Notes
I went into this race not really knowing what to expect. I've only been training consistently again for about 3 weeks, I've done nothing fast, or even tempo, really. And, it was 18 mph winds, 16 degrees, with a -2 windchill...so...who knew. I decided I would shoot for running around 6 flat for the first mile, and if I felt good, picking it up a bit. I figured I could at least run under 24 flat. I was hoping to get a bit closer to 23:30.
So, after my 2 mile warmup, I decided that it wouldn't be as bad with the cold as I thought. Must have been the run in -15 windchill last week that made this feel a bit balmy. But, there was a definite difference between going into the wind, and going with it. Knowing the course, I knew the 2nd mile would be rough (mostly into the wind, and with 3 decent uphills), and the last half mile would be into the wind, but flat. So...it confirmed my conservative race plan.
Because it was so cold, I decided to wait to head to the start until about 3-4 minutes before (9am). Of course, the race started 9 minutes late. Which is a nice thing to do to folks waiting in the bitter cold. However, it did give me a chance to observe some really stupid people. For instance:
- A 12 or 13 year old kid was lined up, wearing Lunar Racers, Nike Split shorts, a Hanson Racing Singlet, and cotton gloves. A) 12 year olds should not take themselves that seriously. B) When the windchill is sub-zero, racing in that little clothing is detrimental to your performance. C) Why don't his parents realize this?
- Another kid, who I am familiar with, was an 11 year old boy, who was wearing tights, but a sleeveless UnderArmour top. In a way, I thought he was smarter than the other kid by wearing tights...but in a way, I found him dumber. I mean...you were smart enough to realize it was too cold for shorts, but...how did it not occur to you that it was cold enough to wear sleeves? This kid runs a lot of races in town, and his dad is one of those Dad's who lives vicariously through his son, and annoys me to no end. Anyway...just before the race started, I could hear his Dad saying "Make sure you get out fast!". Ummm...dude...its a 150 person race. And you're kid isn't gonna finish anywhere near the top...so why does he need to get out so fast?
Needless to say...as the race started...both of the two idiot boys were way out in front of me. Good thing the one kid listened to his dad. He got out fast, alright. I caught the one in tights about a half mile in (a lot of good getting out fast did for him), and was settling into a 5:50ish pace pretty nicely. It felt comfortable, so I just cruised. Hit the mile in 5:51, and decided I would up the effort just a hair, but not too much, knowing I had the toughest mile coming up. I could see the other idiot kid up in front of me, and decided to keep him in my sights to run him down. Up a big hill, turn into the wind...down the hill, hang a left, up another big hill, but slightly out of the wind. Then...I had one more big uphill to get to the 2 mile mark, and I'd make a left hand turn to have the wind at my back for about 1200 meters.
Just before mile 2, I caught the idiot kid. His skin was bright read, from head to toe, and as I passed him, I thought "what an idiot", and zipped right on past. Hit the 2 mile mark in 5:55, and while it was slower than my first mile, I had passed about 10 people in that mile, so I knew I was actually running harder. When we turned out of the wind, it was such a relief, that I picked it up...a bit too much. I glanced at the Garmin, and saw I was running 5:27 pace...but...was like..."oh well...let's see what happens"...and cruised through in 5:33. Well...that took a bit out of me, so I knew I just had to relax for about a half mile, then make a final push into the wind to finish.
I fell off pace a bit in the last mile, and crossed the line at 23:00. So...needless to say, I was pretty happy. I ran this same race in 2007, under nearly the same circumstances (windy day, had only been training consistently for 2-3 weeks, etc), and ran 23:27, I think. I went on to PR at almost every distance from 1 mile to the marathon later that year. So...that is encouraging. If I can stay healthy, and keep training, I can be fast again. That'll be nice...