Last Sunday I participated in a 1-mile Christmas-themed race! I signed up a few weeks in advance for the lower pricing (~$20) and to say “I’m committed.” That morning, it was snowing! I was really tempted to not go. Who wants to drive in the snow when they don’t have to? I texted Janet to see what the area is like. What a friend, to send a picture of the outdoors and current conditions! 😊 Okay, so I was still going! No excuses! (This is why she doesn’t sign up for winter races early!)

The last December race that I recall doing was the Jingle Bell Run in which everything was covered in snow and ice and I’m pretty sure was one of my slower 5k race times for sake of safety. I really hoped the 1-mile out and back would be cleared and dry because the intention of this race was to run it “fast” – or at least with real effort!

The Reindeer Classic is immediately prior to the Christmas parade in the downtown area. I picked up my packet (bib, shirt, & antlers) the day before so I wouldn’t have to go back and forth to the car. This was easy to pick up once I circled the downtown once for parking! It was crowded for a Kris Kringle Marketplace and had extra foot traffic. Thinking the downtown would be fairly crowded, based on the pickup experience, I left my house an hour and a half early (about 20 min drive = perfectly clear of snow!), parked on the side easier for departure, and sat in my toasty warm car catching up on messages.

I got out of my car a half hour before the race. The sidewalk to the downtown was the snowiest part of my race experience). The temperature was in the high 20s; I dressed with leggings, wool crew socks, a long sleeve shirt, and my oversized Big Bird Run fleece quarter-zip. I had a Big Bird Run headband and Big Bird Run gloves on. I carried my antler-headband – wasn’t going to don it too early! The city officials were starting to close the roads my plan was to walk up and down the main street to stay warm. Knowing it takes about a mile to fully warm up in a 5k run, I would need all the layers I had for this run.

I did go inside one shop that sold and traded sports cards and memorabilia, in case there was a neat gift idea. Nothing caught my eye except some coasters. I made no purchases but it was a brief opportunity to warm up. Actually, I would have entered more stores but they weren’t open! Seemed like a missed business opportunity. Maybe they’re usually closed on Sundays but on a downtown Christmas parade with hopes of a thousand residents coming out, I’d think they would have changed their hours for potential sales! I had at least a mile of walking in.

The race funds + donations went to the Rochester Band and Orchestra Boosters (Rochester High School). Post-race, it looks like they achieved their goal of $17k – that’s crazy to me that a HS band would require so much funding – but I’m uneducated in this – never participated in band, nor had any close friends in band. Still – props to them – it’s not easy fundraising.

About 5-8 minutes to the race start, I went into the street to join the other runners making their appearances and embracing their antlers. There were some clever costumes and onesies! My favorite was a girl in a Christmas tree outfit with boxed presents around each of her shoes. I assumed most people would be casually running this race so I started near the front, maybe 2-3 row of people back, about 5 abreast, as it was a narrow chip-starting mat to funnel through. After the national anthem, thanks to the mayor, etc., we were off!

The road was dry and clear! There would be no slip hazards. I knew if I started too fast I would surely crash and burn. The kids in front truly took off. Immediately the antlers would not stay on and I had to carry them. I think I caught up to one dad + daughter before the half-way point. There was a hill, too! As I don’t drive this way often, let alone north out of the downtown, I was unfamiliar with this hill, haha! It was only ~60 ft. There weren’t very many spectators for the race parade out. I can’t blame them as it was fairly cold and watching a few dozen people run by isn’t very entertaining, though people had their chairs lining the street. After the turnaround point, I pulled off the gloves, I felt warm, and unzipped the fleece.

I tried to push it near the end but there was no finishing “kick” left in me. This I can be satisfied about that I ran a fairly even effort over the course of the mile. I can see in the pace chart that I did slow as I went up the solo-hill. I was running hard and surprised my heart rate never made it to Zone 4, it maxed at 143 bpm.

Of course, upon finishing, my hands froze stiff and I felt the bitter cold. I could not text or operate the phone. My watch finishing time was nearly 10-seconds from my chip time because it was difficult to stop the watch. I had someone take a quick picture and then began the walk back to the car (about ¼ mile), I was not going to be able to stay longer to watch any other finishers.

My realistic goal was to finish under a 9:00-minute mile. I finished at 8:37! This was great for me as I had not done any speedwork recently and my running milage was pretty minimal due to snow and cold hitting Michigan around Thanksgiving. I finished 23rd of 105 participants.

What are my next race plans? Well, I don’t want to sign up for any more winter races as Michigan is unpredictable and the Reindeer Classic could have been a lot snowier…

Here are my winter ambitions (not exclusive to running):

  • Maintain hot yoga 4x/month
  • Strength and Tone fitness classes (or video workout) at least 1x/week
  • Try-start-practice (?) hanging/ prep for a pull-up?
  • Cross-country ski when we have snow!
  • Sit on the couch and read
  • Run a few times a week (treadmill, here I come!)
  • Bike indoors semi-regularly (this might be wishful)
  • Walk on treadmill with weighted vest and incline up (this I did last year to prep for summer hikes but I want to do more often)
  • Drink more tea
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Make several printed photo books from the past year
  • Get back to crocheting regularly

What are your winter plans?