weather: 45 degrees | felt like 35 | wind 25 MPH

I woke up Saturday morning to find that the temperature had dropped drastically overnight. Friday had been really warm (temperatures in the high 70s, which is unseasonably warm for October in MN), but a thunderstorm had rolled through that evening. I checked The Weather Channel and saw that the temperatures were in the low 40s, the wind chill was in the 30s, and there was a wind advisory for wind speeds of 20-30 MPH with gusts up to 45 MPH. I wasn't too happy about any of that, as I'm not a fan of wind and the temperatures were making me question my original plan to wear shorts.

I checked the report again before I left for the race, and decided I would go ahead with the shorts, but would wear a long sleeve Dri-Fit shirt over a short sleeve one. Ordinarily one shirt would be sufficient, but I knew that the extra layer would be good when dealing with the wind. I did pack my tights, just in case I changed my mind prior to the race. I also packed my gloves, as I knew I'd want those at the start and while running into the wind.

My husband and I got to the race site about 45 minutes before the start. I first went inside the school to find the bathroom. A lot of people were hanging out inside, which seemed smart considering the weather. After my pit stop (I love race sites that have access to indoor bathrooms), I went outside for my warm-up. I ran the first half mile of the course, and then came back. I hadn't worn my gloves, and that turned out to be a mistake because my hands got kind of numb. I started stretching outside while watching the kids' 1k race (two laps around the soccer field), which was fun to see.

I finished the rest of my stretching over by the car, and then went to put on my race flats. Because of the cold, I had a little trouble untying my shoes and tying the laces on the flats. I did a few strides, and discovered I needed to lace the flats differently. Once I got them fixed, I traded my sweatshirt for the long-sleeve shirt with my number on it (I broke my race belt at the last 10K, so I had to use safety pins) and got rid of my warm-up pants. I also finally put my gloves on, and headed over to the start, doing a few strides on the way. I got there in time to hear the starter announce that the 10K would be starting a few minutes before the 5K, which was good news to me.

Mile 1 (7:12): I got off to a decent start, trying not to go out too fast. The first bit was slightly downhill, and I came across the 1/2 mile mark under my target pace. I felt like I was running a decent pace, though. The course then had us turn onto the Douglas Trail, a paved biking/running path. The path was covered with leaves, and was still damp from the previous night's thunderstorm. I wouldn't be surprised if someone wiped out on it; I tried to pay really good attention to my footing. The first mile mark was at the top of an overpass; I think I ran fairly well up the "hill."

Mile 2 (7:34): We were starting to get a little more spread out now. We also were running into the wind, which was cold and kind of hard. It also felt like it was about to start raining, as I thought I got hit by a few drops. We passed by a cone marking the 5K turnaround, and a guy near me joked about us having reached the 5K mark already. I slowed down in this mile, but it didn't feel like it.

Mile 3 (7:35): I ran most of this mile with the guy that had joked about the 5K mark. The first part of the mile was slightly uphill, and into the wind. It was probably about a quarter-mile stretch into the wind, and it was really hard. But after that, the wind wasn't so bad and I took my gloves off as my hands had gotten warm. I hit the 3 mile mark ahead of my target, which pleased me. Like the previous mile, I didn't feel like I was running as slow as I did.

Mile 4 (7:06): I think I passed the real 5K mark around 22:50, but I forgot to look. We were out of the wind here, and I pushed the pace some because I knew we'd be running into the wind near the end. I also spotted a woman ahead of me, and wanted to try to catch her. There was a water stop, and I thought I might be able to get some ground on the woman if she stopped for water. I didn't plan on taking water, as I figured that I'd probably just spill it on myself and didn't really want to get wet while running in the cold; I think the other woman had the same idea. I lost the guy I'd been running with somewhere around the water stop. I finally caught up to the other woman and passed her right before the four mile mark.

Mile 5 (7:06): This mile was mostly through a neighborhood. They'd marked off a lane for us with cones, but some lady decided she needed to move the cone away from her house. She caught me giving her a weird look, and apologized for moving the cone but the mailman wouldn't be able to get to their box. I was tempted to say something to her (everyone else in the neighborhood was going to have that problem, but we'd be out of her way in 30 minutes - way before the mail would come), but just ran on by. I tried to keep distance between me and the woman I'd passed, and tried to catch up to some of the men ahead of me. I was really excited to see my time at the mile mark, as I realized that the only way I wasn't going to PR was if I blew up really bad in the last mile.

Mile 6 (7:19): We went up a slight hill, and got back onto the DT. I concentrated really hard on my footing, as I didn't want to slip on the leaves. My calves were starting to get tired, some from the effort and some from the cold. (My legs were so red that they looked tan). I was trying to push, but it was kind of hard. I did manage to pass at least one guy, which was strategic on my part because we were coming up on a large puddle and I didn't want to be running side-by-side at that point.

Mile 6.2 (1:31): As we took the second-to-last turn, one of the volunteers told me I was the top woman. I looked at my watch, confused as to how that could be possible. They then corrected that I was one of the top women, which made more sense as I knew of at least woman that had been ahead of me at the start who I hadn't seen since. I tried to kick in the last part, but it was slightly uphill and my legs were tired. I was also feeling nauseous, which was odd. Approaching the clock with 45:xx was awesome, though - I PR'd by just over a minute.

After getting through the chute, I looked around for my husband and/or water. I didn't see either, so I sat down. I know you're not supposed to stop moving, but I really needed to do that. After a few seconds rest, I got up and then saw my husband. He'd missed my finish, because I had made it sound like I wasn't going to run well. From what I had said prior to the race, he had left the warm car in time; how was I to know I'd PR by a minute? I thought that if I was able to PR, it might be by a few seconds. He felt bad about missing it, but I understand how it happened. I wished that I had asked him to bring me my sweats and water bottle - I'll have to remember that for my next cold race.

So we headed over to the car so I could change shoes and get warmer clothes on. I thought about doing a cool-down, but going into the warm school to get some food sounded like a better idea. The post-race food consisted of bananas and at least 30 different kinds of cookies. I grabbed a banana and some cookies, and went to stretch. We then hung around waiting for the awards. The bad thing was that even though I changed shirts and had put on pants, I kept getting really cold. They presented awards for best costume; a lot of people in the 5K had worn costumes, but not many in the 10K had. Then they moved onto the 10K and 5K awards. They had a little podium and had the top 3 in each age group stand on it and they took a picture. I won the 20-29 age group (the woman I'd passed around 4 miles was second), and I felt a little goofy standing on top of the podium. I don't know where I finished overall, I guess I'll find out when the awards get posted.

I think this was one of the best races I've run in awhile, and I'm pretty proud of my negative splits. If it had been less windy, I might have had a chance to break 45, as my two slowest miles were the ones where I felt the wind the most. But even still, I think I ran fairly smartly and couldn't be happier to see one of my high school PRs get broken.

1 | 7:12
2 | 7:34 | 14:46
3 | 7:35 | 22:11
4 | 7:06 | 29:18
5 | 7:19 | 36:38
6 | 7:22 | 44:01
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10K | 45:32 | 7:20/mi.

1st place, 20-29 Female