My main goal for 2015, no matter how silly, was to complete at least one race in each month of 2015. So when I first started to plan out my year, I was able to plug races into my schedule for each month pretty easily. That is for all months besides December. For what ever reason there were no close races in December to choose from. The race I ran last year in December was the Race for the Light in Oshkosh. This year, the family and I were out of town visiting friends, so that race was out. I found another race on December 12th, but I was stuck helping my sister-in-law move, so that race was out. Even into late November, I wasn't sure what race I was going to be running in December. But, when I found the Chilly Chili 5k in Fond du Lac, WI on December 31st, I was kind of forced to choose this race. It was relatively close (50 minute drive), I didn't have to work, and it started at a decent time (3:30pm). Plus at just $10 before 12/15/15 and $15 after, it was super affordable. So, just like that I had found my December race! In a way, running a race on New Year's Eve was kind of a neat way to not only put a close to my goal, but to put a close on the year as a whole.
Training for This Race
Throughout December, I really haven't changed the way the past 11 months have gone. I've been taking life as it comes and getting in what I can, when I can. I have been swimming more than I previously have. Granted, it really didn't take much, but I did swim more, generally speaking.
Prerace
Nontraditional race times have always complicated things for me. After you do a handful of races, you start to develop a routine. You get into a comfort zone and habits that just work for yourself. Now, when you have a race start at 3:30 in the afternoon opposed to a typical race start time of 7 or 8 in the morning, it makes things much different. You need to think about what to eat and when to eat. Typically, with morning races, I don't eat anything before and only drink coffee before hand. So I wanted to replicate this the best I could for this race. I woke up around 7am and pushed my breakfast back until around 10am and was going to try and just eat a really big breakfast that would keep me tied over until the race at 3:30pm. I cooked up some eggs with mushrooms and spinach and cheese. I then served them in a tortilla for a simple breakfast burrito. I also had some dried cranberries. Other than a cup of yogurt around 12:30, I was kept satiated all day. Sarah was stuck at work all day, so I was also responsible for the girls. Luckily, my father-in-law was off of work and willing to help with childcare so I would be able to run this race. After lunch I dropped the girls off and was on the road to Fond du Lac by 1:30. The race was run on the campus of Mairan University. I got to the campus around 2:30 and first got my race bib. For Christmas this year, I got a pair of Beats Studio Wireless headphones from Sarah and the girls. I was most excited to use them during my warm ups before races. My warm up for this race was one of the better warm ups I could recall. I felt great. I was excited and feeling good. I was actually quite surprised that I was excited and pumped up to run. I'll be honest, leading up to this race, I felt like I was just doing it because I had to and not because I wanted to. But, it seemed that once I was there and had my "Prerace Motivation" playlist playing, it was getting me ready to run. I ran about 2 miles during my warm up and was perfectly timed to get me to the start line about 5 minutes before the start.
Nutrition Plan
I brought along a "caveman" bar and a pack of almond butter in case I needed to top my stomach off during the drive down to Fond du Lac. As it turned out, I didn't need to. I brought along a water bottle with
Hammer Nutrition Heed and sipped on that during my drive down. At 2:30, I took my usual 2 capsules of
Anti-Fatigue Caps and then just continued to sip on Heed before the race.
Equipment
Road ID Elite
3.1 Mile Run
As I usually do during the seconds before the race actually starts, I use that time to "eye up" the potential competition. Once the race started, I found myself in the lead pack of 4 other runners. One of the 4 others dropped off the pace after the first 800m or so. The course was pretty clean, but were warned of snow and ice between miles 1.5 through 2.25 or so. With this being my last race of the season and planning on taking some time off before I start training again, I had planned to just leave it all on the course. So after the first 800m, I was in the pack of 3 other runners. I decided I was going to stay on their heels for as long as I could and hope they pulled me to a new personal record. As the race ran on, I felt as though our pace was pretty relaxed, so I just stayed relaxed and kept my eyes off of my watch. The toughest part on the course was the corners. You really had to stay focused and be aware of your footing as you couldn't just take a corner fast. Other than the corning, the course really wasn't too bad as far as being snow/ice covered. Running in a pack with 3 others made it really nice for drafting and tucking behind the group to help cut through the wind. After the first 2 miles, the pace was kicked up a notch. I did my best to keep pushing and stick with the leaders. We dropped one of the other 3, leaving just 3 of us. The leader pulled slightly ahead of me and the second place runner. After making the last right hand turn before turning into the parking lot finish line, I decided to push the pace and see what would happen. The guy ahead of me was able to answer and the two of us stayed neck and neck. The final turn into the parking lot was very snowy and slushy. I tried to make a move to pass the guy ahead of me at this corner, but just wasn't able to with fear of slipping and falling. I ended up finishing literally just a second behind the second place finisher and about 10 seconds behind the overall winner. My official time was 17:59, which I was very happy with. I think if the course was clear and snow free, I possibly could have set a PR, but who knows, that may just be wishful thinking.
Post Race
Right after the race, I congratulated the other runners and then made my way indoors. The weather for the race was darn near perfect. The temperatures were in the mid 20's but there was a decent wind which made it feel colder than it actually was. But once I was inside I warmed up quickly. I was extremely surprised to see what the race organizers (Fond du Lac Running Club) had out for the post race spread. As the race title (Chilly Chili 5k) implies, there was a ton of home made chili served up for the race participants. Along with the chili was just about anything and everything anyone would want to add to their chili, including, noodles, crackers, cheese, chips, just about everything. There was also a table full of home made holiday treats, such as chocolates, cookies, and other random treats. In addition to the chili buffet and the treats, there was another table full of fruits, vegetables, hummus, sandwiches, and other various snack foods. The post race spread was by far the best I have seen at any race. Another unique thing about this race was the age group awards. The race was broken down into larger age groups. I fell into the Male 30-39 age group. They awarded the top finisher in each age group. I placed first in my age group and won a chili bowl...how cool is that! I love the unique awards, so when I saw the age group awards were chili bowls, I thought it was pretty sweet. It sure beats the hell out of cheap trophies. After getting my age group award, I ducked out to get home and get showered to go out to our families New Year's parties.
What's on Tap
I'm going to save my year end wrap up for a separate post on here, so stay tuned for that. But at this point the only thing I have planned and set in stone is taking a break from running, swimming, and biking for about a week or so. I may get to the YMCA and do some strength training or get on an elliptical, but my one rule is no running, swimming, or biking. I thought a couple weeks ago that I had my whole 2016 planned out, but the closer and closer it came, the more I second guessed my plans. So at this point, I'm still in the planning stage of determining what the hell I'm going to be doing next season. I know that I really missed having a structured plan to follow day in and day out, but at the same time, I enjoyed the flexibility of doing whatever I felt like doing. So, I am trying to come up with a way to enjoy the best of both worlds. In the next couple weeks, I am going to try and get on here and write up some posts on the following topics:
- Top 10 Photos from 2015
- 2015 Race Season in Review
- 2016 Goals and Aspirations
But until then, thanks for reading and stay tuned for future posts soon!
Cheers!
Oh and I cannot forget to wish you and your families a great new year and I hope that 2016 is everything you hope for!
