Race Recap - Dam to Dam

This morning I ran my fourth Dam to Dam race.  It seems each year this race has taught me something important and this year was no exception.  I was really happy to come to the end of this race with a new 20K PR (1:57:35 by my watch - official results not posted yet).

The weather was amazing.  A tiny big muggy, a tiny bit overcast, temps in the mid-50's.  I met some friends in Indianola to make the drive to downtown Des Moines to catch the bus to the dam. We left Indianola on time at 4:50am, boarded the buses at 5:30am and were still almost late for the 7:00am start.  The bus driver got lost on the way (really?!) and we got caught in a long line of buses to unload. Then we got in an endless porta-potty line at 6:45am (yes, more than an hour to make a 12.4 mile drive). The line was going no where when one of our friends investigated and saw that there was a whole bank of porta potties not in use at all.  Quick pit stop and we were hustling to the starting line as they were singing the National Anthem.

The start was more congested than I can ever remember it being. It felt like we were darting around just trying to find a place to run.  The group we arrived with quickly dissipated and it was just me and Corissa by mile #1.

I came to this race today with a very heavy heart.  My Grandma Jane is not doing well.  She had surgery last week and her body is not responding and recovering the way we would hope. She is a very important person in my life and it is painful to see her suffering. I saw her at the hospital last night, her daughters are with her today. I was pre-occupied with that and just didn't have much to say as the race unfolded.  Corissa fell in beside me and carried me along.  She is a person of great faith, she's a nurse in the critical care unit, and all her strength, her faith and her compassion just flowed from her. I can't begin to express how grateful I was and how lucky I felt that she was the person with me today.

Several times on the course I found myself choking back sobs - proving again that whatever I'm feeling when I start running I feel more of while I'm out there. Corissa would squeeze my hand or give me a smile while I pulled myself back together.

Even with a heavy heart, I felt I really wanted to run a strong, smart race.  My primary goal was to run better (aka faster?) than last year's 1:59:29.  Last year I bonked hard at mile 10, so I wanted to avoid that at all costs as well.  Our first 4 miles hovered around a 9:30 pace, (Mile 1 - 9:25, mile 2 - 9:28, mile 3 - 9:23, mile 4 - 9:27).  We reached a nice stretch of straight, flat road and agreed to try to pull out a couple of faster miles. (Mile 5 - 9:10, Mile 6 - 9:12, Mile 7 - 9:20).

Right after the 7 mile marker there is the biggest hill of the race.  I took some Gu Chomps just before we began the climb. Each year they line that part of the course with flags and signs honoring the troops.  There are bag pipers playing.  It is very solemn.  The runners get quiet, I see people pop out their ear phones.  Corissa said to me at the bottom of that big hill, "I'd like to dedicate this to your grandmother" and with that she sort of pulled me up and over.

Even with all my emotions swirling I was amazed by how good I felt. The miles passed quickly, I felt like I could sustain our pace through the finish.  (Mile 8 - 9:33, Mile 9 - 9:11, Mile 10 - 9:28).  As we came into the Birdland Marina area I knew we were getting close to the scene of last year's epic bonk. I had saved a couple of Gu Chomps and took them and promptly choked on them.  After I pulled myself back together, we climbed the second (and last) big hill of the run and turned into the closing stretch. The last 2.4 miles passed quickly and relatively easy (Mile 11 - 9:29, Mile 12 - 9:23). We turned the last corner into downtown, Corissa darted ahead and I made my way across the finish line at 1:57:35 by my watch.

My lessons:  my first Dam to Dam was about finishing.  My second showed me I could run under really bad conditions (lots and lots of rain) and still perform well.  My third showed me I could set a goal (break 2 hours) and achieve it.  What was my lesson today?  Maybe it is too soon to say.  I am fairly confident I could have run today's race faster.  There is no reason I should feel as good (physically) as I do right now.  Maybe my lesson, taught to me by my sadness, is the importance of consistency.  Over the span of 12.4 miles our pace was measured, consistent and doable.  I didn't start too fast (which I ALWAYS do) so I finished feeling strong.  Today I didn't have it in me to push hard, empty the tank. So despite the circumstances, this was the best Dam to Dam I've run and it was still 2 minutes faster than last year.