Peer Pressure

Much gentle ribbing from Jay Survil I had borne as best I could.  “Run the double” (both the 5 and 10 mile races at the Winter Distance Series) he would say.  Those of you who well know the nature of my disposition are aware that I don’t back down from a challenge, however insignificant and good natured.  Why let Jay have all the fun and glory?

And so that is how I found myself standing next to Jay at the start of the 10 mile event of the Snowman Stampede this past Saturday.  45 minutes earlier I had finished the 5 mile event in 30:50 – 11^th place overall and 2^nd in my age group which earned me a $15 gift certificate to the Runners Roost. 

The weather conditions for the 5 miler were idyllic.  The temperature was in the upper 40s and the wind was out of the west-southwest at ~4 mph.  The out-and-back course headed north out of Hudson Gardens. 

In case you were wondering, 45 minutes is not enough time to recover from a five mile race and truly ‘race’ a 10 mile race.  The caloric expenditure was not that great – about 500 calories.  I really wasn’t hungry afterwards.  I drank my proprietary blend of carbohydrates and protein.  I drank a cup of mocha-java, thanks to the Coda Coffee Company which had thermoses of coffee and hot chocolate. 

The physical effort of running fast taxed my leg muscles though.  I walked, jogged and stretched to keep my legs loose.  Even with that, the first ¼ mile of the 10 miler felt like someone was tearing needles through my legs.  After that, my legs limbered up and I felt pretty good for the next four miles.  That was the tailwind talking.

The conditions for the 10 miler were brutal.  While the temperature stayed about the same, the wind turned and blew out of the south at close to 15 mph.  Even though I knew the last half of the race would be into the teeth of that wind, nothing really prepares you for that first blast of wind in your face as you turn to head home.  With only a handful of bridges to block the wind, the last few miles were a real grind.

You could argue that running both races is good training for the marathon, but that argument would be with yourself.  This training mirrors the fly-and-die race strategy favored by many.  Just to be clear, that is not a good race strategy.  No, you cannot be one runner and truly ‘race’ both races.  You must choose. 

Jay and I were not alone in “running the double”.  While ~500 people ran the 5 miler and ~440 people ran the 10 miler, there were several hearty souls who ran both.  Christopher Desilets and Krystalanne Curwood won the special awards for fastest combined time in both races. 

Running both races was a good reality check-in for my training.  I need to do more tempo runs and I have three months until the Colfax Marathon to do so.  Also, I have some bragging rights and the street cred to say “run the double” in the future.  Please don’t hate me if I say it to you. 

Money Changes Everything

Motivations come in every imaginable form.  You can fill in the blank; “I run for ____________.”  The older I get, the more motivations I need to pull myself from my cozy bed in the mornings to go run.  Since I was selected to the Runners Roost Team, I am committed to racing several races this year.  Nothing focuses your training like signing up, and paying, for a race.  It is all commentary until you toe the line.

This week I registered for two races, the Colfax Marathon, which will be held on May 18^th, and the Running of the Green, which will be held on March 16^th.

This will be my fourth running of the Colfax Marathon.  To mark the occasion, on Saturday morning I ran 21 miles – two laps around Cherry Creek State Park.  The temperature at the start of the run was 21 degrees which, with the wind chill, felt like 17 degrees.  About ½ an inch of snow fell during the 2:52 that I ran.

It is amazing how difficult it is to start that second lap.  Each mile takes you away from your car.  There is some mental math I do as I approach the point of no return where turning around and retracing my steps equals a full lap.  But I made a commitment and David Rothenberger was game, so we set out in the cold and snow.  There weren’t many souls out running in the park, but we did see some footprints in the snow. 

As the reason for the long run is time-on-your-feet, and not pace, the total running time was slightly less than what I expect to run Colfax in.  The effort justified the plate of two eggs over sweet potato hash browns I devoured when I got home. 

It has been 20 years since my wife and I last participated in the Running of the Green – Lucky 7 K road race.  It was pre-kids and we ran it with some friends.  It was so long ago I couldn’t find the race results, but I can tell you I did not make the podium and we all went out for brunch afterwards. 

So, here’s wishing you an injury-free year and success at whatever races you choose to run.