A Critical Email

Since my long absence from this blog, I have a few posts elsewhere that I'll be adding and updating here as I am able. This is a followup the occurred in November 2014.

I ultimately decided to send feedback about the terrible Six:02 race via email.

11/24/14

Hello Stephanie,

I recently participated in Six:02's Dallas event, the It's Your Time 6k race on November 15, with two of my coworkers. We had a good time running together and enjoyed the unusual race distance, but I have a number of critiques about the event and its execution.

The 6k race website encouraged participants to use public transportation, specifically the DART rail to reach the event, but the DART website has for a while shown an announcement that downtown DART rail stations are closed on weekends from October 25 to November 30. The announcement is front and center at DART's main website, http://www.dart.org/, and I think it was an egregious error for race organizers to fail to research and post that information for participants; and further to fail to offer any discount on expensive weekend parking in Downtown Dallas.

Since the unseasonal cold front moved in the week of the race, I can understand that the race organizers would be caught by surprise. However, it appears as if they cared not at all about the freezing temperatures and race participants. Could they perhaps have purchased hand warmers in bulk from Sam's Club a few days before the race? Could they have sent an email to participants with tips for dressing to run in such cold weather, ESPECIALLY since there were so many novice runners and this weather is unusual for Dallas? This would have been a very simple and effective task to show some concern for participants' well-being. Could the event have offered a bag check so participants could dress adequately for warmth before and after the race and leave their layers and enormous swag bags rather than carry so much while running or trek several city blocks to their cars to drop things off?

I thought that the speakers set up along the course providing upbeat music were a great touch. Maybe your team could work on a playlist for the next race that doesn't demean women. The first song I heard on the course was literally about stalking and preying on a woman like an animal (Adam Levine's deeply disturbing song "Animals").

From a Washington Times article ( http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/2/adam-levine-accused-of-promoting-stalker-rape-in-n/ ):

Lyrics include, “Baby, I’m preying on you tonight. Hunt you down eat you alive.”

The Rape, Abuse Incest National Network told TMZ: “No one should ever confuse the criminal act of stalking with romance.”

I also recall hearing a country song about a woman 'busting out of her bikini top.' After looking online, I find that it's "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line:

Hey baby

Yeah, when I first saw that bikini top on her

She’s poppin’ right out of the South Georgia water

Thought, "Oh, good lord, she had them long tanned legs!"

Couldn’t help myself so I walked up and said

Are you freaking kidding me? It is not that hard to find music that doesn't objectify and demean women, and I'd be thrilled to share some examples if Six:02 needs help with not alienating its target demographic.

The last song I heard as I left the festival area was Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass," which has been heavily criticized all over the Internet all summer long. Sure, it's catchy, but the lyrics are pretty demeaning to "skinny bitches," like many of the runners I saw at the 6k. ( http://feministing.com/2014/08/06/why-meghan-trainors-body-acceptance-anthem-all-about-that-bass-is-disappointing/ )

I was further dismayed to see hundreds of yellow, white, and silver helium balloons lining the course along Katy Trail. Helium is a limited resource necessary for crucial medical purposes and scientific testing, and there is a global shortage of it. I've run two other races along that stretch of Katy Trail and enjoyed the beautiful trail itself far more than seeing such waste and many balloons popped and littering nature along the edges.

I signed up for this race because my coworker suggested it and we were intrigued by the promised "pampering" at the finish line. The massage therapists were AMAZING. Waiting in a long line in the cold, shivering in sweat, however, was not. The massage line was consistently the longest throughout the event, and I am stunned that the 6k team didn't realize a bunch of sweaty women would not be that interested in getting their hair and makeup done after running four miles. Surely these choices of "pampering" can't be indicative of what Six:02 really thinks of its customers, I hope.

A friend of mine suggested: "If you wanted to do something 'make-uppy' how about parafin treatments for windburned hands? That would be warm at least. And MORE massages, in a heated tent of course, and on a 'take-a-number' system so people could mill about and drink hot things instead of standing in line."

I would like to suggest offering a foam rolling station with a knowledgeable trainer available to show runners the best ways to work out stiff muscles and/or a station for calf and ankle massage since we'd just run a noteworthy distance.

Though I really did enjoy the course that wound through beautiful parts of downtown Dallas, chatting with and challenging my two coworkers, I feel that my enjoyment was often in spite of the event's execution. The race's organizing team misfired in a lot of ways as far as connecting with and respecting its target demographic and failed miserably at empowering women in athletics.

Thank you for your time and consideration, as well as the opportunity to send feedback about the It's Your Time 6k event.

Sincerely,

Moniqa Paullet

11/24/14

Hi Moniqa,

Thanks very much for sharing your feedback. As mentioned, I’m part of the social media team and will circle back with my teammates at SIX:02. We’ll be in touch soon.

Best,

Stephanie

It’s April 2015, and I have heard nothing further.

Six:02 6k race report

Since my long absence from this blog, I have a few posts elsewhere that I'll be adding and updating here as I am able. This story is from November 2014.

A race report, wherein I shall complain at length about an event targeted at women but not very considerate toward women:

Saturday morning I had a 6k race that a coworker talked me into (because I otherwise avoid women's races like the plague).

The race website encouraged participants to take the DART rail, but I found out in the wee hours of the morning that the DART rail is closed in that part of town every weekend for about two months, and this has been clearly posted on the DART website for at least a month. So I got to drive instead and pay $10 for fucking downtown parking that I hadn't budgeted for.

I had NO IDEA how to dress to run in such weather (30°F), so I gambled with many layers. I always run in Vibram FiveFingers but knew my toes would freeze painfully, so I resigned myself to trying to run in my $15 Wal-Mart sneakers that I only use for walking and that I had to buy a size big to fit the width of my foot. I got to the festival area and found myself pleasantly comfortable standing around, so I stripped off my outer two layers and put the outer one back on so I'd be comfortable to run. I feel like I was REALLY lucky that this combination of gear worked for me. I got one moderate but manageable blister on one foot, and my toes felt OK. Perhaps I ought to invest in a pair of cold-weather running pants, though I've never needed them before.

The event was put on by a women's athletic clothing store called Six:02, which doesn't actually have its own clothing line but sells all the big brands. Its marketing is so bizarre: The copy on their web page goes on about "What's your six:02 moment?" and encourages people to post and tag their #‎six02 moments all over social media (through which I won a $100 gift card to the shop, which is cool). The "Six:02" moment is a moment for yourself when you do something just for you that makes you feel good, related to fitness. It seems to me as if the company is simply co-opting the idea of "self care" and trying to slap their brand on it. It irritates me that they chose such a random time and an even more random arrangement of letters, numbers, and symbols for their brand. The branding seems entirely gibberish.

On the one hand, if the concept works and attracts more women to fitness pursuits, that's great; on the other, the company has some serious problems with understanding its target demographic. The race was advertised as having "pampering" at the end, which sounded like it might be fun. So there were four stations set up: hair styling, makeup touch-ups, manicures, and massage. Guess which one had the longest line. Who would have ever thought that a bunch of sweaty bitches wouldn't want to get their hair and makeup done after running 4 miles? We stood freezing (~30-35°F that morning) in our sweaty gear for 20 minutes to get a stupid shoulder massage, and I felt REALLY bad when I saw that the masseurs' hands were bare.

It was cool that there were speakers set up along the course playing upbeat music and really NOT cool that the first song was about preying on a woman like an animal; and the last song as I left was the catchy and oft-criticized "All About That Bass." Creating a playlist of songs that don't demean women isn't that freaking hard. Women's empowerment: they're doing it wrong.

The swag bag and items they gave out to participants were surprisingly good, and I am curious about how much money they poured into the black hole of this sparsely attended event. Registration was not expensive, and compared to other races I've attended, it's clear they lost a lot on this one. We got a nice quality drawstring bag, hand towel, water bottle, tech t-shirt, and silver medallion necklace at the finish line instead of medals.

I *really* hope they compensated the stylists and masseurs well for standing in the cold 2-3 hours serving everyone with bare fingers. There was an impressive jumbo screen and a few top athletes clearly flown in to help promote the brand, and an impressive level of videography and photography going on for future promotional purposes. It was all very over-the-top for 259 runners.

The course wound through some cool parts of downtown and had minimal hills (but several people complained about how bad the hills were). I ran with two coworkers and we each thought the other two would surely take off and leave us in the dust, but we all pushed one another harder than we would have pushed ourselves and finished with an average 11:30 min/mi pace, WAY better than any of us hoped for. One had been struggling with her C25K training and had only run a 5k race once before. The other had given up on training for several weeks or months, and I've been a solidly slow runner: I struggled through a sub-40 3-mile treadmill run earlier that week. We had a really good time together.

I understand that this was a record freeze for Dallas that swept in the same week of the race so they were caught off-guard. They were REALLY lucky that the location and course weren't windy. Could they have bought bulk hand warmers at Sam's Club to offer to participants? Could they have sent out an email with tips for dressing and running in cold weather, especially since there are so many first-timers at this event? Maybe offer leg and feet massages? A foam rolling station and knowledgeable demonstrator? A bag check so we could bring enough clothes to be warm before and after the race and not have to run while carrying all that cool swag? A friend suggested: "If you wanted to do something 'make-uppy' how about parifin treatments for windburned hands? That would be warm at least. And MORE massages, in a heated tent of course, and on a 'take-a-number' system so people could mill about and drink hot things instead of standing in line."

*Edited to add: I also remember hearing a shitty country song sung by a man crooning about a woman's boobs busting out of her bikini top.

I also forgot to kvetch about the HUNDREDS of helium balloons lining Katy Trail, many of which had popped and littered the area before I passed. Helium is a limited resource (and at a worldwide shortage) necessary in medical and other science fields. Latex is a common allergy, and littering a nature trail is fucking shitty.

I hope there's a post-race survey, or I will find another way to offer constructive feedback.

I survived speed dating

And I know you want to hear ALL about it.

Since my long absence from this blog, I have a few posts elsewhere that I'll be adding and updating here as I am able. This story is from July 2014.

I've long been frustrated at Internet dating and wanted to give something new a try out of curiosity. The event was called "Speed Dating Event For All Active/Fit Lifestyle Single Professionals Ages 26-39," which ought to have been right up my alley.

I'm told that the organization frequently used that restaurant location, but they did not bother to tell participants that it was across the street from the same restaurant's former location, now an empty building, and that Google maps only recognizes the empty one. Minorly irritating, but I found the right place and walked in the door right at 7:30, when the event was scheduled to start.

And the coordinator first thing instead of greeting me, aggressively stated, "You're late." So, instead of welcoming me as a participant and putting me at ease in a traditionally stressful situation, I was briefly panicking and believed I'd be turned away entirely after I'd already paid for the event, the information for which was very clear to say that it wouldn't begin until everyone arrived. "It's 7:30 RIGHT NOW," I retorted, not about to take that shit. One woman and several men arrived later than me; two women and three men were no-shows altogether.

The coordinator led me to my table and then told me not to follow him (presumably because it was a small space?). He had info for me and to explain how things worked, so I stood beside him waiting for him to tell me eye-to-eye before I sat down and he told me to sit down because he didn't want to talk to me face to face, instead standing over me to tell me how things worked. It's obvious bullshit macho posturing, and I do not have patience for that crap.

This was all in the first five minutes of my arrival, and the event hadn't even begun.

It was held in a loud restaurant with the tables too-close together, and after four meets, I was exhausted at yelling across the table but had five more men to meet. It was a lot of sensory overload, and I was uncomfortable and jittery the whole time. Our waitress was brand new and had no idea what to do with our group and was equally uncomfortable.

Each meeting was six minutes, which was not long enough for me to be impressed or determine whether I wanted to date anyone again, but I had a good attitude and checked "yes" for the five who were OK-ish. Hot paramedic wouldn't even look at me the whole time we spoke. (Wtf, dude?) A couple men seemed much too old for me, or maybe just old for their age.

There quickly developed a pattern that the men wanted to dominate or lead the conversation, which I found dull and difficult to let them do. Had I known what to expect, I'd have been prepared to take the lead myself. I did have a nice time chatting up the woman next to me before and after the event though, and she recommended some otherMeetup.com groups to check out that might be better for meeting people, since we were both underwhelmed by the event.

Only one man out of the nine "chose" me, and I hadn't even had the chance to tell any of them I'm an unshaven feminist to give them a reason for being put off. I did not find the one interesting but might drop him a line because six minutes doesn't count for much. I was vaguely disappointed but mostly relieved that the ordeal was over. I'd only felt lukewarm about anyone in attendance.

I had no idea what to expect going in-- whether the type of people who did this were brave, crazy, or desperate. And I guess I can cross it off my bucket list now, but it was an uncomfortable event, and I can usually handle myself well in social stuff that I choose to attend.

Unless I find an organization that offers these events for bi/gay/queer folk, I'm pretty sure I won't be doing this again for some years at least, unless maybe I lose a bet or something.

Historic McKinney Kiwanis Triathlon Race Report: Finish

I texted to ask the other woman how it went. She said she fell off her bike, broke her wrist, and didn’t finish. Holy crap. Why hadn’t she contacted me, the only person she knew in the area? She hadn’t brought her phone on the course with her and because she didn’t know anyone’s number, she refused the paramedics insistence on taking her to the hospital, accepted their painkiller cocktail, and instead gathered her things and drove herself to the ER. I felt so awful for her. If I’d known, I could have taken care of all her gear and bike, could have called my roommate to pick me up and put the bikes in either the truck or the SUV they have.

She was worried about not wanting to do the Memorial Day triathlon for which she’d won a free registration that had made me silently insanely jealous because I could never afford such a thing and it was all a random whim to her. I told her not to worry about that now but to rest and heal and think about it later, that some events allow transfers in case of severe injury, and that I might be able to pay whatever fee for it if they allowed it. Later in the day, the x-rays showed the wrist wasn’t broken. She said she didn’t realize how fast she was going and lost control on the mile 8 downhill and hit her head 3 times when she fell. Fortunately, it was right at a turnaround with volunteers and a police officer present to help her, and her helmet did its job. She got some ugly road rash on her legs and shoulder but avoided any notable bruising. She later said that she'd done the whole ride in one gear since she didn't know how to change the gears on her sweet $1200 rental.

My aforementioned fall left me with three scrapes and a goose-egg of a bruise on my knee. After eating and about halfway through the movie, I took a long, hot bath and soaked my aching back and shoulder/pec, realizing only then that I must have twisted my upper body during the fall and sprained my freaking tit. How the hell does one even do that? I took a lot of Tylenol and a 2-hour nap, woke irritated to be hungry again so soon, ate, grabbed an ice pack to hug, and went back to sleep til about 6 p.m.

I had scheduled a massage for the next morning, and though I hated waking up for it, I was SO glad to have gone. I mentioned it to my massage therapist, and he tenderly worked on the muscle, remarking on the swelling and heat that the injury produced. It really hurt to let him at it, but it felt better to be a bit looser, and I knew it would aid my healing and comfort over the next few days. It’s difficult to take it easy with daily tasks for one’s dominant arm. I was still on the fence about whether I should see my doctor for the pulled muscle. It was a weird, new pain to me and I couldn’t tell how serious it was, but I also doubted the doctor could do anything for it that I couldn’t from home. I decided not to.

I found my race results online: I finished 207 out of 209  finishers, 59/60 women, had a miserably slow 9:11 swim, just barely hit my sub-60 bike goal with a 59:22, didn’t at all believe my 39:54 3.2-mi run, and hit my total 2-hour goal with a generous 1:54:26. I am very excited to have baseline numbers for future events and have already registered for an April 14 swim + run event and an April 19 sprint tri!

Overall, it was challenging but fun and I’m glad I did it.

Historic McKinney Kiwanis Triathlon Race Report: Run

The exciting thing about the 5k course was that the first mile started on my usual trail and literally ran down my street and past my house. I took advantage of the porta-potty at the construction site across the street from my house, knowing from experience that a short pit stop could only improve my end time. My roommate was in the garage and waved as I passed. I briefly considered walking inside for a nap.

I shouldn’t have needed to pee. I needed electrolytes. The aid station only had water. I thought about the weather and the distance and figured I’d survive, but it wasn’t pleasant.

My legs didn’t seem to suffer the feelings described by other athletes as jelly or heavy. I was just so tired! I incorporated a lot of short jog/walk intervals, because all I wanted to do was walk the whole thing. But I had a time goal to meet. I didn’t know my exact swim start time, but it looked like I had about 42 minutes to finish the run. I didn’t feel like I could make that pace. I felt like molasses, like a 16+ minute mile. But I wouldn’t know until the end, so I just kept on, pushing the walks as short as I could stand to.

Around 1.5 miles, I first saw two runners behind me. Then I trudged slowly up the one big hill and told the volunteers at the aid station at the top how very happy I was to see them. One runner passed me around mile 2 and I gave him a high five. The other passed in the last half mile. I almost always “sprint” the last stretch in a race, but I had nothing left to give beyond my current pace. I asked a volunteer to point out where exactly the finish line was and was heartened to see it.

I ran to the finish, saw that the clock read 02:28 as I approached, and realized I might have actually made my 2-hour goal. I was given a finisher’s medal, water, and snack. I waited to see the friend finish, hoping to cheer her on. And waited. And waited. I had seen her bike still on the rack but not her gear. After a half hour or so, I was beginning to worry about my own post-race refueling, checking my phone, and wondering how long I should wait. When I checked again, her bike was gone. I’d been wandering the small festival area and hadn’t found her and had no missed calls or messages, so I decided to pack up and ride home.

But I couldn’t ride straight home because that was the run course for the kids triathlon immediately following the adults. I resolved to go the long way around; it was only a mile. Ouch, it hurt to sit. Luckily, I found a road that cut through and saved me a hill. I warmed up some burritos and watched some of A Knight’s Tale.

Fed, I wondered about my friend and how I’d missed seeing her at the end.

Historic McKinney Kiwanis Triathlon Race Report: Bike

Cyclists were already returning to re-rack and head out for the run. It made me chuckle. I took my time at the transition to make sure I had everything I needed and walked my bike out. I’m still a bit awkward getting my second toe into the cage, but I managed and set off. I stopped less than a mile in because I was parched and my hydration pack bite valve wasn’t working. I’d used hydration packs for foot races before and tested the new bladder at home, but it was determined not to cooperate on race day. I had to pull off the valve entirely and sip straight from the tube. Whatever.
 
On the road again . . . The course began with a slight but not unpleasant incline for most of the first 2 miles with a lane closed entirely for cyclists in the first mile and police officers at each intersection to hold traffic and wave us through. The first turn carried me out of city traffic and onto empty country roads. The weather was PERFECT: the night’s low had been 42°F and the afternoon high climbed to 82°F. leaving a perfect morning breeze once the sun came up. There were several blind turns, but few houses and zero traffic on an early Sunday morning.
 
One hill at the end of mile 4 was a bit difficult, but I made sure to take a lot of speed into it and actually passed another cyclist on the up! Badass. I maintained that lead for almost 3 more miles until a long, pleasant decline over most of mile 8. I wasn’t used to carrying a lot of speed, but I did enjoy myself. Turning around and huffing back up mile 9 was less fun, but it was all downhill from there back to the high school.
 
I had no reference to gauge my level of exertion on the bike compared to running and swimming, but it was the easiest leg for me that day. I pushed myself to comfortably middling exertion, knowing I’d need to maintain it for an hour and not wanting to kill my legs for the run.
 
At the transition area, I switched to an 8-ounce handheld water bottle since I knew there would be aid stations at every mile. I had brought toe shoes and an extra shirt to give myself the option of changing, but for a mere 5k, I can tolerate sneakers, so I wore the same shoes as I had on the bike. I walked out to the course start, which was kind of weirdly across a section of grass instead of using the existing paved trail but I suppose minimized collisions for all the fast people who’d already finished.

Historic McKinney Kiwanis Triathlon Race Report: Swim

I stuck a toe in to find the water was nearly as warm as the 85° temp of the senior pool where I trained. I opted against warming up in the pool because it was crowded with swift swimmers doing just that, and swimming really wears me out. Shimmying my hips and shoulders and swinging my arms around would have to suffice.

We were instructed to line up by the pool in numerical order by our bib numbers, which were supposedly seeded by the estimated swim times we entered at registration but became quickly apparent were not, which was confirmed by a relay participant sitting nearby who told me the relay racers had been thrown in willy nilly with the rest of the mix. We instead waited on the bleachers for 200+ athletes to go ahead of us and jumped in line with the last dozen. The race website had said swimmers would be spaced out by about 10 seconds each. I counted 5 seconds between starters. Watching the swift swimmers in the water and the traffic jams when many tried to pass the swimmers ahead of them was chaotic, a bit scary, and intimidating. Boom! Did you see that? One guy just got punched in the head while trying to pass.

Diving was forbidden and I’d never practiced a jump start. It wouldn’t have mattered because my training pool is shallow and the race started in the deep end. I jumped in, held my nose, and began kicking, disappointed to see how deep I sunk and how long it took me to recover, reach the surface, give a weak kick off the wall, and get going. I tried to remind myself to slow down and go strong and steady. I struggled to align myself in the lane with the deep end strip dropping away and spent many strokes sliding against the ropes and hoping I wouldn’t kick anyone in the next lane or get hit with a penalty for it.

I paused briefly for a breath after each length, having never learned the flip turn, and checked to see if anyone needed to pass me. For three laps the space behind me was all clear. But suddenly at the end of the third lap, four guys were piled up behind me and I stopped for several seconds to let them all pass, preferring to lose time over the thought of otherwise being kicked or elbowed.

I struggled and swam several lengths on my back, trying to catch my breath. I don’t know why I feel so good in training laps and yet flounder at races. I didn’t count the lengths, only my strokes and breath: one, two, breathe, one, two, breathe, one, two, breathe. . . . This was probably the first time my goggles didn’t fog up. Eventually I reached the end of the 12th length and pulled myself up the ladder out of the pool, slowly walking where everyone before me had jogged out, even though I would like to have enjoyed the short stretch of barefoot running if I’d had the energy for it.

What I didn’t see was the photographer shooting me on the ladder, hunched over, dead-tired, without an ounce of pep or joy. I’m pretty disappointed at how remarkably terrible these race photographers were since I happened to care about my time and didn’t stop to take any pictures at this event. Oh well, no race pictures for me.