Met up with the group at an early 6am. We were surprised at how cold it was. Ran up city creek canyon 4 miles and turned around. Stevie and Maggie showed up- we hadn't seen them since last year. That was good. I talked with Scott a bit. We were the only 2 guys there (Johnny showed up later for the race).
We got registered about 8:00 and started warming up for the 8:30 race. I stripped down to a tech shirt and shorts about 8:15. I was the only one out there dressed like that, and I knew the other fast runners would regret it. Checked out the competition. There was some young kid named Carey Dahle that looked pretty serious who said something to me about my attire. I immediately marked him as a fast kid with little experience that would burn out halfway through the race. Another experienced guy came up and asked me my age. His name was Darin Beane. He was looking to win his age group. He was 38, and I'm 34, which was the same age group. This was a small race with 10 year brackets. He looked strong, but not particularly fast. More like an ultra guy than a road racer. Sure enough- I found out after the race that he's running in the Buffalo Run next week.
The race started at the bottom of the hill by the capitol. The gun went off and the pace felt slow and controlled, just like I wanted. That first uphill by the capitol is pretty steep, so I started feeling funny with the anxiety of the race and the lack of oxygen. I started wondering if I would have to back off. I told myself to calm down and reminded myself that everyone was feeling it. I found myself at the front with Carey. We got to the top and proceeded on the flat up to the city creek bend. The two of us crossed a patch of ice that I had run over earlier, so I knew it was there. I had him go first, and he yelled out "Whoa! I wasn't expecting that there!!". I took it as an opportunity to open up some conversation, so I could check his breathing and see if I should make a move. I told him I knew it was there, and that they had salted it that morning. Then he asked me "Where do we go?"- which pegged him as a rookie at this race (same as me). However, I had run the course that morning and knew it well. I told him to go straight on the road to the turnaround, and noticed that his breathing was labored as he talked. We crossed mile 1 together. I didn't dare look back, but I peeked over my side as we made the turn to see who was behind us (without making it obvious). There was a wasatch running girl pretty close to us named Carri Joyce, and Darin was behind her. That Cabanillas girl was also pretty close, and I knew her from the strong race she had at Provo River last August. Anyway, Carri looked strong, so I knew I had to pick it up or else I would get chicked. We started on the second uphill from the bend up to the turnaround. I immediately made a move and ran as fluidly as I could to make it look effortless to those behind me. It was actually feeling good, and I picked up the effort to about 5:50 (uphill). I hit the turnaround and started back down at a 5:20 pace, smiling as I passed by the runners. I was pleased that I was putting a gap between myself and Carey (the guy). The girl (Carri) sure looked strong, and she was right on the tail of Carey. I wish they didn't have the same names, 'cause this is getting confusing. They were at least 100m behind me at this point. Darin was behind her, but he was back and out of contention. Then I started seeing people I knew. Natalie was the first, but she was zoned out with music (as usual), and didn't see me. Then I saw Andrea- she looked pretty strong. I gave her five. Johnny was close behind with the dog. I started seeing others I knew as well- Marie, Tracy, Christina, Alicia, Esther, Traci, etc...
I hit the turn off to go down to memory grove, and I knew this part would be screaming fast. I picked it up to about a 4:50-5:00 pace and just relaxed. It felt so good. I was actually bummed when I saw the finish line coming, 'cause I knew that I could keep it up at least another mile like that. I crossed the line and got the official time- "16:32". Not bad. I made up some time in the last half. A very very fast course, so I'll call it an aided PR.
Carri came in about 40 seconds behind me and the kid (Carey) was behind her another 20 seconds. He got chicked, but he's young and can use it as a lesson. Darin came in right after them and I talked to him for a while, where I learned that he was doing the Buffalo Run. I'm jealous. The Cabanillas girl was right behind him.
I watched my friends come in and we celebrated a good day before we nearly froze.
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