Frigid 5 Race

Sunday, February 7, 2010:

I forget, between seasons, what a nice race the Frigid 5 really is. We do run outdoors, of course, but before and after the race we are inside a heated building in the state fairgrounds, chatting with all of the other runners that we’ve come to know and like over the years. That’s enjoyable - runners are good people and good friends. Today the temperature outdoors was 20 degrees, but the roads were clear except for a layer of salt.

I had a good run but not a great race, finishing in 28:03, fifth of seven in my 65-69 age group. All of my buddies finished ahead of me. I didn’t know how fast I should try to go, and thought I was going fast enough, and I think I could have finished a little sooner, though not enough sooner to catch the guy ahead of me. Each mile was faster than the previous one, and I had plenty left at the end.

Maybe that’s all a good thing, I’m sort of learning to run and race all over again. I had three goals: (1) Finish under 30 minutes; (2) NOT get lapped (it’s a two-lap race); and (3) NOT get hurt. I met all of those goals. I’ll get faster and get that 5k time down to maybe 25 minutes, I hope. That would be enough to catch the guy ahead of me.

Breathing was easy for at least the first two miles, four and even five footfalls per full breath. My legs were the limiting factor, feeling a bit more tired than they really were. Later the breathing picked up, as it should, as fast as three footfalls per full breath.

Splits: 9:26, 8:56, 8:50, 0:50, total 28:02, pace 9:02.

I met Mark, a fellow blogger who lives nearby, for the first time. Good to meet you, Mark. See you again soon.

Saturday, February 6, 2010:

I ran with the St Croix Valley Runners again today. We meet every Saturday morning, 7:00 am SHARP, at the Northland tennis courts in Stillwater. Nice group today.

I ran the first mile and a half with Tom, who was taking it easy, doing this run as the first leg of a 20-miler. We chatted mostly about an upcoming marathon that we are both planning to run. After the mile and a half, as Tom and others turned right, I turned left to take a shortcut and cut the miles from 5 to 3.5, because I have a race tomorrow.

I forgot to start my watch, so I don’t know the time, but I had a nice, easy run. Scott and Luke finished the 5-mile course not long after I finished. Good for them - they are both top-notch runners.

Soup mix, some assembly required: