| Location: American Fork,UT,US Member Since: Jul 25, 2009 Gender: Female Goal Type: Local Elite |
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Utah Valley 1/2 Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:13:31, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1 | |
So....I know I am a slacker when it comes to blogging here, but since this was a bigger race and so many on the blog did it, I thought I would post.
The morning started off so early, (2:45 am), I wanted to be up in time to eat/get ready with no stress and then leave my house by 3:45 am. I caught the VIP bus that Hyrum said I could get on and it was virtually empty. Talked to a few people on the way up, one being Paul P. (nice guy). Definitely chilly once up the canyon and I had great concern on whether to wear a long sleeve or not, ended up not, which was a good decision besides the cold hands and the 2 miles of rain around miles 3-5, a tank top was the way to go.
Race started and I went out relaxed but still hard, I had a goal to break 1:15 and I really wanted that bonus money. 1st mile: 5:22, 2nd mile 6:00...had great concern at this point, even though that mile was up hill, I knew I had to pick it up. 3rd mile: 5:14. I am now in no man's land, the lead guys and group of guys behind them are far gone and the two guys I had passed let me go...so it was just me now until mile 12.
So at this point the rain is coming down and I just keep moving along, hoping the rain/wind will stop soon. This is the point where the exact mile splits stop, I seriously don't know how all you bloggers get every split and remember them. I look at my watch every mile marker and get the split at the current time but can't remember them. I just know that for the next many miles, I hit every mile between 5:25 and 5:40....YAY!
I saw my husband's truck around mile 6 and then started looking for him and finally spotted him, it was nice to see a cheering face for me. He later passed me around Will's pit stop and yelled that I had over a 3 minute lead, which was nice to know, but not the overall goal for the day. I got to mile 10 and however I calculated the distance I had left, I thought 1:15 was not going to happen. I pushed the pace as much as I dared and got to mile 11 in 1:01 and some seconds. At this point, I knew I had about 13 minutes to cover 2.1 miles and really started doing anything I could to surge. I dropped my gloves and just focused. My calves ached but everything else was pretty okay.
Around mile 12 came a blessing, a male runner within reach. I focused on him and caught him just before the last hill, he then passed me back on the hill, and then I passed him back as soon as it leveled out again. I can now see the mall, hear my family yelling, and give it one last kick to finish...by my watch 1:13:31, although I haven't seen official results.
I am happy with this race, more happy that I finished my 2nd half-marathon successfully, and even more happy that I far exceeded my goal of 1:15. | |
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Freedom Festival 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:17:02, Place overall: 1 | |
Well...I should be happy because of the whole 1st place thing, but not so much. I don't think my body cares for racing on mondays much. Maybe it is still asleep from lazy sundays, don't know, but just know my body wasn't cooperating today.
I got to the race in good time, left way earlier then last year, since last year was way to close to missing the gun. The starting line was packed with elite men, I knew there race was going to be good...kind of wished I could have been a spectator :) Anyways, race started, first mile 5:20. I knew right then that I had to pick it up to compete with last years time (16:48). Pushed what seemed like hard for the 2nd mile, but apparantly not, 5:26. The last mile is all gradually uphill, so really fun and I finished in 17:02. The posted results added time to everyone's final times, about five seconds...I knew the time of most of the girls and all of them said five seconds faster...the clock at the finish line was actually off a minute plus, on the fast side, so I think there were some timing errors.
All in all, shouldn't complain, got $300 for the effort, but I would still like to keep my 5K time down even though I am training for longer distances. The previous times this year have been two 16:36's and a 16:42. I am racing again on Saturday, a 5K...I am really going to get after this one, hopefully good results.
Fun morning though, saw/talked to lots of BYU distance runners, cooled down 4 miles with one (Lisa). Got to talk to Coach Shane for a few minutes (love him), so all that made it a good day :)
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Steel Days 5k (3.1 Miles) 00:16:34, Place overall: 1 | |
Whew, what a day...the 5K was just the start of it. I was up, eaten, ready by 5:45, then onto all 3 kids, up and ready by 6:15. Drove the 5 minutes to the start of the race, unloaded kids and darted off for a potty break and quick warmup. By time I warmed up, my parents had arrived and were watching my kids, stretched a couple minutes and the race was off.
Almost the entire American Fork Boys and Girls Cross-country were on the start. It is always a big joke to see how many of the AF boys will get beaten by me...well this year, only two beat me. I ran the first mile at 5:20 right next to "Nafe" Richardson and right behind Austin West and Robbie Lee. By mile two Austin and Robbie had gapped me a bit, but I and Nafe were still shoulder to shoulder. Second mile, 5:25. I really wanted to run a good time today, so I laid it all out for the last mile...I got a small gap between I and Nafe and starting to try to reel in Robbie. I didn't quite get Robbie, but I did the time I was after, YAY! Watched the rest of the boys and girls team finish, my niece (3rd female overall), my sister and sister-in-law, coaches, etc.
This is almost always my favorite race of the race, I think because it is my hometown and it is just a fun time. Last year, my time on the exact same course was 17:04, so I am excited to see the improvement. It was also exciting to see the AF girls that I assistant coach all run well this early in the season...it will be a fun year with them again I am hoping.
After the race, my kids did the 1/2 mile kids run. Ryker (6), won his age group and Hunter (10), got 4th in his. Tyler (3), will do it next year :) The rest of the day didn't slow down any from there...from the races we went straight to the parade, pizza at my parents, swimming at the pool, showers, and back to my parents for dinner and games. And as I type this, my hubby and two oldest kids are watching the Steel Days fireworks, while I came home to tuck the youngest in bed. What a fun family day! | |
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Deseret News 10K (6.2 Miles) 00:32:19, Place overall: 2 | |
Nerves, nerves, nerves...all week long. I had talked with the race director earlier in the week and knew many elite kenyans were coming in so I knew I was going to have to PR just to have a shot of getting in the prize money (not counting Utah prize money).
My husband was gone this week, fishing in Alaska, so on friday I took the kids to my sister's who graciously let them all sleep over. I headed to Salt Lake and enjoyed a few hour break from the past 7 days of kids, with no help, before going to bed. Woke up, got ready, and left the hotel around 5:30. Did a mile warmup, potty stop, and a few striders. Talked to Sasha before the race began and I told him I was going to gage my pace off of him, since last year he beat me by just a little.
The race began and the crazy sprinting of herds of runners began. I didn't get caught up in it and just went out exactly as planned...4:48 at mile 1, right with Sasha. Mile 2, 9:44 (ish), so a 4:55 mile, still with Sasha and leading for the females. Somewhere between mile 1 and 2, Sasha kindly offered to me to tuck in behind him and draft, but I declined knowing that I run better shoulder to shoulder, rather than following. Mile 3, 15:01, so about a 5:15 mile. At this point, the female winner of the race passed me. I think she had just been pacing behind me, playing almost. She flew by, I chased, but not nearly as fast :) At this point too, I lost Sasha. My next mile was a 5:10...thrilled about that, but definitely starting to really feel the race. The next mile was soooo long, I was just trying to concentrate on staying strong and holding onto second place. Mile 5, 5:19. I remembered the last mile being painful last year, and this year was no different. Thankfully at the turn that puts you onto the road for the finish, I came upon Clark Nielson. He knew me and immediately began trying to get me to go with him. I really appreciate what he did...he spent the next 1/2 mile telling me to "come on", "go get it", etc. What a good guy! I think he cost himself 10 seconds at least and inturn my time was 10 seconds faster than it would have been. I missed the 6 mile mark, but based on my other marks and the .2 over the 6 mile, I think it was probably about 5:30. Overall, average mile 5:12.
So second place, a PR by 17 seconds from last year, $1250...I will glady take it! I am definitely happy about the race. Kenyans grabbed the 1st, 3rd, and 4th spots, and I am thrilled I broke them up. After the race, I was able to cool down with Kassi and catch up with several runners over the next hour. My parents and sister came up too. Great race day :) | |
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Hobblecreek 1/2 marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:10:26, Place overall: 1 | |
Well I have to start by saying that this was my last "race" race. I am retiring in a sense from racing and just going to dedicate more time to my family, to coaching at AFHS, and overall just less work and stress. I am content with what I have accomplished thus far in my running days and feel it is a good time for me to go out.
Having said that, I wanted to go out on a high note with this being my last race. I wanted to PR from last year, (1:12:13), I wanted to win, and the course record would be a great extra bonus. So I arrived at the start around 6:40 am, after a long bus ride, warmed up about a 1/2 mile, did a couple strides, potty break, and then went over by the start around 7:05...the race didn't start until 8:00, ugh! I don't blame the race director for the late start, I think the forest service puts a ton of regulations on this race and they are forced to comply, even if complying pushes the start back. Anyways, as soon as I was by the start line, I saw Nan and was able to chat alot with her, (she is amazing by the way and it was so fun to see her again).
The race starts and I immediatly got sucked into a pack of about 5 guys, which quickly turned to 3 guys and me. First mile, 5:06. I knew this was faster than I could hold, but at the same time, if I let go of them I wouldn't be running with anyone. So I continued on with them, mile 2, 5:08. At this point I backed off the guys about 10 feet, but slowly gained that back over the next mile. Mile 3, no split, missed it while trying to grab a water...which ended up just being me knocking it out of the volunteers hands...dang it. Since I missed that marker, I couldn't tell my exact split at the mile 4 and 5 marks, but knew I was still ahead of my goal pace.
Heading into mile 6, I dropped the guy I had been side by side with and came upon Clark, who I had been using to pace off of. He said he had a horrible side ache, I told him to run through it, but then he stopped, too bad...I was really hoping to run with him for a few more miles at least. So now I was alone, mile 6, my running time was 31:07. Whew, I was just hoping I could keep it up. The next 4 miles were all around 5:25-5:30. I think the toughest mile being the mile from 8-9, when you are back along a trail away from the road it makes it hard to keep pushing. So glad to see mile marker 10 and some people cheering. Got a great downhill, followed by a steady slight uphill that really made my legs hate life. Once I got back to flat pavement, I got mentally tough again. Mile 11, running time was 58:58, last years time at this mark was 60:00 flat. This gave me the boost I needed to keep going. I knew that if I could just hold a decent pace to the finish, I was going to attain my goals.
Water station around mile 11, just threw the water on me...at least I actually got this cup in my hand...I forgot to say the I missed all the water at ALL the prior water stations, I just kept knocking it out of their hands, dang it! Got to mile 12, 1:04:40...definitely feeling it, but still trying to push. The last mile was so long, it felt like forever until I could see the park and people cheering. As soon as I came to the block by the park, I could hear my family yelling, parents, husband, kids, bro-in-law, and nephew...this gave me just enough to get through the finish. I stopped my watch, 1:10:26, exactly what my chip time was. Before I could even take a couple steps, I heard Nan's voice...she had just crossed as well. I had no idea she was so close, I really thought I was running in no man's land from mile 6 on, apparantly not.
I really think that it was a great race for both I and Nan...we both smashed the prior course record of 1:11:33, and both had huge PR's. Props to Nan for doing so well on this course for a first timer and I know that she is going to go on and do great things in her upcoming races. It was fun to be able to do my last race with such good competition.
After the finish, I met Allie and Lily from the blog (thanks for cheering)...then went back out to watch my sister finish her first 1/2 marathon (1:33)...ran a 2 mile cooldown, and then just sat in the shade with my family until awards. Got $250 for first place.
It was a happy, bittersweet day. I hope that I can continue to influence other runner's for good, especially my AF girl's and FRB's. I know that I have not been a good blogger, but I have loved meeting some of you and getting feed back from you. I wish you all success in your running goals and aspirations! If I can ever be of assistance, just ask...I will happily answer any questions about my prior training or give my advice to any who wants it. I know I will always run and always love it...I now just get to do it a little less and little slower! | |
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