Just a quick report from Saturday's race. My official chip time was 1:44:38 which put me at an average pace of 7:59. I'm not sure that was accurate. My GPS watch showed the course as being 13.3 miles instead of 13.1. They apparently made some last minute changes to the course to lessen the impact on traffic and they might have goofed on the distance. My watch showed me at a 7:42 pace for the first ten miles and 8:24 average for the last 5K (and 7:07 pace for the last 0.2). It was kind of a mixed day for me. I ran with my friend Greg the first half and pushed it fairly hard (around a 6:15 pace on the downhill section leading to Sugar House Park). When it flattened out, I didn't back off fast enough and my heart rate climbed up close to my maximum and I started to get a side ache. I took an eGel at about five and half miles as there was supposed to be a water stop at 6 -- there wasn't (nor at 7 or 8). I started feeling nauseated at which point I really backed off. After a half mile or so, I felt OK again and started to pick up the pace again. Felt good until I hit a long hot, slightly uphill stretch approaching downtown. I felt like I was just plodding along, until turning onto the final stretch on Rio Grande street. There was a large crowd lining the street and their energy helped me to finish a little stronger. My watch showed an average pace of 7:52 for the race and an average heart rate of 166. I really liked the course and for the most part it was well organized with lots of volunteers and crowd support along the way. | 