Too Cold To Hold 15K: So Close....Yet So Far

Another weekend, another race! I love this time of the year, the weather is usually great for running and my schedule is filled with races. The Too Cold To Hold 15K was on Sunday at White Rock Lake and it marked my 3rd race in the 4 weekends of 2011. The 2010 edition of the Too Cold is one of my favorite races of all time--too bad I wasn't blogging this time last year to tell the full story. It was one of those races where Erik took off at the start and I steadily labored along. I began to see Erik in front of me and was so close at the halfway turn around that he didn't even see me. He finally caught sight of me around mile 6 and I eventually caught him...likely around mile 7. We dueled it out at the very end...and he beat me by 2 seconds. He certainly was surprised (and proud) to see that I got that close to him and we both set new 15K PRs in the process. I was hoping that 2011 would be a rematch of that great race, and it almost was....except that Erik did a 6 hour arm workout at the gym on Saturday and hardly slept a wink on Saturday night....not exactly the best conditions for a race.

I am certain that Sunday was some of the best weather for running, at least in my book. We were very lucky to get a great parking spot at the race and were able to wear our warm clothes until close to time for the start. We saw many friends before the race, including several of Erik's co-workers who were attempting their first 5K (the race offered the choice of 5K or 15K). I have been enjoying the technology offered to me by my new Garmin running watch and focused on pacing during the early parts of the race. It is easy to get swept up in the excitement at the start line and go out too fast. I had to slow myself down a few times in the hopes that it would pay off later in the race. I knew that in order to PR I would need to average just under an 8:30 pace per mile.


From the race website, can you find me?

White Rock Lake was especially pretty this morning and I was enjoying the journey. Some races are grueling and I feel every step and some are more like magic and the miles pass quickly. I would say that this race was more like the latter, it was just an enjoyable morning. I could see Erik just ahead of me at the halfway turn around and I wondered if we would have a rematch of that famous race. Around mile 5 I saw friends Lesley and EW coming from the other direction. I waved and then I heard them cheer me on...EW saying "Go get him!! Go! Go!". It certainly brought a smile to my face and I began to focus on catching up with Erik. I was more than halfway finished at this time and knew that it was the perfect place to allow my pace to get a little faster.

I stayed just behind Erik for a while, trying to use a little bit of strategy and save some energy in case we had a duel at the end. Eventually I caught up to him and saw that he just was not himself. This was confirmed as I passed him....dang, I really wanted to pass him on a good day....it just isn't as much fun when he is down. I ran on with an ear behind me, you just can't count Erik out--he is a strong runner with an even stronger mind. I began to feel pretty tired by mile 8 and was really looking forward to the finish. I tried to finish strong and a glance at my watch told me that I would be really close to that PR. I saw the finish line, took one final look at my watch, and gave it all that I had....and finished 11 seconds short of my PR...dang!! I knew going in that this would be a tough PR to top and today showed me just how hard. I can't help but to wonder how it would have played out if Erik and I did get a chance to duel it out at the end like last year. We have always pushed and pulled each other and I think that would be the case again this time.

Here are my mile splits according to Garmin:
8:31, 8:27, 8:32, 8:43, 8:29, 8:23, 8:27, 8:43, 8:36 and 7:19 for the last .38 mile
For a total of 1:19:41 and an average pace of 8:29/mile.
Interesting note, I raced this exact course in July and my time was about 7 minutes slower....think that the heat has no effect on my pace? Think again!


Post race with EW, Elaine, and Lesley

Races are a great place to see friends and meet new people and this race was no exception. We had a great time talking to friends, sharing running stories, taking pictures, and laughing. I love the community that running fosters and this held true again today. The cool thing is that running blogs, Facebook, and Daily Mile have connected us even more and I see lots of "familiar" faces at these events even if I don't know them in person yet. This is great for a person like me who tends to be shy and is not one to approach a person that I do not know.

Next up the Houston Half Marathon and I am so excited to go and check out another city's marathon scene. We are lucky to have White Rock here in our backyard and Cowtown just a city away. Last year we experienced Austin's (hilly) scene, saw the beauty of Tyler, and now we venture to Houston. This one will be great because I went to college at Sam Houston State University and have so many friends in the Houston area...some of them are even running the race too, in fact, we are staying with my college roommate and her husband is running the half marathon. I would LOVE to PR this race too, but I know that my half marathon PR will be a tough one to top. Maybe Houston will hold some of that magic for me? Stay tuned!