Capital Pursuit: Facing the Inevitable?

Sure hope there's some chocolate milk waiting for me at the end!

Am I starting to slow down?

That was the predominant question in my mind going into last Sunday’s Capital Pursuit 10-mile race.

Let me back up a bit.

Best Race I Never Get to Run

The Capital Pursuit is my favorite race that I never get to run. Global pandemics and misbehaving hamstrings have kept me out of this race three times in the past six years.

An early part of the race before condensation caused me to remove my sunglasses.

Which is a shame. It’s an enjoyable event, offering a 5-Kilometer race in addition to the aforementioned 10-miler. The race starts and ends in beautiful downtown Des Moines, encompassing a variety of city streets, wooded trails and gorgeous residential neighborhoods near Drake University. Sponsored the Capital Striders, this race has nice swag and awards that are distributed afterwards at one of the fine breweries that call Iowa's largest city home.

Adding to my personal motivation for this year, I had also prepared what I considered an absolutely engaging playlist made up exclusively of songs from my final high school cross country season - meaning that we're looking at the summer and fall of 1978. Punk and disco brashly shoved aside any and all future “yacht rock” classics. (Sorry Kenny Loggins and Little River Band.)

A Tough Question

That brings us back to my earlier question. Am I starting to slow down?

I've noted that the first mile of my morning runs are now slower than they were a year ago. Added to that, my per mile times have been a bit slower in races since this spring.

It's not the end of the world. This is something all runners experience at various times in our lives. But for the past six years, I've been able to improve my performances with my races. I would like to continue doing that. Still, I know there will come a time when my legs won't be able to do that.

But besides all that, it makes it really difficult to plan out a race when you're not sure what you can or can't do.

After discussing strategy with my running coach, Tim Ives, I went into the Capital Pursuit (Cap Pursuit to friends) with the goals of running under seven minutes per mile and winning my age group.

How did it turn out?

Capital Pursuit '23

I spent 9 miles looking forward to this downhill section heading straight to the finish line.

The weather on race day itself turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The showers that the forecasters had predicted were instead clearing skies with temps in the low sixties. Perfect for late September!

With the Buzzcocks' blasting in my ears, my Nike ZoomX Vaporfly's started me on my way. As per the plan, I maintained a pace just under seven minutes for the first few miles, saving myself for that daunting climb that would encompass miles 4.5 to 6.

Cruising along the beautiful bicycle trails around Grays Lake to Waterworks Park, my only challenge related to eye wear. A troublesome combination of humidity and my own perspiration caused them to continually fog up. Having no desire to repeat the experience of a nasty fall in early July, my beloved Knockarounds were relegated to my shorts just in time for the real fun to begin.

A "Hill" Of A Good Time

rururI had just moved past a couple runners when we emerged from the trail to a parking lot where - if my quads were to be believed - a gradual rise suddenly became akin to ascending the Rockies. As if a deliberate act of cruelty, this hill would level off just enough to lull my legs into a relaxing before another steep incline. This continued until finally crossing a freeway overpass into a residential neighborhood where our attention now focused on navigating around cars parked on our side of the street.

Thanks to the rousing combination of Tom Petty's "I Need to Know" and Bruce Springsteen's "Badlands," I found that next gear required to make up time on those hills.

With two separate downhills on the final miles, I managed to kick my pace up another notch in the hopes that I could put enough distance between myself and any runners who would outsprint me at the finish line. Spying upon the faint glimmer of red from the clock at the finish, my weary legs knew that their ordeal was coming to an end.

Final result had me come in 24th out of 140 runners with a pace of 6:59 per mile. That hit one goal. However, first place in my age group went to an impressive 60+ runner who placed two minutes ahead of me.

What About Father Time?

Given that wicked hill on a revised course that I'd never run before, it's hard to say how my time compares to what I did two years ago. What I do know is that I ran a smart race where I met my main goal. No complaints about that. I also had a great time seeing my friends as well as making a few new ones. I fully realize that that's what matters more than whether or not age is catching up to me. At the end of the day, none of this is going to change my passion for running.

What about you? What are your thoughts on this topic? Any experiences to share? I look forward to reading them in the comments below or on Facebook.

(And just to hedge my bets, I'm looking for a rocking chair to go on my front porch so that I can yell at any kids who walk on my lawn.)

I know that having a guy with a twins in a baby carriage being right behind me is not a good look. But in my defense, I was actually running this 2019 race at a 6:26 mile pace. And big props to Terry Kruse - an outstanding runner who took all of these wonderful pics!