My first time running the half at this venerable Utah classic. This was only my second road half marathon in the last 3 years so I didn't know what to expect. I certainly am out of practice with down-canyon runs and my quads paid the price. Back in the day, I would have Ann drive me up a canyon on a regular basis and I'd run home. I don't ever do that anymore.
My good friend Bret Jardine flew in from Atlanta last night to run the half so we met at the insane 4:15 am time for the bus ride up the canyon. It's part of the Desnews charm I guess. My plan was to run the first mile under 6 minutes and if that felt reasonable, keep doing it. If not, I'd back it down. The pace felt very comfortable from an aerobic standpoint but I could tell by mile 4 that my quads would be hating life the last couple miles. It went like this...
5:55, 5:48, 5:59, 5:59, 6:01, 5:54, 5:52, 6:07 (stopped to drink), 6:00, 6:20, 6:18, 6:17, 6:37, 0:35. My quads were hating life the last couple miles :-)
I proble could have run a little faster if I was a little less conservative and had a little more pain tolerance. I was the second overall master which is a big boost these days.
Shout out to former Alta HS runner Jon Kotter, winner of the marathon in 2:22.
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