Get in Gear is one of the longest running, most successful race series in Minnesota which attracts premier runners every year to Minnehaha Park. Celebrating it's 35th season, it has expanded to a 4 race event, however the 10k remains it's signature race and premier event. Known as the first "mega" race in Minnesota that drew over 5,000 runners in 1978, Get in Gear continues to draws strong runner participation and top talent with over $6,000 in prize money for registered USATF athletes.
I'm in the process of ramping up my race distances in preparation for Grandma's Marathon in June, so I chose to run the half marathon today, my longest race so far this year. From a weather perspective, March and April switched places this year. As race day approached, the weather forecast projected the tri-fecta of bad running weather...cold, windy and wet. The potential for poor weather looked so bad that I debated if I should even run the race. I decided to arrive early and find a prime parking spot close to the start of the race where I could stay warm/dry in my car before making the decision to run or not. This wasn't easy to do in this part of town as street parking is very limited. But arriving 90 minutes before the race I was able to find a spot just a few hundred yards from the start.
It was an odd morning with a 46 degree temperature when I drove to the race. But after parking, ice pellets began bouncing off the hood of my car as the air temp plummeted to 39 degrees with fierce winds. My biggest concern was staying dry before the race. I knew if I could stay dry until the race began, I would be okay. I just didn't want to get soaked before the race began in these cold and windy conditions, a recipe for hypothermia in a race of this distance. I ventured out for an easy 1 mile warm up to get the blood flowing and then back to my warm car to shed my sweat gear and wait for the start which was about 10 minutes away. It was sprinkling lightly as I jogged from my car to the starting corral, hoping the rain would stay light until the race began, but peeking at my iPhone radar I could see we were in for a wet race.
The 10k and half marathon races began at the same time. Both races used the same start and finish, but the half marathon extends further on the St.Paul side of the course than the 10k. As the national anthem played, I recognized that I hadn't given much thought to a race strategy yet. As the horn sounded to start the race, I began piecing my race strategy together on the fly. Runner traffic was heavy at the start and forced me to run defensively to avoid getting tripped up while also trying to navigate past groups of slow runners who had no business lining up near the front of the pack. Unfortunately racing etiquette is lost by a small minority of runners who are either inexperienced in racing or simply don't care about others on the course. Fortunately they are a minority, but I see them in every race...a story for another time. We immediately left Minnehaha Park heading north on West River Parkway for the first two miles of the race. It was raining lightly, but the strong easterly wind was not going to be a factor until entering the St Paul side of the course.
From there we crossed over to the St Paul side on Marshall Ave, then south on Mississippi River Blvd. The only significant hill on the course was just after the 3 mile mark. The overall course was relatively flat which I enjoyed very much. I settled into a 6:50/mile pace at this point and held this pace throughout the race. Miles 7-9 were wet and tough. This is were the wind became a big factor as the course turned directly into the teeth of the wind. Water puddles were now all over the road. I try to avoid them at all cost as they sometimes hide dangerous potholes that can end a race quickly with a bad ankle sprain.
I reached the turn-around at the 9 mile mark and began making my way back to the finish. The last 4 miles were with the wind, but the rain continued to fall as the miles ticked by. With one mile to go I crossed back to the Minneapolis side on the 46th Street bridge. I knew I had a good time going, but didn't realize I had the opportunity to run under 90 minutes until entering Minnehaha Park for the final 600 yards.
I finished in 1:29:35. My second fasted half marathon among the 13 I've completed and just 20 seconds off my personal best. I finished 42nd overall among 1,244 finishers and 2nd among 36 finishers in my age group. As soon as I finished, I headed straight for my car. I drove home with the heat on high and still found myself shivering the entire drive home. A long hot shower was exactly what I needed to bake the chill out of my body. A tough, but satisfying race despite the conditions. Hopefully spring...make that summer will return soon.
