Mountain States Games (ISU) 1 Mile and 3k- Taylor Farnsworth

This weekend I came up to my hometown of Pocatello, ID to run on the wooden boards of the famous Holt Arena mini dome at Idaho State University! I have good memories of racing the Simplot Games here my senior year of high school and running my first indoor mile race after my mission while at BYU. I knew the Mountain States Games would be a quality meet for me and I would have a shot at running a "post-collegiate" PR of sorts.

Besides my time-trial mile on the Runner's Corner treadmill last week (4:19), I haven't had any opportunity to do any running at that pace since my last mile race at BYU a few weeks back. Every track I run by is covered in ice and snow. So I have been settling for some strides on the dry patches of road during my mileage runs. I was a little nervous about holding that pace for a mile, but knew I had some decent strength going for me.

Being a little unsure of myself, I went out in last through the first quarter, then started working my way up. I found myself running on the outside of lane 1 most of the time trying to move up. But moving up in a race was so helpful mentally that it probably negated any cons to running a couple extra steps. My buddy Isaac Wood (current Weber State asst coach, former BYU manager) was trackside and didn't have any athletes in the race, so he got me splits and yelled encouragement. Quarter splits were 66.7 (409m), 66.4, 64.5, 60.7 (final 200 29.5) to get 4:18.6.  I felt great about closing in 2:05.2 and now I want to have a chance soon to break 2:00 for the first time in the 800m. I ended up in 2nd place, losing to Porter Reddish, a redshirt at BYU. It's the best result I could have hoped for and I'm very pleased!

Here's a little iPhone video my wife took of the last 250m or so. I'm in the white top in 3rd behind the ISU (orange) guy at the start of the clip. Obviously Porter did some work and got out way ahead early. He wasn't gonna be caught :) 

Porter and I did a nice slow 2m cooldown/warmup to decide if we felt up to doing the 3k. We decided there was no harm in at least making a workout out of it. Once again, I started out in last place and started clicking of 71s quarters. About 900m in, I passed ISU's Boyd Tucker and said something like "Let's work together". He stuck on me and having him right there really helped me to keep the pace up. I went through the mile in 4:44 and just continued w/ about 71s quarters, catching and passing a couple guys along the way, with Boyd right on my tail until the final 200m when I closed in another 29. The last 100m I saw I could just MAYBE catch Dylan Marx, so the competitive animal came out and I just barely outleaned him at the line for a finish result of 4th place in 8:49. Going into it, I wasn't sure if I'd even finish. It was really low-stress and I think that actually helped me race it pretty well. 

Track & Field is so much fun and I'm happy I got to run a little of it this winter!

The Burn 5k - Melody

This had to have been one of the most mentally challenging races I have ever done.  I signed up for it thinking it would be a pretty good workout, but it ended up working me over big time!  The elevation gain according to my Garmin was 1429 ft over 3.2 miles.  The course goes on the backside of Suncrest -basically a steep climb up Traverse Ridge Rd in Draper.  I warmed up about 2.2 miles- I cut it short because there was really no where decent to warm up- it was either straight up or straight down.  I don't like starting races- especially uphill 5ks out of breath.  The race started right on time and I tucked behind a group of four guys.  The headwind was brutal so I tried to draft but I ended up passing three of the guys within a half mile.  Mile 2 was by far the hardest as far as the climb and headwind.   Up up and more up without any flattening out and the wind was relentless.   The lead guy was a good 50m ahead of me, and he would stay there the rest of the race.  I wanted to stop and walk so badly from mile 2-2.6, but I hung in there and dug deep.  With 600M to go the course actually flattened out and went slightly downhill, but that was short lived.  It ended at the top of pretty steep grade and I was truly suffering, wondering if I could make it without my legs giving out on me.  I pushed through and made it to the top 2nd overall and 1st female. My time is nothing to be excited about (27:30 for 3.2) but I was pretty happy with the 8:30 average on that beastly climb!  The name of the race was very appropriate- my quads burned like crazy for a good part of that race.  

BYU Cougar Collegiate Indoor Invitational- 1 Mile (Taylor)

For fear of losing the "speed" I've worked so hard over the years to gain, I've made it somewhat of a tradition to race at least one 1 mile a year since graduating from the Y. Last year, at this same meet, I was 2nd by about a tenth of a second (in the slower section), with a time of 4:26.8. This year I was hoping to dip under 4:20 and knew I could with some decent track workouts over the Christmas break. Unfortunately, there were no available tracks or clear roads up in Pocatello over the break to do any type of speed work besides some tempo on a treadmill... but I still wanted to race!

They put us all in the same heat this year, and the leaders went out hauling with most of the pack through 409 meters in 60 flat. I was way back in about 66, having gone out much too hard the first 200 meters with everyone else. My middle two quarters must have been upper 60's or even above 70! (Yikes!)... but others were fading from the quick early pace too. I passed a couple UVU guys with less than 500 to go. With .2m to go (it's a 5 lap to the mile track), I knew I had to run a 52 (4:20 pace) just to be under 4:30... so I turned on the jets and found that I had a lot left in the tank! My last lap was in 49 seconds (4:05 pace) and I finished in 4:26.8... sound familiar? Yeah... that's cuz its' the same time TO THE TENTH that I ran last year. I was pleased to be under 4:30 with my lack of track work and am anxious to get on the track again soon for another shot at the mile (hopefully after a couple track workouts next time). It was fun to put on my Sojourners/ Runners' Corner singlet again and get in a competitive atmosphere!

A PR! Tremonton Turkey Trot-Melody

This 5k is ideal for a PR- it's a flat loop course with only four turns. The problem is usually the weather.  November in northern Utah usually means cold, ice, snow and almost always wind.  Saturday was a perfect day.  Temps were in the low 30s but with the sun out it felt great.  

I went out with a pack of HS boys and settled into 4th place after 1/2 mile.  The lead pack of three boys had about 30-40 seconds on me but because there were several long straightaways I tried to stay engaged and not let them get too far ahead.

My mile splits were all 1-2 seconds so I was thrilled with the consistency.  I felt good but was surprised to have pulled off a PR. I'm getting better at pushing myself.

17:20

1st for women, 4th overall

I ran with my oldest in the mile run.  He ran a 6:23 and won it and my 7 year old ran a 7:57.  They both prefer other sports to running so I don't push it- but it was fun to see them do well and get excited about it.

Haunted Half-Melody

I wish I'd known that RC was comping some of the Sojourners for this race.  I would have loved a free entry!

  I signed up because it's a course I train on a few times a week and I love running down that canyon.

The race was pretty well organized at the start and started about right on time.  It was chilly so the blanket they included in the swag bag came in handy.  I used that to keep warm until the gun went off.  

I started in the third row back- not ideal but with a pretty steep start I didn't want to get mowed over by all the guys. One girl started out pretty quick but I passed her about .1 into the race and no other girls came with me.  I ran the first 2 miles leap frogging some guys and after that I was pretty much alone.

The 4 South Fork miles flew by and my pace was pretty fast.  I knew it would slow so I just tried my best to push the pace without digging too deep that early.  It is really hard for me to push myself when I am alone!

My husband met me several times coming down the canyon and I knew I had a pretty good lead, but by mile 8/9 I was on track for a PR, so that kept me going.  I caught up to a guy with just 2 to go and we navigated the flood of 5k walkers together.  It was horrible! I was tired both mentally and physically and I had to weave in and out of runners and completely stop a couple times.  

When we got to the intersection at 800e and 800S the cop didn't stop traffic for us.  I was really annoyed at this point and the guy that I was with just went up the east side of the road.  Eventually I was able to cross- and it probably only cost me a few seconds, but no one should have to stop in a race- ever- in my opinion- especially at mile 12.6 in a half marathon!

My last mile was the slowest but I think it was more due to the factors I described than fatigue. I continued to dodge walkers all the way to the finish and made a huge push when I saw I was seconds away from a PR.

My watch and their first set of printed results had me at 1:17:57- a 2 second PR,  but their online results put me at 1:18:00.  I'm going with my watch on this one!

They really need to start the 5k later to cater to the faster half marathoners if they want it to continue to be competitive.

I never got my prize money either because the "girl with the checkbook was up the canyon taking the course down."  Hopefully they will send it in the mail.  

I give this race a grade of a "B."

Positives- decent fast course, accurately measured, good support/water tables etc, fairly easy to spectate 

Negatives- Too congested at the finish, cops did not stop traffic.  Prize money not handed out.

The Haunted Half (Provo)-Taylor Farnsworth

     1.2 slow warmup w/ Bret, Mike, Trevor, and David up a dirt road that landed us in the middle of the Big Springs 8k trail course that the Cascadia Trail Series puts on in July. Then a couple strides on the starting line.
     Race went off and David Taylor was out to the front quick as usual. I was in a pack w/ the 3 Weber alumni through the mile in 5:03... David musta had 5+seconds on us. Shortly after that we passed him and came through 2 and 3 in 5:01 and 5:08.
     During the 4th mile, the 3 Weber studs pulled away. I passed in 4:56 and they were probably 5 seconds or so faster. I decided to run my own race and try to PR (1:07:58)...and maybe they would come back to me if they'd gone out too hard. Turns out I was probably the one who went out too hard. I kept the effort up with a PR in mind through 8 miles before I realized it just wasn't gonna be a PR day for me. 5-10 were 5:15, 5:21, 5:11, 5:11, 5:24, 5:16.
     At 10 miles, Benjamin was only 5 seconds behind me according to the splits I heard from Sasha. I knew I wouldn't PR, but I still wanted to get under 1:10 and I realized that Benjamin was right on track to do so too and that it was a big goal of his. I didn't want to put the brakes on, but I was waiting for him to catch me so we could take it in together. It was actually a positive motivator for me to keep running fast because I didn't want him to key off me and slow down if I slowed down too much.
     When I felt someone come up on me on the uphill with less than a mile to go I thought it was him, but it was Nate! We exchanged encouraging words and he passed me and created a 3-4 second lead. I felt like I was breathing a little harder than him and decided it wasn't worth putting up a fight. In the end, neither of us would win any prize money. Looking back though, it would have been fun to have a close finish! He probably had more in the tank too and just didn't want to embarras me by dominating me at the end :) but I should have tested the waters. Miles 11-13 were 5:18, 5:31, 5:31 and the last .16 was 4:58 pace for a finish time and place of 1:08:54 and 5th.
     I'm glad I did this race! It got me back to training again soon after Saint George Marathon. I'm not back to full fitness or form but it was good to get another good effort in this year. Shout out to Trevor Ricks running a great time in his first half marathon (I think!).
     P.S. My drop bag never showed up at the finish line. For the first time, I decided to use my Runner's Corner Sojourner's bag, as I've seen other club members do it in the past with no problem. I had my Nike Pegasus trainers, Haunted half long sleeve and gloves, and all my RC warmup gear in there! I had it well labeled and put it in the right bus window so I have to believe that someone stole it. Hopefully I'm wrong and it shows up soon. :(

Halloween Half - Dave Taylor

This race is getting serious. The bus arrived at the start - I will call it Fort Portapotty. A very imposing and extensive structure overlooking a peaceful valley. Heaven help you if you are downwind. There were so many of them, in fact, that there were essentially no lines. I was a little surprised they didn't put up portapotty turrets, kind of a two-level job.
Anyway I found Brett and the gang and discovered I would be lucky to get sixth place. So much for the cash, but I have been feeling great all week so it's going to be a fun race anyway. The time ticked away, it was a little cold bu not much, and all too soon the start time came. I wormed my way to the front and got stuck in the second row. This would later prove to be tragic for one of the people in the first row.
The gun went off and so did I. Everybody in front was just poking along so I ran through the middle and put some distance on them. 4:58 first mile, feeling pretty good even with the roller in the middle. Brett and the Weber crew finally passed me at about 1.3 miles. He said that he thought I would be wondering where they were. I was :) I tried to stick with them but they accelerated out of range when I had to stop and tie my shoe. It made mile 3 a 5:57. Arg. 2 was a 5:22 and 4 was another 5:22 so I could have stayed pretty close, although I hear that they went 4:40 on mile 4 so maybe not. The flat mile was 5:57, right at tempo pace, so it looked like it would be a solid but not stellar run. The next 5 downhill miles were very consistent, all between 5:48 and 5:53. By this time Eddie Martinez from Arizona was coming back to me, but there was no sign of Sasha's kid. What I didn't realize is that he was running for his license and had to get under 1:10 to get it so there was no way in hades I would ever see him again :)
Anyway I caught up to Eddie and we kept passing each other, sort of a friendly slow motion duel. We were both slowing as the hill ran out (6:04) and then we ran into the gloopy 5k mess and the haunted tunnel, mostly haunted with invisible strollers. Eeek. 6:21. Then the mile with the surpsingly short hill, 6:30, thought it would be way worse. I saw that I had a little more energy than Eddie but he was more motivated when I was in front so I hung 5 feet back from him and waited for the finish line to come into view, where I would smoke him with a brutal 220. Sadly the last turn was only 100 feet from the line! I slammed it hard anyway but so did he and we both crossed at exactly the same moment, almost creaming the dense crowd afterwards. They really need to start the 5k about 15 minutes later. We congratulated each other but later I found the sad truth - he was one of the guys in front of me at the start so I actually beat him by 1.1 seconds. Hee hee. 7th overall, not too bad considering 6th place was over 7 minutes ahead of me and now qualified for a drivers license.