7th in Des Moines 10k 29:08

Drake Relays Hy Vee 10k results:

10k results  4/28/2014

I returned from Ethiopia on Wednesday, flew to Des Moines on Friday, and raced today.  I planned to run the half marathon but the weather was cold (45 degrees), very windy, and lightning.  The race was delayed by an hour.  Since I was still tired from traveling and because I have races coming up, I changed to the 10k.  I finished in 7th place, 29:08, 4:42 per mile.  Not bad.

Running today was crazy.  Before the race I was tired and I couldn't warm up.  When the race started I felt different.  I was feeling good.  I need to rest well this week to be ready for Bloomsday 12k in Spokane.

Day Off from training in Ethiopia

Aissa Dghough (in the middle) with kids from a training location in Sendafa, Ethiopia

Today was my day off from training.  I spent some time with small kids at training place called Sendafa which is  30 km away from Addis Ababa.  Most of the Ethiopian athletes who become champions come from this town.  It it very high altitude, 8500 feet.

Here are a couple maps so you can see where Sendafa is.

Tempo run with Markos Geneti

Aissa Dghoughi (left) and Markos Geneti

This picture is with Markos Geneti who placed 2nd at the 2013 Dubai marathon in 2:05:13.  His personal best is 2:04:54.

This is just after a 20km tempo run on Saturday. I ran 2 minutes faster than last year.  Last year I ran it in 1hr09min. This year 1:07:20.