On Running

Yesterday was the Dam to Dam 20K (12.4 miles).  John has run it every year for 12 or 13 years with the exceptions of 2003 - (Ava was born three days before the race) and 2007 - Amelia (born about 8 weeks before the race).  I've always wanted to run it.  I've started training for it a few times, but for the first time in all the years I've pledged to myself I was going to run it, I actually did it. 

I started training the end of February or so.  I don't particularly like to run on the treadmill, but I did on dark, cold, early mornings because that's when and where I could run.  I gave up going to morning group fitness classes that I really enjoy because I finally took to heart that to train for a long run, a person must run as much as possible. I ran on tired legs.  I ran in crummy conditions.  I had one really horrible long run that shook my confidence. 

The process of starting the race is a bit involved.  The gun goes off at 7am on Saylorville Dam, but runners have to load the buses between 5:15 and 5:45am downtown.  Backing that up meant a 4:15am wake up call Saturday morning.  John, Brian and I rolled out of Indianola around 4:45am, loaded the buses to the Dam and watched almost 7,000 people gather to race on a beautiful morning.

Training for the run has been a fairly solitary process for me.  I did run my 7 miler with Hilary on an Easter weekend trip to Minnesota and blessedly my sister Betsy and her boyfriend Mack pulled me through the last 5 1/2 miles of my longest pre-race training run - a hilly, windy 11 miler. The rest of the training process has been squeezed in on early morning and weekend runs.  

John runs faster than me and, as a result, we haven't run together in years.  He was by my side at a 10:30 mile pace for the first five miles Saturday morning.  He wanted to run the race in under two hours and missed it by just a few minutes - no doubt those few minutes he added running along with me.  Being shoulder to shoulder with him for the first part of the race meant a lot to me.  He understood what it meant for me to be out there and I loved his show of support.  

The race was long, hard, sunny and warm - I called on every one of my training runs to pull me through. I thought the adrenaline and momentum of the day would make the race's end easier, but I realized around the 11 mile mark that none of those things run it for you. When I turned the corner in to downtown Des Moines just after the 12 mile mark I saw John standing at the side of the road waiting for me. A lump welled up in my throat. I had reach the point where I didn't think I could do it, didn't think I could finish the last four tenths of a mile even though the finish line was in sight. John hopped in to run with me, cheering me on - he peeled off as I approached the finish line, yelling 'Kate Rocks!'  I started to cry when the announcer called my name saying I had finished the race.

This process has given me confidence and a deep sense of accomplishment.  It has set me on the path for my next challenge - a sprint distance triathlon in August with my sister in law Hilary. Time to get to the pool!