AM: Went on a 2 mile shakeout run before heading down to St George for the race. PM: We made a few bathroom stops on the way down, but we assumed we had time since the girls would all go first. Well we got to the race and found out that they were doing the seeded girls and then the seeded boys, followed by the rest of the heats of both. So I was very limited with warmup time. I hurried and changed, then got on the track for two quick miles. The weather was magnificent. Just the right amount of heat and a little windy, although I didn't notice the wind in my race. I finished the two miles, and brought my spikes and water to the inside of the field. They had just started the girls, so I spiked up and got going with strides and a few drills. They eventually lined us up and after some waiting at the line, they finally started us. I got an okay start. There was quite a bit of jostling and elbowing for the first whole lap, and I just stuck to the inside for the majority of it. I could tell we were going slow. When we hit the finishing straight of the first lap, a few guys moved around, and I scooted out to lane two, sitting right on the guy in front of me. There was probably 5-6 guys in front of me. I believe we hit the first lap in 71 or close to it. I actually don't remember any exact splits after that. Neither my coach or my team mates remembered them... That's how you know the race got intense :)
Coming off the first curve of the second lap, Ben made a move, I'm guessing because he was boxed in where he was at, and moved into the lead. I saw him moving and moved with him. Once Ben got to the front, he slowed down again. The move I made carried me into the lead, right next to him. For a second I debated what to do next: run in the lead with him, or take the lead and push the pace. I knew the majority of the fast guys in the race were closers, and if I sat in the lead with Ben, the pace would have been slow and I would have just gotten out kicked by a ton of guys. So, I took the lead and didn't necessarily surge, as much as just increase the pace. I had taken the lead by the 600, and lead until 1200. The whole time Ben was a stride behind me, and everyone sat on him.
I knew there was going to be at least Ben and Jake who would move at 400, but I was expecting 3-4 guys to move with them. On the gun lap, Ben, Jake, and a kid I've never seen before called Talem from Wasatch High, moved past me. I tried moving with them, and was more successful than I usually am at moving with guys passing me, but they were still slowly pulling away. A little before 200 meters to go, Kramer caught and passed me. I worked on closing on him on the curve, and on the final stretch manged to pull out a good kick and pass him back finishing fourth. Overall, a good race and a PR by 7 seconds :) I sort of just ended up in the lead, and making the bold move to lead it ended up being a smart choice. Especially against a field full of closers. This race gave the confidence I needed to not be afraid of leading, and to know that I am strong enough to set a fast pace. In short: be more aggressive. I was also surprised with my kick. I've already raced this week, and wasn't really feeling that fresh before the race.
After I went for a cool down run with Ben through the surrounding neighborhoods. That was about four miles. We mainly talked about school and certain classes. We are practically the same person academically, so it was a nice conversation. We came back to the track for water, and I stayed to watch our guys race while he went off for more cool down. All four of us ended up PRing, which was awesome. Then after we all raced, we went out for our run. I remember the run from last year more than my race. This year was cold compared to last year. After six miles, we got some food and then headed back up to SL. Running of the Leopards tomorrow morning! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/287928469
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