BIX 2015 - July 25 - Davenport, Iowa
If you know me at all, you know that this is my favorite race of the year. No contest. This year's race was my 12th completion of the event....and going into it, I was bound and determined that I would achieve a PR. My training over the past year has been at the highest level it has ever been in my life and there would really be no excuse (well, other than an injury or death of course) for not besting my PR going into this year's race of 56:42 (run in 2010). I've run this crazy, seven-mile sufferfest every July since 2004 and it's always one of my favorite parts of summer. My sister "introduced" me to the Bix back in 2004 (I believe she ran her first Bix in '03 and conned me into joining her the following summer). She and I have run many Bixes together, with her taking a few years off here and there secondary to the all-important task of gestating humans. She wasn't able to run this year (her second child, Charlee, was born just 2 months prior to the race!!) but was still there, spectating.
My pie-in-the-sky goal for the BIX this year was to run a sub 50 minute race...but if that wasn't achievable, I MUST be sub 55 at the very least. (Someone told me prior to my very first marathon in 2009 that I should always have three goals for each race...one that is quite achievable, one that is a challenge, and a lofty pie-in-the-sky-type goal. A- PR of below 56:42, B- Sub 55:00, C- Sub 50:00).
Clint and I spent the night at my sister's along with AP. We had a pre-race meal of champions: Chipotle (when can Chipotle ever be a mistake?!). We stayed up later than intended (this seems to often be the case), chatting with Megan and her husband Danny. Morning came quickly, with our alarm going off around 5am. Clint got up and made coffee for both of us as is the routine {yeah, I am spoiled} while I lounged around for a while longer before finally getting up. Breakfast was a peanut butter + chocolate chip Larabar (my fav!). We headed down to the race start around 6:40am so that we would be plenty early. Thanks to my sister's pro tips, we and AP found street parking not far from the start on a road parallel with the infamous Brady Street.
I slurped down my favorite pre-race nutrition item: a PowerBar Performance Energy Blend, made one more porta-potty stop and we made our way to the start, fighting our way through the throngs of people in the Orange corral. I lined up with Paul, Gary, Clint and AP and stretched my legs and bounced around a bit while entertaining myself with some people watching (and smelling). We listened to the pre-race ceremony and watched the old military planes fly overhead...the display of patriotism at this race is always rather inspirational. Before long, the cannon (yes, a real cannon!) fired...and we were off!
The race starts uphill...on the beastly Brady Street Hill. Thanks to many years' experience running on this thing, I've employed a strategy that seems to work rather well for getting through that first mile without a totally terrible pace: 1) be sure to be in the orange corral, 2) position yourself on the left side of the field, 3) keep moving forward in as straight of a line as possible, weaving slightly when necessary, 4) keep the foot turnover quick and purposeful. Regardless, this hill always does kinda suck...but this year my pace for mile 1 was 7:18. Nice!
After making your way up Brady, the course takes a right-hand turn and runners are treated to a slight downhill. Somewhere after mile 1, I saw Paul to my left...grinning as usual. He said hello and sped off. See ya at the finish, Paul! ;)
AP and I had chatted prior to the race about our strategy and had both verbalized the fact that we would like to keep our paces as close to 7:00/mile as possible. He beat me up the first hill and through the first mile, but I was able to keep him within my sights as we ran through the second mile. I vowed not to lose him as we battled through the course. Mile two ticked off in 6:59. Great! My legs were reaaaaady!!!
Mile 3 is a bit of a roller and it started getting toastier. I grabbed water at each water stop and threw more water over my head and face to cool off than what I actually consumed. I was also sure to run through any sprinkler/mister that I came across on the trail...thank goodness for the good people of Davenport who come out to spectate this race that's just beyond many of their front yards and choose to share their water with the sweaty, hot, tired runners! Just before the end of mile 3, I saw the elite runners on their return trip to the finish line (the course is an out-and-back...LOVE being able to see the elites pass!). I saw Meb in a group of 8 or so elites and they powered by as if they were flying. I cheered for them as they passed. Shortly after this, the course takes another right-hand turn...and heads back UP a decently steep portion. Conveniently as soon as I crested the hill I saw my sister and sweet 2-year-old niece Macy (!!) and soon mile 3 was over...in a slower 7:27. Sigh!
Mile 4 brings the always-congested turn-around at mile 3.5 with numerous water stops. It also brings a nice little uphill portion. It also, for me, brought a cheer from our friend and Often Running Thursday Night regular Jim who was nearing the turnaround himself. I yelled back to him and soldiered on, intent on catching up to AP who was still well within my grasp ahead of me. Mile 4...7:34. Sheesh. My splits were headed in the OPPOSITE direction of what they should've been! ;)
I started in on the 5th mile and fought the constant up and downs of the course. Sometime during this mile, I did catch up to AP and we chatted/whined/commiserated for a bit. I continued taking water from each stop and dousing my ever-heating-up-self with it. We reached mile 5 in 7:44.
Mile 6...the worst mile of the race, both mentally and physically! I was tired. I was hot. It was hilly. I was hungry. Wah wah WAHHHH! Mile 6 was my slowest of the race: 7:53.
Shortly before the end of that atrocious (for me) mile, I had HAD it! I dug deep and took off (sorry AP!). I powered down Brady Street hill, turned left and brought it in to the finish with a 6:46 final mile.
Total time: 52:01. I met my A (PR!) and B (sub 55:00!) goals, but didn't quite achieve my C goal (sub 50:00). This was a PR of 4:41...I was (and still am!) satisfied to say the very least.
AP crossed the finish shortly after I did, and our friend Aaron crossed moments after that. Together we made our way toward the famous Whitey's Ice Cream truck for our post-race popsicle where we spent some time chatting with other friends and Often Running Racing Team members and Often Running Thursday Night Running Group peeps.
What a day! What a race! Seriously...if you've never done this one...add it to your list. You won't be disappointed (Well, Andy might argue...).
Of course, later on we hit up Whitey's for some ice cream....
What's next? Well, a week after the BIX....we had our soon-to-be-famous first-annual Wells Wedding Run 13.1/5k. I may or may not write a race report about that one...honestly that whole day was a BLUR!!!! An amazing, crazy blur (THANKS again to everyone who ran/supported/loved us on that day!)...
I don't think I am going to do any more races in August....with the honeymoon and the start of the school year, things are kinda crazy right now. Today I also "updated" the Post-It note I hang on my desk here at Metcalf that lists my current PR's in all of the events I have completed from 1-mile to 140.6-mile. I now realize that this year I have PRed in 6 distances: the 5k (Miles for Milestones/Easter Seals), 4 mile (Moonlight Chase), 5 mile (Park2Park), 7 mile (BIX!), 15k (Steamboat) and sprint tri (Tri-Shark)....and I am hoping to add a marathon PR to the list before the year's end....currently I am running 2 marathons this fall (one being Chicago, as a member of Team Believe raising $$ and support for Easter Seals of Central IL). I am also going to try to do a Labor Day 5k, the Allerton Park 5.7 trail race the last weekend in October (Wells Birthday Weekend!) and of COURSE Run the Woods. If you think I can talk your ear off about Bix...just get me going about RTW!! :)
THANKS to Mitch for the privilege of being a member of the awesome and FUN Often Running Racing Team, to Adidas for the sweet gear (loving my racing flats more than words!), to my awesome Often Running and Challenge Triathlon teammates for the support and camaraderie, to PowerBar for the amazeballs nutrition items, and to my HUSBAND (?!) CW for being the best coach and patient partner ever (even when I am whining/crying/having meltdowns on the trails of UT because we saw a bear...etc...etc). Love this stuff!!
