Winter Series #4

Woof. If there’s the perfect word to summarize the last race in the Winter Series, this would be it.

Since my last race two weeks ago, Colorado decided to be Colorado, and we got veritably dumped on. Little did I know that February 14^th would be my last time seeing sunshine, as these past two weeks have brought ridiculous amounts of snow, ice, and cold, which even amounted to two snow days last week (probably the only good thing to come out of all this fluffy white stuff). Desire (and physical possibility) to run in this cold has waned, especially considering where I was this time last year (for those of you who don’t know, it was the muthaflippin’ CARIBBEAN).

This would've been around this same time last year...

So when we had another snow day the day before Winter Series #4, I was fairly relieved. See, I had run the race of my life two weeks ago, and having filled the time since then with slow trudging through mountains of slippery snow, a weight was lifted. I knew there’d be no way of racing a really “fast” race – instead, I had to race smart and just attempt to solidify my 2^nd-place standing in the overall rankings.

~

Arriving in Black Forest Saturday morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew our race would be roughly 20 kilometers (Strava data post-race had it 12.4 miles), but this was the furthest I’d driven for a race in this series, and I was in unknown territory. After collecting my bib and nearly busting a blood vessel in the port-o-potty, I managed a slow 10-minute warmup where I came to the conclusion: it’s cold. In addition to the slippery snow and 10-degree temps, unsheltered areas had some nasty gusty wind.

Now, this is going to sound inconsequential right now, but it’s a necessary detail: I thought I was going to be an idiot and race in my short-shorts. So this morning, I put on my tights over my shorts, then laced up my shoes ONCE, because I figured I’d be unlacing them soon to take off my tights. But during this 10-minute warmup, I made the executive decision to race avec tights, and the idea of double-knotting my shoes went out the window. You can probably guess where this is going…

Starting video of the race (I’m literally there for 0-1 seconds at the very start, which makes it look like I’m in first, but the camera guy just started late): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJGfgbBrUZE

I run up to the start line with 10 seconds to spare, see Alistair (semi-pro who’s currently 1^st in the series), and then we’re off. Alistair and another runner (spoiler alert: the eventual winner by more about 4 minutes) fly off into first and second place, while I’m content holding down third at an easy effort, keeping the two in sight. Not a minute into the race, though, do I notice: my shoe’s untied. Cuss. I briefly toy with the idea of running the entirety of the race with it untied, but after a mile of my foot gradually slipping more and more, and the laces continually whipping my ankles, I realize how stupid of an idea that is.

Through the mile at 6:30ish, I’m sitting 15ish seconds back from 1^st and 2^nd, and decide I need to stop before this hill and tie both shoes. If you check my Strava data, you can see a blip where my speed drops to 0 for 10-15 seconds, during which another runner passes me, and I find myself in a chase pack (runners in 4^th-7^th place). I somehow manage another 6:30 mile, despite the shoe-tying, and gap the pack I’m with, inching my way back to the 3^rd place runner 15 seconds up (AKA that’s where I should be had I not been an idiot).

You've gotta admit, the shades are fly

Then, we all ran. 1^st place was out of sight by now, but Alistair was probably 40 seconds ahead in 2^nd, 3^rd place was 15, and 5^th place was probably 15 behind me. We rolled in this train, each runner gapped by 15-20 seconds, as we all made due with the terrible footing and steep hills. I wish this was more exciting, but everyone maintained these gaps until about mile 10, clipping off ~6:30s.

GAP: Grade Adjusted Pace, making me feel a little less crappy about such a slow run

It was with about 2 miles to go when us 20K runners merged with the 10K runners, and combined with some long hills late in the race, made things more interesting. See, I found myself flying with ease on the flats and downhills, but towards the end, even the slightest of uphills really took it out of me. At mile 10.5 we hit a pretty nasty uphill that gapped me from the 3^rd place runner, and I even heard 5^th place right on my heels. Bridging the crest of that hill, I completely lost sight of the 3^rd place runner amidst all the 10K runners we’d been joined with. But passing people always helps, so I started picking it up again, breaking away from the 5^th place guy and after one more hill climb (plus someone telling me it would be the last hill), found myself flying downhill towards the finish.

So fly

Strava will tell you my pace going down that last half-mile was 5:11 pace, of which I’m not surprised. I was surprised, though, that I never got sight of the 3^rd place runner; soon, I was making a quick 90 degree turn into the finishing chute. Official time for the race was 1:21:03, a 6:30 average for 4^th overall. Turns out, Alistair got 2^nd in less than a minute ahead of me, with 3^rd less than 40 seconds (5^th just 30 seconds back from me). Fairly pleased with my performance, yet totally trashed, I yogged an easy 10 minute cooldown with Rocque, stretched, then sought warmth.

However, despite my 4^th place finish, I managed to secure my 2^nd place standing in the overall series! Something I didn’t even dream about doing when I initially signed up, I was pleased with how this race series went, and pretty stoked about where my training’s at, just two months into the New Year - it looks like my 5 am runs before school aren’t just in vain.

I’ll attend an awards dinner next weekend, but won’t race again until March 14^th, which will be a St. Patrick’s Day 5K. Soon, I want to start logging some heavier mileage and get back into marathons/ultras, but I’m content to wait until the earth unfreezes. Until next time!