1.75m warmup w/ strides @ 8:45 before strides. 13.16m@5:11 (1:07:59)... 185 SPM 3.71 cooldown @ 8:08
Going into this race I was particularly excited for 3 things: 1) A chance to get a new PR 2) A chance to win some dough, and 3) A chance to seek vengeance upon Manuel Mena, who just got me by a second last weekend. (Vengeance might be a strong word, but hey... let's make things tasty)
Getting off the bus I saw Brett Hales and Riley Cook, both of whom I was expecting to see there and knew already that they were in much better shape than I. I was surprised, however, to meet Jason Holt there. I didn't know much about Jason, but I came to find out he is a Utah State alum who has been training pretty seriously with Riley, Brett, and the rest of the "Ogden Crew"... and was ready to run "about 1:06". At that point I knew that I was likely out of the money... but I was still just as excited to attack my other two motives.
The gun went off and we went out fast. Through the mile Brett and Riley had already opened up a small gap. I was on the tails of Jason and Manuel at 4:51.9. By 1.5 miles, those two began to gap me as well. I realized I needed to be smart and control what I could control. I knew I couldn't control if Manuel was gonna run 4:50's, but I could make sure I didn't blow up! I also considered the fact that he might come back to me. Mile 2 was 4:58. I then began to settle into my rhythm hitting the next few miles in 5:05, 5:08, and 5:12. By mile 5 I realized I needed to use a Porta-Potty. I had wanted to go about 10 minutes before the race but the lines were too long. This urge weighed on my mind on and off for the rest of the race... but I am happy to say that I did NOT crap my pants. Miles 6 and 7 were 5:08 and 5:11. In the 8th mile we faced some gradual, but persistent uphill and I came through in 5:23. As far as I knew the uphills were over... WRONG. The next mile had some more uphill, but the downhill that proceeded it allowed me to run a 5:08. By this point I had been alone for about 7 miles, and everyone ahead of me was out of sight. I thought at least once to myself "If this were just a workout, I would stop right now." Not helpful thoughts, but I managed to keep my drive and focus. This whole time I was aiming for sub 1:08 (PR was 1:08:58) and I knew that the course would likely measure about .05m long on my Garmin... so I was hoping to keep my pace at 5:10 or faster. I checked my watch SEVERAL times throughout the race to see what my overall average was. With each mile in the second half of the race, the average creeped up. Mile 10 was 5:15 and at this point I was running through some of the 10kers. It was a little frustrating coming up on groups 5 wide walking or slowly jogging. A couple times I had to swerve outside the cones. Another time I almost hit a guy who seemed like he really wanted me to take his water cup. Mile 11 was 5:13. Looking ahead, I saw a bright jersey and realized that Manuel was coming back to me. With how I was feeling, and the distance he still had on me, I didn't plan or expect to catch him. Mile 12 was 5:11 and I had closed the gap much more on Manuel. I realized beating him was within my reach and went for it. The last kilometer is up a slight hill, which really really sucks when your watch tells you your average is 5:10 and you know you can't go any slower if you want to get your time goal. I didn't manage to pass Manuel until 400 meters to go. I sprinted hard for fear he could catch me. I sprinted all the way through the line and stopped my watch late at the second mat- 1:07:59!!! I had PR'd by a minute, beat 1:08, and beat my friendly rival. I came in 4th place, almost 2 minutes behind Jason Holt (1:06:03) and once again outside of the money... but I was pleased because I knew I placed as high as I could with that competition on that day. My last mile was a slow 5:26, and my last .16m was 44 seconds (sub 5 pace). It was a good day for me and I'm happy I decided to compete!
Time: 1:07:58
Place: 4th
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