Spanish Fork Half Marathon. I knew I needed a marathon pace workout as part of a long run today and I figured that racing this Half M would be the best way to do it. I succeeded in getting the right workout and I also succeeded in running a decent race. However, coming at the end of my longest week of training this year, and following workouts on Tuesday and Thursday, I guess it's not surprising that I didn't really crank it out the way I would have liked.
Warmed up 2.5 around SF. Hooked up with Chris Rogers and James Barnes at the start. It was agreed we would go out at around 6min pace and see how it goes from there. For me, the course was a total unknown. I didn't have much of a sense of the layout, other than there were some rollers and at least one legitimate climb, otherwise fairly flat.
Started easy with James and Chris and we stuck together through the mile 3 aid station. I took a drink, Chris didn't, and he kept moving along. I caught up, but it took some effort. After that, it was a continuous struggle to keep reeling Chris in. I managed to hang on his shoulder until about mile 5 when he started to pull away. His surges were almost imperceptible to me, but very effective. I discovered at some point around this time that I had actual lead in my legs. You could have dug it out and made pencils. A lot of pencils. I just couldn't respond the way I wanted to; breathing was fine, but just couldn't speed up enough to hang on. So next thing I know, by mile 7, Chris is about 25 seconds ahead. There is a notable climb at mile 7 which I figured was my best chance to close the gap, but he came off the top and flew down the other side. I had him in sight after that, but only as a vague speck in the distance.
At mile 8 my calves started to give me some trouble with some minor cramping, but I managed to hold that off. (Note to self: the calves will be your undoing at SGM if you're not proactive now). Finally, at mile 9 I started to feel good again and had some real energy return, but not enough to make any substantial difference on Chris' lead. So I concentrated on running strong to the end, emphasizing that this is a workout and a great chance to get in some quality running. So the last 5k was great. I never looked at my overall time once during the race and saw that it was 1:17:45 at the finish. This seemed about right. Pace was 5:57 overall, right about where I want my marathon pace to be at SGM.
Oh, in the last mile of the race, I saw the 5k race going on. Heather, my wife, was running the 5k and she looked very strong; she was right in the thick of the first 1/3 of the pack. She finished in 26 minutes and change. I'm so proud of her!!
After finishing my race, I ran out and cruised in to the finish with Heather. Then I continued my cooldown back on the race course, caught up with Chris and James and ran back with them. Then another mile on my own after that for 20 for the day.
This course is beautiful and the weather was great. I really enjoy running on the rural roads. I passed a guy on a tractor, in fact. I had a great time today. | 