My legs felt pretty good this morning as I arrived at the race. I am very paranoid about being late for events, so I was there way too early. I picked up my race packet, went to the bathroom, checked out the course map, and began my warm-up. I warmed up for three miles on the roads in Holladay. I felt good and was very excited to race. The field was pretty small; probably because there are several races in the valley today, including the Utah Valley Marathon and Half Marathon. But, Susannah was there, and ready to go. I also saw a girl warming up on the field that looked like she could be pretty quick.
My goals for the race were sub-18, and I wanted to win. I got a little anxious, and went out way too hard. I went through the mostly-downhill first mile in 5:22. Rob Murphy had stated that he wanted to run around 17:30, and he was behind me at the mile. That should have been my first clue that I went out too hard. Mile 2 rolled a bit, but nothing too killer besides one fairly large hill right before the two mile mark. There was a water table before mile 2, and someone was yelling splits. This made me think that I had hit the 2 mile mark. My watch said 10:45, so I thought I was running nice and even, and was very excited. But, then I saw the REAL 2 mile mark about 200 yards away. I was not as fast as I thought I was.
The last mile is uphill pretty much the entire way. My legs were feeling the 60 mile week and 5:22 first mile at this point. They were tired, and the lactic acid set in hard as I wound my way through the Olympus Jr. High parking lot. Thankfully, the last 200 meters was downhill. I was disappointed to see the clock reading in the eighteens. I really thought I was in sub-18 shape. Susannah finished about 20 seconds behind me. She's going to have an amazing college running career! The other girl that I was worried about was a minute back.
So, my feelings are mixed about this race. I wonder if I had just went out with Rob, if I would have felt better later in the race, or if the hills would have killed me no matter what. I should be happy with an almost 30 seconds improvement since my last 5k 2 weeks ago. I still wish the fitness would come back faster, but then again, I'm not 25 anymore. I need to focus on the progress I have made, and not how far I still have to go. The fitness will come.
I cooled down 4 miles with Rob, Bill, Susannah, Lisa, and Greg Schneider. I got really hungry and dizzy during the last mile. I was happy to be done, and happy I got to eat some food. There is nothing better than free fresh Great Harvest Bread after a hard race.
2 more weeks until my half marathon. It will be interesting to see if a tapered week makes any difference in the freshness of my legs. | 