Race Recap: 2017 Des Moines Half Marathon

Des Moines Half Marathon Race Report

When: Sunday, October 15, 2017

Where: Des Moines, IA

Weather: 40s, windy

Division: Open

With a recent severe cold and sinus infection, my training had been majorly derailed in the four weeks prior to the race. Before that, I'd managed to get a couple 10-milers in, and I knew I'd be able to finish the race, but my previous goal of 2:50 would be out of reach. I set a new goal of under 3 hours and knew I'd need to keep a good pace and not fall apart to get there.

Arrived downtown about 45 minutes before the start - used the hotel shuttle, so I can't comment on the parking situation, which I'm sure was disastrous. The start/finish area moved a couple blocks away since last year, so once again I found myself unable to locate ANYTHING, thanks to Des Moines' consistently terrible start/finish area organization. Why is this so difficult? This year was even worse, because everything was spread out on this cross-shaped section of downtown, meaning that you had to go around the corner to find stuff, and there were no signs either pointing the way or labeling the areas themselves. Example: bag check was in a parking structure, and there was no sign on the structure telling you this. You literally had to wander around and hope to find it. I discovered after the race that there was a map posted on Facebook. Why they couldn't put the map at the expo, in the race program, or email it to participants pre-race, I have no idea. The port-a-john situation was good, though, lots of areas with multiple toilets so there was hardly any line. Much better than having one giant line of port-a-johns. 

I was near the back of the start corral and could barely hear the anthem, let alone any announcements. Crossed the start line about 6-7 minutes after the gun, which is decent. People had sorted themselves pretty well, considering there are no assigned corrals. Got a good pace going and kept it for a very long time. The course was flat, with the only hills coming at a couple of bridges (only one hill, at mile 11, was big enough for me to switch from hip flexors to glutes, so I was glad I had trained on flats - essential for this race). 

Miles 4-9ish are basically a huge out-and-back section, with a loop around Water Works Park at the end. This was great for seeing lots of runners, but it made for a tight squeeze on the fairly narrow road, especially when bike patrollers needed to go by. Mile 6 we saw an aid station with bacon (typical Des Moines, LOL), then a bit later a stage with people in unicorn costumes with rainbows on them hula-hooping to the song "Rhythm is a Dancer." NOW I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING. Honestly, this is EXACTLY the sort of fabulous entertainment that should be at *every single race on the planet.* It felt like I was watching a mini-challenge from RuPaul's Drag Race, which is exactly as cool as it sounds. Kept going and passed a run/walker who was "singing along" with her phone, which was playing...spoken word slam poetry. What the heck. I guess, if it keeps you motivated. It was no "Rhythm is a Dancer," though.

Mile 7's aid station was staffed by National Guardsmen, who with one exception were polite and encouraging. The one exception was yelling at people to stop walking and start running, that walking was for wusses. Um, bro, this is the 3-hour half marathon group. Walking is part of the plan. I think he thought he was being all drill-sergeant encouraging, but no, dude. No. Meanwhile I got a couple of "you are a FAST WALKER"s from my fellow racers, which always makes a gal feel good. 

After the out-and-back (where we were passed by the full marathon leaders at around their mile 20), we looped around Gray's Lake as always. There was a group of four near me and one of the dudes had on a flower lei. I was like "yay, you got lei'd!" Laughs all around. After mile 10 I started kind of feeling the pain a bit. My shoes were pretty new and I'd tied them a bit too tight maybe, because they were bugging. Bottoms of my feet had hot spots but no actual blisters. And my hips were fatigued due to undertraining, which I'd expected. Overall I felt pretty damn good considering I hadn't walked much in 4 weeks. I spent my time encouraging those around me, which is a good strategy for feeling encouraged yourself. Got up the one hill and over the bridge, then we went down MLK on a flat and wide road. Luxury!

After mile 12.5 we had to turn left into downtown for the finish, and a volunteer was yelling at us "walkers KEEP RIGHT! STAY RIGHT UNTIL THE END!!!" I was slightly right of the center of the lane so I glanced over my shoulder and saw...nobody coming. Whatever, lady. Also I was walking as fast as everyone else was jogging, but she was still yelling at me specifically to move my ass over. I didn't. I walked where I wanted to and was in nobody's way. We made two left turns and the finish was right there. And I hit it in 2:59:37 on my watch. Goal: achieved!

After the race I got my bag, stretched, then tried to find food. Couldn't. Asked someone else, and they helped me find it. What the HELL, Des Moines. People who are finishing a marathon need food RIGHT IN THEIR FACE at the end. Don't make people have to go searching for it in an alleyway (seriously). The food, once I found it, was great. Beer, nachos, pork sandwiches, pizza, strawberries, cookies, bananas, peanut butter. I wished they'd had those bags of Baked Cheetos but beggars can't be choosers. 

Good: 

-swag. Shirt was a much better color this year, and I bought a t-shirt that is super cute. 

-course. Flat, but enjoyable.

-bike crew once again has everything you could possibly want.

-medal is one of the best, every year.

Bad:

-weather, but that's nobody's fault. Just too windy for how cold it was. Hands were numb.

-start/finish organization. HORRIBLE. Inexcusably horrible year after year. UGH.

Race Grade: B. Besides the start/finish area, this race is a solid one for those who want a good flat fall run. 

Sick, Bro!

It is cold and flu season, so it's time to review the guidelines to when to exercise when you are sick. First things first: it is perfectly okay to NOT exercise when you're sick. Sometimes the safest course of action is to "sit your ass down," as RuPaul would say, and drink plenty of fluids until you are on the mend. But when you have a cold that lingers for weeks and races coming up, that can be difficult. So please use good sense when deciding whether to exercise, and follow these rules.

1) Do not exercise with a fever over 100. It is a terrible idea. If you are already running hot, exercise (which increases your core temperature further) is the last thing you should be doing. Fevers don't last long, so just sit your ass down and drink ice-cold Gatorade.

2) Do not exercise with a chest cough. Chest coughs can be a sign of a lung infection such as bronchitis, which during intense exercise can travel to your heart and kill you. If that sounds like a fun way to spend your autumn, whatever. If your cough is very "shallow," you can work out, especially if it is infrequent.

3) If you have a headache or sinus pain, you can work out, but you might not want to. These can be exacerbated by dehydration, and sweating is usually a bad plan. If you work out with these symptoms, take it easy.

4) If you have a runny or stuffy nose, you can work out. A runny nose might get nasty, though, and a stuffy nose might make it difficult to breathe. Something to consider: if you exercise outdoors with a stuffy nose, take a route that doesn't have too many bugs, because you will need to mouth-breathe.

5) If you have a sore throat, you are probably good to go, unless you suspect you have strep throat. Sore throat + fever = sit your ass down, perhaps in an urgent care waiting room.

6) Vomiting or diarrhea...please, don't. Even without the obvious practical concerns, you run a high risk of dehydration anyway, so drink your Gatorade and stay away from the public.

7) Sneezing is okay. If you have severe allergies, though, you might want to take your workouts indoors until your allergen is less prevalent.

Follow these tips and you might make it through cold and flu season in decent physical shape! And remember, if you feel too run down to work out, it is okay to take a week off. You won't get deconditioned at all unless you take off a few weeks. Take care of yourself first - the training plan is less important.

A New Kind of Interval Training

As we saw in June, I have gotten into obstacle course racing, which is a very satisfying way to cross-train for walkers. We develop upper body and grip strength, which is helpful with walking (keeping elbows at 90 degrees, and carrying bottles and such). It keeps things from getting boring (because let's face it, sometimes walking many miles every week and doing nothing else is a bit dull). It gives us a break from the same-old when we're burned out on cardio. And it makes us more well-rounded as athletes in general.

But pounding out reps at the gym is not always super fun, either. "There's got to be some kind of compromise!" we scream, remnants of protein bar flying out of our mouths. Good news: there is! Interval training! And it ain't your momma's interval training...assuming your momma does interval training. Mine doesn't. No, my favorite newfangled kind of workout combines walking and weights/calisthenics in a stupendously exciting way.

Two examples of my version of an interval workout:

1) Take something heavy (I have a 30 lb Spartan Pancake, which is essentially a round sandbag) to a local park. I have a pond/lake in my town that is surrounded by a 1.2-mile bike trail spotted with four outdoor exercise rigs. I carry my pancake around the lake, stopping at each rig to do monkey bars across, then climb through and around the outside of the rig, then maybe do some rig-related calisthenics (pushups, pullups, box jumps, etc) before picking up the pancake and moving on to the next. This mixes things up and keeps you constantly engaged, while at the same time giving you a distance to put miles on your feet. Imagine how much easier those miles will feel WITHOUT the pancake.

2) Mock Spartan Race. There is a free "outdoor gym" about 30 minutes from my house, featuring all kinds of interesting stuff - tire-flipping, arm ropes, A-frames to climb over, monkey bars, climbing ropes, etc. I have written out a workout that has about a dozen different "obstacles," and between each I need to walk a short (1/10-mile or so) loop in the area. You can do the circuit as many times as you want. Again, it's a fun way to keep your body guessing, and incorporate cardio into your workout so that you can have great all-around fitness.

Standard intervals are all about mixing up speeds, or "hard/recovery." With these sorts of interval workouts, you can keep the entire thing fairly difficult, while still being able to catch your breath and have fun. Win/win/win!

Fear the Unknown

"Stick to what you know." Seems like obvious advice...until we forget to follow it. And all of us occasionally forget to follow it!

When it comes to sport, particularly repetitive endurance sport, we want to make sure that whatever we put on or in our bodies is tried and true. You cannot wear a new outfit for a long workout, or try out a new pair of shoes. Your short workouts are for trying new things. You don't want to be stuck with shorts that chafe or a shirt with a weird seam somewhere when you have ten more miles to walk. And you certainly don't want to try a brand-new breakfast or mid-workout fueling plan when you have your most important race of the year on the line.

Sadly, there are times when even I get a bit careless and make a mistake. I screwed up badly on Sunday, you guys: I tried a new brand of sports drink. [pause for "GASP! NO! YOU FOOL"s]

I realized on Saturday that I had not purchased my trusty blue Powerade Zero for Sunday's long walk (10 miles), so I stopped at a Kwik Star and picked up a zero-calorie KwikAde fruit punch. Pretty quickly into my walk, I realized this was a massive error in judgment. Miles 1-5 were spent battling heartburn. Miles 6-10 the unpleasantness traveled to my small intestines and made me feel just awful. Oogy, as I say. Fortunately "an unpleasant feeling" was the total extent of it, but the damage was done, and my 10-mile walk was 5 minutes slower than the previous week.

It might seem like switching to a different brand or flavor of sports drink shouldn't be a big deal, but weigh the risks versus the potential benefits. At best, you will be fine, you may have saved 50 cents, and have an alternate option available if you forget your favorite again. At worst, your workout will be ruined. These are mistakes you want to make in your shorter workouts, if you must make them at all. Revel in the familiar; fear the unknown.

And avoid KwikAde!

Troubleshooting Your Blisters

I wrote about blisters a long time ago, but I realize now that I was remiss in not giving an extensive list of ways to troubleshoot your blister problems. I tried a LOT of stuff over the course of YEARS before I finally got down to the bottom of it. So here it is, a comprehensive list of things you should try if you get blisters "on the reg," as the kids say. I will start with the most obvious things at the top, and as you work your way down, you may find some very specific and/or bizarre-sounding advice that, no kidding, works like a damn charm if you have stubborn blisters. Between each number, just think the phrase "if THAT doesn't work, try..."

1) Build your mileage slowly. If you usually go 3 miles and decide to go 15 one day, yeah, you might get a blister or two.

2) You might be wearing improperly fitting shoes. Make sure they are a bit longer than your foot (to allow space for swelling), but not wider, unless your feet swell like crazy every time. Many people need a narrow shoe to avoid lots of sliding around in there, or might need a different shaped last (if you get large blisters in your forefoot, get a shoe with a narrower forefoot. Same with the heel). Running stores are notoriously terrible at helping with blisters - they are, after all, staffed by expert runners who have probably never had problems in their lives - but they can help you locate different-shaped lasts.

3) Consider orthotic inserts to get your perfect fit, also.

4) Socks make a difference, too. I like a thick technical sock (FitSox are my current favorite), bonus is it helps cuddle my narrow foot in my narrow shoe for an even more narrow fit. Some people prefer thin socks, but this is a shit idea, no offense. If you get blisters, go for a thick sock, because you might have weird sweat. My feet don't sweat much, but the sweat can be kind of sticky, which causes problems for me. The following are things you will want to try in an attempt to manage or even reconfigure your foot sweat.

5) Talcum powder. Put it all over your feet before putting socks on. My podiatrist gave me Sanabalm, one $6 container of which will last for approximately 5,000 years. I assume Gold Bond is similar.

6) Lotrimin AF foot spray. Seriously, I use this a few times a week before bed because even though I don't visibly have a foot fungus of any sort, it serves the dual function of instantly cooling my feet after a walk AND making my sweat less tacky. If you have tried a lot of stuff and still get blisters, give this a shot daily.

7) Drink lots of water and limit your sodium intake. Don't get me wrong, sodium is good, but cut it back to maybe 3000 mg a day and drink a gallon of water every day. Your sweat might change just enough to make blisters stop reappearing.

8) If you get to this point and are still getting huge blisters all the time, I don't know what to tell you. I have exhausted my troubleshooting capabilities. Chances are, for 99% of you, these tips will work. If they don't, go to a podiatrist who has experience with athletes.

9) Desperate times = desperate measures. If you still get blisters and want to try to prevent them in a more immediate way, the only ways I have found that work are either covering the typical blister area (BEFORE you get a blister there) with a blister band-aid or duct tape. Yes, duct tape. You can also apply a liquid bandage such as NewSkin to the area, although this does not work quite as well (it is more comfortable than a bunch of duct tape, but try it at your own risk, because blisters may form).

Why Shoe Reviews Are Useless

You may be wondering why I never post reviews or recommendations for shoes. The reason is simple: every foot is different. What works great for me would, statistically, probably be disastrous for someone else, and vice versa. For the record, I use a doctor-prescribed orthotic insert with the Asics GT-1000 4 running shoe in a size 11.5 2A. That is extremely specific, and therefore totally useless information to anyone besides myself.

Unfortunately, Asics (in their infinite wisdom) has chosen to end production of narrow (2A) sizes for all of their "less than $150 a pair" shoes. After purchasing lots of leftover pairs of my perfect shoe, I am running low on shoes and need to find a new setup. So here I thought, "how am I going to find a similar shoe? I know: read some reviews!"

As our orange president would say: WRONG. Turns out shoe reviews are totally awful and give zero information that anyone would find useful. Every shoe review I've ever read goes like this: "I tried the new Mizunike Air Magics, they are so comfortable on my feet! They felt like pillows! I went for a 1-mile jog and felt so amazing! I highly recommend these shoes!" What the hell am I supposed to do with this review?

What Shoe Reviews SHOULD Say:

1) Use the shoe for weeks. Not just one run. Tell us how they hold up over time.

2) How is the last? Is it narrow? Which parts are narrow? Which parts are wide? How is the length? Is the sizing as expected or is it short or tight?

3) How does this shoe compare to other shoes, fit-wise? How does it compare to last year's model?

4) How does it work for people with biomechanical issues? Chances are if you are reading shoe reviews, you have at least slightly picky feet. Yes, there are some folks that can choose a shoe based entirely on "cool looks," but they ain't reading reviews.

5) How is the value? Do you get a good amount of wear out of the shoes for the money?

With all my problems and with my narrow clown foot, I scoured these useless reviews for a couple of potentially useful nuggets. The key is learning how to read the review and not let a "negative review" faze you. Read it. I look for complaints such as "this shoe is so narrow it hurts," and "this shoe is really stiff." That is a sign that the shoe, even in a medium width, is more likely to fit me. Stiffness is a sign that the shoe might last more than 150 miles.

Learn how to write shoe reviews, and learn how to read shoe reviews. Your feet will thank you. And when your shoe ceases production (ASICS, you bastards), you will know how to find another one.

Power(lift)ing Up

I have been experimenting with a new workout schedule.

Monday: Circuit Training 1 hour

Tuesday: REST

Wednesday: Walk 6 miles

Thursday: Heavy lifting at the gym 1 hour

Friday: Walk 6 miles

Saturday: Circuit Training at-home obstacles 1 hour

Sunday: Long walk (currently 8 miles)

This schedule is amazing. I am managing to perfectly maintain my cardio endurance (I have gotten back down to almost 13-minute miles) and, through the addition of lifting and circuit training, develop some SERIOUS muscles. The combination of lifting heavy sometimes and calisthenics at other times has not only made me more well-rounded as an athlete, but a better walker as well. The benefits so far:

1) I can eat what I want. Honestly, nothing is really off-limits. I count calories and try to stay somewhat close to the number that I'm burning so that I can gain muscle while burning fat. This allows plenty o' treats. But I am craving more protein, so that also helps.

2) Strength. Raw, brute strength. As a tall woman, it is difficult to do unassisted chin ups, but I can pull up a large percentage of my weight (probably 90% 1RM - 1 rep max), and I'm aiming for being able to do at least one unassisted pull up by the new year.

3) Quality of life. I can carry my toddler without getting tired. I can bound up a few flights of stairs. I can hold things up for a while without complaint.

4) Walking. Holding your elbows at 90 degrees is, as I've said before, critical to a quick pace. I can do so indefinitely and no longer need to "shake them out" at any point.

5) Spartan racing. I have been researching and systematically preparing my body for a variety of obstacles. This not only keeps me in shape, it keeps me interested in the workouts. I don't do the same thing over and over like when I was marathon training and ONLY walking. The creativity required has also aided my career as a trainer.

6) Body confidence. It is almost impossible to feel badly about how your body looks when you are pulling off the sort of workouts required of Spartan and half marathon training. Even if I did look objectively bad, I wouldn't notice or care. 

In summary: walking is still my jam, but training like an obstacle-course racer has done so much for my confidence and abilities that I highly recommend it for any endurance athlete!