First Timp Shadow 5k - Kyle

Whelp, this is my first post on this blog!  So for those of you who are unfamiliar with me, my name is Kyle (Hi Kyle), and I recently moved to Provo from Logan (transfer student to BYU...).  I have been running since 2008 and have loved my experience so far! I currently work at Runner's Corner, so if you ever get bored, come in and say hi to me!  I'll give you a high five or something...

Honestly, going into this race I was genuinely frightened about what the outcome would be.  I had never done a trail race before and everyone around me kept saying to take the first hill slower because it was super steep.  At the beginning of every race my stomach starts churning and the nerves were kicking in.  This was the first 5k I have done since before my mission (I came back in Dec 2013, don't worry, I did other stuff).  I kept joking at the starting line with fellow RC employees to try and calm myself.  As soon as the starting gun went off, my mind went into a different mindset and I switched from being nervous to a very competitive nature!  that's what usually happens.  Ascending the first hill, I must have been in about 7th place... but I kept thinking, take it slow(er)!  I was super paranoid about it, but I also didn't want Jason Thomsen to gain too much distance on me.  I stayed with a controlled pace and continued up the hill.

All of a sudden I passed a few people and I found myself in 4th place before the halfway mark of the race.  Next thing I knew, the course had flattened out and I could actually run!  I knew I was running out of distance, so I tried increasing the pace a little bit.  I could see Jason in my sights and kept thinking, "catch him!"  I love this!!  anyways, we came close to the down hill and I opened up my stride and tried to stay loose the whole way down, I may have gained on Jason but I was unsuccessful in catching him by the time the race ended.

Towards the end, I felt I recovered fairly quickly.  Looking back, I could have pushed more on the first hill and even through the flat portions of the race.  I felt my top speed had yet been manifest in my running.  But overall I loved the experience of the trail race and look forward to the rest of the Cascadia Series!

4th Place Overall
5K: 20:35ish...