December was an odd month - it was hot. Race day was around 70 degrees. Not what you'd expect from a race called the "Winter Series." I was not feeling all that confident, as you can see from my Instagram post pre-race:
I had set a rather optimistic goal for the race, and sitting in the car, I was convinced I was nuts; convinced there was no way I could even come close. I could restate what's in the pic, but I'll just let you read it there instead. So with those thoughts in my head, I headed for the start line to give it a good try.
And actually managed to finish in within my goal range.
Race Stats
Winter Series 5k
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Finish time: 34:06 (Garmin); 34:36 (official)
Place: 295 of 378 overall; 145 of 209 women; 28 of 53 age group
Race 2: 8k - Jan. 10, 2016
This race was as cold as the 5k was hot. Cold, windy, spitting snow - it was pretty miserable. Since I was in the middle of Princess Half training, I had the bright idea to run a few miles before the race so I could have a total of 8 miles for the day. which gave me a heads up to the conditions I would face during the race - cold on the way out with the wind at your back; frigid after the turn around with biting wind blowing right in your face. Nice. And I had left my good, warm running jacket at home, because I didn't think it was cold enough. Ha! (It most definitely was.) So in the interest of staying halfway warm, I elected to run in my hoodie (the purple one earned at this race series 3 years ago).
Again, I had an ambitious goal that I didn't think I'd be able to reach, but I was going to try. And was on track to do it, until the turn around into the wind. Then it all kind of fell apart, but that's ok. I ran, I finished. It's all good.
Race Stats
Winter Series 8k
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Finish time: 57:07 (Garmin); 57:34 (official)
Place: 233 of 302 overall; 111 of 161 women; 19 of 39 age group
Race 3: 10k - Feb. 7, 2016
Since weather seems to be a theme for this post, I have to mention that this particular race day was warm, sunny, and practically perfect. Again, it was long run day, I needed double digits in preparation for Princess, so I had a few miles (4) to do before the race. Because it was such a nice day, and I was feeling good, it was a struggle to keep my pre-race miles slow enough. So I went into the race hoping I hadn't used up all my good feeling and energy.
It was all going well - feeling good and running my 2 minute intervals fast(-ish) and strong - until mile 6, when I started to struggle and slow down more than I wanted. Considering mile 6 was actually mile 10, I'm not surprised. Actually, I'm kind of surprised I didn't start feeling tired sooner. ( Another one of those "hey, I really am stronger than I think" moments.) I finished outside my goal, but I was close, and I know I ran strong. So, again, it's all good.
Race Stats
Winter Series 10k
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Finish time: 1:11:11 (Garmin)
Place: 232 of 300 overall; 118 of 166 women; 22 of 38 age group
(Note - my official time was 22 seconds slower, but I like the repeating ones, so I'm sticking with the Garmin time for this one 😋)
Overall Series Stats
2015-16 Winter Series
Finish time: 2:43:44
Place: 188 of 241 overall; 94 of 131 women; 15 of 30 age group
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