Freezeroo #6 10K in the snow

Proper Racing Gear.

After all my worrying and complaining, the weather turned out to be not so bad.  At race time the temps were right around 20 degrees and there was a melted patch cleared down most of the center of the road.  I was impressed by the turnout of about 200 people for this the last in the Greater Rochester Track Clubs Freezeroo Series.  I didn’t run any of the previous 5 so i was not in the running for the series title, but I did think I had a shot at winning this particular race.

Hot new Shoes

This race was also to be the debut of my new adiZERO Gebrselassie Special Edition shoes.  I was even welcomed to the starting line bu a whispered “Who’s the guy in the bright shoes?”  I am happy to report that the shoes felt great, and even at 3 oz heavier than my Asic Pirhanas I didn’t feel them on my feet at all.

The Competition

I got the run down on the current series standings from Matt Roberts (above in the yellow shirt) he was the current series leader beating Josh Harter by 1 point.  The first 4 people in the standings were all on the line so it looked like everyone was really going to be fighting for every place.

400 meters in

I took a quick lead from the gun, but was soon passed by by Keith, who gave me a good run for my money over the next 400 meters until eventually fading off the pace.  Josh H, Matt R, and a guy I don’t know in blue hat and white singlet stayed in tight pack right behind me for the next few miles.  My plan was to get out quick but relaxed and hopefully open up a bit of a gap during the first mile.  The sound of foot steps never faded as I hit the first mile in 5:35.

The Snowy Road

This picture above gives you an idea of what the roads were like.  Up front it wasn’t much of an issue but I imagine that passing was tough in the middle of the pack.  This shot also gives you a nice look at what the hills were like.  None of them were terrible, but the whole course just kind of rolled.  I ran the next 2 miles in 5:44 and 5:41, which was slower than I wanted but the sound of foot steps had started fading and I was having trouble finding the motivation to really push the pace.  I hit the turn around at 5k and for the first time got a look at my lead which seemed to be about 10 seconds on a pack of 3 runners.

Matt Roberts and the chase pack.

 

Between Mile 3-4

 

This picture makes it look like I was really suffering, but in fact I was feeling pretty good.  I was just thinking I had to make up this hill just before the 4 mile mark and then I could make a strong push for the finish.  I apparently took it a bit too easy and clocked my worst split of the race 5:55.  I knew I had run that mile slower but I was annoyed to have run it that slow and started to make a strong effort for the first time in the race.

Long and rolling road.

We got spaced out by this point in the run but I hadn’t looked back and didn’t really know how close anyone was.

The Chase.

 

After my 5:55 mile I thought they might be on my tail. I mentally told the chase pack to “eat my shorts,” and I picked up the pace (or at least that is what Lisa typed I was thinking when I stepped away from the computer for a minute).  I put in a 5:42 4th mile.

Mile 5

There was one last big hill at mile 5 then a nice long gradual downhill until a very un-fun 200 hill the last .2 miles.  I finished with a 35:25 splitting the last mile in 5:32 with a 74 final .2.  This was a 50 second PR and although this was not as fast as I was hoping to run I can’t complain about any PR and a first place finish. Race Results Here

I’d like to thank the guys at Rochester Runner Pics for the great photos!  They are at lots of the area races and do a great job.


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  1. Guy in the white was Tim Dwyer.

    Matt Roberts used to run for Brockport (raced against him a handful of times). He is currently training for a marathon in early May and then plans to run in the Corporate Challenge for RGH (we work in the same building). I think he would be a good addition to RKR this fall because Mike is moving out of Rochester. : (

    Congrats on the PR! This is a promising result in a snowy road race in February.

    Keep training hard! See ya in the spring!!

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