I do not have any racing or running news to report, but I hate to go too long without a post. So I present Hazel at play.
Get your hands dirty!
A Freezeroo worthy of the name
Roadkill Team in pre-victory pose.
I was instructed by my teammates to use lots of adjectives in describing this race. As I don’t consider myself a very flowery writer, probably because of my journalism training, I decided I would front load the story with an appropriate number of descriptors.
- Cold
- Windy
- Slippery
- Snowy
- Fridged
- Fun
- Stupid
- Sloggy
- Numbing
- White
- Tiring
- Different
- Frosty
The starting line was there somewhere
Freezeroo #3 is the Don Curran Memorial 5k. RKR fielded a 5 man team, too bad there was no team scoring. We did a warmup running the course in reverse, on a nicer day it is probably a fairly fast course. On this day it was just about 10 degrees with a strong wind and a several inch covering of snow on all the roads save a 200 meter strip just after the start and before the finish. I brought 3 pair of racing shoes: xc racers with 5/8″ spikes, AdiZero Adios, and Asic Piranha. I decided to go with the Asics covered with Yak Trax. This was my first time running with Yak Trax and even though they were a bit tight, I thought they would give me the edge over the other runners who were just racing in normal unspiked or yaked flats. I quickly learned that once the metal springs were caked with snow and ice their effectiveness is greatly diminished.
Jeff takes the early lead
While I did manage to get off the line fastest, Jeff and Chanse went by after a few meters. In his usual racing style Jeff opened up a big lead by mile. I was happy to sit behind Chanse and wait out the first mile or so which was primarily uphill. I figured once things flattened out I could use the speed provided by my super grippy Yakers to run Jeff down.
Between miles 1-2
At some point during the 2nd mile my hands and face went totally numb. I guess my body was sending the blood to my muscles and not bothering to try and warm my useless extremities. Luckily I had more important things to worry about, namely running down Jeff and staying ahead of everyone else.
Chanse somehow managing picture perfect form in a blizzard
By this point in the race RKR had established its position as the 1-4 runners with Ryan just a bit further back.
Hatless Matt working on his awesome beardcicle
For some reason all of Matt’s photos are blurry. i suspect it is the majesty of his developing breadcicle which prevented a clear picture from being taken.
Ryan making a power move into the wind
It is unsurprising that Ryan and Matt, the 2 runners who grew up in western NY saw no need to wear a hat despise a sub 0 windchill.
Jeff on the home stretch
Jeff held on to the 15-20 second gap he opened up in the first mile to win his 3rd straight Freezeroo Series race. Baring some truly shocking bad performances in the next few races he has pretty much wrapped up the series win. It was great to have 5 teammates come out and race in what might be described as less than ideal racing conditions. It is a testament not only to our team, but the Rochester running scene that 230 runners showed up for this race.
Top 15 results below. Full results here.
| 1 | Jeff Bigham (Roadkill) | 17:25.6 |
| 2 | Joshua Perks (Roadkill) | 17:45.2 |
| 3 | Chanse Hungerford (Roadkill) | 17:50.7 |
| 4 | Matthew Roberts (Roadkill) | 18:24.6 |
| 5 | Joshua Greenfield – Tuttle | 18:34.8 |
| 6 | Jason Knarr | 18:44.0 |
| 7 | Tim Dwyer | 18:57.7 |
| 8 | Michael Coyle | 18:58.8 |
| 9 | Matthew Stoutz | 19:05.6 |
| 10 | William Hawkins | 19:07.0 |
| 11 | Matt Kellman | 19:07.8 |
| 12 | Paul Glor | 19:16.8 |
| 13 | Daniel Knopp | 19:25.1 |
| 14 | Daniel Giblin | 19:27.2 |
| 15 | Ryan Burke (Roadkill) | 19:28.6 |
As always thanks goes out to the Rochester Runners Pic crew for the photos.
Roadkill Time
Will have more pictures and race report tomorrow. But for now enjoy the game.
Here comes winter
It has been a glorious extended fall, with temps well into the 40′s all through December and the first half of January. That is about to change just in time for the 3rd Freezeroo, a 5k up by the lake. It looks like we should be racing in some blowing snow with temps between 10-15 degrees (Fahrenheit of course.)
There has been a lot of talk around Rochester of winter getting its revenge in the spring for an easy fall and early winter. But the way I see it any day above freezing from December 1st on is a small victory, and I’ve been winning a lot in the last month and a half. If we get a few days of snow in March and April it will still be better than the December through March deep freeze and the 13 feet of snow we got last year.
Freezeroo #2
Off and running
I’m not sure why they call these races the Freezeroo Series, so far the weather has been fantastic. 45 and sunny on January 1st? Yes please. Roadkill Racing had a small showing at this race, only Jeff and I were in town or up for running on New Year’s Day (I’m looking at you Rob and Ryan!) This is the largest and generally the most competitive of the Freezeroo races so going in I was only concerned with beating Jeff so I could move up in the series standings, but toeing the line I noticed past winners like Mark Andrews and Ryan Pauling were absent and thoughts of overall victory began stirring.
Stride for stride mile 2
Jeff and I got out to an early lead. A down hill first mile and steady tailwind pushed us to a very easy feeling 5:20. By mile 2 we had turned into the wind, and started on what was to be a series of hills which continued for the duration of the race. We took turns leading which I thought was smart teammate cooperation, but which Jeff later informed me was a series of him trying to surge away from me and failing. Although the course is rather hilly, it is an enjoyable route to run. There are very few cars and the hills help breakup some fairly long straight stretches of road.
Still Stride for Stride mile 4ish
By mile 3 we were well into the groups of earlier starters, and had been pushing into the wind for 2 miles. My Garmin battery died just past mile 2 (turns out you have to plug the ac adapter into the wall) but they were giving splits at the odd mile marks and we came through the 3rd mile in 16:50. My goal was to run 5:40 so I was feeling hopeful at this point. Jeff and I were still running together and had opened a pretty big lead already as you can see from this picture taken just before mile 4.
Long and winding road
We pressed on to mile 5 still running together but the hills were beginning to take a toll on me. Our pace had dropped to 5:45 by mile 5 but the bulk of the uphills were passed and we got our tailwind back for the final 2 miles. At some point between mile 5 and 6 Jeff made a very strong surge and over the course of maybe 600 meters took a huge lead on me. Looking back I’m not really sure how I let him get so far ahead so quickly, but it was a gap I was never able to close. We stayed about 15 seconds apart for last 1 and half or so of the race and finished in 1st and 2nd. It was another impressive finish for team Roadkill who is now 2 for 2 at the Freezeroo. It is actually Jeff who is 2 for 2, but since he is such a team first guy we are claiming the win in the name of Roadkill Racing.
Full Results Here
Things about running that are true
Here I seek to compile a list of things about running that are true. Some of obvious, some debatable, most are stolen from other people. If you have some to add put it in the comments and I will move them to the main list. Can we get to 100?
- When it comes to mileage, more is usually more
- Running is not bad for your knees but sitting on your ass is.
- It is not 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens
- Running burns more calories than walking, or just about any other activity for that matter
- Runner’s High is a real thing
- You are more likely to die while sleeping than running a marathon
- Your co-worker did not in fact run a 3:40 mile during gym class in high school
- Track & Field + XC = The most participated high school sport in the country with over 1.4 million students participating annually
- If you worry more about your training and less about what your foot is doing when it hits the ground you will get faster
- When it is hot you run slower
- Nothing makes you a faster runner than running
- When running on a quiet road any cars will appear in twos going opposite directions and pass each other at the exact spot you are running
- It is the little dogs you have to worry about
- Lactic acid is a fuel source
- Eating a big plate of pasta (or 2) before a marathon is not carbo-loading
- Stretching does not prevent injuries
- If it is legal, that pill, powder, or drink probably isn’t making you any faster