pull away on the hill—there was actually a spot where I could feel the tailwind while going uphill. After mile 5 was the end of the “main” hills. However, the last mile-1.2 miles was a gain of about 60 feet.  Once I got into the business area, the wind also was much more obvious. It sucks to be at the end of a race and feel cold.

 

Final thoughts

I thought I had a shot at a PR (55:01). I don’t do many 10ks, mainly because many are larger events, which I absolutely can’t stand, or they are in the middle of summer.  I think the combo of the never ending hills, no warm up and staying too conservative with pacing got me. I also think since I don’t do them often, it’s hard to gauge exactly how to pace.

 

FInisher medals (yea, I know, not necessary for a 10k, but I took it. Don't judge)

 

Racers on the road out of the business park, (not me) note the cones, note the crowding and ignoring the cones.

 Summary

Sunday I ran the Columbia Turkey Chase 10k, final time 26:30

 

Background

I’ve seen this race posted the last two years and never signed up. Both years it was a wise decision as the weather would wind up being cold, windy and maybe rainy. When I registered,  Accuweather forecasted a 55 degree day. Technically, they were correct; however, it was overcast & windy. It was 55 when I left my house in the morning; it dropped to 47 when I returned.

 

The race started and ended in a business park in Columbia, which is about 45 minutes south of me.  Columbia is a planned community built 40+ years ago. Despite growing up really close to there, then living in the same county for 2 years, I lose any sense of direction there. There are 11 villages, each with a village center (shops, restaurants, etc). All roads are tree lined, all street signs look the same. There is little to no road signage and any that is there is all uniform. So basically every street looks the same as the other, which means no way to use landmarks to determine where you are in the race.

 

I was a little worried about the course after getting the pre-race e-mail. It was an out-and-back but the roads were not closed. Instead, one lane in each direction was closed. Seeing how drivers are idiots, I don’t feel comfortable running with my back to traffic with just some little orange cones between the cars and I. There was little traffic, so it didn’t seem too bad, just not my preference.

 

I wound up leaving my house much later than planned, mainly trying to find a hat & gloves. Then I got ¼ mile down the road and realized I forgot my sunglasses, so back to pick them up.  Driving down, my car’s thermometer said it was 55 degrees out. I was dressed for much cooler (like the forecast 45 high), in a short sleeve, long sleeve and tights, plus I had gloves and a hat with me. Seeing that temp, I was planning on picking up my number and then losing the base layer. I never needed to do a wardrobe adjustment, I about froze when I went to get my packet. I got to the race site a little after 7:30, got my packet, did a “warm up” jog from the car to the POP line. I was in the POP line until 7:55, so the .15 mile jog to the line was it. Oops.

 

Out        28:33 split for 1^st 5k          (9:01, 9:05, 9:21)

I lined up maybe ¼ of the way back. It was a little congested the first ½ mile of so.  One lane of traffic really isn’t that much for 400-500 runners. There were a couple spots where I ran onto the curb to pass people, usually it was when people insisted on running 4 abreast yapping. Seriously, you paid $60 for this race to yap with friends?  At about the 1/2 mile mark, a runner who clearly did not read the race instructions (headphones NOT ALLOWED), dropped her phone/iPod/device at my feet. The evil part of me wanted to kick it,  but I just dodged it and kept going while the owner of the device stopped in the middle of the road to retrieve it.

 

At the end of the first mile, we started downhill, someone near-by commented we had to come up this at the end of the race. Ugh.  The downhill was short lived. At about mile 1.5, the uphill started. And really didn’t level off until the turnaround point. It wasn’t steep, just felt never ending. I was trying to keep an even effort and really did not want to look at my watch. About the only time I glanced at it was the first downhill when I noticed I was running 5k pace. I think it was after that glance that I felt my left calf cramping, I thought about stopping to stretch it on the curb, but just kept pushing on hoping it would ease, which it did.

 

Miles 2-5 were on tree lined streets, the trees seemed to provide a decent wind block, It wasn’t until just before the turnaround that I could feel the wind whipping around. I had unzipped my top on the climb, I wound up zipping it back up on this open spot.  The turnaround was a bit of a cluster. There was a relay option, so the relay exchange point was right before the official turnaround, plus they had a water table.  In addition, the side street we turned onto had a traffic choke, so essentially the 100 meters or so on that street meant everyone had to go single file.  Not cool.

 

Back       27:58     (9:02, 8:49, 9:12, final .25 8:13)

After the 1.5 miles of what seemed like never ending uphill, that meant after the turnaround was 1.5 miles of mostly downhill.  The crowding had thinned out by this point.  Around mile 4.5, I did run into a traffic jam/ dilemma. My understanding of the “rules” is that technically, if there are cones, you must stay inside them. Not sure if it is instant DQ for crossing them, but getting outside the cone also means going into the car lane, which I did not want to do. There is a local group that pushes kids or young adults in wheelchairs in events. They tend to have an entourage for each kid/adult. So the single travel lane was blocked by a wheelchair & the pusher and then 4 members of the entourage.  I looked for a space, and then as quickly as I could, I passed, I didn’t technically go outside a cone, since I did this between cones. Then I was treated to the conversation from the group, which was basically one girl preaching barefoot/minimal running, how much she improved, how her easy pace is so much faster and on and on with the humblebrag . OK, maybe I was cranky because I was cold, I wanted to be done and I was working on this damn hill while she would not STFU about her.  Thankfully, I was able to pull away on the hill—there was actually a spot where I could feel the tailwind while going uphill. After mile 5 was the end of the “main” hills. However, the last mile-1.2 miles was a gain of about 60 feet.  Once I got into the business area, the wind also was much more obvious. It sucks to be at the end of a race and feel cold.

 

Final thoughts

I thought I had a shot at a PR (55:01). I don’t do many 10ks, mainly because many are larger events, which I absolutely can’t stand, or they are in the middle of summer.  I think the combo of the never ending hills, no warm up and staying too conservative with pacing got me. I also think since I don’t do them often, it’s hard to gauge exactly how to pace.

 

FInisher medals (yea, I know, not necessary for a 10k, but I took it. Don't judge)

 

Racers on the road out of the business park, (not me) note the cones, note the crowding and ignoring the cones.

It was a race that prohibited headphones that was the impetus of me not running with them anymore. When I showed up that morning and saw dozens with them on despite that, I was tempted to retrieve mine from my car but resisted. The rest as they say, was history.

Yeah I've rarely run easy in 90 degrees let alone race in it. That would suck for any distance.

Yeah I've rarely run easy in 90 degrees let alone race in it. That would suck for any distance.

It sucked even more that there was a 5k and 1 mile that all started the same time. By the time the 10k runners were done, there was no Gatorade and very little water left. No clue if they left food, that was the last thing I wanted after that.

 Summary

Sunday I ran the Columbia Turkey Chase 10k, final time 26:30

Wow! That's what I call a good racing!

I tried to modify my post and quoted instead. I'll blame my cell phone's small keyboard.

Nice RR, HK2! You handled it well and probably would have hit a PR without all the congestion and the hills. What is it with people who are so inconsiderate that they block the course while running with their friends? Maybe there should be signs on the course to remind runners to be courteous and leave the road open so that all can run a course free of obstacles.