Nowhere Without Friends: The Frosty Feet 5k

After pacing in my snow-covered driveway for a few minutes waiting on the Garmin to connect to GPS satellites, I was finally ready to knock out this run. I pressed the button, the timer started and I launched in the snow and slush in the aftermath of Winter Storm Liam. That first step is when I heard the “pop” in my ankle. “Oh that can’t be good” I thought to myself. In typical idiot fashion I kept on running. I had miles behind me and miles more to run after all.

I started the week feeling pretty darn good. I had put a 6 mile training run to foot with The Commander and some good friends over the weekend. One girl, we will call her Silver because her initials are AG, and I run together because we run at the same pace and she pushes me. It was a good run with good friends and everything I thought I needed to be ready for the Moraine State Park Frosty Feet 5k trail run the following weekend. My plan was to maybe run once during the week, but maybe not. 

It has been referred to as the Winterfest 5K, Winterfrost 5K, and they seemed to decide on Frosty Feet 5K. There was snow, it was cold, and in Winter, so they all work.

Then I get this text message from McCalcium: “Dude- Strava has a 5X5 challenge starting tomorrow. 5k every day for 5 days”. My immediate thought was “hell no, I have a race next weekend and I want to do well.” McCalcium: “I joined”. Well shit, there goes the option of not doing it. So I signed up, but with the race on Sunday,  I was now at the beginning of six 5ks in as many days. Oh well, time to push my limits and see what I can do.

Strava 5x5k Challenge. Pro (no to so Pro) tip: When your buddy makes you sign up for a 5x5k, make him sign up for a 2000 meter elevation gain challenge.

It all started out fine. I’d go to work, leave a bit early, hit the roads and knock out most of the run before it got dark. Turn on the hand lamp, and run out the last bit in the dark. Side note, running down hill in the dark is a weird feeling. The ground invisibly falls away from me. I expect my foot to make contact, but nothing, it just keeps falling. It reminded me of a short person with a deceptively tall knock. You open the door, expect them to be up here, but they are down there. Weird. If you don't know what I'm talking about watch Lucky #Slevin.

Seriously? You want a caption for this? No. It's self explanatory.

Shit got real on Wednesday, right when the storm was raging. After a drive-by to check on the roads I figured they were bad enough that it would be worth trying on the traction devices I bought for the Frozen Snot but never ended needing. About ¾ of a mile in I could feel the chain where it hooks into the rubber digging into the base of my big toenail with every pounding footfall. In the second of my many idiot moves (the first being agreeing to this challenge to begin with) I did what seemed logical; I ignored it and kept running. Pro (not so pro) tip: when you’re running on roads and don’t need something that’s hurting your feet, take the damn things off. Super simple. I returned to the house, tired, frozen, cut-up and bleeding. But I was happy to be halfway through the 5ks. I was thinking it was high noon, and I was chasing the sunset. Turns out I had one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel.

All 5 of those damn runs. Running the same route gets really boring. Switching up the route slightly makes the boring route slightly less boring.

My trail shoes are awesome. With the roads still in rough shape, and my toes rejecting any thoughts of microspikes, I opted for trail shoes over road shoes for the traction. Good move. If not for the pop in my ankle, it would have been a pleasant run. And in all honesty it wasn’t bad. I got home, hung up the gear and was happy to be looking at only having one more 5k to complete the Strava challenge. I never gave a thought to the almost imperceptible ache in my ankle. I changed up the route on the final run for my minds sake. Climbing a hill about two and half miles in, my legs were starting to protest the idea of 5X5ks with conviction. For no reason I can explain Hadaway’s “What is Love” popped into my head. I think the nerves in my legs joined forces to send that message to my brain; “baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more."

I got home and that’s when I really noticed the pain in my ankle. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't walk on it, but bad enough that I felt I was a few running steps away from disaster. At this point I was pretty mad at myself. I love trail running, I had a trail race the next day, and now I had two cut up toes and an ankle that hurt to walk on.  Luckily, I am surrounded by smarter, more experienced, and caring friends and runners. The Commander, Silver, and the one who started all of this in the first place, Southern Discomfort, were all over the problem with the same consensus: R-I-C-E. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Sage advice. The commander wrapped me up and I spent the rest of the evening laying on the couch with the leg up watching stories of Olympians sacrificing so much, and  I felt like a real Melvin being concerned about the “owie” in my ankle.

Next morning my ankle was feeling decent. This whole Frosty Feet 5k thing might work out after all. At this point I was thinking, just finish, that’s all. What a cool 5k. If you haven’t been to Moraine State Park get there. Seriously, stop reading this boring crap, get in your car, and drive there. The course was a lollipop route with about 2.5 miles on double track which was hosting a sweet 6” or more of wet snow. Well marked, right along the lake for a stretch, and a nice hill made this a great 5k to run. 

Frosty Feet 5K Route

Frosty Feet 5K elevation profile. Thanks to the Commander for this since I forgot to start my watch because I'm super good at this.

With huge thanks to Southern Discomfort, Silver, and the unwavering support of The Commander, I delivered my best 5k finish since I started running in organized race events! My ankle is super pissed at me right now, but their advice put in to action got it through the run. Now I can rest it for a while before the Naked Bavarian 20 miler in the beginning of March. 

During the run I passed a girl about a mile and a half in. Stopped in the snow she looked up and said something along the lines of  "I don't think I can do this". But she WAS doing it. After a quick breather she attacked the trail again, and was never far from sight. She ultimately was the top female finisher. That girl, and this run in thick snow and cold, after already doing five 5ks in a row, reminded me of how amazing it is to push your limits and achieve your goals, no matter what it is. If its finishing a nasty 5K, or a 240 mile desert race is doesn't matter, that feeling that you perceived is one of the best you'll have. It also made me realize I would be nowhere without friends. I run because friends pushed me to. I got faster because of friends that will run along side me. I race because friends help us challenge ourselves, and I stay healthy because friends watch over their own. Indeed, I would be nowhere without friends:

The Commander

Southern Discomfort

Silver

The Emerald

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This year I'm running to raise money for the Beaver County Humane Society. Operation "If you're going to do something that stupid, someone should benefit from it" is in full swing now. That's two races down and 10 more to go. If you would like to help out some animals in need with a donation you can do so HERE. To all those who have contributed, I don't have the words to tell you how much it means to me. Thank you so much.

Post race photo op with the mascot