EXTENDED EDITION: I have had a moment to get back into the routine and
wanted to add a few more notes to the race report.
Today was the day to get back to the racing scene. I had built this race up
a lot in my head since Des 10K. The 3X5K and 3X1mi workouts the
last couple weeks had my hopes up. I went into this race thinking I could run
anywhere from a 1:20 to a 1:12 and hoping for a 1:14:38 which is the target for
a 2:40 marathon by Sasha's course tools.
On Friday Jake picked me up after work and was kind enough to let me
join him, Andrea, and his parents for the drive up to Logan. We then stayed
with Scott E who was kind enough to let us stay at his house. His and
his family’s kindness, generosity, and trust were very kind. Allie even
joined us for a late night discussion after dinner to wind things down before
the race. The dinner Karen provided was the perfect carbo-loading. Thank you to
all of you.
Got to sleep relatively early. And up a little after 4am, two Saturdays in a
row with the early rise. Scott drove Jake and I down to the start and then the
bus ride up the canyon during which time I had good chat with Scott. It was a
bit cold for my liking after getting out of the bus but great for racing. Had a
great time talking with a number of people I haven't seen in awhile including
Albert and Clyde whom I did my warmup with. During the warmup I even
briefly saw Demetrio and Carol, two people I used to do a lot of my workouts
with when I first moved to SLC.
We then all got to the line and I saw even more people I hadn’t spoken with
in awhile, Ben, Walter, and Steve and met a few new faces
from the blog including Riley and a slew of others I’m sorry I am not
naming. The gun went off after a misfire and everyone was off down the canyon.
A group of about 5 guys took off, led by Jake. Then there were about four of us
including Walter and Clyde. We had a good chat and by about mile 2 I moved a
little ahead and them. I could see Albert and Steve but did not want to go out
too fast. This was another guy in blue top and did go after them but more or
less I was on my own from mile 2 on.
I heard footsteps coming up behind me and was expecting to see Walter.
Instead it was Will, someone I had not met before. We exchanged pleasantries
and I tired to stay with him. At about this time I heard my name and was happy
to see Cody cheering us on. Will continued to move and I tried to put a
move on him but he responded and left me but not broken. Cody’s cheering helped
keep me moving. My pace quickened while running with him and even though I
couldn’t hold on he helped me gain momentum to pass the blue top guy. This was
a good pass because unknown to me blue top guy ended up finishing third in my
age group. From there on out I was on my own and more or less just struggling
with my own head and the knowledge of the mile 12 hill. I went with him and
together we passed blue top guy Mitch, who ended up third in my age group. The
rest of the run I was in the same place.
It was great to see Andrea at the finish cheering us into the chute and
enjoy all the discussion after the race. There is a lot to be said about the
atmosphere and camaraderie around racing events, especially with the FRB team! A number of people had great races and I linked to a few of them at mention of their names.
Had a great cooldown where I met even more people and had a good discussion
with Clyde about St. George and Ben about this marathon plans and potentially
pacing together for the full marathon.
Overall, this was a good run. It was my 10th half marathon and 4th fastest.
So overall a great experience. I did hold back a little in the early miles and
I think that allowed me to finish stronger and not be too beat up. In
retrospect I think my initial goal time was a little ambitious and considering
my training the last three years this is a much better showing than I first
gave it credit for. Just not close to my 2009 showing. The prediction for the full is a 2:41:51 and I am still
struggling about taking Ben’s offer and shooting for the just under 2:40 pace
or going in with a 2:45 in mind. I will wait and see how I recover and how the
next two weeks go. I am not opposed to having both in mind and playing it by
ear until the gun goes off…
For “even pace” I compared my splits to the course tool and found the
following.
Mi 1 +2s; Mi 2 -10s; Mi 3 -7s; Mi 4 -9s; Mi 5 -23s; Mi 6 -17s; Mi 7 -7s; Mi 8
+4s; Mi 9 +10s; Mi 10 +20s; Mi 11 +11s; Mi 12 +14s; Mi 13 +10s; and +8s
So obviously even for a 1:15:30, my extra pace with the downhill in the canyon
did not equal my loss on the streets of Logan. Probably due to my much lower
base going into this race. Which does raise some red flags for the marathon as
far as pace selection.
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