Reindeer Romp 4k Race Report

Goal: Place well, maybe win age group. Due to terrain, temperature, and training, no time goal.

We signed up for the Polar Bear Grand Prix race series with Esther mostly to keep ourselves motivated to train through the winter. (And for her, maybe for the swag.) I just had my recovery month after the Bowling Green Marathon, which was complicated by a bad case of PF after that race - but I'm not complaining. So the goal was just to race as well as possible given the circumstances.

And those were not easy! The course is only 4 km, which is way too short for me, it has two long, hard hills (Urban Bourbon Half Marathon hills compressed into 1/5 of the length of that race), and it was a balmy 25 F (-4 C) in the morning. We jogged the course last afternoon with Esther so we knew what to expect. We arrived to the park at 8:15 for the 9:00am race. We did about 2 miles of warmup, a few strides, and we were ready to race.

I got a little boxed in at the start, but quickly jumped ahead (got a cheer from Esther), and off I went. The large amount of cold air flared up my exercise induced asthma, and I had some breathing issues for a minute of two, but fortunately it quickly resolved. After a short (0.1 mile) flat segment, we started the first downhill (1/2 mile long). I knew I can't rest on the downhill if I want to race well, so I pushed a 5:30 pace there. When we got to the bottom, I settled into a slightly uncomfortable, but controlled effort that (I guessed) I could maintain (or increase) till the end.

Mile 1: 5:52

I tried to run somewhat conservatively in this flat section between the two hills, so I tried not to overtake people. But I found that people around me slowed more than I expected (their pace was 6:20-ish), so after a while I passed a young guy, then a child, and I was back to my 6:00 pace. I kept slowly passing people, and I did not get passed after the first few hundred yards (I think), so I guess it was a well-run race.

We started the climb (1/2 mile long) of the second hill. My strategy was to be conservative here, and to start to run hard on the top. I allowed my discomfort to slightly increase, making sure I'm not going over my VO2 max. I ran the uphill at a pretty constant 7:10 pace, and then accelerated on the top to my standard 6:00 pace. We went on a slight downhill, took a U-turn around a statue of Daniel Boone, while I kept my place behind a small group.

Mile 2: 6:32

I knew we were close to the finish, but there was one more climb left to go back up the first hill. Not as bad as the other one: only about a 1/4 mile long, and the finish line is on the top. At the bottom of the climb I increased my effort and I passed the small group. I was powering up the hill, but I got slightly worried around 3/4 up that I started this kick too early... I was suffering bad! But I knew that only a few seconds left, so I toughed it out, and finished the race.

Last 0.5: 3:16 (6:44 pace)

Time: 15:40 (15:37 chip time). 13th place (out of 422), 1st in AG. (In fact master win, see update.)

I waited for Esther and cheered her on when she arrived at 18:30. The great thing about this race was that we both won our age groups! This motivates me to train harder for this race series and try to win my age group in the cumulative results. And if we both do it with Esther, that would be something!

We hung around for the awards, but we didn't quite feel like eating anything yet. We just had some hot drinks (it was still freezing), hung around for the awards, and then we jogged back to the car.

Update: A few days later I found out there they somehow miscalculated the results and I actually won the master division. They will switch out the trophy at the next race of the Polar Bear Grand Prix.