Maybe I'll Blog, Maybe I Won't

Got up at 5:30 and grabbed a tortilla because that was all I had to eat that didn't require some cooking in my house.  Jumped in the car and drove to the start up Blacksmith Fork Canyon.  Lines looked really long but I soon discovered that those were the preregistration lines.  It was well worth the $10 extra I paid for race-day registration to just walk up to the table, write my name and address down and tell them I wouldn't sue if I died and get my chip and number--all within 2 minutes while all the preregistered people looked on in disgust.  Ran around for a bit then located Paul and Cody.  Chit chatted with them, used the porapotties, etc.  Paul found a unopened Gu on the pavement and then found an unopened Clif Bar in one of the portajohns...we were just waiting for him to find an unopened Powerade or something out in the road to make a complete prerace meal.  

Race started out and I felt really good.  No idea how to pace a 15k so I figured I would try to run my mile splits around 5:50 or so.  Paul and a few other guys took off right from the start.  I figured a few of them would drop off because there were a couple of high school kids in the pack and stuff so I just hung back for a couple of miles.  Cody was right there with me for that first couple too, and then we hit a downhill and I kind of opened up down it and didn't see him again.  Felt amazing for the amount of running I haven't done this week.  Perhaps that's why.  Started fighting a side cramp after about the first 5k but it subsided over the next mile or two.  Hit the 10k feeling pretty good still.  Passed the high school kid that was ahead of me at about the 10k or so.  Started gaining on the next guy, hit the big hill about mile 7 and almost caught him but he just had too much left at the top for me to finish him off.  Got into Hyrum and welcomed the long gradual downhill to the finish.  Last part was painful but I kicked it in really hard I thought for a 15k.   Official time appears to be 53:16 but my watch says 53:04.  Cody and Paul seemed to think the timing was off significantly and I know I started and stopped my watch correctly and it's not off by 12 seconds over an hour.  So I've gone with my watch time here until further notice.  Very happy with this race.  Felt really good and relaxed.  Just enjoyed it.  Here are my splits/times as well as I can remember them...can't remember 9 miles of splits plus 5k and 10k splits while trying to run a race.  Plus the 5k and 10k weren't marked so those are sheer guesswork.

 mile 1: 5:42

mile 2:  5:46

mile 3: 17:17?

10k: ~34:something

that's all I remember with any degree of accuracy.  I need a Garmin.  That's on my Christmas/birthday wish list.  haha