After a disappointing race in August I was excited to redeem myself with 3 opportunities in September on sequential weekends beginning on the 15th.
HyVee Half Marathon Series 5k
It was a nice cool morning as I headed downtown on the 15th. I was able to get a parking spot 3 blocks from the start line which gave me plenty of time to pick up my packet and walk back to my truck to drop off my race packet. I found Adam, who was running the half marathon, shortly before it was time to line up. The half, 10k, and 5k all started at the same time so I lined up as far back as I could.
As the race started, I felt pretty good. My goal for the race was to try and break 40 minutes. I settled in behind a few different runners which really helped me keep an even pace. The problem with that ended up being when we hit the 5k turn around and everyone I was running with continued on. With a gap over 100 yards to the next runner, I just kept myself focused on them and slowly began closing the gap. Before I knew it I was past Principal park and heading back to Court Avenue.
I looked at my watch for the first time with about a half mile to go and was pleasantly surprised to see that I would easily break 40 minutes. I gave it all I had the last quarter mile and ended up finishing in 38:41.
I stuck around to watch Adam finish his half marathon (in just over an hour and a half) before heading to meet the girls at church. This race was exactly what I needed to bounce back from my bad race in Johnston in August. I was able to cut off almost 4 minutes from that time.
Tri the Illini
After a week of vacation, I loaded up the truck with all of my triathlon gear and headed for Champaign, IL on September 21. The 5 hour 30 minute drive felt like it took FOREVER, but I finally arrived around 2pm. I located the parking lot that would be transition and drove the bike route before heading to packet pickup and checking into my hotel. One of my coworkers, recently turned employee, lives in Champaign so he picked me up and we went out for some bbq for dinner.
It stormed overnight, and while the thunderstorms ended around 6:30am, the rain continued throughout the morning. I sat in my truck pondering my interest in completing the race in such miserable conditions but ultimately decided to do it. Not only had I driven over 5 hours to the race, this was also my last and only opportunity to complete an outdoor triathlon in 2024.
I set up my transition in the pouring rain. All of my stuff was wet including my cycling shoes, running shoes, socks, and both towels. I then headed into the rec center to await instructions and the start of the race.
The race consisted of a 300 meter swim in their outdoor 50 meter pool, a 14.4 mile out-and-back bike ride, and a 5k run through campus. We were self-seeded based on swim time and took us out to the pool 50 people at a time. I was very impressed at how well run the race was as they managed to get everyone started within about 40 minutes (over 400 racers). I was happy with my swim and really enjoyed the 50 meter pool. My time was 9:33, but that included about 150-200 meter run out of the pool to transition.
I was EXTREMELY nervous heading out on the bike and did not go nearly as hard as I would normally go. The streets were wet, and in some cases had standing water, and it was still raining. I slowed down a lot for turns and managed to stay upright the whole time. I was very thankful for the closed bike course. Usually the bike ride gives me a chance to dry out after the swim, but the combo of the rain and my back tire splashing water on me the whole way made me even wetter than when I started. Either way, I was happy to make it back to transition in a time of 53:22.
I took some extra time in transition to take in a GU gel and drink some water. It felt so gross putting my wet running shoes onto my soaking wet socks. As I headed out of transition I could tell that my legs were very tired and the run was going to be difficult. I took several walking breaks throughout the run and was thankful for a flat course. As I crossed the finish line, in a time of 1:50, I was just happy to be done. I quickly headed to transition to pack up all of my wet stuff before heading to the truck and driving to my in-law's in the Quad Cities.
Even though the race was miserable and I was not really in race-ready shape, it felt great to get a triathlon into the schedule before the end of the year.
John Deere Des Moines Area 5k
It was a beautiful morning on Saturday, September 28. With a 9:00 am start time, I was able to sleep in before picking up my friend, Kyle, on the way to John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny. Both Kyle and Adam were running too but Adam was running a 5k at DMACC before the John Deere 5k (he is kind of crazy sometimes). After picking up our packets we made the rounds and talked to various coworkers that were also doing the race.
There was a short kids race before the 5k started, but before I knew it, we were off. The field felt much smaller than last year and it didn't take long for me to be running with nobody around me. The course was very flat as we weaved in and out of the various buildings at Des Moines Works. I tried my best to keep a consistent pace and with about 3/4 mile to go I started to push a little harder. As I crossed the finish line I was a little disappointed as I felt like I had a lot left in the tank and should have kicked a little sooner.
My final time was 39:01, almost an identical pace to the HyVee 5k less than 2 weeks prior. I was happy with the result and hung out with Adam and Kyle as we waited for the awards.
New Run Streak
After getting cleared to start running at the end of June, I was struggling to build consistency in my training. As the end of July approached, I decided to start a new run streak and did that on July 31st. As of today, that run streak is at 61 days and counting. In those 61 days, I have run 119 miles. The best part has been seeing consistent and incremental improvement in my running again. Just like last time, I have a long way to go but am taking it 1 day at a time.
Up Next
So what's next? That's a great question. At this point I am not signed up for any more races in 2024, however I'm looking at a few more 5k races in November and will probably sign up this week. It's hard to believe that the racing season is winding down. It was such a difficult year for me and I have caught myself thinking of what should have been far too often. Even though I wasn't able to accomplish most of my goals for the year I'm still proud of myself for sticking with it and working to overcome the adversity that I faced.
Stay tuned, because I hear there is a BIG announcement coming to my blog very soon!
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