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| Focused through Mile 1. Photo by KrissyK |
I got off on the right foot, so to speak, at the Wicked
Frosty Four mile road race in Salem with a rare road race win on the first day
of the new year. I got lucky as the top three guys from last year were not on
the starting line. I saw Alex Gomes and David Corbett at registration and knew
they would be in the mix. My dad was at the start line. I ran over and gave him
a hug and welcomed in the new year. He said, “make sure you come in top ten.” I
got on the starting line next to EJ Hrynowski who had a nice Q&A profile LevelRenner.
I lead the race after the first turn off of Front Street. I was waiting for
Alex or David to catch up but it never materialized. Alex ended up pacing the female
winner, former Salem State University runner (now with GBTC) Taylor Krajewski.
His name was absent in the results so he saved his entry fee. I expect to see
him on the indoor track busting out sub 5’s for a 5K in the next six weeks. I
ran past Krissy somewhere near mile 1 as she was taking photos. I went forward
chasing the lead vehicle, Salem Police Department’s cruiser with co-race
director Allison Phelan in the passenger side seat. The wind was at my back, as
expected and scouted during my warm up. Thus, the first two miles were
effortless into the Salem Willows neighborhood despite the lack of company. The
head wind was rather sobering leaving the Salem Willows at 2.5 miles and along
Dead Horse Beach. It was me against the elements, really a true test of
character. I thought of Dave Dunahm in this stretch toward mile three as I
wished he was there in the battle as he was last year. I passed Krissy again
now in another spot watching her cross the street to get the best camera angle
for the following 686 runners. I never looked back to see how close second
place was but stayed alert throughout the race, acknowledging for any vocal
support behind me anytime I ran by spectators on the course. I high fived an
officer holding up traffic to get me through a busy intersection and tried to
stay focused and ensure that I don’t get run down in the last mile. The last
turn finally came about with a slight decline down Front Street and into the
finish seeing that my time was slower than last year (22:21 vs 21:51). My time
would have put me in at 8th place last year. David came through
shortly after I got a bottle of water. I gave a fist bump to the top ten
runners before heading right out, wasting no time in the 30 degree weather, to
run the four mile course again. The Salem News put out some positive press on
the race in the paper which had the biggest turnout ever with 687 finishers.
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| Somewhere around 3 miles. Photo by KrissyK |
Sixth Annual Wicked Frosty Four Miler
Salem, MA, January 1, 2013
1 690 James
Pawlicki 1/74 M3039 38 M Lynn MA
22:21 22:22 5:36
2 401 David
Corbett 1/34 M2029 29 M Stoneham MA 23:06
23:07 5:47
3 673 Jason
Barnes 1/58 M5059 50 M Salem MA
23:29 23:30 5:53
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