Freedom Run 15k today down Blacksmith Fork canyon into Hyrum. It would be a good judge of where my fitness was, with my first decent race. I wanted to be at least under 55 min. I couldn't sleep last night- maybe 4 hours, waking up at 4 am. Tried to sleep more, then just got up. Did 2 miles warm up, then ate and waited for Cody and James to arrive. We drove to the start, where we did another few miles warm up, waiting for the start. It was delayed due to lots of race day signups. Race finally started with a very deep field for the size- maybe 300 runners. Perfect weather- cool, a bit of a tail wind for a few miles. Wanted to start slow and Cody was happy to run with me. First mile was 5:41- a bit faster than I wanted, but felt good. Big pack ahead of us, we were in 13-14 place, with us in an empty spot (how I like it!). Second mile was 5:50, then 5:54. Picking off a few runners. We caught 2 guys who tried to tail us, so I picked it up to lose them. Cody dropped but one guy stayed with me. Fourth mile 5:38, then 5:39. Still feeling good past the half way mark, but hoping the hill doesn't make me pay for my surge. 5:42 for mile six. We hit the hill and I got up it pretty good- 6:02 mile for mile seven. I passed a guy right at the top- running up it last week in training paid off. I was now in 9th place- it sure if fun to pass people all race rather than get passed. 5:56 mile for the next mile (a bit uphill still), then picked it up with a 5:41. Last mile same pace as first. 0.3 mile in 1:48 for a total time of 53:56 and 9th place. Boosted my esteem for the marathon. Felt good and relaxed and enjoyed the race. James was a minute ahead of me, Cody 30 seconds behind. Good job and thanks for the race, guys. 2.5 miles cool down. I looked up previous results and found my time would have put me in second place the past 2 years. Looks like the race is growing.
New Tangent shoes felt great. Tangent- 20.
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