I haven't had much info to update with since my last post in October; just general training and base building.
I did a couple of fall races in November:
Nov. 11 - I ran an 11k fun run @ the Avera Fitness Center on the bike trail towards downtown and back. 11k comes out to about 6.9 miles. I ran 44:23 - 6:26 mile pace. I was out ahead by myself the whole time and definitely lifted off a little bit the second half as my stomach was cramping.
Two weeks later on Friday Nov. 25 was the Jingle Bell 5k in downtown SF just before the Parade of Lights. It was a beautiful night, near 50 degrees. 431 runners finished the 5k, which I am sure was a record. I ended up finishing 7th overall in 15:56. *The course is actually 2.8 miles, not 3.1 so it is not an actual 5k - my pace according to the results was 5:08 but my actual pace according to my garmin for the correct distance was 5:51. Tyler Smit ran as well and finished 3rd. The winner was Bill Kogel, former Roosevelt grad who was an All-American at the D1 Cross Nationals just 4 days before this race for the University of Oklahoma. He's a little out of our range! RESULTS
The next 2+ months would consist of basic mileage including many beautiful unseasonably warm winter days so for the most part I was able to avoid that nasty treadmill!
Saturday, February 4th brought the annual Frostbite 4 in Beresford. Dubbed "South Dakota's premier winter road race," the Frostbite 4 is a fundraiser for the Beresford club and they have turned it into an awesome event when there is little else for winter road race options in this area. I competed in the "4" for the first time last year and finished in 5th place with a time of 24:27.
I have been able to get a little more quality training in this year due to the mild weather so I was expecting better results. We were bused out north of town to be able to run with the wind at our backs. I went out with the lead pack at the gun and came through the first mile in 5:30. I knew this pace would be tough to sustain and by mile 2 I was experiencing some pretty bad stomach cramps. From that point on my goal was to maintain the best pace possible and to finish the race. I ended up finishing in 6th place; 23:48; 5:57/mile. It would have been good enough for 2nd place last year but that is the way it goes sometimes. I did end up winning the 20-29 age group and won a small moose statue to go along with my snowman statue from winning the same age group last year. RESULTS
Tyler Shultz and I post-race. Tyler
finished 8th in 24:50.
The plan now is to continue building a strong base for this coming spring and to mix in some decent speed work and races. Right now my future racing plan includes:
-Irishman (5-mile, 5k, & mile) in Sioux Falls on March 17
-RiverRat 1/2 Marathon in Yankton on April 28
-Brookings 1/2 Marathon in Brookings on May 12
-Deadwood 1/2 Marathon in Deadwood on June 3
