I hadn't seen pavement since July. Seriously, when I got to Anchorage for a few days before heading across the pond, it was the first time I'd seen pavement since July.
West High Hill repeats in Anchorage followed by adult beverages
I got 3 races in over winter break. The first one was the Srichinmoy Mile in the winter racing series I used to include in my offseason diet to keep fit over the winter. Now, I'd been doing intervals on dirt, mud, ice, snow......but I know from experience that the handicap can be huge and times are slowed due to conditions. I'd gotten some progression runs in on the treadmill to try and gauge where my actual speed -or lack thereof may be. I hadn't raced a mile since the indoor one I did in December of 2015 also over winter break. So, pretty much cold turkey with no track workouts, I found myself at the indoor mile. I honestly never thought I'd race this again because usually the December race falls the day winter break begins and I fly out. This year, it was right smack in the middle. The year after I left, Lena had started making a comeback. I knew there was no way I was going to get her this time. She's a bit stronger now than we were in our heyday 4-5 yrs back when we chased and pushed each other to some damn good times. She's where she was 8-10 years ago before she began to slow down. So, I ended up finishing second after nearly a 4 yr hiatus from this series. My last season was 2014-15 before moving back to Alaska. Surprisingly, I was not that far back and was faster than my last indoor mile 2 yrs ago which was the last time I had raced that distance. It was fun seeing old friends and running buddies again. I get asked if I miss Moscow. Is the sky blue? I tell them I miss everything except the craptastic work situation and instability that accompanied said craptastic situation. I left for economic reasons- it was about survival and long term stability. The irony is that now I actually have time to go out and do the things I almost never got to do while working in Moscow because of the anti social work schedule I had (as do many who teach English late into the evenings).
The next morning, I got up and doubled back at a Half Marathon in Terletsky Park. This was easy peasy to get to- just order an Uber and it was 20 min away. Transport was complicated and over an hour- I chose to sleep in and shortcut :) This one was a trail half and I awoke to a dump in progress...yeeeeesssssss SNOW and lots of it. This would work to my advantage as it was a very familiar surface! It was fresh, loose, slow going type snow too. This also saved me the trouble of bringing both flats and icebugs and deciding what to race in when I got there. It was a no brainer icebug day. There was a half, 10k and marathon. I opted for the half. I ran even splits on the 5 loops through the woods and did not get lost because things were very well marked. The distance was spot on accurate and the organizers were awesome! I won the half and got a nice workout in. My pace was slightly up from the 15k XC I did in July just before I came back to Anchorage. The xc race was on dry dirt with a few gnarly sandy and rooty spots but this half on fresh snow was by far a more difficult surface. I was surprised because my legs were not fresh this being a day 2 race. It's also possible the 15k was slower in July because I ran it a week of Belochka Marathon too but who knows.
SNOW RUN-
30 Dec
I could have headed to Gorky Park for a Half, but chose the backyard race with my clib in Kuzminki. I have done these off andon through the years when they did not conflict with the winter mile series. This year, it worked out. IRC Snow RUN! The last time things didnt' conflict was in 2012. This one is by team and it has to be mixed meaning guy girl. Leonid and I went in as the Tortoise and the Snail. I dressed appropriately as the snail. The surface- BARE GLARE ICE. It was probably the nastiest of the snow runs I've done or watched. We had a freeze thaw following all the snow we had earlier in the week that gave us an ice rink. Even in icebugs it was slow going and turned into my slowest snow run ever. Hello snail! I stayed a bit after for our tea and munchies at the end but it was really windy and I run from my flat to the start when I do this so don't drag along a winter coat, so had to get moving. Again- It was fun hanging with friends and running buddies :)
I'll wait til Mayto get in some tune ups before heading off to Russia again. There just isn't much I can be arsed to fly in for just-coz-. Running should be accessible to everyone. There was a spring break possibility, but really, charging 40$ to enter a 5k and 20$ for a shirt is way over the top. I can buy a pair of shoes for that (at the sales of course). I was tempted to enter Little Su 50 this year but also- said screw it because there is a real chance I could be on weather hold and never make it and the 100$ entry would be in the hunny bucket.I also cannot justify the potential expenses of getting stuck in Bethel on possible weather hold to shelp myself to Anchorage once in a while for races. it's 500$ a pop just to fly in not including the possible getting stuck in Bethel at 200$minimum a day. Sorry, but the ends don't justify the means until I can get out for some commercial stuff spring summer. So, i'll be planning key races accordingly.
West High Hill repeats in Anchorage followed by adult beverages
I got 3 races in over winter break. The first one was the Srichinmoy Mile in the winter racing series I used to include in my offseason diet to keep fit over the winter. Now, I'd been doing intervals on dirt, mud, ice, snow......but I know from experience that the handicap can be huge and times are slowed due to conditions. I'd gotten some progression runs in on the treadmill to try and gauge where my actual speed -or lack thereof may be. I hadn't raced a mile since the indoor one I did in December of 2015 also over winter break. So, pretty much cold turkey with no track workouts, I found myself at the indoor mile. I honestly never thought I'd race this again because usually the December race falls the day winter break begins and I fly out. This year, it was right smack in the middle. The year after I left, Lena had started making a comeback. I knew there was no way I was going to get her this time. She's a bit stronger now than we were in our heyday 4-5 yrs back when we chased and pushed each other to some damn good times. She's where she was 8-10 years ago before she began to slow down. So, I ended up finishing second after nearly a 4 yr hiatus from this series. My last season was 2014-15 before moving back to Alaska. Surprisingly, I was not that far back and was faster than my last indoor mile 2 yrs ago which was the last time I had raced that distance. It was fun seeing old friends and running buddies again. I get asked if I miss Moscow. Is the sky blue? I tell them I miss everything except the craptastic work situation and instability that accompanied said craptastic situation. I left for economic reasons- it was about survival and long term stability. The irony is that now I actually have time to go out and do the things I almost never got to do while working in Moscow because of the anti social work schedule I had (as do many who teach English late into the evenings).
The next morning, I got up and doubled back at a Half Marathon in Terletsky Park. This was easy peasy to get to- just order an Uber and it was 20 min away. Transport was complicated and over an hour- I chose to sleep in and shortcut :) This one was a trail half and I awoke to a dump in progress...yeeeeesssssss SNOW and lots of it. This would work to my advantage as it was a very familiar surface! It was fresh, loose, slow going type snow too. This also saved me the trouble of bringing both flats and icebugs and deciding what to race in when I got there. It was a no brainer icebug day. There was a half, 10k and marathon. I opted for the half. I ran even splits on the 5 loops through the woods and did not get lost because things were very well marked. The distance was spot on accurate and the organizers were awesome! I won the half and got a nice workout in. My pace was slightly up from the 15k XC I did in July just before I came back to Anchorage. The xc race was on dry dirt with a few gnarly sandy and rooty spots but this half on fresh snow was by far a more difficult surface. I was surprised because my legs were not fresh this being a day 2 race. It's also possible the 15k was slower in July because I ran it a week of Belochka Marathon too but who knows.
SNOW RUN-
30 Dec
I could have headed to Gorky Park for a Half, but chose the backyard race with my clib in Kuzminki. I have done these off andon through the years when they did not conflict with the winter mile series. This year, it worked out. IRC Snow RUN! The last time things didnt' conflict was in 2012. This one is by team and it has to be mixed meaning guy girl. Leonid and I went in as the Tortoise and the Snail. I dressed appropriately as the snail. The surface- BARE GLARE ICE. It was probably the nastiest of the snow runs I've done or watched. We had a freeze thaw following all the snow we had earlier in the week that gave us an ice rink. Even in icebugs it was slow going and turned into my slowest snow run ever. Hello snail! I stayed a bit after for our tea and munchies at the end but it was really windy and I run from my flat to the start when I do this so don't drag along a winter coat, so had to get moving. Again- It was fun hanging with friends and running buddies :)
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