Dam to Dam 20k RR Des Moines Iowa The Short RR Goal: 1:36:00 Actual 1:35:53 7:43 pace 605/6476 Chicked 87 Times 65/468 Age Group M4044 Splits 1, 8:17 2, 7:26 3, 7:07 4 , 7:34 5, 7:24 6, 7:41 7, 7:58 8, 7:58 9, 7:25 10, 8:01 11, 8:05 12, 7:42 13, 3:13 In Short, I may have ran this to conservatively. My biggest fear was going out to fast and blowing up on mile 8. The course starts on a narrow path……the self seeding system didn’t work hence the 8:17 1st mile. Hills at Miles 7,8 and 11. Normally I attack hills. In this race I laid back. A decision that I am now questioning. Each hill had a very nice low grade slope on the back side which would have allowed plenty of time to recover. I had to pull over and rub out a side stitch shortly into mile 10. I’ve never raced this distance before but after running this race I think I’ll be looking for more “Distance Classic” races……Half Marathon’s and 20k’s. Today, the day after the race, I feel good and got in a very easy 3.8 mile recovery run and felt like I could have ran a long time. Basically, I’m still race ready. The Long RR Fashion Report; Target C9 Sleeveless Tech Shirt. White with gray accents Nike Nylon running shorts. Navy blue with Gray stripes down the side with a small reflective strip Mizuno Waves Running Shoes, Light gray with red accents Time Keeper….Timex Ironman Sports Watch Bracelet…..Livestrong, Yellow….it’s the only color they come in Generic Red Frame wrap around sunglasses with charcoal lenses. Friday: Took a half vacation day. Left for Des Moines around 2:00. Arrived at my Sisters just as she was getting home from work. Her, I and her two little girls headed to the Polk County Convention center in downtown town Des Moines for the expo and packet pick up. We met up with my Brother-In-Law there. Packet Pick Up I love the hustle and bustle of packet pick up at large races. The Expo left much to be desired. 2 vendors….BUT they had FREE BEER and free sandwiches…….tough to beat that. Packet pick up was very organized. Check in by number to get your bib and shirt then to the next table to get your chip. The swag bag sucked. The only thing you got was the race shirt. A Brooks technical shirt…..nice job on the graphics. Nice and simple. That was it though. Dinner I had the honor of treating My sister, her hubby and their two children to Dinner at the Marconi Grill. An excellent Italian restaurant. They start by serving you dipping bowls generously filled with Olive Oil and topped with fresh ground pepper to dip your piping hot fresh baked bread in while you wait to order and be served. Dinner was nothing short of excellent and the company was superb! I really had a tough time limiting my self to just 2 Samuel Adams Summer Ales. Home and asleep by 9:30. Sat Am 4:20am awoke to the sound of rain drops. There was no mention of rain in the forecast. I looked outside and was relieved to see it just a light rain. The concrete under the car in the driveway was still dry. I started a pot of coffee and forced myself to eat a banana. I was still stuffed from the night before. My sister woke shortly after…..The weather report was very favorable. She drove me to the drop off for the start of the race. PreRace I had my choice to ride a shuttle from downtown or to be let out at the drop off site near the start. I opted to be dropped off. I just couldn’t fathom trying to transport 5000 people from the finish line to the start. This meant I had to walk 1.5 miles from the car drop off point to the start line……Across the dam. The rent on the coffee was due about 2 minutes after I was dropped off. The start point was 1.2 miles away…on a dam….no cover if you catch my drift. This proved to be a long walk ! And there Off ! Standing at the start of the race looking south you could see the race ending point 12 miles away. The sun was just breaking thru the clouds the starting temp was 59 degs. The introductions were made, the Anthem sang and the starting gun sounded. The course was completely closed and one of the most scenic courses I have ever run. Starting at a dam on one of Iowa’s larger recreational lakes, thru the country side and into the cultural center of Iowa. Our great Capitol. The crowd support was awesome and the volunteers…….Wow….how can we begin to thank for their time. My goal was to finish in 1:36.….pretty much a given as long as nothing went terribly wrong….and it didn’t. I enjoyed this race from start to finish. A few high fives with the volunteers along the way. The thunderous booms from the drum and dance corps in the final yards helped me to find that final push to dig deep and give it everything I had. I ran a solid race. Finish time 1:35:53. A 7:43 pace. A 5K for fun The 20 k started at 7:00 on the button. A 5k was scheduled at 9:30. I talked my sister into doing the 5k so it was only fitting that I did it with her. 3000 people. Geez…..Way to many. We were positioned about dead smack in the middle……the race started 10 mins late……Announcement, intros, and starting gun ! The accordion effect of a mass start of 3000 people can only be appreciated viewing from above. Acting as a baffle in that accordion sucks ! Never again will I participate in a 5k that large. Nuff said. My sister had a good time……she’ll experience the home town version of a 5k in a few weeks.

Nice Race Slo_hand!  I was there too, but have been unbelieveably swamped at home and at work.  I'll try to get to a RR later tonight.  You and I are not in the same league as far as race times, but I was thinking about you a bit when I was there.  Suffice it to say, I was pleased to have beaten the 5K'ers to the finish.

 

Janet

Good race and report, SLO.  Not only did you run well, but you got to hang out with family and have great food and beer.  It's neat you got to do a 5K with your sister.  Congratulations.

 

TomS

That's a very strong race Slo, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Except for the 5K. Two decent distances in one day.  Wow

Thanks All !

 

No photos yet......My Brother in Law is an excellent photographer and he took a ton of photos at the after party.......He's also a busy Architect so maybe I'll cut him some slack for not getting them emailed.

 

I'm anxious to hear (read) Handy Mom's take too........It was a picture perfect day.

There are those who would consider peeing off a dam a challenge...

 

Great race and report!  Pretty darn speedy, too, even if you felt it wasn’t your total best effort.  Excellent that you could combine it with a visit to your sister and her family, too.  

 

What does it mean to be “chicked”?

 

 

 Chicked.......Beat by a chick, female, woman, girl........

I was SO hoping that wasn’t going to be the answer......saying it like it’s a BAD thing to have a woman be faster than you......or that it implies some failing in you for being beaten by a woman....

 

I thought men LIKED fast wimmin.....

 

 

So if you were "chicked" by 87 women, what's the term for the 517 guys that beat you?  "Duded?"

 Well I sure wouldn't say "Hunked"..........

 

I'm LMAO.......And I ain't sayin it's a bad thing.....it was just there in the race results. I couldn't figure out how the person just ahead of me was 87 and I was 518...... That's when I noticed they seperated the overall finish places, one for men and one for women so I had to add in the 87 women that beat me.

What a deligthful report to read. I had a smile in my face the whole way. Your splits speak loudly of your good physical condition.

Way to nail that dam to dam race.