Drumstick Dash 10k - November 25, 2010

Ran another holiday race this morning - Thanksgiving morning.  The Drumstick Dash is a 10k race consisting of 2 counter-clockwise laps around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.  Twin Cities weather this time of year can still deliver nice running conditions like my last race 3 weeks ago.  However, today was a stark reminder that winter is unfortunately upon us.  Several recent ice storms coupled with a few inches of new snow the day before the race, made running conditions very poor for this one.  Add bitter cold temperatures (10 above), sub zero wind chills and we had the makings for a real fun race!

The race route is on the parkway surrounding the lake which provided a mixed bag of road conditions (glare ice, packed snow, or glare ice covered with packed snow).  Any way you cut it, racing conditions were so treacherous that real road racing could only tackled by those crazy enough to risk injury.  I decided I would use this race as a nice comfortable 7:20/mile tempo run - about 1 minute/mile slower than my 10k race pace a few months back.

As the race began, the wind was not as biting as I thought it would be, although I began the race with my face covered.  On the south end of the parkway are two hills which aren't difficult to climb, but they are difficult to run down the back side.  I've run this course several times before in other races and the 2 downhill sections are difficult even when footing is good.  As gravity takes over most people are forced to run on their heels (okay, maybe just old men like me) to control speed and prevent one from accelerating faster than your legs can keep up.  Now throw in the packed snow and ice conditions and we have a real hazard to negotiate through.  Fortunately I made it safely through this section both laps, but there were many steps along the route where I felt my plant foot give way momentarily, forcing me to react quickly to catch my balance.

I removed my face covering 2 miles into the race after my body had fully warmed from the exercise.  The trees and nearby homes seemed to shelter us from the wind on the west and south ends of the lake, but as we reached the northeast corner turning west, we were painfully reminded of what sub-zero windchill feels like.  My lips were so numb they felt 3 sizes larger than normal.  After successfully negotiating the dangerous downhill section for the second time, there were only 2 miles remaining in the race.  I've been dealing with a minor groin injury on my right side the past few months.  However this race really aggravated the issue.  I'm sure my sudden body corrections to regain balance every time my footing gave way didn't help.  It was impossible to run relaxed without slowing to a crawl.

I considered picking up the pace on my 2nd lap but with my right groin bothering me I decided to wait and make a push in the final mile.  I'm not used to having this much energy left at the end of a race, but with the slower than normal pace I could feel myself wanting to open it up near the end.  I did push the final mile before finishing with a time of 45:34 - my slowest 10k race time to date and more than 6 minutes slower than my personal best of 39:14 which I ran 4 months ago.  I finished 54th among 752 finishers and 3rd of 49 in my age group.  Considering my slow time it was obvious that all the runners were negatively impacted by the poor conditions, as my placing would have been significantly lower had I run 45 minutes in good conditions.  I just love winter racing and we still have 4 months to look forward to this!

Race results...

http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/216         

Rocky's Run 5k Cross Country - November 7, 2010

Well after 10 long months, the 2010 MDRA Grand Prix came to a close today with the 13th and final event - Rocky's Run 5k cross country race on the University of Minnesota golf course in St Paul.  The race originated as a memorial to Rocky Racette, a former U of M track and cross country All-American who was killed in an auto accident in 1981. 

This was my first cross country race since high school and I was looking forward to it.  Unfortunately I had a training mishap two weeks ago.  While on an early morning training run along the Elm Creek trails I startled several deer who in return startled me.  I inadvertently stepped on the edge of the paved trail, rolled my ankle and went down like a ton of bricks.  By evening the swelling was severe and I had to put my training on the shelf for the better part of the week until the pain and swelling subsided.  I was able to resume training this past week, but was unable to get any speed work in prior to this race.  I'm able to run without pain now, but have not done any speed work since early September due to my marathon training.

This was my second 5k event this year and first in 10 months.  I ran two sub 40 minute 10k's in the past 4 months so I was confident I could run around 19:45 today, despite my training shortfalls.  My only trepidation was I really wasn't sure how I would respond to the rolling hills of a golf course compared to the reliable road running surfaces I am familiar with.  The weather was absolutely beautiful for early November in Minnesota with temps close to 50 degrees, sunny and a light 7 mph breeze from the south.

While warming before the race I realized there were more hills and cants on the course than I anticipated and some of them rather steep!  The footing was also something that caused me some concern with my ankle.  However, things went relatively well from the start.  The first mile seemed to be the flattest section of the course and the wind was to our back most of the time.  The course consisted of 3 different loops with a long straight away back to the finish at the clubhouse.

I ran the first mile around 6:20 which was around my target pace.  The uphill sections were tough but the downhill sections were frightening.  During the brief but steep downhill sections I worried my legs wouldn't be able to keep up with my body and I would end up flat on my face.  The constant turns and rolling hills had a much bigger impact on my ability to maintain pace than what I anticipated.  I could feel the energy being sucked from my legs.  I ran mile 2 about 10 seconds slower than my first mile.

I thought my mental toughness would carry me through, but as the final mile began I realized I was content to simply finish this out.  I felt like a raft in the ocean as the course took us up a hill then down the other side.  Up and down, up and down.  I had my fill of hills at this point and knowing my time goal was no longer within reach, I was ready for the race to end.  I knew my injury which cut a week out of my training had caught up with me.  The final mile was my slowest of the race (around 6:40).  Running under 20 minutes was not going to happen today.  I ran the final quarter mile strong, finishing with a time of 20:19, but well off my personal best of 19:37. 

I finished 51st among 169 runners including the U of M women's cross country team which ran the race as a final inter-squad meet.  I finished 4th of 11 in my age group.  Disappointing but probably not surprising.  The factors coming into the race along with the challenging course made things more difficult than I expected.  Reacting to the ever changing hills and terrain, I was never able to truly run relaxed as I do in my road races.  The concern of re-injuring my ankle was always in the back of my mind.  It was still a lot of fun to run this course and participate in a different type of event than I am accustomed to.

Race Results
http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventRaceResults.aspx?fEID=8528

This was the final Grand Prix event of the year and my finish earned me 792 points for a season total of 7,629 points.  I finished in 6th place overall and first place in my age group.  I'm proud of my overall standing among the other runners.  It was a fun challenge and good motivational tool throughout the year.  I don't plan to participate in the Grand Prix next year simply so I can run some different races I would have to pass on if I do the GP again.

Here are the final Grand Prix standings. 

http://sz0140.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/final%20revised%202010%20standings.htm?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=73780&part=2