Cambridge Winter Classic 5K 2016

The Cambridge Winter Classic lived up to it’s name and felt like a winter race. Pre-race ambient air temperature was 34° F with a 5 to 10 mph breeze.

My Garmin shows the ambient temperature at 36° with a 12 mph breeze during the race. There were times when the wind gusted much stronger than that. So it was a chilly run.

The race began at 9:30 so I didn’t leave my house until after 7AM. I made a quick stop at Dunkins for a large coffee and two chocolate glazed donuts.

Breakfast of Champions!

Sidney Street was still open when I arrived. I drove around the block and get a spot on Landsdowne Street about a block down from the team Biergarten area.

Our crew “Team Slow and Thirsties” only had four people signed up to run. A few other friends were also running but I never even saw them.

With such a small crew, I offered my car as a sanctuary from the cold. While texting away, Andy Brown walked up to my car and got my attention.

We hung out until around 9:00 and headed for the Biergarten. Andy went strait to the team area, I made one last pit stop before joining the team. Remarkably, there was hardly a line for the facilities. I think everyone was huddled in their cars to avoid the elements.

When I got to our table it was still just Andy and I. Within a few minutes Lisa Hines and Ashley Raven showed up. I had never met Ashley before and we enjoyed getting to know each other a bit. One of the joys of running.

Ashley and Lisa were discussing how many layers to wear for the race. Ashley had on a down coat that she was not going to wear during the race. Lisa had on a Smuttynose Half Marathon fleece, which was over a down vest and two other layers. She finally decided the leave the fleece.

Running the Cambridge Winter Classic 5K Road Race

Around 9:20 we decided to head to the corals. The ladies went their way and as we got to the opening in the barricade, Andy headed further back into the crowd.

Andy was looking to finish the race with no particular time goal in mind. I’m on the tail end of a long recovery, so I wanted to see what I could do.

I was still a hundred runners or so from the start, but the race is chip timed. I just didn’t want to be too far back and have to deal with crowds.

When they called out 2 minutes to start, I still hadn’t started my watch! It usually takes my Garmin a few minutes to get a signal and I was in a crowd of hundreds of other GPS watches. Luckily, I had a signal in no time.

They didn’t have the national anthem so the one minute warning was our next signal. When the race director called out “Go! Go! Go!” we all jogged ahead a few feet and then stopped. Then we started jogging another hundred yards to the start.

As I crossed the starting mats, I started my watch. The crowd was tight but we picked up speed quickly.

We approached the first turn like a flock of Starlings. Moving surprisingly fast, we executed the turn with great finesse and coordination. The next turn onto Albany street went equally as well.

I was feeling strong but reminded my self that we were less than half a mile into this race. As we moved down Albany Street I passed many runners. Approaching the left onto Mass Ave I got into a tight spot and had to slow down to make the turn.

Mass Ave was running heaven for me. We had two full lanes to run in and I stayed on the left side of the crowd and ran on the yellow lines. A few times I crossed over the line to get around runners.

I felt fast and strong as I kept passing runners. Me and another guy just blew down the street. A quick glance at my watch showed a pace of 8:11. Not particularly fast for a Cambridge race.

Mile One chimed in at 7:41. I was doing great and felt totally in control.

I locked into over drive and kept pushing harder. All around me I could hear people breathing. The phlegm in my throat was getting gooey and I focused on clearing my throat.

At the left onto Putnam Street I was in a great position and didn’t loose any speed. Usually there is a water stop after the turn but I decided I wasn’t going to get a drink. I never did see a water stop.

Putnam Street takes us through the neighborhoods of Cambridge a few blocks back from The Charles river. A few people were on the street or on their porches cheering us on. With the sun in my eyes, I couldn’t really see anyone. I kept my head down and looked for pot holes.

My watch chimed Mile Two way before I saw the Mile Two sign. I was a little concerned being that far off on such a short race. But then, it didn’t really matter. I had no worries.

When I looked, my watch said 7:14! I was smokin’. Where was this coming from?

Race Prep and Good Luck

I didn’t do anything special to get ready for the race. I had two Dunkin Donuts, some coffee and a cherry juice box. Not the most nutritiously focused meal. I just filled the hunger.

I rolled my hamstrings the night before, but no other stretching. Before the race I stretched my quads and that was it.

It was so cold that at mile one I realized my arms were still cold and my toes were getting cold. I had been concerned about wearing a jacket and over heating. I didn’t unzip at all until the sun hit us on Putnam Street.

Starting where I did in the crowd allowed me to run as fast as I wanted. The first mile was a little tight, but I still ran a 7:41 mile. Any faster would have been too fast.

It was just perfect. Everything was going my way.

Push to the Finish

All the way down Putnam Street I knew I was running really well and probably at 100%. I never doubted for a moment that I could finish under 24:00. Nothing hurt, I wasn’t thirsty and my body temp was perfect.

Unless something happened, I was all in.

When we took the left onto Brookline Street I knew we were close. My watch said 2.63 or something like that. I told my self, “half a mile to go, no time to let up.”

I could tell some people were running out of gas. A few people passed me and some blew by me at impressive speed.

Any rise in the road took it’s toll and I continued to reel in runners. I could feel some fatigue in my legs but hardly noticed my breathing.

My watch chimed Mile Three near Pacific Street with a mile pace of 7:30. The Mile Three sign was down the road. This was going to be another long race!

The right turn onto Franklin Street was unencumbered and the finish line was in sight. I was slowing some and didn’t really have a kick for the end.

I had run the entire race near full capacity and could not push to 100% for the finish. Instead I prepped for the photographers! I unzipped my jacket so my Melrose Running Club singlet was in view and tried to keep back and away from the other runners. We’ll see how well that worked.

I don’t recall the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line. My watch said 24:12 and I knew I had crossed the starting mat about 15 seconds after the clock started.

Apre Cambridge Winter Classic 5K

I zipped my jacket as quickly as I could. It was freezing cold and my shirts were damp with sweat. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the biergarten. On the way I grabbed a few Lara Bars.

I grabbed two beers from the table and headed to the team area. I took one drink and headed to my car. With a nice breeze blowing I took off my jacket and singlet and put on a sweat shirt and my jacket. It took a while to recover from that!

By the time I got back to the table Lisa and Sheila were back and Andy soon showed up.

Everyone seemed happy with their times and ready for some fun. People stopped by to talk to Lisa and Sheila. Andy and I didn’t see anyone we knew but joined in the conversations with the ladies.

Did I mention that it was cold? I had already decided not to stay very long and Andy had to get home to get ready for a business trip. The cold beer hastened our departure.

Before we left I saw my buddy Jim Gallant hanging with his crew. We had a quick conversation before I headed out.

We said goodbye to the ladies and headed to my car. I did the bib pick up Friday night and had Andy’s shirt and beer koozie from the race.

I sat in my car for a few minutes with the heat blasting and took off my bib.

My official time was 24:10, but I had the course a little long at 3.21 miles. Backing out the additional distance I calculated a finish time of 23:34. Not a PR, but my official time was a top 3 5K finish for me this year, and the course was long.

I felt great running the race and had a great time hanging out with friends.

Here are the complete results from Race Wire.

P.S. I have been advised that this course is USATF certified and the distance was exactly 5K. Somehow I managed to run an extra 0.11 miles, which is only about 580 feet.

Run well my Friends!

Andy