Drake Relays on the Road Report

I apologize this report is running so late with this report. It has been a busy couple of weeks around the house.

Why This Run?

I should probably start in how I picked this race to run. Originally I was was planning o running the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville. I ran it last year. It is a very well run race, and despite a hilly course I managed my personal record in the half.  I had a fun time with my friends in Nashville, but I have to leave right after the race and didn’t get to fully honky-tonk it up (I had to get back to for a friend’s wedding).

This year I decided I wanted to lead a CARA pace group in training for a “spring” half marathon. I knew it would get me into shape a little sooner, and I really enjoyed running with groups. Well what I didn’t know is how bad this winter would be in Chicago. It was brutal, and the Winter Training Group for CARA was not very popular this year.

My group (8:30 pace group) consisted of the other group leader, Ellen, and Rob. Yep, there were three of us. Others sometimes joined us for a run, but for the most part it was just the three of us.
Well my group was pretty small, and only Rob was planning on running in Nashville, and I couldn’t convince my other friends to get in gear to train for it. I also realized how expensive it would be to either fly or drive down and hotel it in Nashville.
Then I found out they ran a half-marathon for the Drake Relays on the Road that same weekend, and it would be the perfect excuse to go see my parents and my friends in Des Moines (where I grew up). 

This was actually the 40th running of the Drake Relays on the Road.  It started as the Drake Relays Marathon, but was shortened to a half in 1994.  They have also run 8 and 10ks as well. 

Whenever You're Ready… The Race Report?

Right. WND Gal and I drove to Des Moines from Chicago Friday night. Up early on Saturday, my dad drove me to the start area at 6:50 for a 8 AM start. I got there, registered (only $30), looked for the gear check (there wasn’t one, used a bush in the parking lot), and tried to find the rest room.

I have run a few of these races in Des Moines on my “vacations” home at my parents’ house. They are a refreshing break from the gigantic races in Chicago. This race had 1900 participants, half of which ran the 8k that had the same start. No chip, no crowd, just a bunch of people out for a run.

Not that everything went smoothly. I did not feel well from before I went to bed, and didn’t shake whatever it was when I got up. I was tired and had stomach issues. It was a about 37 degrees with a decent wind. The hour before the race I was really wondering if I should really go out and run it.

And that feeling didn’t go away…

The start was right in front of the Drake Stadium, where they were holding the rest of the Drake Relays. The first couple of miles did not feel good. My legs felt heavy and it was cold. Maybe it was just that I was not awake yet and cranky, but I was not having a good time.

Then comes the 8k turn-around. No, I didn’t do it, but I sure thought about it. 

About a half mile later, around mile three, I saw my sister, father, and WND Gal. I decided I was warming up enough that I could lose the pants. At that time I told my dad that I wasn’t feeling well and that it was going to be a long day.

“Well you are on pace, so keep going.”

Yep, sure enough.  OK Pops.I felt a lot better in shorts. I also knew the roads for the next mile or so (having gone to high school in that neighborhood). Oh, and it was also the downhill portion of the run.

I also met a nice guy from Northeastern Iowa running in a distinctive cowboy hat.  Turns out this was my kind of fellow.  He had done some pretty cool ultra runs and we were about the same pace.  We ran for a couple of miles together and swapped cool running stories to pass the time.

Of course, what goes down must go up, and once we started back up the hills around mile 6.  I wasn’t really in the condition to keep up much a conversation, but still was not too overwhelmed by the hills.  I kept thinking of the bike ride I had done the week before where the trend had been to work hard up the hills and coast to get your breath going down.

WND Gal and her two chaperones for the day (my sister Patricia and my father) did show up at miles 6 and 9. It is always nice having support like that on these runs. I keep thinking with all the training and races I do, that one day WND Gal will get sick of it, but she seems hanging around (as long as I don’t make her run them).  

I had read some stuff on the internet about a big hill near the end of the race, so I knew right after I saw Team Dave at mile 9 (see photo with the three other guys) that I would have to do one major hill then I would be home free. As we ran up a hill at Beaver Rd towards Forest Ave, I assumed was the big hill everyone talked about near the end. Of course, it wasn’t. It came right after mile 10 going up Forest towards 46th Street. Not only was it a pretty good size hill, but it came with a pretty strong head wind.

But by this time I knew I had enough gas in the tank to get home. My game plan for the day was to run a strong 10 mile race, and then see what I had left for the last 3.1 miles. I wanted to run an 80 minute 10 mile run, and at the 10 mile mark I was just under 1:22. So I was pleased. So while I was tired, I tried to push the last 3 miles to see how I could finish.

I finished with a pretty quick mile. It was nice to see WND Gal at the end. Right after I finished I went into a pretty big coughing fit, but after I caught my breath I was fine.

I finished the race in 1:46:47, which is only 10 slower than my PR in Nashville last year. I still think I have a lot of room to improve, and I think the Bayshore Half in Traverse City on Memorial Day weekend will be the perfect time for a quick PR.

Later that night we had dinner at my parents house with my folks, sister, WND Gal and my best friend Charlie, his wife Catie, and their newborn James. It was really a great evening and fun weekend overall.