MayFest 10K: When USATF-Certified courses break bad
Goal: 1:14
Previous Training Best: Race 10K time of 1:21; Training 10K time of 1:16
This race had been on the calendar pretty much since the beginning of my 2015 challenge for multiple reasons:
1. It was USATF Certified
2. It was far enough into training that it would be a good
Disneyland PoT race for myself and my running buddy M.
3. I was very familiar with the course as it's almost the exact six mile training loop I use along the trails.
The week previous, I had run my second half marathon so I already had a pretty good idea of what corral I needed to be in for Disneyland at this point - I was pretty much giving up on a speedy 10K time (I'll talk more about that later). This was also my second week of Dopey-dedicated training, which means I ran pretty much every day this week leading up to this long run. The Higdon Dopey plan I'm roughly following right now said I needed 7 miles, so I thought "OK, cool. A 10K is pretty close to that - I'll just go with that and call it a day". If this were a movie, some ominous music would play and the scene would fade ...
The Run:
I know there is no such thing as setting yourself up for 100-percent success when it comes to run events. I KNOW this. But, I went into this 10K with the honest and truthful belief that I had done EVERYTHING I could do to ensure a successful run. This was my home turf! I run this place four times a week! I'd practiced my tangents (which, admittedly, can range from pretty bad to outright terrible) according to the course map so much that I had two runs of this distance according to the race map that were pretty much spot on. I was ready. I was going to get the time I wanted and I was confident.
My good friend M had never run on the trails before (she lives in a smaller town about 20 minutes west of Fort Worth, so she runs a lot in her neighborhood and runs smaller races in the area), so this was the biggest race she was to run (and our first to run together since the Cowtown 10K was snowed/iced out). I was also looking forward to this. When I mentioned I was doing the DLH, she was all in and has trained as hard (and sometimes, probably harder) than I have to accomplish this goal. This was her last shot at a PR PoT.
When we get to the start line, I realize that it is significantly further back that the indicated starting point on the certified course map. That should have been my first warning sign, but I didn't really think anything of it. The horn sounds and we were off.
Sidenote: I think I've mentioned it before, but I prefer to start back towards the pack of people. It takes me a little bit to get in the right mindset, and honestly - to use a horse-racing reference (it was Derby day, after all!), I like to hang back a little and let the race come to me. It also keeps me from getting frustrated when people just start blowing past me left and right.
M hung back with me so we could start this race together. We ran through the start line and about the first .10 mile where the pack could space out a little bit, we fist-bumped each other and then M took off. I mean, girl was flat. out. flying. She had a specific goal in mind, and while she hadn't run more than a combined 5 miles in the past two weeks due to IT soreness (which was straightened out by our PT superstar friend, S!), so was going to do everything she could to get to that goal.
I had a goal, too, but I knew what I was capable on this course so I didn't really push it. Slow and steady, run my own race, all that. I knew where the hills were, I knew about the bridges, I knew about the couple patches of crap concrete. Just do what I do and I would hit my goal. This was really just a training run for Dopey that I had to put in.
The course was an out-and-back route with a short run to start out to get to the trail. According to the map, it was to feature one water stop that was very close to the turnaround spot. I crossed the last bridge on the out spot and bam - there was the water stop! This should've been my second warning sign, but according to my GPS I was at 2.75 miles, so I thought nothing of it and kept going. I took the water spot, enjoyed a little hydration and then got back at it - turning a corner under a highway bridge to an extremely flat and open part of the trail, which is good. The bad thing? You could see how far remained before the turnaround point.
It was at that point I knew right away that the course was screwed up. The turn around point was close to my 3.5 mile turnaround point I use for 7-mile training runs. Factor in the extra run to the trail at the start and then and extra run into the MayFest festival grounds at the end of the run (which, according the map, followed nearly close to my standard 6-mile even training course) and I knew it was all over. So, I just settled in for the 7-mile Dopey training run I needed to ultimately do that day, knowing that my mileage would come pretty close to that.
M made the turnaround and came flying past me - I gave her a high-five and she yelled "No knee pain!" and I told her to keep crushing it and she sped off. I make the turn, head back and get to where the course should end and my GPS pings the 10K finish marker. So I cross back over the pedestrian bridge and a volunteer yells "Straight down the sidewalk! You're almost there!". So I keep going, and going, and going.
My GPS pings 6.5 miles and I see M walking towards me, having finished. She hops on the course and I slow down so we can chat while we run.
"The course is way too long! It's 6.75 miles! They tell you when you cross the finish line that they'll adjust the time!" and a couple of expletives followed all of that. We did the last .25 miles together, which was pretty much my favorite part of the race. When I got to the finish line, there wasn't even a clock running. Results weren't immediately available (they were doing the "time adjustments" manually, so they'd have to print them off and hang them up). We peeked in the tent that had the results and M saw she finished in 1:10, but with a pace that didn't match that time.
Because this was her big PoT race, she walked over to the scorer working the results and asked when they would adjust time. Her response? "Oh, we're not doing that. We're just adjusting your average pace to reflect your time over 6.75 miles! It should be good if you need it for races around the city. Congrats!"
And that was that.
Her GPS finish time for a 10K? 1:04:40. Her best race by a large margin. Better than her overall goal PoT.
Finish Time: Who knows. It doesn't even matter now.
My Thoughts:
On the Race Event as a whole: I'm just really angry with the race directors for this thing. It wasn't a cheap race (considering - I think, with fees and timing chip we paid around $50), the shirt is a 100% cotton throwaway shirt, there was no medal and no charity aspect - but through all of their marketing they kept crowing about how it's the only USATF-certified race other than our big marathon weekend here in town.
I had a feeling when I got to the starting line that the course was going long (like I said, this is a course I run multiple times a week for my training runs), but I wasn't expecting it to be a half-mile longer. They really, really fudged with the map, too, once I ran through the course. I actually pulled the map up on my phone and M & I went through it while we consumed our post-race drinks.
And then you get the volunteers that tell you after you finish that your time will be adjusted and they know the course is long. Well, then, make it right the first time.
On the pursuit of Proof of Time: I realized during this race that my PoT as it is for Disneyland (and probably Wine & Dine) is going to stand as it is. I've thought a lot about it since that second half marathon last weekend, also coupled with the Dopey commitment. Right now, with my DLH Proof of Time, I'm in a corral where I belong. I know I can get a faster 10K result than my first and it would jump me by about 15 minutes on the half, but honestly? I don't belong there. Both of my half finishing times fall directly in line with where I'm currently slotted by PoT. Right now, I know how long it takes me to finish a half at this early point in my training.
Also, I've realized a lot that it doesn't matter where you start, but where you finish. I like starting in the back of the pack (so to speak). I like to get my mental game in check (not going to lie, it takes a couple of miles). And I like to settle into a groove and then let my competitive nature take over (you know that whole 'blowing past people' thing I talked about? I'd rather be that person!). I would rather start at the very front of corral H and make a move than try to keep up with corral G and get frustrated.
And, really, for me right now it's putting in the miles. If I get a 2:30 half-marathon PoT, I want it to be because I did it and I ran it. Not because I ran really fast at a shorter distance and a calculator thinks I can do it.
I know this thinking isn't for everybody. But mentally, it's what works for me.
In closing:
I'm not going to say "This race sucks! Don't do it!". The course is AWESOME. It's straight, it's flat, it's shaded and pretty. Will I do it again next year? Probably not because it will lead into Pixie Dust. I stand-by my assessment that it's a bit pricey for a 10K - the halfs I ran were $50 and $75 respectively, they had GREAT medals and tech-fabric shirts, as well as copious amounts of on-course hydration support. It cost me nearly $50 for this 10k, it only had one water stop, was disorganized, had a cotton shirt I will never wear and no medal. I would consider it again, but I will never pay separate for timing for this race until I can guarantee that it is the correct distance. They basically just got to pocket that money.
Also, I'm thinking this was my last race for a while - probably until Disneyland. That said - I may decide to do a couple of fun runs with friends, but we're getting into the warm months of the year and I think that my time will be better spent conditioning for Dopey in the long run than forcing myself to hit an unnecessary time goal every couple of weeks.
But if y'all have realized anything about me by now, it's that I'm prone to making very long-thought out and rational decisions (see: Dopey). /sarcasmfont
Finish Line Sefie!!