Speed & Progress

Two years ago I first heard about and signed up for the Bagel Run 10k, hosted by the local Jewish Community Center, which serves a bagel buffet after the run. It was a warm, humid day on a challenging hilly course. Much to my surprise, though, my 1:18:23 finish netted me 3rd place in my age group! It was the first time I ever medaled. That's the neat thing about small local races.

Last year, the event was canceled due to tornadoes in the area.

This year, I brought my mom to cheer me from the sidelines, and I finished 5 minutes faster than at the 2014 event. And I had a 6-minute negative split from the first lap of the 5k course to the second: 39:36 and 33:47!

AND this 1:13:24 was much faster than my recent training, during which I had been logging 1:03-1:04 5 milers and a 1:21:40 on a flat 10k April 10!

But I came in 3rd to last out of everyone. Small local races are funny that way.

Now I’m thinking about signing up for The Hottest Half since it takes place on my birthday and has a cool medal with my birthday on it, and I’ll be turning 30, which is special. But running in August in Texas is THE WORST. But it will motivate me to train through summer and prepare for the Plano Balloon Festival Half happening 6 weeks later.

There will be no way to keep cool at that event, so I need to try to get fast if I’m going to get through it. I already knew I needed to work on getting fast for the December marathon, because I cannot stomach the thought of spending more than 5 hours on the course. So maybe registering for my birthday will give me the necessary push to focus on speed work. Or maybe I’ll get heat stroke and have a terrible birthday.

Lots of stuff for me to think about. What do you think?

Too Cold to Hold 10k Race Report

Sometime late last year I decided I wanted to train to run a 10k by the end of January but worried about holding myself accountable, so I signed up for the January 31 Too Cold to Hold 10k race at White Rock Lake.

I've been putting off writing a race report because the experience was less than stellar.

A lot of races offer event shirts in the price of registration, but a lot of them don't offer them for women, and it is endlessly irritating. Women make up over half the sport, closer to 60 percent in 5ks but are ignored as having different body shapes than men. I don't want to hear theories about men's shirts being cheaper because they're cut differently; I ain't buying it, because women's sizes require less fabric, and I'm sick and tired of maleness being treated as the default human norm. It took me two hours to alter the last small men's race shirt I received down to fit me, and it's still not very good because I AM NOT A SMALL MAN.

Some events offer unisex shirts instead, which means a men's cut in slightly smaller sizes. That was the case for this event, so I ordered an XS unisex shirt since it's the next closest thing to having a women's cut shirt that would actually fit my body.

I arrived at packet pickup to find that the shirt size I'd ordered was not provided at all. I have 20 race shirts cut up and displayed on my bedroom wall and another dozen sitting in a pile in the sewing room awaiting alterations because these events don't offer women shirts. And they don't offer discounts on the registration price, either, for people with breasts and small waists. It's insulting.

So I didn't get the shirt I paid for, and then the accompanying Too Cold to Hold beanie appeared to have been designed for giants, so my race swag is fit only for the garbage bin. After complaining publicly on Facebook, the event organizer reached out to me and said they were also surprised and disappointed in the quality of the hats ordered, so they ordered finishers' shirts including women's sizes. . . .

Guess what WASN'T at the finish line. There were piles and piles of only men's shirts for an event which the organizer herself said has about 64 percent female participation.

The race itself? It was nice. There was no seeding or separate waves, so it took more than a mile for the crowd to thin enough to run at a comfortable pace; I don't envy anyone trying to hit a PR that day.

I was a little bit sick and a lot sluggish, but I finished. And I looked badass in my Wonder Woman costume, for which I'd found blue shorts only a few days prior. I got a lot of compliments and cheers and one, "Look, it's Super Woman!" from some dude. ONLY men mess that up, you know; this is the second time it's happened. Fake geek guys.

The weather was unexpectedly warm, nearing 65°F before I finished, and many runners struggled since they'd trained in cooler temps for so many weeks. I was SO glad not to be running the half marathon that day. The course around White Rock Lake was pretty as always.

Because parking was limited, we were encouraged to carpool and take public transportation and were told there would be a place to put bicycles with the bag check. I took up that offer, took the DART to White Rock Station, and rode my bike the extra mile and a quarter to the start. I felt speedy and clever whizzing by everyone who'd had to park as far as the train station and walk. I was surprised to see only two other bicycles at the event at all. At the end, feeling irritated, icky, and hot, I was VERY glad to retrieve my bicycle and roll out instead of staying for any post-race activities.

I know the summer event by the same organization offers women's shirts, or at least that's what the race organizer said to me, and I know they have in the past from the one time I volunteered at it. But after this experience, I'm not super keen to spend my money there.

It's great that they support local charities, but Dallas is a big city flush with racing events and several to choose from every weekend of the year, even holidays. I'd rather support a company that recognizes I AM NOT A SMALL MAN.

JCC Bagel Run 5k/10k

After the DISASTER that was the Lone Star Race Series, I was devastated and panicked about finding a timed race to submit proof of time before RunDisney's June 1 deadline and scoured the web for local events. DFW is huge, and there are typically dozens of running events every weekend, but May 11 was my only race-free day for the next month, and it was oddly devoid of events.

Except for the Bagel Run.

I found this little event hosted by the JCC, Jewish Community Center, and the website noted age group divisions and an awards ceremony but nothing about chip timing. I emailed the listed contact to ask, feeling both hopeful and doubtful, and I received a response to the affirmative! I quickly registered and was doubly delighted at the $20 registration fee and close-to-home (compared to most races) event site. I usually expect to pay double or triple that for a 10k.

Sunday morning I got up early and got to the JCC with about 20 minutes to spare, having already done early packet pickup, meaning I already had my race t-shirt, bib, and timing chip in my possession and only had to line up when I arrived.

Standing in a crowd at the start line, I listened as the announcer explained that 10k runners would be running a double loop on the course and need be careful to cross the timing mats but not the 5k timing mat, and I couldn't see him from the middle of the crowd or understand what he was pointing to, so I just had to hope that volunteers and/or signs would be there.

We started out in a big crowd all together and enjoyed a nice downhill slope for a block or so at the start. I was irritated that walkers were mixed in with all the runners, because it was crowded and I was trapped behind a lot of them. It's one of my top peeves and dangerous not to separate walkers from runners at events.

We thinned out and as a volunteer called out the time at the 1-mile marker, I realized I'd been going much too fast, but fierce uphill running for the next mile and a half straightened me right out. It was horrible. It was a little over 70 degrees with 95% humidity, my joints ached from running the days before and now on concrete, and I hated every step. There was a sizable bruise on my inner thigh from the previous day's mud run that stung every time my other leg brushed it, which would be a LOT over the course of 6.2 miles. I hadn't brought music, so I hunkered down and embraced the suck, focusing on my form and breath.

As I passed a pair of women walking their 5k*, I overheard one ask the other, "So what's up with those toe shoes? Aren't they, like, really bad for you?" and her friend responded, "Yeah, they are really bad for you. There are all kinds of lawsuits over it." I muttered to myself and kept running while they walked comfortably. Much as I wanted to hang back and correct the ignorami, I had a serious time goal to keep.

Later on, a pair of runners drew up beside me and one asked me jovially, "Have you heard you might be getting a refund on those?" I said, "Yeah, looking forward to buyin' even more of 'em." They laughed and we bantered about the hills briefly before they passed me.

So much suck

As I approached the 5k finish line, I heard the announcer calling out that the second place 10k runner was just finishing before I even got there. Wow. Fortunately, there were clear signs directing 10k runners around the timing mat and on to the second lap.

And then I was alone.

The final numbers aren't online yet, but it appeared that 95% of the participants were running 5k or less. It was just me and the cops and cones from there. After a long block, I drew up to a runner and passed her near the first water station. In the fourth or fifth mile, I passed a man and two women who were decidedly walking all the hills while I slog-jogged up them. After mile marker 5, I caught my second wind and picked up the pace to the end, passing one more woman and approaching another man who was still going strong.

I made my walk breaks shorter and took one more just before the final stretch but cut it especially short when I saw the pair of women I'd passed drawing up behind me and a third as well. I ran all the way to the finish, miserable, hot, dripping sweat, and certain I'd failed to make my goal. But when I glanced up at the clock, I broke into a huge grin at seeing one-some-teen, and the folks at the end cheered me as I finished. I was handed a red carnation and cold water, and I walked the length of the parking lot to cool down without puking.

I went for an orange just in time to see the child in front of me sneeze full-on the tray of oranges, so I plucked one from another tray farther away, shaking my head. I usually take off right after a run, but the announcer announced that he'd be announcing the 10k awards in about 5 minutes, so I hung out to cheer with everyone else and welcomed the opportunity to sit briefly.

"And the third place 10k Female 20-29 finisher is Mow-neeqwa Pahlit!"

"Wait. Wut?!" I actually said as I dragged myself to my feet and shuffled over to the awards table as quickly as I could. Then they couldn't find my trophy. It appeared that the 5k 20-29 third place finisher had taken my trophy by mistake! I posed for a photo with the 5k trophy, and the race organizers took down my info to mail me a corrected plaque, saying they might even personalize it with my name.

I've never placed at an event before! If I'd thought to sign up for the Barefoot division in the 2011 Merrell Down & Dirty, I would have placed third among females, but that doesn't really count. I wanted to downplay this achievement since it was such a small field, but I was in a lot of pain and really did earn that beast. Most races use five-year age-group divisions, so placing as a 27-year-old among the 20-29s is no small feat, especially since all the women I passed in my second lap looked to be in that range as well.

Freaking awesome. 1:18:23 is not exactly impressive, but it's 12 minutes faster than I could do last year, and I look forward to training and returning to this event next year.

*Not that I would ever shame someone for walking a 5k, only for being ignorant and suggesting loudly that my chosen footwear was injurious as I passed them like a BAWG.