I wasn't sure how hard I would race it. I decided I'd start fast and see how I felt, and if I was doing lousy and/or feeling bad, I'd slow down and just finish easy. It's such a nice downhill course, and therefore really fast and just right for a PR. It's downhill about 222m, according to my Garmin, which is a lot in just 10K.
I did the usual warm-up of about 10 min easy walking with some strides. I was still a little sore in the glutes/hammies from racing and walking in Disneyland last week, plus probably a bit from being in the car all day yesterday, but other than that I felt good. I was as ready as I was going to be.
It was fun to be there with my friend Sarah! She was hoping to better her 10K PR and hopefully get under 1 hr. Her last 5K was 28-something and I told her she'd be under an hour for sure on this nice downhill course.
After the national anthem, the wheelchair/handcycle people went, and then we were off! It was pretty crowded for the first 500m but I still made good time. I had to dodge in and out of people quite a lot and even ran over a grassy median :). The first mile is nice and downhill and as usual I was fast for it, getting there in 8:43. Why the markers for splits are in MILES in a 10K, I have NO idea...pretty dumb, but they are, so I went with it, pressing lap at each mile. That first mile felt really easy, so I figured I was good to go. The second mile I held the pace - another 8:43! Nice! Maybe I'd be able to race the whole thing? I kept pushing and it did feel harder by this time. The aid station just before 3 miles was the usual disaster that the aid stations are in this race - I really needed just a sip of water (dry mouth) and probably lost 10-15 sec going around the table to grab it myself. Still, I was fast, getting to 3 miles in 9:09 and to 5K in 27:25! Wow, that's a 5K PR! The nice downhill helped a lot though.
I was still feeling pretty good, so I though I'd make a race of it, especially since I was doing so well. The crowds lining the parade route (the race is for the unique Utah holiday called Pioneer Day) were cheering a lot and that helped me keep going. This race is a lot of fun for that reason. I pushed through to mile 4 and got there in 9:06. About this time the heat started catching up with me. I felt quite hot and wondered if I'd be able to push hard enough the last 2 miles. I told myself that was less than 20 min and that I could do anything for 20 min, and kept going. I got to mile 5 in 9:12, and that's the end of the downhill on this course. Miles 5-6.2 are pretty much a slight uphill (ugh!!!). I was worried about that as I was REALLY HOT. Seriously hot. Like wondering if I was overheated hot. Thankfully, there was an aid station at mile 5, and though it was a bit disorganized too, I drank a cup of water and dumped 2 over my head, probably losing 15 seconds, but I had to in order to keep going. The water and the cooling helped me pick it up a bit and I felt fresher though quite tired. I gave it a good hard effort, and got to mile 6 in 9:34, which is good considering the slight uphill and tired legs. The last 0.2 were in 2:01 (slow! ugh!) but I was working it as hard as I could and got to the finish in 56:31!!!! WOW! That's a huge PR of over a minute! Of course, it was downhill so not surprising, but it was awesome to go under 57 min, especially just 8 days after a hard 20K, and with sore legs, and in less than ideal weather.
Garmin connect data here.
2 comments:
I ran this race in 2001 when I was in Park City for a conference. My time was in the 44 minute range, though I stopped to tie my shoes twice. That downhill is nice though.
Love the pictures - don't we look pretty? :-) It was a great race - thanks for doing it w/me even though it started only 8 hours after you arrived home!
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