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!

Winter Series #1

This past Saturday marked the first race in the 36^th annual Colorado Springs Winters Series, and the first step towards getting back into shape and less fat.

With a Snowday graciously bestowed upon us the day before, all of Colorado Springs was blanketed in a solid layer of ice. The morning of that Snowday, I went out for a quick jaunt: just an easy pre-race 30 minutes to flush out the legs and mentally prepare for Saturday’s 7-miler. However, that short ‘yog’ quickly turned into a horrifying death march on skates. As I glided in and out of traffic, even my “trail” shoes (trying out the Newton BOCO Sol) couldn’t get any grip on the ice (I may have performed my first ever splits, not by choice). Thankfully, I managed to make it back home alive, if a bit scraped up (I’ll spare you the pics, but my tush took a spanking). A couple hours after my run, I received a notification that the El Paso County intelligently decided it was not worth timing Saturday’s race, thereby reducing much of the competitive edge.

This pup knows what's up.

 So, swathed in a wooly cocoon of blankets, I awoke to my alarm Saturday morning, emerging from my Tauntaun of warmth to meet up with Dan Vega, a local runner who was kind enough to carpool with me. I was surprised by how many people were at this race – I’d say there were easily 200 people – but even more surprised when Dan introduced me to Alex Nichols and Peter Maksimow, two local pro runners who I’ve been hardcore stalking since well-before my move out here.

So you can be sure that, when the four of us started running together on our warmup, it took all of my collective willpower to not bust a nut. Thankfully, because I was bringing up the rear of our group, Alex and Peter couldn’t see the massive nerd-boner I had, but holy effing ess, I could’ve broken both my legs and still called that day a success.

After a couple easy miles together, we all went our separate ways in the minutes preceding the start of the race. Dan and Peter were running the Short course (5k), while Alex and I were in the Long course (supposedly 7 miles, but my GPS logged 6.6 miles). With about a minute before the gun would go off, though, it hit me: I was hot. Like, really hot. Boiling. In the past month, I hadn’t felt any temperatures above 40 degrees (I’m poor and refuse to turn the heat on in my place). So my fellow IWU runners wouldn’t be surprised when there I am, next to runners bundled in scarves and tights and gloves, shirtless and in short-shorts.

It was a pretty "chill" race.

My fellow racers only had a few seconds to bask in my awesome nude beauty, though, when the gun went off, and I found myself racing right up to the front. Alex and another runner took the quick lead, and I trailed ~5 seconds back with two other runners. The raced started downhill on the road, but after 400m soon turned to snowy single-track, forcing everyone into single file. While I felt good, I knew I was probably pushing a bit too hard – the race’s first 2-3 miles were primarily uphill, and I always tend to do best with a slow start. But soon I was passing those two other runners, sneaking into 3^rd place behind Alex and the other runner, who were soon too far ahead to see.

I ran mile 2 in no-man’s land, slipping and sliding in the mud, but quite thankful I opted to go shirtless. I was hot, and with the sun out, temps must’ve been at least 50 degrees. That quick first mile also seemed to catch up to me, and without much downhill, I was sucking wind, hard. On top of the fact that these muddy hills were just like wet cement, I wasn’t surprised when one, then two people passed me. In fifth place now, I focused on keeping the 4^th-place runner in sight, and was able to shadow him for miles 4-5. After an excruciating hill (what turned out to essentially be the last), I lost sight of that 4^th-place runner, but without the constant uphill gradient, I was finally able to open my stride. I bombed the downhills with reckless abandon, finally getting into that groove where things seem to click.

At the same time, I heard another runner start to catch up to me, but with less than 2 miles to go, I started really pushing. In retrospect, my form was pretty atrocious here, but trying to run fast down muddy/snowy single track (no doubt hiding rocks/sticks/etc.), I was doing all I could to stay upright. Finally, with the end in sight, I threw in a final kick from ~600m out, surprising myself with how fast I could go. Kicking mud errywhere, I finished with some awkward cheering for ‘that naked guy’ in 51:08, good for 5th.

Sample of the day's conditions (insert Obama 'Not Bad' meme)

There was a lot to learn from this race. According to Strava (race found here, for those curious: http://www.strava.com/activities/239298688/overview), my GAP (Grade Adjusted Pace) for my first mile was 5:55 – probably a tad too fast for such a hilly and technical course. I definitely need to work on my climbing, and including some hill repeats / hilly fartleks would be of utmost importance. Because this race wasn’t scored for the overall series, January 24^th’s race at Bear Creek (literally two minutes from my house) will be the race’s first real race, and I’ve got a lot to do to prep for it!

Winter Series 2015

With the new year, there’s an inherent sense of rebirth and renewal that makes me all reflective and soul-searchy. I have this blank slate upon which I can make a fresh start, picking up more mature or beneficial habits and dropping the not-so-great ones (looking at you, entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting).

Thanks to the dastardly concoction of laziness, cold weather, and video games, I essentially took 2 months off running. After a dismal race at the 13.1 Marathon of Trails in October and a ramp up in school work, I lost all motivation (and free time) to train. Thankfully, the end of the semester meant 2+ weeks off from my all-consuming classroom, and I used that free time to jump back into that thing I missed oh-so dearly. Y’see, perhaps the largest factor for me deciding to take this teaching job in Colorado Springs was the simple fact that it was in Colorado Springs. The mecca of trail running, Colorado offered ample altitude and tremendous trails (and awesome alliteration) that was supposed to take my running to the next level. And then school happened.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to start this new habit of daily running, a devotion that’s been in my life (minus these past 2 months) on a religious level. And so, with this new year and new semester, I’m making it a goal to start training again. Now, don’t get any delusions – I’ve got months until I really get into some serious running slash racing, but I miss that daily struggle, step by step, of trying to physically better myself.

And what better motivation to stick with this resolution than to sign up for the Colorado Springs Winter Series! Consisting of 4 races over the course of the next two months, I’ll be able to race increasing distances with fellow runners, injecting that bit of competition to really keep me motivated. The Series’ first race is a 7-miler this upcoming weekend (January 10^th) at the Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and while I’m not expecting much (heck, finishing without walking would be nice), I’m genuinely excited to get back into this ol’ running thang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbbSAY7Atac

So, expect some race reports in the near future! The race schedule can be found here: http://www.pprrun.org/events/WinterSeries, and I’ve begun to regularly use Strava (http://www.strava.com/athletes/3551024?utm_source=top-nav) to log all my mileage, if you’re really into stalking me.