Twin Cities Get Lucky 7k - March 15, 2014

After one of the worst winters on record (actually it hasn't ended yet - sigh), I'm ready to kick off my 2014 race season with the Twin Cities Get Lucky 7k in downtown Minneapolis.  Outdoor training has been virtually impossible this winter, as sub-zero temperatures, coupled with record setting snow fall, made it more than dangerous to run outside.  Roads shrunk to half their normal width, as snow plows ran out of space to push the snow completely off the roads.  Even id snow were not an issue, air temperatures were consistently well below zero day after day.  I only completed four outdoor runs after Thanksgiving and three of those were in December.  It's been two months since my last outdoor run.  My winter training survival kit consisted of my treadmill and elliptical machines.  However, I find working out on these machines very boring...even with a TV in front of me.  But I had no other option this winter.  By Christmas, I was going crazy working out 6 days a week on my machines.  I'm so thankful I have them, but it's not like being outdoors.  Then I made a decision that dramatically changed my winter training doldrums.  I sold my 6 year old treadmill and purchased a new treadmill integrated with iFit and a 10" tablet.  This technology allows one to run a course anywhere in the world using Google Maps.  With Google "street view", you get a "visual" new picture every few seconds showing your progress as you run the course.  In addition, the integrated system automatically adjusts the incline of the treadmill up or down to simulate the actual pitch of the road you are running on.  It took the boredom out of my workouts and made them fun again.  I was able to complete longer treadmill runs of 10 to 13 miles and not go crazy in the process!  I vicariously ran courses like the Berlin Marathon, as well as exotic locations all over the world (New Zealand, Italy, etc.).  One can download free courses from iFit, or create your own.  I think I have almost 200 courses in my tablet library now.  I love it!  However, I am looking forward to getting back outside again, as real scenery still beats "virtual" scenery any day.

Back to today's race.  This will be my 3rd Get Lucky 7k race in the past 4 years.  I also ran it in 2011 and 2012.  It's a huge participant race with an strong St. Patrick's Day theme.  In fact this year's race will be the largest participant race in the state of Minnesota with close to 12,000 runners in the race.  The vast majority of participants are casual runners who are there for the fun and free beer afterward.  Virtually everyone is wearing green, with many in full costume.  I broke the mold this year wearing orange and black - no reason in particular.  Maybe I'm still stuck in late October, which is why the winter seems so long?  After all, it was only 19 degrees at race time with a steady NW breeze.  I wore black tights during the race.  Something I don't like to do in races, but when the air temp falls below 20 degrees, I break down and wear them.  The course starts and ends on the west side of the Mississippi, but also crosses over to the east side for a few miles, with a very brief spin onto Nicollet Island.

    

Not sure if it was the cold weather, or the fact this was my first outdoor run in two months, but I wasn't very confident I would run well and didn't feel mentally prepared to push myself hard to maintain my desired pace.  However, I got off to a good start and felt mentally strong throughout the race.  I still hate the cobblestone road in mile 2 (uneven and dangerous), but otherwise it's a fair race and good course for running fast times.  There were a few icy patches at some of the turns, which generated momentary anxiety, but no slipping.  I think my mental toughness was rejuvenated when I reached the first mile marker in 6:21.  Although my winter training was all indoors, I did train hard all winter, mixing in strides, quarter mile tempo runs and and a two mile up-tempo run every week.  The race seemed to actually fly by.  Maybe because I was outdoors and actually moving somewhere, rather than running in a stationary position.  I finished the 4.4 mile (7k) race with a time of 27:38 (6:21 overall pace), beating my 2012 Get Lucky time by 13 seconds, as well as 22 seconds better than my 2011 time.  I finished 21st overall among 10,917 runners and 1st in my age group of 213 runners.  I also ran a national class time for my age group for this distance.  Just the third time I've achieved a national class time in a race.  I'm very surprised and pleased with my results.  A good start to the 2014 race season.  I'm sure my body will feel the effects of today's race come Monday, but it's worth it when the results meet or exceed your goals.

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/2086/2014_Team_Ortho_Get_Lucky-7K

My next race on April 12th, is the Goldy's 10 Mile Run.  It starts on the U of M campus and finishes inside TCF Stadium.  It's the first of a four race series I've entered this year.  The other three races are half marathons.  You earn performance points in each race with age group awards to the top individual with the highest combined point totals among the four races.  If all goes well this year, I hope to run 11 races between now and Thanksgiving Day.  One down, 10 to go!