Salt Lake 10 Miler. This race was in April last year. I somehow had in my head that I ran 56 something, but I just looked and I ran 58:03. So, I was looking to improve my time, and it seems I took off more than I expected.
The race start was a little late, which allowed a longer warmup than I had planned; Sam & I got in 4 miles before the start of the race.
The goal in the first couple of miles was not to go anaerobic on the climb. All my splits here are from the Garmin, rather than the mile markers. First mile was 5:46, felt fine. The steeper second mile was 6:41. Albert Wint was leading at that point (with a bandit triathlete surging as well), then Mike Kirk, Chris Rogers, and me. I saw Mike overtake Albert and knew that he would be tough for anyone to catch with all that downhill. When I hit the downhill, I tried to lean into it and put the gas pedal down to the extent I could. Mile 3 split 5:22. In mile 4, I managed to sneak by Chris Rogers and I neither gained or lost places after that. Mile 4 in 5:11. Then just tried to roll down the canyon. Splits were 5:17 and 5:22 for miles 5 & 6. At mile 7, I felt like I was starting to run out of gas, slowing to 5:34 (a flatter mile, too). Mile 8, still feeling a little flat in 5:33, but at least the barn is within reach. Mile 9 in 5:29. The last mile I kicked a bit and my watch says 5:00 flat (but that mile was counted as .95 on my watch).
Bill Cobler dragged me up the canyon for a mile after the race for some cooldown. Both Scott Browning & I thought that was enough. Bill was adding another 8.
The temperatures were getting pretty warm by the end of this race and I'm glad it didn't start any later. Still, this is a fun race with a good course and a low-key atmosphere. Afterward, I headed up the canyon to the Sun & Moon Cafe with Sam (Stoic) and his lovely wife Kelli. I love their Huevos Rancheros. Nice morning for breakfast outside on the patio. | 