Fudgcicle 5k in Tewksbury. I ran this race with bgallup on
Feb 2, 2013. Today had good conditions - a temp of -5 C, clear skies, minimal wind - but icy roads. I showed up later than planned - arriving in the parking lot at about 7:40 for an 8:00 start, and got a quick 15 minute warmup. I was comfortably sweating at the start line, and I dressed in SL/LS with gloves. I added the bike shorts over my tights after getting chilly during my warmup in the parking lot, but maybe running shorts would have been adequate.
I was very concerned about the ice, and I wore my New Balance running shoes as opposed to my lighter Inov-8 racing shoes, which have less traction. At the start, I quite unintentionally leapt into the lead and was very surprised to find no one going with me. There were at least 50 people at the race, and when I scoped people out at the start line, I didn't figure I would be the fastest.
The race was unusual both because of the ice and because I led for the first 4.2ish km of the race. At times I could hear footfalls, but there wasn't even a pack with me. Dodging the ice was tough, as sometimes I felt my feet slip out from under me on the kick phase of each stride. I tried to run in the middle of the oncoming lane whenever there were no cars. In the last km, Ken Cain caught up to me. We ran together for a short while before I pushed and got a 5-10m gap. He pulled even and passed me again with about 2:00 left. I tried to hang with him, and started kicking when the "3 mi" sign came into view, but he responded and I didn't have enough to keep up. He finished about 5s ahead of me.
I'm not thrilled with the race result, but it's acceptable given the rough conditions. This is Ken's 4th victory of the fudgcicle season, and his previous results have included 18:25 and 18:33. Today was a good workout and a good psychological challenge. I'm not particularly good with tactical races, but I don't really need to be - except for mass start races. My usual strategy is to go out hard and try to get a lead on my competitors, but maybe I should practice tactics. I think my limiting factor today was my breathing; my muscles felt ok (and were limited by the ice), and my stamina was fine. I find a heart rate monitor strap constraining and will probably not race with it in serious situations.