Salt Lake ½ Marathon
I have felt so slow lately. I really don’t know what my problem is. I just haven’t felt strong. Maybe it’s this old age thing. I am in my fortieth year which may be the culprit. My goal for this race was to break 1:30 with an outside chance of 1:28. The course was fast enough and the weather was absolutely perfect for a race so this would be a perfect opportunity for a good time. Not taking into account how long it would take for Trax to get us to the start (we were in the same train car as Teena – what are the odds?), we got to the starting line 10 minutes before the gun went off. Just enough time to drop off our bag and find a tree. I didn’t have time to run my usual mile warm up. This may have actually been a good thing and I may forgo it in the future. The horn went off and the race was underway.
I did not come up with much of a race plan other than run by effort. The big concern being that I haven’t been a very good judge of effort lately. I just wanted to keep a strong, comfortable pace. First mile was fast but it was a good downhill (6:18). I felt comfortable and made an effort to hold back. I have gotten into a nasty habit of going out way too fast. The course flattened out and I was holding a decent pace through 2 (6;43). Third mile was a big drop again and I felt like I was moving well (6:21). Hit the 5k in exactly 20 minutes. Yes, the course is that fast for the first 3 miles. Mile 4 was 6:26 because of the nice downhill coming down 2100 South. Hit a 180 degree turn during the 5th mile and the course was nice and flat (6:44). Mile 6 was 6:38 and I noticed how quickly the miles were going by. At Moab, it seemed like each mile took forever even though the pace was similar. Hoping this was a good sign. Mile 7 came in at 6:40 and felt like I was slowing. I was just waiting for the GU to kick in. Still happy with the split as I knew anything below 6:52 was time in the bank. Mile 8 was 6:45 and included a missed water cup at an aid station. The cups were just on the table and it slipped through my hand as I tried to grab. My only complaint during the race. Cranked out another 6:45 during mile 9 and was focusing on a quicker turnover. When my legs fatigue, I try to run a shorter and quicker stride and it seems to move some of the work from my legs to my lungs. I thought I was slowing significantly so I was happy to see mile 10 come in 6:46. Took another GU here to give me that little extra umph. A couple of runners ahead of me were coming back so I started to push a little resulting in a 6:42 11th mile. All that was left was surviving the climb up State Street. I focused on the stop light at South Temple and just plugged along. It was slower than I thought it would be but not as hard (7:09). Another runner moved by me and I was feeling a little spunky so I tried to hang with him. I was feeling great and didn’t mind pushing, Last mile was 6:07. Pushed hard to the end and finished in 1:26:29. Happy to finish 2 minutes ahead of my goal time.
Grabbed a bottle of water and headed out on the course to run the last little bit with Becky. Saw Teena cresting the hill at South Temple and she was looking very strong. Got to the bottom of the hill and was shocked to see Becky that early. Ran the last little bit with her although I think she didn’t enjoy it. I was pushing her and she later told me that she wanted to tell me to shut up. I took that as a compliment and that I was doing my job in pushing her past where she thought she could go. She finished in 1:46 – a 7 minute PR from a month ago.
The race was very good for me. It helped with the motivation issues that I have been having. Now if I could just do something about this extra 10 pounds that I can’t seem to get rid of. | 