Winter Series #2

So, I’ve got a secret.

It’s really only a secret because I haven’t told anyone yet, but I figured if I tell you, my thousands of doting fans (or maybe it’s just my mom who reads this), I can be accountable. Y’see, I’ve got a very black-or-white personality – I’m either running hill reps and eating kale, or playing Pokemon at 3 am fueled by Nutterbutters. Since moving out to Colorado Springs, I’ve found it too easy to make excuses – granted, I’m a first-year high school teacher with absolutely no idea what I’m doing, but that doesn’t mean I can devolve into a nocturnal neckbeard.

No offense to this guy.

So, on New Year’s day, I thought it’d be cool to go for a run. And then, because I enjoyed it, I went on one the next day. And then the next. And I started getting into better shape, so I kept running to keep getting in better shape. Then I thought: I miss those Nutterbutters. And then I thought: what if I ran everyday this year? Like, 365/365, not missing a single day. Because God knows I can quit binge-watching Friends for 30 friggin’ minutes of running every day.

So, I’m 24 days in. To somewhat resemble a competent adult / teacher / human, I’m at school by 6:30am, which means I’ve been fitting in my runs each morning at 5am. To be honest, at first, this sucked hard. Sunrise isn’t until 7am, it’s colder than the devil’s butthole, and the number of hobos who lurk on the nearby running path is quite alarming (one was named Dirty Mike and he invited me to join him in a Prius for something called a soup kitchen?).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYfwRtS9Rmc

But, when I finish…I feel great. Wonderful. Fantabulous. I actually kind of feel like one of those guys – ya know, a functioning member of society. I’ve even thrown in doubles, running after school as well, and logging all my runs on Strava (I even went skiing last weekend and managed to fit in some pathetically-slow yogs at 10,000 feet elevation).

P.S. Follow me here! http://www.strava.com/athletes/3551024?utm_source=top-nav

The reason I’m telling you this, though, is because I think it’s actually making a difference. It turns out, running regularly can actually make you (gasp!) better at running (waiting for my Nobel prize). So when I raced Saturday at the second Winter Series race over at Bear Creek, don’t be too surprised when I tell you I didn’t suck too bad.

~

Because the start of Saturday’s 8-miler was about a mile from my place, I was able to sleep in, then do an easy jog to the race as my warmup. With temps in the low-40s and partly cloudy, I opted to wear clothing this time around, racing in my Newton BOCO Sols due to the significant amount of ice and snow on the ground. With more than 500 people at the race itself, I was initially a bit nervous – unlike myself, most runners don’t dress like crazed nudists, and the competition looked fast (plus, there was an obscene number of pretty girls, and I really wanted to impress them¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

But then I saw Dan Vega, then Alex Nichols and Peter Maksimow, and they said hi to me. And after quietly letting the fangirl-squeals pass, I felt…confident? I’m not sure, as I’ve never felt like that in my entire life, but it was essentially the opposite of my everyday awkward and anxious self.

And like that, the race was off! I reminded myself to relax and start slow, falling into 5^th place right from the gun. The course was 99% snow, so footing was a bit slippery, but the fact that everyone had to deal with this was comforting, and I ran relaxed, soon catching 4^th place (a runner whom I’d soundly beat in the first Winter Series race) by the first mile. Alex and another runner had shot to the front from the gun, and after cresting the largest hill, I’d lost total sight of the two. But, there was a runner within relative reach – probably no more than a minute ahead, and I started to slowly attempt to reel him in.

The first 2.5 miles were on snowy and hilly trail, so I was surprised when I found myself averaging sub-6 pace coming into the road section, but I kept rolling with it. Seeing that lone 3^rd place runner on long straightaways, I kept reminding myself to relax, but over the course of the next 2 miles, it seemed like we were running the same pace.

Soon, I saw Alex and the 2^nd place runner flying towards me, and after briefly cheering on Alex (more like some unintelligible gasping), I see the 3^rd place runner I was trying to catch. Then, 50 meters later, the 180 turnaround! Knowing how close I was to him, gave me a brief confidence boost, and I was then able to see who was coming up behind me. I had about a minute lead on 5^th and 6^th, both of whom had beaten me last race (add one more point to my confidence). Running by all these other runners, both of us cheering each other on, was a pretty awesome experience, but despite really pushing that mile, I couldn’t seem to get any closer to 3^rd.

By mile 6, we were back in the snowy trails, and thus, the hills. This part was interesting, as the 8-mile racers began merging with the 4-mile racers, and because my form turns to flailing breakdancing by the end of a race, it was tough passing these runners on the narrow single-track without totally shoving them off the path. Add that to the re-addition of the hills, and mile 7 was easily my slowest mile (by nearly 45 seconds!). I kept seeing glimpses of the 3^rd place runner ahead, intermingled with 4-mile runners, but I could tell that we were still running the same pace.

Fortunately, the last mile had us on wide and flat paths, and I found a second wind, so much so that checking my GPS watch, I was pushing 5:30 pace! The end of the race couldn’t come soon enough, and one last hill before the finish line ensured I’d finish a wheezing slobbering mess. But crossing the line in 49:34, I was pretty pumped. I had managed to average a 6:15 pace on a relatively hilly and snowy course, which was definitely my fastest effort here at elevation, 5,999 feet above Chicago back home.

After the race, I was able to chat with a bunch of the racers, including that 3^rd place runner, who’s apparently a semi-pro triathlete from California training for an upcoming 70.3. I made the slow trek back home, thoroughly exhausted, and proceeded to sleep and grade quizzes the rest of the day. But because the next Winter Series race isn’t for 3 weeks, I decided to sign up for a local 5K next weekend, curious as to how fast I can run in a non-trail race (first in almost 4 years?!).

Props to you if you actually read this mind-numbing wall of text. If you’re a masochist like me, then check back next week for my recap of the Game Day 5K!