I came into this race today not completely sure what to expect because I am running the Salt Lake Marathon in 2 weeks. I didn't want to run so hard that I would not be able to recover for the marathon, but I also wanted to be competitive. I have to say that I really like the race directors for run13.com. I also ran the 10k that they put on for Pioneer day last year and I think that organizationally they did a good job for that race and for this race as well. I am also glad that this race was certified and the mile markers were more accurate then the race last July. The race started off next to the Provo Tabernacle and headed through South Provo before going near the lake and then back along the Provo River trail before finishing back at the Provo Tabernacle. The weather was cold, with temperatures in the low to mid 30's (I think). There was also a light snow coming down for most of the race, and it was pretty windy. My mile splits were: 5:01, 5:21 (10:22), 5:29 (15:51), 5:34 (21:25), 5:34 (26:59), 5:32 (32:31), 5:28 (37:59), 5:29 (43:28), 5:27 (48:55), 5:20 (54:15), 5:25 (59:40), 5:27 (1:05:07), 5:03 (1:10:10), 0:29 (1:10:39) At the beginning of the race there was a group of 5 of us including myself, Sasha, Shin Nozuki, Nick McCombs, and Ian Hunter. At about 2.5 miles Ian dropped back as he was not actually in the race and was just pacing Nick for the first few miles. Sasha dropped back here as well. Shin, Nick and myself then ran together until about 6 or 6.5 miles, at which point Shin started to fade and he dropped back. I had been drafting off of Shin or the other guys up to this point, but from here on I pretty much just sat on Nick. There were a few places where I started moving up next to Nick, but each time I did he sped up, so I would drop back again so as not to push the pace too fast. Just past the 12 mile mark I moved up and passed Nick. I ended up running a 5:03 mile from 12 to 13 and finished the last tenth in 29 seconds to win in 1:10:39. I was pleased with this race because I have never felt this good after a race, or tempo run, that has been this long and this fast. I did not get very sore at all, and I still felt strong after the race. |