I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon this morning in Saratoga Springs. I got a PR by 2 seconds, YEA! The race is put on by Fleet Feet Sports in American Fork. It is a small local race with a few hundred runners. The course starts about 3 miles from my house. I ran it last year and it was the first half I had run. Last year I ran it in 139:03.
I was excited to run it this year to see my progress from last year. The course has a few good hills in it and about 900 ft. of elevation gain. I was planning to go out fairly easy and start pushing the pace at about the half way point. It was nice to have a local small race as my family could cheer me on periodically along the course. It sure was nice to see them as I ran.
My miles were as follows:
1. 7:01 this mile felt good and tried to get into a good flow without expending too much energy. Fairly flat.
2.7:30 uphill. Still taking it easy.
3.7:07 back downhill then flat. Still feeling good.
4.7:56 up the long uphill. I was not too concerned with the pace, just trying to conserve some energy for the second half.
5.7:37 more gradual uphill. I was wanting to be somewhere in the 7:30s here so all good.
6. 7:35 dido from mile 5, still feeling pretty smooth. Took a goo about 6.5
7. 7:21 started to push the pace here, I didn't have hardly anyone around me to push off of.
8. 7:01 feeling really good here, the course loops back and we started running opposite runners coming the other way. I gave me a boost to cruise past people coming the other way.
9. 7:29 more gradual uphill. I think I passed one guy here. Two other runners were still aways up ahead.
10. 7:27 I think this is were the last big uphill is. The wind was starting to pick up here and it took some to get up the hill with the headwind. Then down the dirtroad on the other side. I was hoping for some faster times here, but still feeling pretty strong.
11. 6:51 starting to slowly catch the two guys in front of me, the wind was still pretty strong here.
12. 7:02 still cruising, still closing the gap on the guys up front of me.
13. 6:28 last mile, heads back down the long hill. The guys were still 100 or so yards in front and it seemed they found another gear also.
last .1 6:16 thought there was a chance to catch the guy in front of me but he must have felt me creeping up. Saw the time on the board and knew if I pushed it I could at least beat my PR from the Halloween half last year. Beat it by 2 seconds on a much, much harder course. My legs are feeling really good now and last year I could hardly walk for a couple days. I am excited for this year as it should be a really good year for me. I actually came in third in my age group, however the two guys in front of me placed in the top 3 overall, so I got the plaque for 1st in my age group. It was a lot of fun and I feel like I could have even pushed it more pretty easily, I was planning to have fun during the race, so I am satisfied.
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