Although this New Year's Day 5k wasn't the coldest race I've run, it definitely was the toughest race from an overall weather element perspective. Rain from an unseasonably warm day yesterday left a rough icy glaze on the roads as overnight temperatures plummeted close to zero. At race time it was 3 degrees with a negative 17 degree wind chill. Add to that blinding snow showers and we had perfect conditions for a sled dog race, not so great for a foot race.
All in all the footing wasn't as bad as it could have been considering the icy surface. The overnight freeze left a rough icy surface which provided better traction than I thought it would. Although there was a 200 yard stretch of sidewalk that provided unstable footing due to slushy footprints which froze solid overnight leaving ridges and rough edges to avoid. This section of the course had to be navigated twice near the beginning and end of the 'out and back' race.
The first half of the race was easier to run as the wind was to our back, but as we made the turn and headed for home the full force of the wind and blinding snow was unavoidable. The picture (upper left) was taken near the midway point of the race when the wind was to my back. My eyes were open and visibility good. However the remaining 3 pictures were taken during the last half of the race when the wind and snow blew directly into my face. My left eye froze shut from the carbon dioxide exhaled through my face mask.
With conditions as bad as they were, there was no point trying to run it full out. Instead, it became more of an up-tempo workout. I ran about 80-85% of my normal 5k race pace just to make sure I didn't injure myself, although the weather provided plenty of motivation to finish as quickly as possible and get back indoors where sane people hang out on a day like today.
I really wasn't sure if I was going to run this race or not with the conditions the way they were. I have been nursing injuries for the past two months and haven't done a tempo run in over a month. I was worried I might aggravate an injury if I pushed too hard, but I felt great after the race with no ill effects. I finished 7th overall among 110 finishers and 2nd among 16 in my age group. However my time of 21:31 was my slowest 5k by 7 seconds and almost 2 minutes off my personal best. But under these conditions running a personal best never entered any one's mind. Hopefully my next outdoor race in 7 weeks will provide better running conditions and give me some time to work myself back into 5k racing shape.
Race Results
