White Bear Lake Winter Frolic 5k - February 21, 2009

This was my 2nd winter 5k race of the year and took place in White Bear Lake, MN.  The temperature was 18 degrees with a chilly northwest wind.  We had a snow storm go through overnight that dumped 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground although the skies were clear for the race.  This was an out and back 5k which proved much more difficult than I anticipated.  There was a short section of the race where we were to run on highway 61 for a few hundred yards but because the snow was not removed from the highway yet they made us trek this two hundred yard stretch on a neighboring path however the snow had not been removed from the path yet either!  It was a mad dash to this section as once you got there it required single file running until we got through this section.  At the end of this section we exited onto an icy sidewalk that required great caution before back on the blacktop - or at least solid footing on packed snow.  On the way back we also had to navigate through this same section although the runners had spread out by then which made it easier - other than the ice.  I ran a 21:25 which was a little slower than my 5k last month but considering the conditions I was okay with my time.  I finished 6th overall among 148 runners and 2nd of 18 in my age group.

http://www.vacationsports.com/winterfrolicresults09.txt