The Sweetheart 5k is a small event, put on by a group trying to raise money for a music festival. I'm a little fuzzy on those details, but my running group was one of the "sponsors" as we were timing the event. The weather was bright and sunny, but a chilly -12F at the start. Apparently the weather gods have decided that if I'm going to race in the winter, I always have to do it in negative temperatures.
Since it was the inaugural event, and with the weather being so cold, there were only about 40 runners total. Basically me and a bunch of my running friends decided to go have a race.
The race stared at a little building in a little park over to the left side of this picture. It was nice to have somewhere warm to wait before the race! I did a warm up mile, then hung out for about 10 minutes before we took off!
The route was around this lake in town, which was mostly trail but a little blacktop pavement. Or what would have been blacktop had there not been ice pack on most of the road. So the going was a little rough with hard packed snow, ice, and some clear spots. I clocked in my first mile at 8:10.
Right after "post 7" at the top of the lake, there was a tight switchback with ice on the ground. I thought I had it under control, but my feet slid right out from underneath me! I managed to pop right back up and keep going though, and that mile came in at 8:25.
The second time around I was a bit more cautious with the footing. I felt pretty good the entire run, although my breathing was a bit labored. I ran with my facemask and ski goggles like I did for Freeze Yer Gizzard, but it's still hard to breath in such cold temps.
That final mile clocked in at 8:11. I kept seeing a friend of mine in front of me who was taking occasional walk breaks. I kept getting close to her, but then she'd start up again and take off. Later I found out she had some asthma issues going on, but still managed to finish ahead of me. I know she's faster than me though, so I kept thinking "If I get ahead of her, then I'm going to worry about staying ahead of her and I don't know that I can do that!"
My final time was 25:35 - not a PR, but today wasn't a PR day. However, it was good enough to get 1st in my age group! I think I was maybe 4th female overall - maybe third, but I'm not sure. Gotta love those small races!
How was your Valentine's Day? Did you race this weekend?
Ah I'm glad you were okay with slipping on ice! They warned us that there were a couple of ice patches on the path where I ran my half yesterday, but luckily they turned out to be small and easy to go around. Congrats on your finish and placing! Yay small races :)
ReplyDeleteNice work! Those cold temps and ice on the road would scare me off! Super impressed! :)
ReplyDeleteGood run in those temperatures! The race I ran this weekend got rescheduled because we had below 0 temp's (with the windchill). Y'all must be a heartier bunch than us! I'm glad you weren't hurt slipping on the ice. Still managed a good split on that mile, even with the fall! Congrats on your AG place.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It hurt my pride more than anything, so I had to get my rear in gear after that!
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