I have a love/hate relationship with this race. I love that it is such an intense race, but I hate running downhill. But then again, the race would not be so intense if it wasn't for the downhill to trick everyone into running beyond their normal ability. All things considered, I am happy with the effort I put forth today.
I tried to be aggressive the first mile so that I would be around other fast guys and get "carried" to a decent result. Although nothing about this race feels like being "carried." Even though the early miles are downhill and fast, the legs always let me know that I ran faster than they are accoustomed to by the last 2 miles of this race. My first mile was 4:48. I was kind of in a "no man's land" behind the lead pack of about 10 guys, (I never actually counted them) and whatever pack was charging behind me. Albert Wint and another guy caught me after mile 1 and I tagged on to Albert down Foothill (it's good to see Albert back to racing again). The other guy pulled away from us, and it took me quite a bit of effort to not let Albert pull too far away as well. Mile 2 was 9:50ish. I wasn't pushing too hard, but my legs just felt sluggish, like they weren't warmed up yet even though I felt hot and thirsty. Just before South Temple, I moved right behind Albert (I always do better on the uphill). I felt a bit of head wind, so I decided to draft behind Albert down South Temple. We hit the 5K mark (the 1/2 Marathon 10 mile) at about 15:35. So our pace was slowing a little even though it didn't feel like it. At some point I sensed Albert slowing, so I moved past him. Before we turned onto 200 East, there were two runners that came past us. The first one was moving really fast and said "you may see me in a mile but I gotta try." I don't know who it was, but it was a very brave move and I was impressed.
Along 200 East, I could start to feel the weariness in my legs, but I was glad to be on the flat ground. At about 4.75 miles came the gut check moment that I always have in this race. My internal dialog goes something like "why am I trying to run fast? I don't really want to do this. Just slow a little and try to coast for a while." Then I remember that if I let myself go easy, the money I spent and the time I put into training and the waking up at 4:20 this morning will have been a waste. Since I am in a race, I might as well try to actually race.
I passed a guy somewhere along 200 East which is always a mental boost. After turning onto 900 South, I caught the guy that was origionally with Albert in the 2nd mile. The two guys who passed me on South Temple never came back to me, but I kept fairly close to them. From 300 East to the finsh I kept tying to pick up the pace at each block. I didn't catch anymore people, but I still like the way I finished. The clock was just under 32 minutes as I finished, I have't seen my official time posted, so I am giving myself the benefit of the doubt and saying it was 31:59 untill I am proved otherwise. As usual in this race, I was super tired after the finsh, and it took me extra long to catch my breath.
My 2nd half was about 16:25. It felt faster than that. I think the heat really slowed me down. This was the type of morning that the first thing I noticed as I left my door was the warm air, despit the fact that it was still dark. So even though the second half was quite a bit slower than the first, I still feel like I ran well given the conditions.
After the race, I back tracked and jogged the last mile with my wife. Last time she ran this race was 2009. This year she beat her 2009 time by 3 minutes despite having had two kids since then. Good Job RyLee! Also, my sister, brother, cousin, and two friends all ran today, so we all met up after the race and had a great start to the day.
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