So my Gold goal was 37:30, and Silver was 38:00, but just barely missed that one. This course is a fairly difficult one. I ran 3 miles warm up with Josse, and my husband and son were racing too so we spent some of our time looking for Benji, I gave him a pep talk for the start of his 5k then we went to the start. At the start Rena Chesser was talking with two other girls about the money and they were saying how they wanted the money so I knew right away who I was racing against. Rena in Black, another recent BYU grad in grey and a UVU runner in red. 1 - 6:18, Mile 1 is uphill with two right turns. I am behind Rena and grey shirt. I pass grey shirt at about the mile marker. 2 - 5:47, right after the first mile marker we turn left onto University Parkway and head downhill. Its hard to shift into a faster gear, but Rena is ahead, so I close the gap and am right on her from 1.25 through mile 2. I feel like I can pass but remind myself there's alot of race left, and I just try to stay relaxed. 3 - 5:53 flat on canyon road then University Ave. Rena pulls away but I like my pace and let her go a little. 4 - 6:18, I keep 6:00 pace for the first half of mile 4, but slow down quite a bit when I turn East on 100 S and on through the mile 4 marker. 5 - 6:25, hill up to mental hospital then a 180 turn down the hill. I can't kick into a faster gear for the downhill. I am solidly in second place, Rena is quite a bit ahead and grey shirt is quite a bit behind. 6 - 6:24, long gradual uphill up 900 S. I am trying to not fade and get some wind in the second half of the mile since I know I am almost done. .25 - 5:47 pace, I measure course as 6.17 but I bet it was full length, I kick to pass two guys and see I am so close to breaking 38:00 so I sprint but don't quite make it. So 10k's are way hard!!!! I should have been tougher from 3.5-5.5 miles, it's hard to keep fast so long. I think I need more long intervals to simulate the intensity of a 10k. I am pleased overall, though I wish I could have found the extra motivation in the middle. I think if I had raced it better I could have hit my gold goal of 37:30, but at the same time I'm glad the race wasn't any slower. This is definitely not a PR course. I am looking forward to Deseret News, though there is a new female team called Mormontimes.com which has quite a few fast girls who are ALL running Des News so its going to be a very competitive race. My son Ben didn't walk at all in his 5k except for one water stop! He did so great! PS - Did I mention I did a chair lift ride with my extended family at the Sundance Resort, then hiked down to Stewart Falls, then the rest of the way back home the night before the race? We finished the hike at 8pm the night before the race. Not too great for ideal race preparation, but very fun to do. I have enjoyed having my family in town but look forward to an uneventful week next week. | 