IMT Des Moines Half Marathon - 2023

Early in the year, maybe late winter or early spring, I started chatting with my friends about signing up to do the Des Moines Half Marathon this year. This was before I had really started training hard, before I knew that I was going to stay committed. Adam committed to doing the race with me as his first half marathon as well. To show you exactly how serious I was at the time, I didn't end up actually signing up for the race until mid-July. 

Race History

I have a very storied history with the IMT Des Moines Marathon races and have really enjoyed them over the years. While the weather has been all over the place, it has never been extremely hot on race weekend and is a great way to wrap up a racing season. I have made some great memories at this race over the years.

Back in 2014, my first year of racing was caped off with the IMT Des Moines Marathon 5k. I don't recall a lot from that race other than running a lot faster than I thought I would finishing with a time of 42:09.

In 2015, I ran my 2nd half marathon at the IMT Des Moines. It was 3 weeks after my first half marathon in the Quad Cities and I absolutely crushed it. I went from a time of 2:57:03 in the Quad Cities to 2:45:48 in Des Moines. My brother-in-law, Mike, came along to that race to cheer me on and my friend, Lacy, was running in that race as well. 

Feeling great after my 2nd half marathon in 3 weeks

In 2016 I put a team together to compete in the Marathon Relay. The relay team consisted of 5 people who each ran a stretch of the full marathon route. Our team consisted of my wife, Erin, friends Joni, Ben, Megan, and myself. It was sort of a foggy and wet day, but we had an absolute blast.

2016 Relay team ready to get after it

2017 was another team relay year, but with a couple different team members. Instead of Ben and Joni, we had May and Justin. Again our team rocked it, and I ran particularly well through the hilly section of the course. I also ended up helping at at an understaffed water station while waiting at one of the exchange zones. 

2017 Relay team excited after the race

2018 was a little different, as I sat the race out so that my wife, Erin, could run the half marathon. It was a bitter cold morning and I took the girls downtown to cheer her on. 

High fives for mommy before the finish line

A new half marathon PR

2019 was the last time that I ran at the IMT, and that year I ran my first ever marathon. It was a great day, and I ran so well through 18 miles, but then hit the wall hard at mile 20. I finished in a time of 5:57:12, much slower than my target time of 5 hours. 

Very glad to be finished

2023 Recap

I was very excited in the lead up to the race this year. My training had been going very well and I was gradually increasing my speed while also increasing distance throughout late summer and early fall. I was feeling great after my 12 mile training run just last Sunday and with how I did at the Capital Pursuit just a few weeks ago. Confidence was very high. That confidence faded quickly when I started feeling under the weather Tuesday evening. I slept horrible for 2 straight nights and stayed home from work on Wednesday. I limited my work outs to just my training runs, drank plenty of fluids, and got to bed early the rest of the week. 

My 3 mile run on Saturday went pretty well, but I was still coughing and dealing with a runny nose. Sunday morning I woke up feeling somewhere around 75%. I headed outside for 15 minute walk to get the blood flowing and wake myself up. After a quick breakfast, I hoped in the truck and headed downtown giving myself about an hour to get parked and walk to the start line. 

I arrived at the start line with plenty of time to spare. The temperatures were in the mid-40s with winds out of the north. I had opted to stick with shorts and a t-shirt knowing I would warm up once I got going. I did wear a thin pair of gloves to keep my hands warm though. I kept walking around to stay warm until they requested racers make their way to the start. I had adjusted my pacing strategy and goal for the race on Saturday knowing that I wouldn't be at 100%. My goal was to beat my time from 2015 and my strategy was to stick between 12:15 - 12:30 for mile 1 - 5, 12:00 - 12:15 for mile 5 - 10, and then give it everything I had left for the last 5k. 

The race started out really well. At mile 4, right before the route split at the back side of Water Works Park, I passed Adam coming the other way and got a high five. I thought about the irony that I had run through Water Works Park so many times, but have never actually been to the park for any other reason. I was feeling very good as we made our way out of Water Works Park and around Grey's Lake. 

As I hit mile 10, I realized how consistent my splits had been, and ahead of pace too, but my body didn't feel like it had a lot left. It surprised me a little bit when I hit mile 11 and that split was slower than the rest. I picked it up for mile 12 but I think that may have been a mistake. About 2/10 of a mile before the marker I started to realize how little my body had left. At mile 12, I took a very short walk break and my legs were shaking. I started a much slower run after a couple minutes but my body just had nothing left. That is when the most amazing thing happened. The racers around me must have noticed I wasn't doing so well. They started talking to me, reminding me how close we were to the end, and giving me any encouragement they could. I managed to keep my legs going and gave it one last surge for the last quarter of a mile into the finish line. 

Surprisingly, after I finished, my legs were no longer shaking and I was able to walk just fine. My body was completely drained though and I was confident that I had given absolutely everything that I had in me. I finished in a time of 2:41:53, beating my time from 2015 by nearly 4 minutes. 

2023 splits on the left, 2015 on the right

Could I have done better if I hadn't gotten sick this week? I probably could have, but Erin has reminded me multiple times that life happens and their are certain things out of my control. I truly believe that I did the best I could with the circumstances that I was given. This was my 8th half marathon, and it won't be my last. 

Proud finisher

Wrap Up

So what's next? As of right now, I have 1 last race on my schedule for the year. I will be running the 5 mile Davenport Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. Between now and them I will be doing a lot of speed work and focusing on ending this unplanned season on a high note. I'm still hitting the weights and spending a lot of time in the pool and on the bike as well. I've got BIG things in the works for 2024 and am ready to put in the work this off season. It is going to be a challenge balancing work, basketball, family, and training this winter but if anyone is able to do it, I am. Thanks for reading!