Top of Utah Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:09:22, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 1
Top of Utah 1/2 - Operation: Finish race strongly without collapsing 50m from the finish.
After my last crash and burn race (TImpanogos 1/2) where I experienced severe dehydration, my anxiety level was already a bit high. I had cut back on miles this week, but my legs felt heavy and a bit cramped Thursday night on a very easy run. Normally with a taper like this, I feel fresh and ready to go. I knew that whatever happened in the race on Saturday I got to listen to my body and run a smart race. I decided to not wear my Garmin and run on feel alone for the race.
I got a great night's sleep Friday night (I actually got nearly eight hours of sleep on Wednesday and Thursday nights as well). When I woke up Saturday morning, my legs finally felt fresh for the first time all week. That boosted my confidence. I ate a larger breakfast than I have in years before a 1/2--a whole bagel, a banana, and 16oz of water with an electrolyte packet. I was a bit nervous about GI issues, because I felt full. I've been reading Matt Fizgerald's book The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrution and have really enjoyed the very targeted advise.
I went into Zen mode on the bus ride up the canyon. I said a brief hello to the lady I was sitting next to on the bus and then told her that I was going to be very boreing the rest of the ride. I put on some nice piano music and zoned out until the bus stopped. I hit the bathrooms first thing off the bus--this made my second productive session of the morning. After the bathroom break I still had over an hour until race time, so I found a nice bench and finished listening to the piano music on my playlist.
I started my warmup with about 50 minutes to go until race time--nice and slow, just taking in the cool morning air up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. I watched the sun come up and really enjoyed the quiet. I ran a bit over a mile up the canyon and headed back toward the start. I saw all of the other fast guys headed up the canyoun on their warm up as I was running down. I was feeling pretty good and confident at this point, but still committed to staying away from the redline until the very end of the race.
I lined up behind Riley and Bryant at the starting line--two guys I knew where going to run fast races. The race actually got off to a bit of a slow start. I was running with the lead group for maybe a 1/4 mile and almost yelled out to Jake and Riley to see if they were going to start racing or not. Just as I had that thought Jake threw in a surge and you could tell that it was game on for the leaders. I didn't attempt to go with them. The pace felt quick but not uncomfortable--perfect for where I was at that day. I didn't wear my Garmin but wasn't surprised to see 5:05 as the first mile split--that felt about right for the effort on the downhill grade.
Hardly anything eventfull happened the rest of the race. I passed a youg guy who had gone out with the leaders around mile two--he was breathing hard and I could tell he would only drop further and further behind as the race went along. Right around mile three, I heard someone coming up on me quickly--I thought that it might be the same guy who was breathing so hard that I had passed at mile two making a surge, but it turned out to be John Coyle who ended up taking 3rd place overall; aparently, he needed to take a bathroom break around mile two. I didn't see him jump off the course. He flew past me and ended up running a 1:06 something in his debut 1/2 marathon. At mile 3, I was a good 30+ seconds behind the leaders. It makes me wonder how John could have done without the potty break.
For most of the race I kept Jason Holt in my sights. I would slowly begin to catch him and then he would slowly pull away. There were several times where I wanted to throw in a surge to catch up to him, but I decided that I would be patient and just keep him in striking distance. Whenever I felt my breathing and heart rate start to redline, I would ease off a bit. I don't have exact splits, but by looking at my simple Ironman watch with the running time, I could tell that I was running between 5:05 and 5:10 pace for most of the canyon.
Around mile 8 I was convinced that I would catch Jason--he looked a little tired and I hadn't felt this good at mile 8 in a half marathon for a long time--probably because I wasn't running as fast :-) I stayed patient and was slowly reeling him in. It was about this time that I saw Jacob Howell coming back to us as well. He had gone out aggressively with the leaders and was not in the hurt locker. Understandable after his 1:04 performance at the Hobble Creek 1/2 the week before.
The toughest part of the this race starts just before mile 10--a gradual uphill section that summits after mile 12. I was pretty certain that I would pass Jason on this stretch, but he wasn't coming back to me as fast as I had thought. I finially passed Jacob Howell after mile 11--he told me to "finish strong" as I went by and I told him thank you. Jason had looked back at one of the corners around mile 11, which may have given him just enough insentive to keep pushing.
I don't think I narrowed the gap much at all on Jason the last mile. He held me off for 5th place overall. When I approached the finish line, I couldn't quite make out the time, but I thought I had ran faster than I had. I was hoping that a low 1:08 or even a high 1:07 had felt that easy. There was just a brief moment of disappointment when I saw that I had ran a 1:09:22 (my watch) followed by an immediate self scolding to be grateful for being healthy, feeling strong, and running a good race. Honestly, it was a perfect bounce back effort for me. Sure I would be a bit more excited about a faster time, but I feel that this experience is still part of the lesson I get to learn about running in a way that best serves my body.
I had a great cooldown with Jake, Devra, James, and Allie. Quite often I enjoy the cooldown after the races more than the races themselves :-) I've mentioned this before in a post, but something really cool happens after a race. The race has a very powerful way of humbling us, of busting down our walls, and we are left with a very authentic version overselves.
I am grateful for good health. I am grateful for an amazing and inspiring group of runners. I am grateful for the way running enhances my life experience. For me, I feel very alive while running, especially when pushing myself to experience my limits. I know that so many of you get what I mean.
A huge shout out of congratulations to Riley, Jake, John, Bryant, Jason, Ben, Walter, Sasha, and Rob for your great races yesterday. A huge shout out to Devra as well for running such a good race with her makeshift training schedule and little sleep. You guys all full my fire to keep going.
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