FROSTY four (very frosty)

Frosty Four – I settled on the Salem race (a classic) since it had the earliest start time and is always well organized.  I also like the four mile distance.  It was cold, damn cold, for this one.  It was hovering a little above zero when I met up with CMS teammate Dan Verrington and headed into the warm bar for number pick-up.  We hung out indoors until the last second for our warm-up.  I wanted to run the course even though I’ve done this race before.  A reminder is always good and this would also help to get an idea of the correct layering for the race.  It really wasn’t that bad except for the stretch along the ocean where you took the brunt of the wind.  Most of the race would have a 10-25 mph cross-wind.  The exception would be from a little after the 2 mile mark to the top of hill at about 2.7 miles.  I left myself plenty of time from the warm-up to do a complete change of gear, I did NOT want to start the race with damp clothes.  After a quick change into new layers and racing flats I headed out for another mile.  I bumped into CMS teammate Jim Pawlicki and we headed out ½ mile then trotted back to the start as the final few stragglers lined up.

Usually the race gets close to 600 finishers but on this day they only had a bit over 350.  The first ½ mile had most of the turns you’d take in the entire race so I just focused on not hitting any ice patches on the turns and finding a decent pace.  The roads were clear and dry (except for some corners) and I took advantage cutting every tangent available.  At the half-mile my watch beeped and the guy in front of me look at his watch then shook the watch, I think he thought something was wrong and his was not recording correctly.  Made me chuckle a bit.  Soon after that I moved around him and another guy and got myself into 6^th place.  Up ahead the lead pack of four was passing the mile mark and Paulo Amaral from Sommerville Road Runners was off the back but 10 seconds ahead of me as I reached the mile in 5:52.  I didn’t look at my splits during the race, I did not want to expose my hands even for a few seconds.  My hope was to break 24 minutes but I also figured I’d just run as hard as I could and whatever the time was so be it.

Nothing much changed in the second mile.  The lead pack was now out of sight but I had Paulo just out of reach in front of me.  I tried to close the gap knowing we’d be into the wind soon but my second mile of 5:56 had me the same distance back.  The wind really stood me up and I feared that Jim & Dan would be closing on me as I slowed into the wind (and up the hill).  That would be everyone’s slowest mile of the day.  I ran a 6:04 and again was no closer to fifth place.  It felt like I closed a bit a few times (I counted out when he passed landmarks) but then he’d move further ahead.  I kept looking for the spot Jim & I had turned at during the warm-up knowing that’d be a half-mile to go.  Funny I was thinking that when my watch beeps every half-mile anyway.  Such is how an oxygen depleted brain works.  I pushed to the finish and my final mile was 5:56 for a 23:48.  I was happy with the effort if not the time.  I’d run within a second of that a couple of weeks ago on a much tougher course, but maybe all the extra layers in the 3 degree temps made a difference?

I quickly changed my shoes, grabbed a jacket and got Dan & Jim to join me for another loop around the course.  It was a nice chance to chat and talk about 2018 plans.  Hopefully it won’t include any more races in such extreme temps!

Eleventh Annual Wicked Frosty Four – 358 finishers (54 finishers 50-59)

Monday, January 1, 2018 Start Time: 10 AM  Temp = 3 degrees Wind = 10-25 mph

1          21:30.5 5:23      James Bailey      M          21         Danvers MA

2          22:00.5 5:31      Jordan Kinley      M          33         Salem   MA

3          22:30.8 5:38      Adam Cook         M          18         Melrose MA

4          23:09.6 5:48      John Page          M          24         Beverly  MA

5          23:36.9 5:55      Paulo Amaral      M          37         Lowell   MA SRR

6          23:48.6 5:58      Dave Dunham     M          53         Bradford MA CMS

7          24:07.2 6:02      Mikael Sodergren M          35         Malden  MA

8          24:27.9 6:07      Dan Verrington    M          55         Bradford MA CMS

9          24:36.6 6:10      Justin Jones       M          29         Danvers MA

10         25:05.5 6:17      James Pawlicki    M          43         Lynn      MA CMS