There I was…
It was Saturday, July 18th, and I had one more event on my roster for the Des Moines Corporate Games. This time, it was the 5K Road Race to tackle….
Thus far, I’d had three July races and all had served me hot (and very humid!) race day weather conditions. With temps in the mid-70’s, as well as muggy morning air, that pattern was going to continue for this race as well.
I’ve been at my job for almost a year, and this was my first time working for a business that participated in the
Des Moines Corporate Games. Just a week prior, I had ran the
Cross-
Country Race (recap
HERE), and brought home the first place AG (within my company’s division). In the weeks prior, I had also participated in the
Cycling Tour Ride (with our team placing second) and the
Fitness Walk (second place for this team also). Going into this
5K Road Race, our team was in the lead among all the competitors within our division.
We had a good-size team of peeps repping our company. The plan was to meet around 7:45 for a group pic, then head over to the start line for the 8:00 start time.
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| The “before” pic |
The Corporate Games 5K is run in conjunction with the Clive Running Fest 5K, which I ran back in 2022 (recap
HERE). The route appeared to be about the same as before, meaning there would a good hill at the start, then a relatively flat elevation thereafter.
That being said, that first hill was a beast! It not only felt somewhat steep, but it also felt pretty long. Trying to get in a good groove, pace-wise, is always a challenge. It’s even more of a battle on a hot morning, in the right-outta-the-gate cluster of runners.
Thankfully, the hill was only about 1/2-mile. The route then turned left, taking us on a joyous downhill jaunt along the backside of the Clive Aquatic Center, towards the Clive Greenbelt Trail.
That joyous downhill came with a price, though. Shortly after hitting the trail, my Garmin beeped at the 1-mile mark. I glanced down only to see my Mile-1 split was 8:47, which was a big #oops.
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| That first hill was a beast! |
Things got tough after that. It’s hard to say what the specific issue was…the rising temps, my increasing fatigue, or the mental aspect in that I knew I’d run that first mile too fast (though it hadn’t felt that “fast” at the time). Nonetheless, I knew the remaining two miles would be a challenge.
My first strategic plan was to try to slow my pace. It sounds ridiculous, but oftentimes I really struggle in forcing my body to run slower (and/or faster, LOL) than what feels natural. I have a decent heat tolerance, thankfully, so I don’t seem to get as wiped out from the heat (unless I inadvertently run too fast).
My second strategy was to simply take a few quick walk breaks. I’m always amazed how 10-15 seconds of walking can almost instantly give me a boost of energy.
I was grateful to have my handheld water bottle (with electrolytes) with me. I tried to remember to drink a few sips of my water during the walk breaks, but that didn’t happen everytime. Another #oops.
A perk of being on the trail was the intermittent shade cover. A consequence, though, was the limited air floor, making the humidity feel even more oppressive. It was quite sticky and icky!
Anyways, onward! The turn-around was shortly after the 2-mile mark. Although the last mile didn’t feel any easier, it wasn’t any more challenging either…and it did allow for me to see several coworkers as I made my way back along the trail.
Full disclosure: I continued to take intermittent walk breaks. I sincerely think my body was battling my mind, especially in that final mile. That first mile split really messed with my head more than it did with my energy. I think I successfully convinced myself that I was doomed due to running that first mile faster than ideal (?).
As with most races, especially those on hot and humid mornings, spotting the turnoff to the finish line was almost euphoric. We had a slight incline off the trail, and a short bridge to scale, then the finish line was all mine.
Whew! It felt really good to be done!
My Garmin showed a finish time of 29:01. Given the fact I had walked so much, I was more than satisfied with that.
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My splits show a successful progressively “slower” run with each mile. Oh well.
Not everyone stuck around after the finish line. It was hot!
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| The “after” pic |
The good news is our team did well! We had four runners with 4th place finishes (in their respective age divisions), three 3rd place finishes, four 2nd place finishes, and six of us scored 1st place finishes (including myself). Overall Team LCS had a great showing, and we were able to maintain our first place position in the Corporate Games totals
I assume there was swag for those running the Clive Festival 5K, but those of us running the Corporate Games 5K had our own company-logo’d swag (and we wore it on race day, LOL). And, let’s not forget, several of us got to bring home some hardware!
In addition to my first place AG (out of 20), my stats also showed I placed 23rd among the 295 women, and 75th, overall, among the 676 participants.
Have you ever participated in a state-wide “corporate competition” such as this? Have you done any hot and humid races this summer?
I’m linking this with Jenny and Jenn for the TuesdayTopics Linkup.
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