DAM to DAM 2013 Race Recap

I set my sights and goals on running the Dam to Dam a year ago. I have a friend, Willy, who lost weight, trained, and ran the 20K last year with an impressive time! Seeing him do all of those things gave me hope that I could, too! And this past weekend, I did!

I thought that I would be super nervous for this run! But as it turns out, I wasn't! I thought that I would be a ball of nerves, on the edge, and freaking out. But I kept my cool! I got a little nervous in the hotel and right before the bus ride to the dam, but that was it!

Friday afternoon, Charles took me to Jen's house to wait for Shelly. We carpooled with her for the ride up. We talked about how we got into running, our goals, and more. It was nice to hear about her experiences at other races and know what to expect going into the Dam to Dam.

We got to packet pick-up around 7:00 p.m. I picked up my packet first, then picked up Desiree's. The racing bibs were awesome! It had my name on the front with the distance I was registered for. It had my timing chip attached to the back of it. This was the first year that this event used this method. I was also told to go get my event shirt. I was very  happy with the tech shirt I was given! It's neon pink with the DAMtoDAM log on it! I also got a pair of Brooks running socks! Call me crazy, but I love me some good running socks!

On the way to the hotel, we passed HuHot and I mentioned that I had never eaten there before. Jen said that we HAD TO GO there for supper! I was a little nervous because I've been told to not have any new food the day before a race, but I really didn't want to pass it up! We dropped our bags off in the hotel room, picked up Jen's husband, and headed to HuHot for supper!

It. Was. Amazing! A totally new experience for me! I stuck to foods that I know I can handle and didn't go too crazy with my food! I totally got my carb load on! Delicious food! I kept telling Jen that I was going to have my husband come up the next day so that I could enjoy the food all over again! It was that good!

We got back to the hotel room, watched some YouTube videos, and went to bed. The alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough sleep, but I ended up sleeping fantastically! I only woke up twice to check the clock, then fell right back to sleep! When the alarm went off at 4, I got right up and got ready! I started getting a little nervous then, but I think I was more worried about the food I had the night before. I was hoping that it wouldn't go right through me. I felt fine, but I still worried. Jen was worried that it would storm before we finished the race, but I had a feeling that we'd be fine!

Desiree called Jen and told her that she was outside the hotel and ready to take us to the bus loading place. We got everything packed and headed out to the car. We got on a bus pretty quickly and started the trip towards the dam! It was the first time since High School that I was on a bus! I sure didn't miss it! Desiree and I sat next to each other and talked about our plans for the run and where we wanted to meet up afterwards.

I kept thinking, "This drive is so long! That means that it's going to be forever to run back!" I kept my mind off of that thought and enjoyed looking at all of the gorgeous houses along the route. We were dropped off at the dam and waited until we found Shelly to head towards the port-a-potties. It was chilly, but bearable. We had to leave our gear bags near the bus drop-off before we were able to head towards the dam. When Shelly found us, we decided to drop off the bag and head to the potties.

I saw a lot of friends on the way there! Joe, Willy, Karen, Cassie, Emily, and Sara! I talked to some of them, wished them "good luck", then headed towards the short line to the potties. I was blessed that the HuHot food was nice on my system! I don't have any before-race horror stories to tell! Once everyone had gone, we headed to the start on the dam!

We got a photo of our group with the finish line in the background! It's the "big" building between me and Jen in the photo below!

Des, Shelly, me, and Jen

I kept thanking God that the weather was so gorgeous! There was hardly any wind, the sun was shining, and it was just perfect for running! After we snapped the photo, we headed towards the pace signs. I told the ladies that I wanted to keep my miles under 10:00 so that I could finish in under 2 hours. I realized then that I was going to be on my own! I hugged each of my friends and went to stand between the 9:00 and 10:00. I said a silent prayer that I would find someone to run with. I really enjoyed training with Des, but I hated the thought of not having anyone to talk to. I don't listen to music when I run.

My prayers were answered! I met a lady named Nikki! I made a comment on her shorts! Sounds funny, but they were black and yellow. I said, "Those look like Hawkeye shorts!" She turned and said, "Oh! They are!" Then showed me the Hawkeye logo on the other leg of her shorts! We started talking a bit about our pace, if we'd ran the race before, where we're from, etc.

Then it was go time! It took us about 5 minutes to get to the start line, I started my Garmin, jogged a bit to warm up, and kept a nice pace with my new friend!

Mile 1 - 9:25 It felt good to see all the people! It was wall-to-wall packed! (Photo here) It was nice to have Nikki there to keep me on pace. We did a lot of weaving in and out of people. I made a few comments on how gorgeous the scenery was around us! The breeze was perfect and there were a ton of people on bikes cheering us on! My Garmin chirped "Mile 1" about 0.04 before I actually crossed the DAM's "MILE 1" sign.

Mile 2 - 9:09 Getting kind of fast! It was hard to go any slower because the crowd was pushing us along. It was a "stay with the pack or get eaten alive" kind of deal! Nikki and I managed to weave in and out with plenty of time to talk in between weaves. She told me that we needed to slow down a bit because we were going too fast! We saw the first water station and she mentioned wanted to get some water, but she wanted to wait until the next one.

Mile 3 - 9:21 That's better for pace! We weren't weaving as much now. We were finally able to get comfortable with our pace and talk. We talked about how we met our husband's, how many kids we have, and more! It was awesome to have her there to talk to for the next few miles!

Mile 4 - 9:35
Mile 5 - 9:41 Nikki got a drink at the water station and mentioned that if I lose her, to keep going and pushing to reach my goal of finishing under 2 hours. She kept with me for a little bit more, then I lost her. I said another prayer that I would be able to be fine without someone to talk to. I was blessed because there were some awesome water stations, fan signs, and hilarious runners!

Mile 6 - 9:17 The first hill came in this mile! It was right near the end of the mile. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any people walking in my way along the hill. I had to do some weaving, but managed to make it to the top without slowing down! It was cool to cross over I-80! There were a ton of cars, trucks, and semi's that blasted their horns! I ate my packet of SportBeans.

Mile 7 - 9:19 I realized here that I was getting closer to downtown as I reached the 10K point! Half way! I got excited, but the hills were still coming! As I was heading up a hill, there was a man on the side of the road (photo here) ringing two cowbells like crazy! I shouted, "MORE COWBELL!" Then a runner behind me shouted, "YEAH! MORE COWBELL!" Then the guy with the cowbell shouted, "I GOT A FEVER!"

And all I had in my head was the image of Will Ferrell with his cowbell:

Then the runner guy behind me started yelling, "MORE HILLS! JUST KIDDING! LESS HILLS!" It was great to get my mind off of the run and focus on laughing!

Mile 8 - 9:17 Finally in residential Des Moines! There was a lot of runner support along the route here! It helped! There were some hilarious signs! "Worst. Parade. Ever!", "Good job random runner!", "Don't walk now! There are people watching!", "You think you're TIRED?! My arms are KILLING ME!", and more! There was a yard that was totally decked out with breast cancer awareness stuff! It was awesome!

Mile 9 - 9:05 There was a man sitting in his yard with his garden hose turned on and spraying a mist into the street. I ran through it! Sweet relief! It was HOT! I was sweating like crazy and it was awesome to run through the cool water! I want to take to thank the woman handing out sponges soaked with water during this mile, as well! I didn't grab one, but there were so many people thanking her!

Mile 10 - 9:20 I prepared myself for the hill that was during mile 10. It looked scary, but it wasn't too bad! I started realizing here that I was getting very tired. I thought of my friends behind me and it kept me going. I wanted to finish and be able to cheer them on as they finished. I said a few prayers during this mile that my body would remain strong and bring me to the finish line!

Mile 11 - 9:16 I can see the building near the finish! It's much bigger than it was when we first started! It was a wonderful sight! The route took us past some bars and restaurants and smelling the food was almost torture! My stomach started gurgling! In a good way! I really wanted some french toast!

Mile 12 - 8:55 I kicked it into a higher gear here! I was battling the negative thoughts in my mind saying, "It's okay if you don't get under 2 hours! Go ahead and walk!" Then, something happened! I turned into a mad woman! I started weaving in and out of people along the trail. It was super narrow right before the final bridge to cross. I ended up having to run in the dried mud to get around people. I kept shouting, "EXCUSE ME!" I'm sure some people thought I was rude, but I just wanted to get the thing DONE! I crossed the bridge and knew I had a little over a mile left and started going faster!

The last 0.54 - 4:15 (7:51 pace) As soon as I came onto Grand Avenue, I knew it was the home stretch! I gave it my all! I'm sure I looked crazy to the people who were watching! I'm interested to see the photos of me finishing! I'm sure I look insane, but I wanted to finish! I had to pee! I was weaving in and out of people all over again! I started passing people and getting a lot of support from the spectators! "Go pink! Way to finish!" "Get it girl!" "Great job pink!" I figured by then that I was "pink" because of my tank top! Although I'm sure my face was somewhere between pink and red! As soon as I saw the "400 METERS" sign, I started going even faster! Then I saw the "200 METERS" sign. I started to cry. I looked forward towards the glorious "FINISH" line and threw my hands into the air as I crossed the finish line! The clock said "2:00:56". I thought, wait a second? I know I finished in under two hours! Then I remembered the 5 minute walk/jog to the start line.

I stopped my Garmin and it told me that I had finished with a time of 1:55:55! I DID IT! I finished in under two hours! I was overwhelmed with tears. I was trying to catch my breath. I started walking wobbling back and forth. I kept my head up and noticed the medals that were being handed out. I got my medal, put it around my neck, then started sobbing like a fool. I thought I was going to pee my pants, but that went away pretty quickly.

I got a Powerade Zero, got my photo taken, stretched in the grass, then headed to the finish line to watch my friends cross the finish line.

I was only able to watch Desiree cross the finish line. I started shouting at her like a crazy person and crying at the same time! I was so happy that I got to watch my training buddy cross the finish line! I walked back to the photo place to have a photo taken with her! We got some after-race fuel which consisted of bananas, oranges, apples, and chocolate milk. Then we found Jen and Shelly and snapped a photo of the four of us with our medals!

Jen, Shelly, me, and Des

I was ready for a nap by then! I was excited to go home and show my medal to Charles and the girls! I was also excited to upload the data from my Garmin and see what my official chip time was! The results were posted an hour and a half later than they told us, but that was alright by me! The anticipation about killed me, but I was very pleased once I found my name!

My splits from my Garmin:

My Garmin had me going a little more than a 20K, but I still finished under two hours and I am so, so pleased with that!

Overall, I am so, so happy I did this! I kept saying afterwards, "I can't believe we just did that!" I looked up at the big building and realized that the finish line was past that building! Holy crap! We finished it! The race was amazing! The weather was just perfect! The rain clouds started rolling in after I crossed the finish line, but it didn't start raining until after the event was over!

I realized when I got home that one year ago, I was 51 pounds heavier and completely out of shape. And in a year's time, I was able to lose that weight slowly, keep it off, and be race-ready! I trusted my training and enjoyed my first official DAM to DAM!

I will be back every year to run it! I am looking forward to next year's race already! But first, I am running my first half marathon THIS WEEKEND! Yep! 13.1 miles a week after a 20K!

I'm crazy!

But you already knew that!