Trading Paces (#449) was 3rd in the mixed category. Results don't show overall place, but I think we were around the 13th fastest time once the all-male teams are factored in. Our team roster was as follows:
Runner 1: Lisa Madsen
Runner 2: Heather Mastakas
Runner 3: Jed Burton
Runner 4: Angie Welder
Runner 5: Lori Allen
Runner 6: Patrick Bodnar
Runner 7: Bobbi Heaney
Runner 8: Andrew Bybee
Runner 9: Jake Thompson
Runner 10: Ryan Bybee
Runner 11: John Moore
Runner 12: Alli Thompson
Leg 3 (4:30 p.m.)
Temperature was in mid-80's, but after the cool spring we've had, this was my first in warm weather, and my heart rate was ridiculously high, especially in light of the slow pace. Splits were horrendous:
Mile 1: 6:20 (175 bpm)
Mile 2: 6:27 (181)
Mile 3: 6:36 (183)
Mile 4: 7:13 (181) (had a pretty nasty side stich hit me out of the blue--I never get them--so I slowed down in order to have better control over my breathing)
Mile 5: 7:20 (181)
Final 0.6: 6:59/mi (185)
I hadn't felt this awful on a run in years. The terrain was relatively flat with a slight rise, but there was a headwind most of the way and the temperature just killed me. I also realized that I hadn't eaten lunch, which may have also contributed to my problems. Disappointing way to start the race, as my target pace for the leg was between 6:00 and 6:10.
Wasatch Back Relay: Leg 15 (11:30 p.m.)
Temperature was about 55, terrain was gently rolling with a slight overall rise. This leg felt great. I put in a solid effort but it didn't feel nearly as hard as the first leg, and the pace was closer to my target. Splits were as follows:
Mile 1: 5:55 (167 bpm)
Mile 2: 6:04 (177)
Mile 3: 6:05 (178)
Mile 4: 6:06 (177)
Mile 5: 6:06 (177)
Pace was still a little slower than I would have liked, but this was an exhilarating run, just as the nighttime run always is for me at WBR. I took two wrong turns, so my overall distance was 5.07 instead of 4.9.
Wasatch Back Relay: Leg 27 (7:45 a.m.)
This leg had some steep uphill and downhill and was pretty challenging overall. Beautiful scenery, though. As usual, I got less than an hour of sleep, so I wasn't running on a full tank, but I was pretty pleased with my performance under the conditions. Splits were:
Mile 1: 5:47 (downhill) (165 bpm)
Mile 2: 6:07 (flat) (174)
Mile 3: 6:19 (flat until the end, where the climb began) (171)
Mile 4: 7:38 (steep climb) (174)
Mile 5: 7:34 (up and down) (176)
Mile 6: 6:50 (174)
Mile 7: 6:43 (173)
Last 0.9: 6:20/mi (downhill) (173)
I think my overall pace would have been between 6:20 and 6:30 under better conditions, but I wasn't disappointed under the circumstances.
The makeup of my teams changes every year, but we had several returning runners this year (Andrew and Ryan Bybee, Angie Welder, Patrick Bodnar and I were third-timers; Jake and Alli Thompson and Heather Mastakas were second-timers; Bobbi Heaney, Lori Allen, and John Moore were first-timers to both our team and the race; and Lisa Madsen ran with us for the first time after running it several times with other teams). Team dynamics were great and everyone performed close to and in several cases better than our projections. The only disappointment was in a botched exchange at 24. Somehow we got confused in Van #1 and slept at Exchange 25 and left Alli waiting at 24 for 10-15 minutes while we threw everything in the van and went back. We were about 13 minutes out of second place when the dust settled, and our mistake may have been the difference. For future reference, 18+6=24, not 25.
I was a little disappointed in my personal performance, but it gave me an idea of where my weaknesses are and should help focus my training for the rest of the summer as I start looking toward St. George.
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