SnowMan Stampede

Well this is my first attempt at blogging.  Why try?  Well like many others I need to find a way to record training and keep family and friends informed on what is happening in Laramie.

Recently I ran the Snowman Stampede (Feb 19).  The third race in the winter distance race series winterdistanceseries.com.  I had run the first race Rudolph's Revenge (10k) and was feeling that I could run faster for the Stampede even though this would be a 10 mile race.  I set a goal to average 5:40 mile pace and to win my age group. 

They put on a nice event at Hudson Gardens, plenty of parking and great volunteers.  I warmed up over the first mile or so of the course, which a portion would be on a dirt path with a few muddy spots.  So I had a particular route picked out so I wouldn't trip up at the start.  The start was kind of funny.  We are all lined up about a minute before the start and the announcer says something to the effect of "we are excited to see all the fast runners here for the Colorado 10 mile state championship."  I was totally unaware, now I had roughly 30 seconds to redo my race strategy. 

Now I figured the start would be a little crazy and a little too fast.  Off the line it was a mob and by picking my carefully planned route I avoided a lot of mud and water and worked my way into the top 10 by mile 1.  I figured the first mile would be pretty quick and it was 5:25.  But this was the right group to be in to hit my goal.  The place settled down and I found myself working with two other guys to rope in others that ran to hard at the start.  After 5:43, 5:35, 5:39, 5:43, our little group of 3 was now 2 with the one pulling away from me.  It was an out and back course and we hit the tournaround a little after five miles, so now using my amazing counting skills I figured I was in seventh place.  I was feeling pretty good at this point focusing on rythym I hit 11:24 for the next two miles and then hit a wall.  Slowly the guy in front moved further and I could hear footsteps behind.  I had to concentrate to keep my form efficient  and the next two miles were 5:43 and 5:43.  With 1 mile to go I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I had a guy right on my shoulder the whole way and I was struggling just to hold him off.  In the process I ended up only a few seconds back from 6th place but I didn't have the requisite kick to wheel him down.  My last mile was 5:42.

Overall the race was a good success.  7th place finish was good enough to win my age group and a 25 dollar gift certificate, to Runner's Roost.  Which with an old pair of shoes contributed to the cheapest pair of running shoes I have ever purchased.  The new Saucony Kinvara's for $55 (90-25-10=55).