I felt pretty good during this run. It was a pretty full field, so for the first 2/3 of a mile it was pretty tight quarters. After that, it was a full course, but you could move around a lot easier and pick your path to get by slower runners. There were a couple of "teams" that wanted to run in large goups, but they didn't cause that much of a problem, and they were friendly when you excused yourself to go through or by them. Just after mile 2 there was a slight uphill that wasn't much to speak of, but for some reason, my heart rate monitor popped loose. I reached up and grabbed it and got it in my hand in a comfortable enough position to run with it without loosing too much time, but I noticed that I was having trouble getting my pace back, as the two girls that I was running with (we had met on the course and just started pacing each other), started to pull away from me a bit. Maybe I was tired and maybe I just lost my rhythm from juggling with my strap. Probably more that I was wearing down. Tried to kick a little at the end to catch the two girls, but they beat me by 9 or 10 seconds.

I think I was a little low on hydration before the start, but I don't really think that affected me. I didn't notice it until after the race was over and I couldn't get enough to drink. They had no sports drink at all at this event. They had a ton of water and they had a lot of beer (which I did appreciate) but I really wanted a gatorade after the race. I guess all of the 20K folks snapped up everything they had and there were no vendors selling anything at this event (everything was free of charge to racers and spectators). My wife and her friend went on a wild goose chase for Gatorade in the downtown Des Moines area, to no avail.
Anyway, I think I would do my hydration prep like I do for tri's. Maybe that would have given me the juice I need to get over that 12:00 edge.

Drank lots of water, stretched my calves (right one was way tighter than the left, does that speak of an imbalance of strength issue)? Ate a couple of bananas and then had a couple of beers and talked to people I knew and a few of the people I met on the course. I don't do many races that are just runs, but I get the feeling that runners aren't as "sociable" as triathletes are. There is not a lot of talking to each other or encouragement as you pass on the course. People came up to me afterward and told me that I helped them keep going by encouraging them as I passed them. Usually the shoe is on the other foot. Wierd!


Ummmm - I'm not a really good runner. Really, it is still just the running muscles and fitness issue. My first race 5K this year was almost 16:00 miles and now I am running 12:00 (or pretty close). I don't feel right about complaining, at this point.


This is a good race. Maybe next year I do the 20K instead?