Dash and Dine 5k - November 28th, 2013

The Dash and Dine 5k is is a small race up in Chisago City, Minnesota, which draws about 200 runners each year. I ran this race last Thanksgiving as well and decided to run it again this year for two reasons. It's a relatively flat course and you can park close to the start/finish line! This is a key feature any time you run a race this time of year in Minnesota when the weather can be nice sometimes (last year it was in the 50's!), but chances are will be a bit on the cool, even snowy side.

Today it was 23 degrees with a 9mph NW wind. After warming up, I went back to my car 10 minutes before the race began to get out of the cold and debate how many layers I would peel off for the race. I parked just 50 yards from the start, which allowed me to sit in my car until the last minute. At the last minute I quickly stripped down to my shorts and shirt before sprinting to the starting line just seconds before the race began. If not for the convenient parking location, I probably would not have braved the shorts and shirt for this race.

This was an out and back course, so the finish is nice and close to the car as well. I just wanted to break 20 minutes today which was another reason I decided to brave the cold and run in shorts. It may be psychological, but I feel much slower in my running tights, even though they weigh virtually nothing. It's probably a flexibility thing, as the tights do feel a bit restrictive. Anyway, the race went very well. I quickly settled into a nice, aggressive pace in the first mile (6:20/mile) and maintained this pace from start to finish. My time was 19:40 (6:20/mile), finishing 5th among 182 runners and 1st among 14 in my age group. This was my second fastest 5k (I've raced 13 to date) and finished just 2 seconds off my personal best.

This was also my last race of the year/season. It's also when I transition back to mostly indoor treadmill training over the winter months and begin to lay out my race calendar for 2014. I've not had good luck weather-wise with January 1st races in Minnesota, which is no surprise to anyone who lives here. So I've already crossed that possibility off my list for next year, which means it will probably be 40 degrees and sunny on New Year's Day! Most likely I will kick off my 2014 race season sometime in March. It's always fun to take time over the winter months to explore the ever growing number of road race options offered in Minnesota.  Once I've gone over all the races, I'll select the ones that make the most sense based on my availability and training plan for the year.  I have some race favorites that I like to run every other year or so, but also like to run new races I haven't done before.  Anyway, more to come in a few months.

Race Results:
http://www.frontrunnerusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/dashanddine5kresults2013.txt