A Necessary Dose of Reality

I thought I could do it. I really did.

I thought that with just one small 5K under my belt I could place in my age group in Iowa’s largest race, the Bix 7.

Oh man, I put so much thought and planning into doing this.

But when my Garmin informed me of my time for that third mile - much of which was downhill - reality splattered into me like the onslaught from an angry starling above. I was not able to maintain the pace I’d wanted. Indeed, given how I was already starting to feel, I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain the pace I had at that time.

But this isn’t a post where I bemoan a disappointing performance. It’s one about how even the most meticulous planning and goals can fall short if the body is not in condition to meet them. It's also about simply appreciating that I was in a race I wasn't sure I'd ever see again.

A Look Back

Just three months ago, I ran four miles for only the second time in seven months. At this point in May, I’d finally reached a distance of seven miles for easy running. Even now, I’ve had less than ten training workouts with my running coach, Timothy Ives (The Body Project).

Although such thoughts now seem distant, 2026 commenced with me having serious doubts if my knee would ever allow me to compete again in any race. I’m reminded how I yearned during those bitterly cold mornings to just be able to run without pain in that left knee.

And last Saturday, I competed on a tough, hilly seven-mile course.

The Bix 7 Course

Tell Us About the Race Already!

Not letting you off that easy. I’m going to need to set the stage.

Feeling a bit emboldened from after what I felt was a successful 5K race two weeks earlier on flat course with only 400 participants, your host had visions of placing in his age group in a huge race on a challenging course (see above).

I even went as far as checking last year’s results to determine a time and pace I’d need to run in order to make that top five cut. Since the course consisted entirely of hills, I decided to look at my time from when I’d last raced the Bix as well as the splits for each mile. Given what I thought was a reasonable assessment of my current abilities, I believed that if I added twenty-five seconds to each mile, that would be a pace that would not only land me in the top five but be a pace that I could maintain.

Nearly 9000 people competed in this year's Bix 7

Turned out that I had the first part right. That pace would have landed me at fifth place in the 65-69 age group. But damn, was I off about the second part of my plan.

Which actually makes sense. Coach Ives’s workouts have me making a careful return to competitive running. My speed workouts have been shorter intervals as well as a good amount of “marathon pacing” where I run faster than normal but far from race pace.”

None of this is close to the intervals or hill workouts that have been part of Bix training is previous years. Sure, I have a number of hills in my neighborhood. But jogging up them on a Saturday morning comes nowhere close to the twin challenges of the hills on Brady and Kirkwood streets.

Are You Telling Us Everything?

Proof that Coach Ives’ careful approach to my training is the correct one is that whenever I’ve pushed it a bit too hard, my body has let me know it. Late May had some grumbling from my right hip. June had the dual complaints from the TFL and pectineus on that same side. That both are fine now is proof that they were more conditioning issues than anything else.

However, when I decided to shorten my cadence by more significant amounts the week before the race, what I mainly accomplished was irritating my left hamstring. Thanks to some timely massage therapy and stretches, said muscle only spoke up during that seemingly endless hill up Kirkwood and only with some grumbling and not outright barking or pain that would have ended the run.

With any luck, I’m looking at a mild sprain in that hamstring as well as an important reminder to listen more carefully to my body as I continue the recovery.

As for the final outcome of this year's Bix 7, with reasonable temps touched by just a bit of humidity, I ran a time of 54:29, coming in seventh in my age group and placing 1189/8923 overall.

I must not have gotten the memo that it was ok to go shirtless.

How Do I Feel About It?

Let me first say that each of us has our own goals and motivations for running. Some of you would be pleased with my time while others grossly disappointed. Likewise, others may have no interest in such stats. I fully respect all of that.

As for me, although this is the slowest overall time I've ever had for the Bix 7, I'm okay with it. In hindsight, my initial goals were unrealistic. Once I came to realize that during the race, the desired outcome then became to do the best I could without further injury to that hamstring or anywhere else.

Particularly with my next race being the Capital Pursuit, a ten-miler in mid-September. That should allow ample time for a nice recovery as well as training for that longer distance. Given the lessons learned from this year's Bix, I'll let coaching and my body dictate the pace of my return to competitive running. That should allow more realistic goals for that race.

Speaking of the Bix 7, I most definitely plan to be back next summer!

As I bring this post to a closure, I would definitely like to know your thoughts as well as any similar experiences. Let me know in the comments below. And thanks again for reading this blog!

My wife, Amy, had a solid race in the 2-mile "Quick Bix"!