Snowman Stampede 10-mile 2010

The seasons in Colorado are always interesting. We can have sunny skies and 60 degree weather in December, or snow in July, and the complete opposite within hours. As we often joke, if you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes. And although it took a bit longer than that, today's race was a great example. It snowed yesterday morning, and was cold enough at the start of the day that it looked like the white stuff would stick around and make things interesting for today's race. But the sun soon came out and started melting most of it away; and by 3:00 yesterday afternoon the road and trails at Chatfield State Park were mostly clear (according to pictures posted to Facebook by the race director).

I was relieved at the improved road conditions, because I was determined to break 90 minutes for this race. My last 10 mile race was Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, and I finished that in 1 hour, 33 minutes, 49 seconds. Before that (at the 2009 Snowman Stampede, in fact) I'd run 1:32:12. And with a half-marathon PR of 1:56:21, it seemed extremely likely that I'd be able to hit my goal. I might even be able to finish in less time--say between an hour twenty and twenty-five.

The race started at 10:05. I'd planned on running the first mile in 10 minutes, then picking up speed to sub-9:50 or so for the rest. But, caught up in the excitement of the day and the perfect conditions (sure it was chilly, but once I was moving I'd hardly noticed except for some wind), the clear roads, and pulled along by the faster runners surrounding me, I wound up finishing the first mile in 8:57! Ah well. I knew if I raced smart, and backed off if necessary, I could hold out. My pace held steady through the next mile and a half, when I got to the first water stop where the first misfortune hit: I slowed to a jog and reached for a water cup from a volunteer, but we missed each other! I was already past him and, with runners coming up behind me, I didn't dare stop and turn around for a do-over. So, no water for me. But I had less than 8 miles to go, and two more chances to get it right (at 5 and 7.5).

I spent the next couple of miles shadowing two very tall men who were running at about my speed. This worked out well for me as there was a bit of a headwind at this point, and the size of my rabbits allowed me to draft them and stay out of the wind. I was sort of running on automatic at that point, still feeling strong enough to hold that pace--which by then had increased to 8:40--through the rest of the race. As the course turned onto a gravel road in front of the marina, I had to focus on my footing more because (wait for it...) I was now running on SNOW! That's right, it hadn't all melted away, but it was plenty soft and made for some tricky footing for about a mile.

As we came off the gravel road and onto the walking trail, I hit the second water stop--successfully! I'd hit the midpoint of the race in 43:37. I was well on target for finishing under 90 minutes, and felt that I could pick up my pace and shave some more time. I increased my pace to target 8:30 for the next few miles. Unfortunately, the next 3 miles on the footpath were still partially covered in snow. Someone had gone over the path with a utility vehicle, and there were ruts where the tires had been which were mostly clear (but not entirely). So of course, that was where people were running, making it difficult to get past them. Difficult, but not impossible.
The last 2 miles of the course were on the path, but parallel to the road and more exposed. Consequently the snow was gone, although there were still some patches of ice--including one very large one at about mile 8.6. I saw it coming and was ready for it, but I still had a brief moment of terror when my foot slid ever so slightly on the slippery surface. "That was too close!" I said to the runner I passed shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, it wasn't the last time I almost wiped out. There were several more patches of ice (and giant puddles from melted ice and snow) along those last miles that made things very interesting and somewhat annoying. I had by this time increased my speed even more--I ran mile 9 in 8:02 and was running the last one at sub-7:30 pace, and the last thing I needed was to have a tremendous wipeout this close to the finish. My mind was equally focused on the ground looking for icy spots, and the runners in front of me.

Actually I had a moment of panic at about 9.25 when I feared I'd made my move too soon. Irritated with following a runner through several puddles, I took advantage of a chance to pass him just at the 9 mile mark (I realized with some satisfaction that this was a runner who had passed me in the early miles of the course). I poured on my speed to pull away from him, but after a quarter mile or so I worried that I'd made a mistake, that he would come up from behind and pass me in the last quarter mile. I was getting tired and didn't know if I'd have enough for a final kick to outrun him. I imagined I could hear his heavy footfalls and breathing right off my shoulder, and dared not look back.

Instead, I focused on the few runners in front of me, and forced myself to push harder and pass them. With a quarter mile to go I could see the finish line. Pumping my arms harder, I pushed my speed even more and soon overtook another runner. With just over a tenth of a mile to go, I could see the finish clock. It had just turned over 1:24:20. I was determined to finish under 1 hour and 25 minutes. I pushed even harder, to a full-on sprint (according to my Garmin, I hit 4:29 pace at the very end), and crossed as the clock read 1:24:51. Of course, my chip time was even faster than that!

So far (knock wood) my New Year's Resolution to PR at every distance is intact. In fact, my plan had been to run a 10 mile race in under 1:30, and I improved on that by an additional 5 minutes (and almost 8 minutes faster than my old 10 mile PR). Next up is the Runnin' of the Green Lucky 7k, which I'm hoping to finish sub-31.

Official Time: 1:24:33
Total Races: 2
YTD Race Miles: 36.2
YTD Total Miles: 169.9
"Go Superman!" count: 7