I guess it is appropriate that I write a recap for these two races together as they were both run under less than ideal conditions. The night before Froze Nose I stuck screws in my shoes for traction for the first time. The morning of the Nut Race I added screws back to the same shoes to replace ones I had lost, plus some additional screws as there were 2 or 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground that we would be racing through! So both these races were definite winter events!
Froze Nose was a brand new event taking place at Albert Oakland park the morning of January 22nd. We had just gotten a decent amount of snow the week before so there was concern over the condition of the course. The original course ended up being altered since some of it was on a trail that was completely covered and was actually hard to locate!
I arrived on site with plenty of time so I decided to drive the course to check out the conditions. The roads actually didn't look too bad, some ice and slush in areas, but better than I was expecting. The worst section was the first 1/4 mile or so at the start and finish which was 2 or 3 inches of snow pack.
I didn't notice anyone that I knew would be fast at the start, so mentally I prepared for running solo. Sure enough, as the race started and I took off no one really went with me, my biggest competitor in the race would be the conditions and the course. The screws in the shoes worked well and I was able to take the 6 ninety degree turns with no problems despite the slush. The first mile was definitely the easiest with only some slight up hill but mostly downhill and flat. But, the second and third mile both had significant hills in them. I ended up running a 5:54 opening mile followed by two 6:15s with a final average of 6:02 per mile after I picked it up in the closing tenth of a mile. 18:44, not a time I would be excited about on a flat and fast course in better weather with competition, but for a cold and hilly course running solo I was pretty happy! Earliest in the year ever to get a win, so that was kind of cool too...
Nut Race
After taking the following weekend off from racing, this weekend was time for the Nut Race. Of course, as if the blizzard of 2011 hitting us on the Wednesday before the race wasn't enough, we woke up this morning to another 2 or 3 inches on top of the 18 we had already gotten! The sight of the new snow reminded me I had lost several screws on my last icy run at Rockbridge and that if I wanted to run well today I had better add some back. So, after a quick trip to
Once the screws were in place, I jogged to the start as I didn't really have enough time for a warm up. A few quick striders and I was ready to go. The roads were in pretty bad shape, several inches of snow covered most everything, my plans from the night before of dipping under 18:00 were not going to happen!
The race starts with a downhill so I naturally let myself go and pulled out to a quick lead. After a few seconds, Marc Keys and Bill Stolz both pulled up behind me. I slowed the pace down a little, the snow and ice were definitely hard to run in, each step gave some and pushing the pace too much was not a good idea this early on with Marc and Bill right there.
Providence was probably the worst stretch as the side of the road was really slushy but the traffic wanted to use both lanes even though there was hardly any traffic. I tried to ignore the cars as much as possible and ran in the clear section of the road forcing a few cars to move over into the next lane. As we rounded the corner at the top of the hill for the first time, Marc pulled into the lead and I was more than happy to follow at this point. The next time up that section, Marc put in a surge. Fortunately I had been running relatively comfortably and was able to match it. I felt pretty good on the downhill and flat stretches and figured my screwed shoes were a definite advantage, provided I could stay with Marc one more time up the hill. Our mile splits were 6:21, 6:13, and 6:04 with my final .10 5:39 pace, so Marc was definitely picking up the pace as we went. Fortunately I managed to stay with him on that final hill and I actually began to think I had a chance!
With about half a mile to go I put in a surge and took the lead. Marc matched it and stayed right on my shoulder. Things were starting to hurt and I began to worry I had gone too soon. I decided to put all my chips on the table and surge again; a small gap began to open! Of course, I then thought that he’s bluffing, he’s got a huge kick left and I’m done for... where is that dang finish line?! Fortunately the finish line got there before my muscle collapse did, and I won, beating Marc for the first time ever. A little bitter sweet as my total time was 19:19, probably one of the slowest winning times on that course. However, Marc Keys went under 17 minutes in a 5k twice last year which is one of my goals, so today served as reinforcement that it is an achievable goal! Now, when is that warm weather getting here?!
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