2016 Frosty Footrace 5k Race Recap

Yesterday was the Frosty Footrace 5k, which was: 1) my first race since November 2014, 2) my first 5k since August of that year, and 3) my first time running my new hometown race!

Sometime around Christmas or so, we got the Round Lake Area Park District winter catalog in the mail and it had the Frosty Footrace on the cover. At the time, I wasn't sure if I would be even close to 5k shape by the end of February, since I had been pretty sluggish and inactive for the better part of 2015. But still, I kept Frosty in the back of my mind because it was a cheap, local race, and seemed like a good way to push myself to get back into shape. During the last week of January I decided to start training for the race and made up a 5-week training plan (and subsequently got the stomach flu the following day, because that's what always seems to happen when I train for things). I logged about 35 miles over 13 training runs during that period of time, in addition to keeping up with my strength work and taking Kim's boxing class 4 more times.

Going into the race, I had a few pretty simple goals in mind. The first was to have fun. The second was to run the entire thing. My third goal was a very loose time goal of 40 minutes, since that's what I had been logging in my training runs. Pretty doable I thought (start small, right?), but I had no idea that there would be 20 mph winds during the race, nor that it would be so very hilly (which is stupid, since everything out here is hilly!). Kim posted an elevation chart in her Frosty recap, if you're curious. Those hills were no joke! But more on that later.

Because this race is in the winter, when it would normally be pretty cold, it has an 11am start time. Terry and I were down in the city on Saturday night, so I was glad for the late start in that regard, but starting that late in the morning ended up giving me so much time to freak out about the race. I was also anxious because I wasn't pre-registered, and had never done race day registration before. Being used to big races in the city where everything is a logistical nightmare, I had no idea how easy this would be. I drove 5 minutes to the race site, parked right out front, didn't have to wait in line, and was registered within 10 minutes of leaving the house. Sweet! I went back to my car to hang out for a while, since I still had 45 minutes until race time.

Not long after, I saw Kim, her husband (who took all of the pictures in this post), and Rachel walking in, so I went to say hi to them, which totally calmed my nerves. The time before the race seemed to pass quickly, and before I knew it, we were lining up to start! Although the race was gun-timed, I dropped to the middle of the pack, not wanting to get in the way of the speedier runners.

At 11:00 we were off! I seemed to pick a perfect place to start the race, since everyone was at about the same pace as me. But once we turned the first corner out of the parking lot, there was the first of many hills. Most of the people I was running with slowed to a walk. If I had been doing this race even a few months ago, I admittedly would have been walking too. But with a couple months of hill training under my belt, I kept pushing up the hills. I passed so many people going up the hills! And not just walkers, there were a few people running too, and I flew by them! Since I'm usually the one getting passed, this was a huge confidence boost.

As the race continued on there were more hills that were pretty much comparable with my neighborhood's hills. As I was approaching the 2 mile mark, the wind really picked up. It definitely slowed me down, but I kept on pushing. Not long after hitting 2 miles, the race goes near the finish line. I saw Rachel finish, and waved to her and Kim. I was totally focused on running and listening to music, so I didn't notice Kim running toward me. She asked if I needed company to finish the race. Um yes, please! She joined me right as the race entered the most challenging hills. Because why wouldn't you throw those in for the last mile?

Flying by my cheering squad

As we got closer to the finish, Rachel was running toward us, coming to help run me in to the finish. The hills finally let up and I was able to pick up some speed again. As we reached the last tenth mile, they dropped to the side to let me finish. I don't know how I was able to do it, but something just clicked and I gunned it, sprinting for the finish. This was the fastest, strongest finish I've ever had in a race. This makes me think I could have pushed a little harder during the rest of the race, but I wanted to conserve energy because of all of the hills. Either way, it felt really damn good to fly toward the finisher chute. Finishing this race so strong reminded me of exactly why I got into racing in the first place. It feels so good and exhilarating to run a good race!

I finished in 39:52, so just 8 seconds ahead of my time goal. Although nowhere near a PR, this was also not a PW (that honor belongs to the 2011 Hot Chocolate 5k, which I didn't train for at all, and run/walked my way into a 48 minute finish). I finished about 50 seconds slower than the 2012 Ravenswood Run 5k, which was the first race I ever actually trained for. I think that's a good one to compare this effort to since my training for both races was pretty similar. What's different about this race is that I'm about 35 pounds heavier now than I was then, and The Ravenswood Run isn't hilly at all. I think this bodes pretty well for future races if I can find some flat courses, and as I start losing more weight and getting into better shape.