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Race Recap: Frostbite Series Half Marathon

Writer's picture: Dylan BellesDylan Belles



Date: January 25, 2025


Result: 1:09:33 (5:19/mi)


Place: 1st Overall


Watch Distance/Time: 1:08:17 for 13.1 / 1:09:33 for 13.35. Normally I wouldn't note this, but this course isn't certified so it could be slightly off in terms of distance. Typically, if the course is USATF certified, then the distance is the distance and your time is your time - those courses are measured precisely.


Splits by Mile: 5:13, 5:11, 5:09, 5:07, 5:12, 5:08, 5:13, 5:13, 5:12, 5:28, 5:12, 5:15, 5:10, and 5:23 for the final 1:15.


Splits by 5K: 16:09, 16:00, 16:12, 19:56 (15K to watch HM) + 1:15


Elevation Gain: 432 feet


Weather: 28-30F, little to no wind, partly cloudy.


What is the Frostbite Series?


The Frostbite Series is a winter racing series held in Forest Park. The series includes 5 weeks of races, which each have a short and a long-distance option. This weekend was a 4-mile race and a Half Marathon race. Runners can sign up for the entire series for $80 or choose to race individually at $20 per event. It’s a laid-back, community-driven event that’s great for getting people out and running during the colder times of the year.


Pre-Race:


The night before the race was fun! So much fun. Let me tell you about it...


While bringing in a Costco-sized box of cat litter and two glass olive bottles on top of it, I tripped over my big dumb feet. One bottle shattered on a bench and chipped the wood, while the olive oil splashed everywhere — walls, clothes, you name it.


Great.


The perk of buying a newly built house is that every mistake you make is your fault. That shiny new toy now has a blemish...and I'm usually the one making the blemishes, not Megan. Megan worked hard to clean up the walls and soak my jacket in Dawn, while I made a Home Depot run for wood putty and markers to repair the bench. The bench looks better now, by the way. My jacket was ruined, dinner didn’t happen until 8:30 PM, and I went to bed later than I wanted. In the morning my Oura ring had my HR elevated by about 2bpm and my HRV was down by 10! Not ideal, but because I wasn't approaching this race as anything too serious, I wouldn't weigh the night before too heavily. I will also add that when I'm preparing for a race that I really care about, I'll avoid looking at overnight metrics - no need for the bad juju around here.



Morning of:


I woke up at 6:30 AM, had coffee and a Belvita, and left the house by 7:05 (the race time was 8:15 AM). After I got to Forest Park around 7:35, I picked up my bib, jogged for 15 minutes, struggled to find a bathroom, and changed into my race shoes. I took a SIS Beta Fuel Gel about 5 minutes before the start and stashed another one in the pocket in my quarter zip that I was wearing that I intended to take around 30 minutes in (didn't happen).


At the start line, I chatted with a friend of mine, David, who had raced the Houston Half the previous weekend and he told me he planned to run 5:30 pace. I noticed a few other competitive guys were on the line, there was potential for it to be fast. I have a lot of respect for those guys, they work hard and they are getting stronger every season.


Race Recap:


I planned to ease into the first mile at 5:25-5:30 pace and build from there. That didn’t exactly happen. After the race, I saw I actually ran 5:13 for mile one (whoops). However, the mile marker on the course had us at 6:15. That's a big difference. The first two miles were nice and flat, but around mile two, I merged into the back of the 4-mile race. While a lead bike helped, there was some weaving into snow and grass for about 0.25 miles before I could get clear. Normally, I’d find that frustrating, but given the low-key nature of the Frostbite Series, It wasn't a big deal and it certainly wasn't anyone's fault. I ran this section of the race too fast.


Miles 3-5 featured the first big set of hills, which were tough but manageable. The course then looped back downhill around mile six (two-loop course). By this point, doubt crept in. Would I blow up on the second loop? That thought lingered as I hit the hills again from miles 8-11. They felt significantly harder the second time, with my legs and stomach both showing signs of fatigue. My stomach felt queasy — possibly from the gel or just the effort. Fortunately, I held it together and while I didn't get better, I didn't get much worse.


The final stretch included a downhill back into the park, but my legs didn’t have the juice to dig any deeper. I was running much faster than I was on the uphill just prior, but I didn't have the gear to work under 5:00/mi that I wanted to. My GPS hit 13.1 at 1:08:17, but the official course still had about 0.25 miles to go. The finish line snaked along a tight greenway path, and I eased up slightly in the final 200-300 meters because it's difficult to run quickly through there.


I won the race by about three minutes. To be fair, the other guys weren't racing and treated it as a workout, so the dynamic might’ve been different had they raced all out. Regardless, I’m happy with the result, especially considering the circumstances.



Takeaways:


1. Pacing: I need to manage my pacing better and execute a smarter race. Easing into the effort would have helped.

2. Preparation: Despite the chaos the night before, I don’t think it had a major impact. Still, smoother pre-race evenings are always a plus.

3. Recovery: My body bounced back well despite two workouts earlier in the week, including a 2x2-mile session on Thursday. My quads were a little sore the next day from the downhills but felt fine during a 90-minute run.


Next:


The Frostbite Series 15K in 2 weeks - my favorite race distance! I want to hit this one hard and try to come away with a PR (46:55)

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