My first mile is free thing is really getting out of hand. So I went into this race hoping I could beat Walter's time of 34:10, and given the 600+ feet of decline I was pretty confident since I can do about 37 on the flat. All I had to do was banzai it down to South Temple, then cruise quickly to 200 E and 400 S, then tough it out to the end. Or put 3 minutes in the bank under 6 minute pace. They slightly delayed the start of the race and by the time it went off I was getting dizzy from so much energy in the system. I tried my best to burn it off and get down to a more reasonable level, This resulted in a brief touch of a 3:42 pace, but it didn't feel fast at all. Bombing down the first hill was downright fun, and I was still in front until the Japanese passed me just before mile 1, which I completed in 4:49. Eeeep. There's no way that could be good, especially because there was flat bits in it. But I still felt great - the first mile seems to be leaking a good deal into the second these days. Mile 2 finished at 5:12, so 2 of the three minutes I needed in the bank were already there. Now it was time to grind on a flat bit without burning out, but with so much time in the bank I dropped it back a little. Just a little. The climb up to S Temple was no worries and I started the long cruise downtown - mile 3 was 5:42 so another 18 seconds chipped away. 4 was entirely in the cruise zone, but I think I slowed down a little too much - I really feel like I could have pushed a tiny bit more here. I got 5:38 for both that and mile 5, talk about being dialed in to a pace! Matt passed me in the middle of mile 4 and settled just slightly in front. I toyed with trying to glom on and pass him at the end, but he suddenly got focused and passed some kid out of my range. I could hear Mike come in in the 32s as i was coming up the street. I figured I had the three minutes I needed now with that one so as long as I stayed under 6 for the uphill mile I should be good. But the race was slightly long, and the math was slightly short, so even with a 5:57 mile 6 and a 5:51 .22 I still fell a teeny bit short. Still a really fun race though!
| 