Monday, 12/9/2013 through Wednesday, 12/11/2013: Rest days all ... started to get antsy.
Nothing much happened. Monday we watched a Redbox DVD, "White House Down". A pretty good action movie. Tuesday and Wednesday were "coulda, shoulda and didn't" run nights. But sometimes I just don't and rest.
Thursday, 12/12/2013
I set my alarm for 5AM and got out the door by 5:30AM. Yes, it was dark, snowing lightly and 10F. But I decided to shake things up a bit.
Garmin Connect Activity for 10K in the morning
6.2 miles, 52:38, 8:30 pace, 12F, 78% RH, dark, light snow, calm
I took it nice and easy since the roads and sidewalks were snow covered. I wore my Salomon CrossMax 3 trail shoes. I couldn't get much traction so I couldn't get much speed. The snow was kind of pretty in my headlamp. After 4 miles or so I just wanted to get done. My darling Christine said I was "as cold as a iceberg" when I crawled back into bed to snuggle a couple of minutes before I took a hot shower and went to work.
6.2 miles, 53:12, 8:35 pace, 16F, 83% RH, dark, light snow, a bit windy
I decided to go out for another run after work. It was a bit warmer (a whole 4F) but a bit windy. I took it nice and easy again. The footing was about the same. My face almost froze off but I kept on going. I think I got double badass points for two runs in one day ... sweet!
Friday, 12/13/2013: Rest day before a Saturday morning race ... like usual.
Saturday, 12/14/2013: 3 runs of 0.75, 3.15 (Freezeroo #1), 1.25 miles
The morning dawned a bit dippy: 9F at 8AM when I checked it. But I'm a hardy Rochester runner. We run races in the winter called Freezeroos! So I dressed warmly and headed out at 9AM. So I basically brought all my cold weather gear: CW-X tights, heavy tech long sleeve, Brooks Racing Team short sleeve, Brooks beanie, balaclava and heavy running gloves. Oh ... and my Salomon CrossMax 3 trail shoes naturally.
The race site was the Northstar Christian Academy. I warmed up with a nice and easy 0.75 mile run, 8:34 pace.
Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Freezeroo #1 - 2013
I lined up for this relatively small Freezeroo race in my usual spot ... about 10 feet from the start line and to the right. It warmed up to 10F with a wind chill -1F at 10AM. I exchanged pleasantries with Bill, Wilt and Mark before the race. The race horn sounded and off we went. The course was an out and back over road and bike path with some slippery turns and twists.
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| About one tenth of a mile from the finish! |
I went out for a really nice and easy cooldown run of 1.25 miles, 9:22 pace. It felt good even though I didn't really need to cool down.
Garmin Connect Activity for Cooldown after Freezeroo #1 - 2013
I almost slipped when I went down the stairs into the cafeteria but luckily I had my hand near the railing. I hung around a long while before I hit the slippery road back to the apartment. I did pretty well. I was 31st out of 181, link here. I was 1st out of 18 in my M55-59 age group, link here.
Meanwhile ... Trailsroc put on the WTF trail race out at Powdermill Park. It was a 5 mile loop with the choice of either 1, 2 or 3 loops. According to Ultrasignup.com: 39 runners finished the 5 mile race, 23 runners finished the 10 mile race and 35 runners finished the 15 mile race. I heard that one hill was so steep that a rope that a rope was needed!
I fixed my darling Christine our usual post race meal of coffee and a bagel. There was a winter storm watch until Sunday morning so I just stayed home and relaxed. No worries. We had a late pasta and chicken supper while we watched a repeat of the "Sound of Music" musical on NBC. I know a lot of people didn't like it but we thought it was nice. It was live TV ... yes, the casting was not perfect but hey, it was different.
