Date: February 8th, 2025
Result: 47:13 (5:05/mi)
Place: 1st Overall
Elevation Gain: 329 ft
Weather: Mid-30s with light rain
Another Frostbite race down...
Heading into this race, I had a bigger goal in mind: setting the Missouri record for the 15K distance.
The record stands at 46:41. I had previously run 46:55, so I thought I had a real shot at it. Why not go for it and see what happens?
This added a bit of extra pressure, but that’s not always a bad thing. However, looking back, I think it might have been the wrong mindset to carry into the race. Being motivated by external goals or end results isn't always the best setup for success. There’s plenty of research backing that up.
In the end, I didn’t hit my goal. But I also didn’t let it weigh on me too much. It’s okay. I’m okay. Life goes on. There are other races, and who really cares about what happens at the Frostbite series 15k!? Ha.
Race Breakdown
Warm-up
I met up with one of the athletes I coach for the warm-up. We ran about two miles at a relaxed 9:00 pace. Despite the rain and gloom, it felt good.
I planned better this time, so I had a moment to breathe, do some drills, and get in my strides. Everything checked out—I felt ready. No heaviness, no extra fatigue. Just a normal morning, except for my freezing hands!
At the start line, I chatted with a few of the guys to gauge their plans. You never know at these events—some people are just there for a workout, while others are fully racing. Turns out, I was the only one going full blitz. Yay me.
The Race
My goal was to hit 5:00–5:05 miles. I figured if I could stay on the faster end of that range, I’d have a shot at the record.
Right out of the gate, I hit a 5:00 mile. I can’t say it felt great, but that’s expected when you’re trying to do something big. That’s consistent with my approach to races from 5K to the half marathon—the pace is never comfortable. There’s always a feeling of unease, but usually, it doesn’t get worse. And if you’re lucky, you catch a second wind. The hard part is trusting and committing to that.
Through three miles, I was right on pace, somewhere in the 15:05 range. That’s where I wanted to be. There’s a big hill in mile two, so being able to roll up that and stay on target was a good sign.
But I wasn’t feeling as good as I had hoped. I started to sense that the pace wouldn’t be sustainable for another 10K—especially with having to double back up that hill.
And that turned out to be true.
After mile three, I started slipping to 5:03–5:06 miles, then closer to 5:15 on the hill and again on the way back to the finish. I didn’t have the gears coming off the hills from 6 to 7.5, and I lost the motivation to really grind out a fast finish. The last mile and a half felt lackluster, but this wasn’t the kind of race where I expected to empty the tank.
Post-Race
After crossing the line, I stuck around for a moment to watch the next few runners come in. We took a quick breather, downed a Nutri-Grain bar, squeezed out a two-mile cooldown, and that was that! It was too cold and wet to stick around any longer.
Final Thoughts
I put in a solid effort and gave myself a shot, but I didn’t quite have it this time. My mind was outpacing where my body is right now, and that’s fine. I’m just happy to be racing in February and getting solid experience before the more important races this spring!
I'm going to continue taking training light on the volume-end for a few more weeks - mostly just for the mental reprieve in between what was supposed to be a marathon in January and now heading into Grandma's Marathon in June. After this period though, I'm going to need to start building volume back into the equation if I want to hold and build on my fitness.
Next up is the Frostbite series 20km in 2 weeks! I have selected a gameplan for this one as of yet but I think I'm going to chill out in the first half - but let's see if I will hold my end on that!
Comments