Spooky Sprint 10K: Race Recap

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow...

Such was the case for my (almost) last-minute decision to run the Spooky Sprint 10K, in Des Moines, this past weekend. It proved to be a great lesson in making the best of any (less-than-ideal) situation and not stressing (much) over that which you have no control. Also, it was an opportune time to relish what we can do to make a frustrating situation much better. 

That being said, one of the many benefits of running, is that it serves us well as a stress-reliever, especially in the moment!

So, here's the story...

My friend, Linda, told me about the Spooky Sprint a few weeks ago. It sounded intriguing, but I was already doing the IMT Des Moines 13.1 the weekend prior. I didn't think adding another race to my fall roster was necessary. Then, the half marathon went really well for me. So, I spur-of-the-moment registered for this race as well. I figured my body was already in prime condition, and had sustained a week of recovery...so why not?

As luck would have it, the race day conditions were great. The temps were a bit cool, but comfortable, and there was plenty of sunshine and minimal wind.

The plan was to meet Linda (and company) at the race site, so I was on my own for getting to Des Moines bright and early. I pulled out of my driveway around 6:15 and was parking at Grays Lake about an hour later. 

Thankfully, there was packet pick-up available prior to the race, which was quick and efficient. Unfortunately, the park's restrooms were locked. A lot of runners had to wait, in a very long line, until one of the park officials arrived and unlocked the doors just moments before the start of the race. Myself? I found a patch of tall weeds, hidden behind some trees, off the path (truth!). I was good!

The Spooky Sprint is affiliated with Bodies Race Company, a national company that hosts numerous holiday-themed races across the country. This was a new-to-me event, though, so I had no idea about the race route (there was a 1-mile  kids' run, a 5K, a 10K and even a half marathon, but only the 5K route was shown on the registration site). Fortunately, I have run a lot of Des Moines races, and many of them have utilized some of the trails around Grays Lake.

the map from my Garmin, after the fact

Although I didn't dress in an official Halloween costume, I did try to show some spooky holiday spirit. I went with another version of the tried and true "tank top + another layer +arm warmers" combo.

Since my recent half marathon, a week prior, had gone so well, I was really curious to see what I could do with a much shorter race distance. My Garmin had even updated my 10K predicted finish from 51:43 to 51:19! Honestly, I knew both of those times were very ambitious, but I was wondering if a new 10K PR could be a possibility (my current PR - 53:38 - is four years old).

Right out of the gate, things were feeling good. Often times, it takes a few miles to get in a groove, but that wasn't the case on Sunday morning.

can you see me?

The 5K, 10K and half marathon runners all started together. I had seen, on the 5K map, where the 5K runners had their turn-around. I had asked, when I'd gotten my race bib earlier, about the 10K route. The gal showed me an image on her iPad, which looked like the route went all the way around the lake, then off in another direction. I assumed there would be signs, and/or volunteers, to guide us, so I wasn't worried. Besides, I knew I would not be the lead runner anyways, so I knew I'd have other runners to follow (hold that thought, LOL).

We started on the north side of the lake, going east. The trail around the lake is a 2-mile distance, and  it's near the halfway point where we cross a bridge. A short ways later was the 5k turn-around, along with a water station. 

 As I continued on, making my way to the 2-mile mark, I noticed a lot of runners coming back towards me. Some had purple 10K race bibs, and I think some had green half marathon bibs as well. Right at the 2-mile mark was another water station, but there weren't any volunteers manning the table. There were some orange cones set up, though, making it look like a turn-around. None of the runners in front of me were turning around, so I didn't either. By the time I'd reached the 2-1/4 mark (or thereabouts), it was looking grim. I didn't see any semblance of a turn-around, or any signs indicating the route was veering off (like I'd seen on the gal's iPad). There was a group of younger gals right in front of me, and I asked if any of them were running the 10K, or if they knew where the route was headed. They said they were running the half marathon, but they thought the turn-around was back at the "unmanned" water station, where the cones were set up. Really??? Oops!

So, I turned around, and headed back towards the orange cones. Shortly after I'd turned around, a couple of guys were coming towards me (also wearing purple 10K race bibs). They asked me if I was coming back from the 10K turn-around, so I told them that I think the water stand (that all of us had passed, LOL) was the actual turn-around. 

At this point, I was probably a good 1/2-mile (at least) off with my 10K distance. Not sure what to do, I  rationalized I could just run back around the lake (in reverse direction now) to the finish line. The thing is, I'd only have approximately 4.5 miles in distance, not the 10K distance (6.2 miles). 

Just before I reached the bridge, I got the idea to "double-back" for a half mile. Doing so would add an extra mile to my "short" distance, right? I noticed my Garmin showed 3.33 miles, so I could cross the bridge and run until the Garmin showed 3.83, turn and run back another half mile (thus, 4.33 miles run at that point), then turn (again) and resume my way around the lake. I had seen the 5-mile sign, so I knew I'd be somewhat close in getting to 6.2 miles by the time I reached the finish line. Granted, it wasn't the actual 10K course I was running, but at least I'd have the correct distance (or so I thought...hold that thought, too). 

Onward! 

I continued, still on the south side of the lake (for the fourth time that morning, LOL). By the time I'd rounded the east side, my Garmin beeped at 5-miles, but I could tell I was going to come up short in reaching the 10K mileage mark. 

Not knowing (again) what to do, I kept going forward. At that point, I thought my best option would be  to get close to the finish line, to see just how "short" my distance was, then do another backtrack maneuver to try to make-up the shortage. Not ideal, by a long shot, but I honestly didn't know what else to do. Quitting the race wasn't happening!

As I approached the finish line, my Garmin showed about 5.7 miles. UGH. I turned around (really, this had to be quite comical to any innocent bystanders watching me), with the plan to backtrack about 1/4 mile and then return to the finish line vicinity. Yadda yadda yadda.

When I finally made it back, after this final self-correction attempt, my Garmin showed 6.12 miles...and that would simply have to do. My brain was aching from all the erratic runners' math it had been haphazardly computing for the past four miles. 

So, how did I wind up doing? Believe it or not, I had a pretty decent 10K(ish) finish time!

My splits tell an interesting story:

Mile - 1-- 8:46

Mile - 2-- 8:56

Mile - 3-- 8:58

Mile - 4-- 9:10

Mile - 5-- 8:51

Mile - 6-- 9:00

Somewhat consistent; somewhat varied. BTW, can you tell miles 4 and 6 were when I was doing the back-and-forth thing?

My "official" stats: 

finish time - 54:31

10th place out of 33 (overall)

6th place out of 19 (women)

1st place out of 2 (age group) 

Although I'm really happy with my pace, my finish time is hard to celebrate due to the fact that I didn't run the true race course, and I didn't run the full 6.2 miles. The gal who got second place, in our age group, was almost 30 minutes behind me. If there's any consolation, at least I don't have the guilt of beating her by mere minutes (or seconds) with my shortened 10K distance. Glass half full, right?

Anyways, this was quite the experience! It's really a bummer there weren't more volunteers, or better signage, on the course. I kept seeing runners, in various colored race bibs, going in both directions, so I don't think I was the only one who was confused, unfortunately. The path around Grays Lake is really nice and quite scenic, making it a great venue for a race since there's no vehicular traffic to fight. 

How about that creepy hand medal? It even has a fold-out mini easel, so it can stand on its own. 

Also, part of the swag was the black (cotton) t-shirt. If you look closely, you can see the creepy hand there, too (on the left).

All things considered, I'm alright with everything. Even though I had several frustrating moments, I am really happy with how strongly I ran those 6.12 miles. This wasn't an especially grandiose event, but the Halloween theme was neat. There were a lot of runners in costume, which made for some fun people-watching. 

Have you ever run a race that had you veering off-course? If you knew you had inadvertently "shortened" your race distance, would you try to fix it? Have you ever done a Halloween-themed event in your running shoes?

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

 

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