White Bear Lake Winter Frolic 5k - February 26, 2011

This was my second and last winter 5k race this year.  The Winter Frolic 5k is run on the same course as last month's Resolution Solution 5k.  Vacation Sports does a good job organizing small but fun races.  However they often run into bad luck with their course in the winter.  Just like last month's race, the weather was again unseasonably cold, with light snow and a race temp of about 1 above.  Fortunately the winds were light and had little to no impact, unlike last month's race.

The real problem with the out and back course is the dreaded 150 yard stretch along highway 61 which runners need to navigate right after the start and just before the finish.  The intention is to keep runners on the sidewalk away from the highway for safety reasons, but with recent snow and cold temps the sidewalk was far more dangerous to run on that the highway.  In addition, the turn-around point also had some slippery spots which almost put me down twice.

I was in much better shape for this race after 6 weeks of interval and tempo training on my treadmill.  I was looking to run this race hard so I could measure my winter training progress.  After safely navigating through the highway 61 section I settled in and ran a 6:36 first mile.  Problem was I didn't feel comfortable running without my face mask out to the turn-around due to the cold temps.  It's hard to push when breathing through a face mask.  I took my face mask off for the last half of the race after slipping and sliding my way through the turn-around point.  

My second mile was a bit slower at 6:43 due to the slippery turn-around.  But with my mask off I pushed hard over the final mile running 6:27.  Because of ice and snow near the original starting line, the course was shortened about a tenth of a mile making it more of a 3 mile race than a 5k.  I crossed the finish with a time of 19:54 which would have thrilled me if it had been a full 5k.  Based on my overall pace I estimated my 5k time would have been around 20:30.  Not too shabby considering the conditions.  I finished 18th among 134 runners and 2nd of 16 in my age group.  Despite the small race size it did draw a group of good young runners who left me in the dust, but I finished injury free which is always an important goal in these crazy winter races.

My next race is the Lucky 7 in Minneapolis on March 19th (3 weeks).  This 7k race kicks off my (serious) racing season for 2011.  Meaning races where the course conditions should be snow/ice free so it's safe to push the pace.  I'm sure hoping things work out that way, but this has been a long, cold and snowy winter.  Here's hoping spring is right around the corner!      

Race results

http://www.vacationsports.com/winterfrolicresults2011.txt