What started out as a wet Thursday morning turned out to be perfect conditions for the Orem 4-mile turkey run. A few minutes before the race started the rain stopped. Temperature was perfect...in the mid 40s and overcast. I got a chance to meet a couple of the blog team members including Sasha and Nick.
Race started about five minutes late but that was fine. It's an interesting start because the women and men start at separate spots which converge at about 1/10 of a mile into the race. It had a cool visual effect. The course is flat, at least as far as I could tell.
I led the lead pack of 5-7 runners through most of the first mile before Josh Rohatinsky joined us for his morning tempo run. I don't think he was breathing. He said he was just going to run the first mile but ended up staying with us for three miles. This was a great thing because he helped push the pace.
I have no clear idea what the splits were because apparently they were not accurate. The Mile 1 marker had me at 4:55 which seemed faster than we were running but is in line more or less with the finishing time.
Half way through or so it was me, Josh, and two other guys that had put a decent gap ahead. I was feeling OK but feeling a bit of the effects of altitude. Afterall, I am 4,000 feet higher above sea level than back home. But I do think the altitude thing is a bit overrated. It is real, but I think it's easy to use it as an excuse. When you start getting above 7,000 feet, then it becomes a much more legitimate excuse.
Anyway, with one to go, Josh dropped and it was me and some guy who looked way younger than me. He made a couple of efforts to gap me but I went with him each time. With about 800 meters to go, he made his final move and I really didn't have much left. With 1/4 to go, I looked back and Nick was safely behind me and the lead guy was getting beyond striking distance. I was prepared to finish second until about 100 feet before the finish he pulled out. He was running as a bandit so techincally I won although I am not a big fan of winning that way.
More importanly, I was very happy with my time. 4 miles in 19:55, a sub-5:00 mile effort at altitude that I was very very happy with. My only wish is that i had had a stronger kick at the end. It was enough to hold off Nick but I would have really like to catch the other guy.
Great start to a wonderful holiday.
At the awards ceremony I picked up my Turkey and my son's 3rd place age group ribbon. He had a poor race from a time perspective (36:58)...well off his PR pace, but he gutted it out and I was very proud.
I got to meet ArmyRunner at the awards ceremony. He's recovering well from his surgery but itching to get out running again. I hope the new year greets him kindly. | 