I didn't get the results I desired today but I did get the results I deserved. I have got to stop pretending that my physical state is not declining. This is my "home" race as it goes along roads I run on very often so I couldn't pass it up. It was a super small race (maybe 100 finishers). The first half is predominantly downhill (with a few extreme downhill sections) and the last half is pancake flat. My plan was to run around 6:40/mile during the first half and around 7:00/mile for the second half. The start was at the mouth of Mueller Park canyon. I was happy to be in a place that I was familiar with and I knew where the secret bathrooms were so I could avoid the POP's. Legs felt lethargic at the start of my warmup but much better at the end. The race started and I took off way too fast - average pace was sub 6:00 for the first little bit. My mindset still has not changed from when I could actually run at a decent pace. This has gotten me into trouble at a few races. Settled into 3rd place behind BJ Christensen and another guy that was not far behind him. After 2/3 of a mile of good downhill we turned onto Bountiful Blvd. for the only uphill section of the race. Hit the first mile in 6:40 and the second in 7:01 which is right where I wanted to be. Turned onto one of the incredibly steep downhill sections and was passed by a few people. I wasn't going to kill myself on the downhill so I let them go. Tried to be smart with the downhill but, in hindsight, I pushed too hard. Meandered through Bountiful and hit the half in 44:00. The course flattened out at this point and I started to struggle. My achilles tendons were killing me and I could feel a blister forming on my left foot. I think I once heard about not wearing new shoes on raceday. Apparently this is good advice. I thought having the fresh cushioning of new shoes would help with the downhill but my foot was slopping around inside the shoe since it hasn't had a chance to form to my foot. Hit the Legacy Trail at mile 8 and my split was 7:30 and I knew the race was over. It's hard to overcome that mentally. Stopped to try and get my foot in a different position in the shoe and it seemed to help the burning. Once we hit the dirt road in Farmington Bay I could see one runner coming back and another that was not too far away. I tried to pick up the pace but couldn't get my legs to respond. I did end up passing one guy but never made up any ground on the other even though his pace had dropped significanlty as well. Averaged 7:30 ish on the dirt roads. The absolute worst part of this race is at mile 11 when you make the final turn onto a long straight away. You can seriously see the finish line for 2 miles. Ended up finishing 4th overall. The guy who finished second must not have been a registered runner. Had I known that, I may have been able to push a little harder and finish 3rd. If nothing else, I got a few faster paced miles as a workout today.
I have definitely lost what little "edge" I had. There is absolutely no desire to push once I get a little tired. I need to be more realistic at the start of races and be a little more conservative. I am strongly considering dropping out of the Huntsville marathon. 3:15 would be a realistic goal and I'm not sure that is even something that I want to entertain. I may pace the full marathon at Big Cottonwood on Sept 22 (as a birthday present) instead. Thoughts/opinions? | 