IMT Des Moines Marathon Race Report: Mission Accomplished!

Well, I'm still riding high for finally breaking the sub 3-hour barrier.  I knew it was going to feel good, but I had no freakin' idea!  I ask for your indulgence as I lay out a full-blown race report, with all the gory and not-so-gory details of race week-end.  Thanks to all of you who offered support and advice; all of it helped.  Special thanks to Kurt Jewell, who helped pace me to my goal; his enthusiasm and math skills were desperately needed in the final miles.  Special-special thanks to my wife and daughter who put up with me and support me through this madness! Here we go:

 

Pre-Race - Kurt and I headed to Des Moines early, giving us all day Saturday to drive the course (bad idea) and do some "light" sight-seeing in Des Moines.  There ia actually quite a lot to see in Des Moines and it is a very lovely city.  I got a room at the Savery Hotel, which is downtown and literally right at the start and the finish of the race.  I walk out the front door and the starting gate is 20 feet away.  I don't have to worry about parking, waiting in the cold and most importantly, my own PRIVATE BATHROOM.  This is the only way to fly!  I feel like an elite runner.  The pasta feed was great and also got a pre-race pep-talk from Jeff Galloway.  Our table was right next to the elite runners and wow, can those chaps put away the food!  I got to bed by 9 and would have slept right to my alarm, but was scared out of my sleep by PA and mike checks down on the street at 4:40!  Ear piercing, blasting Maroon 5 is a less than  an ideal way to be roused out of a peaceful slumber.  Do we really need to be "Moving like Jaggar" at this hour?

 

Race Start - after using my very own personal bathroom one more time, I make my way to the start.  It's not a big race, so its easy to move up to the front.  The weather is perfect, about 48 and no wind.  I am wearing a singlet, shorts and a pair of old socks on my hands, which I shed after two miles.  It really was a gorgeous morning.

 

Early miles - the first two miles are a quick out and back through downtown, showcasing the State Capitol and the thriving downtown.  I love this part of the marathon, when a pace of 6:48 feels like a leisurely jog.

 

Mile 1 - 6:48

Mile 2 - 6:56

 

Hill Portion - I mentioned that driving the course was a bad idea.  The hills looked so ridiculous in the car, that I almost psyched myself out.  Thing is, the elevation chart is completely bogus.  On the chart it looks like two moderate hills then one long downhill.  In reality, there are 7 or 8 moderate hills between miles 3 and 9.  I wore a pace band for the first time and so glad I did.  The pace band called for a 1:30 negative split, which gave me plenty of motivation to do the hills easy, easy, easy.  Here were my splits through the HODS (Hills of Des Moines)

Mile 3 - 6:52

Mile 4 - 7:01 (first hill)

Mile 5 - 6:48 (fun downhill)
Mile 6 - 6:56
Mile 7 - 6:54
Mile 8 - 7:14 (big hills)
Mile 9 - 6:51
I ran this portion a little ahead of schedule and was ahead of the pace band by about 40 seconds.  The HODS were behind me and I could relax and focus on a steady pace

Middle Miles - this part of the course is miles 10 through 14.  Relatively flat and features a lap around the track at Drake.  We were on the big screen, but seriously, I forgot to look!  I was locked in and focused with the task at hand.  I took my first gel at mile 10 and started to fight through a slight side stitch at mile 11.  I would have the stitch through mile 20 or so, but luckily it never got out of hand.  Here are my splits though the middle miles:

Mile 10 - 6:55

Mile 11 - 6:49

Mile 12 - 6:46

Mile 13 - 6:59 (this mile was long) (half split was 1:30:41)

Mile 14 - 6:50 - (gel number two)

 

The Fun Part - this included a nice steady downhill from 15 to  18.  Not too steep, just enough to let gravity do its thing.  This felt awesome after all the earlier hills.

Mile 15 - 6:21 - this mile was way short

Mile 16 - 6:38 - weeeeeeeeee!  At one point I was cruising at 6:15 pace!
Mile 17 - 6:39 - again, with enthusiasm - weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Mile 18 - 6:46 - ride over, time to get to work.

The Not So Fun Part - all flat, all bike trail, and crowded with slow, walking half marathoners.  Luckily my personal pacer, Kurt joined me (he was part of a marathon relay team)  The job was now to crank out as many 6:45 miles as possible.  I really had to work, but was able to run steady all the way to 25.5 miles.  At some point in the marathon, my brain ceases to function.  I kept telling Kurt, that I had lots of time to make up to break three hours.  He kept asking me. "Are you sure?"  I had told him earlier that I was about a minute ahead of schedule at the half and had kept pace up to mile 19.  I kept thinking that I had a more than 30 seconds to make up, so kept pushing the envelope.  It was until mile 23.2 at 2:38 and change, how wrong I was.  Kurt yells, "you're flirting with 2:58 baby!"  I couldn't believe it.  I had this; it hurt like hell for 3 more miles and had a hamstring going wonky in the last half mile, but this was happening!

Mile 19 - 6:43

Mile 20 - 6:43
Mile 21 - 6:45
Mile 22 - 6:40
Mile 23 - 6:43
Mile 24 - 6:47
Mile 25 - 6:50
Mile 26 - 6:56
Mile .20 - 6:42

total - 2:58:56

Wow, what an amazing feeling.  I'm not the blubbering type, but there was some blubbering going on.  Just when I thought I was over it, another wave of blubbering would come over me.  I knew this was going to feel great, but I had no idea.  It was worth every mile, every work-out, every cursing of the alarm at 4:15, every double, every long run  in the July humidity and every sore muscle.  Truly incredible.

 

This was a small marathon field, less than 2,000.  My time of 2:58:56 was good enough for a win in my age group and a 36th place finish overall!  What a day!

 

Thanks for reading and as always, Happy running!

Rick