Leg 15 is 4.9 miles and passes through a quiet residential area in the Morgan Valley. Tyler was my bike pacer and kept me entertained with stories from his mission in Bolivia. It was a beautiful night for a run and the temperature was almost perfect. The course was rolling and we passed a few other runners along the way, but I was listening so intently to Tyler that I hardly noticed the distance. I was surprised when he hit the one mile marker and although I was running at what I felt was a good pace, I began to pick it up as we got closer to the finish. I was confused by a car with its park lights on and thought for a minute that it was the exchange. When I realized it was a car instead, I almost didn't know where to go from there until I heard my teammates shouting. My average pace was around 7:30.
Leg 27 starts in Kamas about 200 N Main and heads south into Francis and then follows Highway 32 west along the Provo River. I took the handoff from Nathan who came in fast and looking very strong. I started out fairly conservatively for the first half mile and then began to pick up the pace. There was as steady headwind from the south that blew alternatively hot and cold. Other runners were strung out in front of me as far in the distance as I could see. Since I hadn't seen any other runners my first leg and only passed three or four the second leg, it was motivating to see others ahead of me that I try to catch. By the time I got to the turn I'd passed six. The van was waiting for me with water, but it was still cool enough that I really wasn't thirsty. As I slowed to grab a sip, a girl passed me on the inside corner, the first time I'd been passed. She seemed to be running strong so I started after down the hill. I kept her pretty close and even started to gain on her down the steeper part of the hill, but she started to pull away when we got to the bottom. I was feeling pretty strong over all, but I didn't feel like I could push it any harder than I was. I passed three more on the way to the exchange and was close to passing the 10th, but she started to pick up the pace and I didn't have enough gas in the tank to catch her (it wasn't the girl that passed me earlier). It felt great to be finished and I knew that I'd given it my best effort. Average pace was 7:31.
1st mile: 7:44, 2nd mile: 8:02, 3rd mile: 7:10, 4th mile: 7:18, 5th mile: 7:27, last .12 6:51 pace. |