BUUURRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was a race in Ashland, Wisconsin that Matt and I did very early on in our running career (2003). Matt's brother Mike had recently moved to nearby Washburn and started his career as a forester for Bayfield County. We loved the race because of the beautiful fall colors and the race course being a converted railroad track. We finished together in 1:36.
This time we went to visit his brother Mike again, who still lives in Ashland but is married and has a dog, Nelson. Matt and I arrived at his brother's house late Friday night. We planned to wake up early and head over to the race start (about 15 miles from Mike's house). Matt's Uncle Bob had also joined us for the weekend. We planned to leave for the starting line around 7:15am as the race started at 8am. About 7:10am I realized that we did not have race packets. We hadn't printed out any race information. Luckily Uncle Bob was organized and had printed off race information. Packet pick-up had closed at 7am. We decided to run over to the packet pick-up area anyway (just a few blocks from the house). The volunteers were running late and we were able to get our packets--thank goodness!
Once we got to the race start, we stayed in the car becuase it was FREEZING!!! There was an inch of snow on the ground that morning, the temperature was around 20 degrees and the wind was blowing like crazy! All we had packed for the race was shorts and t-shirt. I froze while waiting in line for the bathroom, and noticed that many people around me were wearing timing chips. I asked the girl in front of me where she got her chip and she told me. I headed that way after using the bathroom and ran into Matt, who had picked up both of our chips. While I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I heard an announcement that the race was delayed 10 minutes.
We decided to go to the starting line at 7:55am anyway (just in case...). It was a good thing that we did because they started the race at 8am anyway! We had not warmed up because it was soooooo cold. We ran on the road directly into the wind for about the first 1.5-2 miles. Parts of the road were icy, and I ran cautiously. There was a lead pack and I was in the 2nd pack back. My group started to pick up the pace at around mile 1. I felt like I was pushing it already and decided not to go with them; so I ended up bucking the wind alone for the next mile. Finally we turned onto the path and the trees provided some shelter. I seriously thought about dropping off because I couldn't feel my legs or feet and my fingers were red and painful. Thank goodness I didn't see Matt's brother and his uncle until around mile 6 because I probably would have dropped out if they had been spectating earlier in the race.
I finally started to warm up (physically and muscularly) around mile 4. I was then able to turn myself around mentally and focus on the race rather than the cold. I picked up the pace and held close to my target pace of 7-7:15/mile. The last 2-3 miles my stomach started sloshing very loudly, but it didn't slow me down. I just felt badly for those around me who had to listen to it--very gross! I finished in 1:37, which was not as fast as I had hoped to go (the first 4 miles were slower than my goal pace, and this cost me about 2 minutes). I had also just finished my first Ironman 4 weeks prior to the race and was still feeling a little tired from that as well.
Overall, I was satisfied with my race given the weather conditions and my condition (physical and mental). Matt and I laughed at ourselves...you'd think we'd never done a race before--forgetting to pick up our race packets and timing chips!
Things to remember for next time:
1. Bring a variety of clothes for different types of weather! (Hat, gloves, pants, etc. would have been helpful at this race!)
2. Look at nutrition to prevent stomach sloshing.
3. Use my brain to think about things like registration packet pick-up and timing chip!
4. Warm up if possible so that I am able to run the 1st 4 miles at goal pace.
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