race report: super bowl 5k

hey guess what i just learned? the saucony fastwitch has a vented sole. super for racing in the summer, not so much the winter. other interesting footwear this morning included track spikes (hey don't knock it - brian glotzbach had mad tread going on! though, i was concerned about his singlet-shorts combo in 28 degree weather) and vibrams.

at this same race last year, i had a minor disaster. it was snowing and i wore sunglasses to keep the snow out of my eyes (and, honestly, off my mascara - yeah, i wear that ALL the time and i love it). but it was snowing pretty hard and my shades were getting blurry and foggy and my lashes were soaked so mascara was not sticking and instead getting smeared on the insides of the lenses. by mile 2.5 i could barely see at all so i decided to just take them off. fumble! i dropped them and had to just keep going as i was already a pretty distant 2nd place. (somebody ended up grabbing them and turning them in at the finish - omg thank you!) so i finished with mascara dripping down my face. "oh god are you okay?!" "ha ha yeah i know i have mascara all over" "oh! i thought your eyes were bleeding!" yeah, that's not a conversation a girl wants to have...

it was snowy again this year so i just skipped the mascara. no need for anymore smears. temperature wise it wasn't too bad out. but the race course had a decent amount of ice that was still covered by a layer of snow after they plowed it. for the most part it was relatively easily, though not quickly, navigated. the only really sketchy part was the east side of the park with the two little hills - the kind of situation where you legs just spin underneath you like mad but you don't actually move forward. while i wasn't expecting a pr by any means, it was definitely frustrating to feel how hard i was pushing only to see that my pace for this 5k was nearing my 10 mile pace! your body has to put so much effort into just stabilizing! everyone was in the same boat, though, and the times definitely reflected that. at the beginning of the race, jay, brian, and i got out in front and i joked "so everyone's goal just to keep it under 20 today?" ha ha funny, but that wasn't too far off. i snagged the win and was 3rd overall but with my worst 5k time ever: 19:52 (men's winning time was 19:01, by doug crott from erie).

i was really excited to realize the second place female was my new teammate megan fibbe! and the third male was teammate jay survil! runners roost was definitely reppin' this morning - way to go!

next up is the snowman stampede 10 miler at hudson gardens. competition will most likely be pretty stiff but i can't wait to see how it goes. i had a big pr there last year and with a new faster course, i'll definitely be looking for another pr. two more weeks!