C Mantz Running

      Ran really late...or at least late for me.   Didn't run as fast as I had planned.  It was a bit hot outside.  I didn't eat too well the last two days and now I paid the price.  I felt terrible during the last 4 miles.  I had stomach problems and was dehydrated.  At least now it's time to taper for the half.

       Yesterday I wanted to run, but I needed to start my taper, and today I was going to go slow, but I felt way too good because I didn't run yesterday.  So I decided to run 3 miles at faster than half-marathon pace and a mile at easy tempo pace.  My first mile was downhill, second was a bit uphill, and third was a bit downhill.  My splits were 5:06, 5:40, 5:08.  I averaged a 5:18 pace, which I'm really happy about, except for the part that it was almost all downhill. 

      Great day to run.  Or atleast that is how it seemed when I went outside where I was staying that morning.  It felt really warm for a morning.  About 60 degrees.  Then we got to the starting line and I changed my mind.  Then was a pretty bad head wind.  Did some stretches, warm ups, waited for the race to start with Claire.  I went to the start line, and saw that there were 2 guys in BYU jerseys.  I recognized one from the St. Georgre Marathon, he ran for BYU in the 90's I found later found out, and the other was also a graduated BYU runner.  So when the race starts, me and 5 other guys are in a lead pack.  I wouldn't regularly be running with these guys, but with the big headwind, I needed people that would push me and that I could draft off of.  For the first two miles I felt alright, and stayed with the lead 2 guys, the younger BYU guy and some other guy, with a tall guy behind me.  After the water station at mile 2, they left me.  Then the taller guy passed me at that same mile.  He was about 10 yards or so ahead of me for the next 2 or 3 miles.

      Those next few miles were terrible.  Running by myself was harder than ever.  At maybe mile 5 or something, the older BYU guy and another guy who looked really familiar (I later found out it was Braden Perry) passed me and I drafted off them for the rest of that mile, During which we caught to the tall guy.  We had averaged a 5:20 mile for these miles until about mile 9.  I  lost these guys at mile 9, where Braden hit the porta potties, and I felt like dying.  I never saw Braden again until the finish, but he said he hit them a few times after that.  By then we were out of where the wind was.  They were only about .05 miles away at mile 10, but kept gaining time on me.  During this time, I was on a pace to be in the 1:10s, and I wanted it sooo bad, but I didn't have all the energy in the tank to pull the right pace.  I tried sprinting, but couldn't at the end.  I finished, and stopped where the first chip time things were.  This was a big mistake, because I stopped my watch at a 1:11:00, and just tried to keep myself up, while the real finish was about 10 feet beyond where I stopped for those terrible time consuming moments.  I walked for it and thought I had a 1:10:59, due to chip timing, but later I found out I had a 1:11:24.  Bummer I guess, but that just means I know I can get a PR next time.  Later I saw a bunch more people I knew especially people from Fast Running Blog.  Later got a check for $75, but couldn't accept it for some high school rules about running or something like that.  Fun race though.  I saw the marathoners finish, and that was a harder race than usual.  Most times were 15-17 minutes slower due to the wind.  It was surprising to see the winning kenyans with times in the 2:30s