Wednesday, January 13, 2010

My introduction to the BCRR Winter Series

It will fun. Seriously, we all have a good time. And what better way to stay in shape over the winter?

For years, this is what I've heard from my fellow Blue Dawgs about the Bucks County Roadrunners Winter Series. And, for years, I've been meaning to go over to Tyler Park and run in a few of their events. But, as the series progressed and the weekends went by and my Sundays were taken up by other things that came up, I never had a chance to do it. Until this past Sunday.

When I woke up on Sunday, I began to read an article in the newspaper about how this is the coldest winter in the US in over 25 years. I turned on the TV to watch the morning news and they talked about how this day was the coldest so far this winter. And, now I know why the Dawgs are Blue. Because it was freakin' cold out!!!! My wife asked me, 'is it safe to run in this cold?' I dunno. I assume people from other parts of the world that were colder ran outside as well. I didn't think I was going to be the only one there. Plus, this was a test of whether it was better to run in the extreme cold or extreme heat.

I left my house around 8:00a for a 9:30a race. My car therometer said it was 16 degrees (F) outside. Damn, that's cold. Now, I have to tell you upfront. This race is equivalent to baseball's spring training for me. I was running to keep in shape for the spring. So, anyone (Chief) who happened to have beaten me (Chief) in this 'race' (Chief), doesn't really count. It would be like Detroit Tigers beating the Phillies in March in Florida. Yes, it happened but who remembers those games (Chief)?

I didn't know the layout of the land so wanted to make sure I had plenty of time in case I got lost. I arrived much earlier than expected and was one of the first to sign in. I have to admit, it was the first time I saw an open fire for warmth in a race. And, in truth, it felt good.

Now, on our Wednesday night Blue Dawgs run, we run a fairly hilly course. All through the years, I heard from the Winter Series runners that, these hills on Wednesday night are nothing compared to the Tyler Park. So, I was expecting the worse.

The race on Sunday was a 5.3 miler. And, apparently, needed to be altered a bit to avoid some snow still on the original course. But, not knowing the course at all, I wasn't aware of these changes and how or if it was going to affect me.

The race starts uphill. My old rival, Chief White, (Chief, I wanted to emphasize OLD here but I won't . This is my birthday present to you) and I were running side by side. Chief was saying how out of shape he was. Really? I kept this little nugget of information in the back of my mind. I got to the top of the hill first and didn't think it was that bad. And, in truth, for the first 4 miles or so of the race, didn't find the hills to be too bad at all. And, all this time, Chief and I were running, if not next to each other, certainly within striking distance of each other. Until....

I should have been tipped off when Chief said, 'We're not running Dairy Hill, are we?' But, it hadn't been that bad up to this point? I was in front of Chief going down the hill. Can't say the same going up. I was having problems WALKING up this freakin' hill (tip of my hat to Kelly for the adjective describing hills in general) let alone running up it. Chief just plowed through and got up the hill a lot sooner than I could. He's out of shape?

From that point in the race, it was literally all downhill. Chief was probably 15 seconds in front of me at the top of Dairy Hill. Oh, I could have probably caught up with him and made it into a REAL race. (Cough, cough). But, why humble the guy? I mean his birthday was coming up and it wasn't a REAL race in my eyes anyway. Why spoil his fun?

I did the 5.3 miles in about 49:10. I was pleased with that considering the freakin' cold and the freakin' hills and I hadn't really run a whole lot since my San Francisco race. And, in the end, having a chocolate covered donut (or two) with some hot apple cider did seem to ease the pain in my legs and my shivering body. Some people at work asked me how did I stand the cold? The answer: I didn't think about it and what I was doing. I just did it. Because, if I took the time to think about it, I would have realized that people don't generally do this type of activity in 16 degrees (F) weather.

This Sunday's race is an 8 miler. I am repenting for my sins of over indulgence over the holidays and the fact I gained a little weight. If it's not raining (much rather run in the cold than the rain), I should be out there. Fun? You betcha!!! And, by the way, it is easier to run in the extreme cold than the extreme heat. Harder to start. But, easier to run.

3 comments:

Kenley said...

Great Report. New to your site here. I am from Dillsburg, and have been looking for bloggers in PA. Found one. Best wishes on the 8 miler. I belong to HARRC. Have a good one.

Andrew is getting fit said...

You're a good man being so kind to old chief.

Eric said...

I did not see you in today's 8 miler. 8 miles are hard enough; but with those hills; Ugh. I always feel accomplished if I do not walk up any of the hills during long races in the Winter Series; and I did not walk up any today. I was even able to push for the last 0.75M. My FR305 had low bat.so I do not know my time (until the times are posted). You complained about the temperature in last week's race; it is much harder to volunteer and just have to stand around (I did the registration). I'm sorry that I misspelled your name -- I forgot the 'n'. I hope that you do not hold that against me -- at least I got the other letters correctly in the right order. I hope to see you next Wednesday.