Frozen Fitness Flexibility

I debated whether to set a time goal for this race and decided not to do so. Too many unknowns. So my goal was simply to finish and hopefully stay warm.

With snow on the ground, a chilly perspective was delivered with temperatures reaching a record low the night before the race. 13 degrees Fahrenheit. I became a little concerned at this point because with asthma, I generally try not to run outside if the temperature is below 20F. And the weather showed us it was going to be just below that at race time. But fortunately, there was not much wind so that helped.

It’s very strange that last year we ran this race in shorts and this year we all wore lots of layers to stay warm but it was by necessity.

The wintry snowy scenery was beautiful during this race. But the running wasn’t very pleasant with the cold. I tried to focus on the scenic beauty of Holmes Lake, the snow, the trees, the animals that we saw.

My normal race strategy is to run a warmup mile before a 10k race. I stuck to it knowing that I would need the mile to warmup a bit before the 10k race began. We were very glad to see the sun rise this morning knowing it would help warm us a little. But not much before the race.

At 10am, they lined us up at the start. The numbers were a little lower than usual due to the cold weather. At the start, we run downhill Normal Boulevard and then loop around Holmes Lake a bit in about a mile loop. The first mile or so of the race went well. It was mostly in the sun so that warmed us a bit. Reaching the first mile split, it was 7:09, slightly slower than last year but close enough. By mile 2, I knew that this race was not going to be as fast as last year. 7:49 mile. The bitter cold was affecting me a little bit. My leg muscles were tight and starting to hurt a bit. Fatigue was evident, too. From here, I decided to settle in to a slightly slower pace and see if I could stabilize a steady pace. Winding around to the third mile, this mile was 8:15, a little more comfortable. I did note the 5k split on my watch but didn’t write it down. I think there was a sign at the 5k mark last year but don’t remember seeing one this year.

The second half of this race was a little more of a struggle. Mile splits slowed to 8:44, 8:58, and 9:18. But a tiny burst at the end at 7:56/mile. The hilly part of the race on 56th Street was difficult this year, partly because I had trimmed my hill work due to trying to heal my leg. Stacking that with the cold and fatigue that run-streakers encounter, it was a lot to handle at once.

Walk breaks were more frequent for me during this race than last year. I think there were at least 2:00-3:00 of walk breaks this year. I definitely needed them.

At some point, I realized that I’ve come a long way to even be able to run in these conditions as an asthmatic runner who is (somewhat) sensitive to the cold. Not my favorite running conditions. So I was grateful for the progress I have made even though this just wasn’t my day for running a great race under these conditions. Sometimes we simply stack miles and save our strength for a better day when feel more healthy and comfortable breathing in warmer air.

Approaching the finish, I was struck by the 52:00 time, remembering that in high school I ran a 10k in ~52:00. I was determined not to let that clock reach 53:00. I was going to at least ~tie~ my younger self even if I couldn’t outrun my teenage time. And I succeeded. 52:20 by the clock on the Garmin (8:21 pace). 52:19 officially by chip (8:26 pace). I was disappointed in my age group place (13th in M40-49) but under these conditions and knowing I wasn’t 100%, it was O.K. I finished 53rd overall and 43rd among the men. On the plus side, it was faster than the Empyrean Trail 10k in January (~1:00). So it wasn’t a bad race for me, just a fair race. And we found some silver linings.

It was a learning experience of how to run a race when I was feeling about 75% healthy in adverse wintry cold conditions. But it was important to at least “kick the tires” and test where I am before running the Lincoln Half Marathon next weekend.

We have to be flexible when it’s frozen and when we’re not feeling well/healthy enough to race/run at full capacity. Flexibility is much wiser than running beyond our ability on that day, causing negative consequences that last longer than we would like. Flexibility is very important in reaching and maintaining fitness and sometimes that resembles a roller coaster or ocean waves rather than a straight line.

Happy healthy running! Be flexible and listen to your body. Some races turn into more of training runs and that’s acceptable and wise. Embrace the mile you are in, the race(s) you run and remember age is just a number (even though some days it doesn’t feel like it). Fitness is a process and flexibility enhances our health, fitness, and wellness. Focus on the long term when a day doesn’t go well. Look at the big picture.

Before I forget, please think about how you can stay safe in all kinds of weather from frozen to blazing hot because we deal with both. I like to use Brilliant Reflective safety strips. (These safety strips appear to be silver in the sunny photos of this day so there’s another silver lining.) You’ll see them on my race gear, including my OrangeMud vest shown in the pictures here, shoes, and dog leash. Want to try Brilliant? Check it out here: BrilliantReflective.com. If you have any questions about Brilliant, please let me know. I’m a BR ambassador so I’d be happy to help you.