Monday, February 24, 2014

2013 Snow Canyon 1/2 Marathon -- Matt Poulsen

1:07:16, 1st overall.

A good race for me. Felt very good and strong the entire time. Even set a course record.

My St. George Marathon was a disaster. But this time, my legs felt great, which was a huge thing for me (since they felt horrible and flat during the whole St. George Marathon).  I admit that I have not taken the smartest approach with my recovery after the SGM.  But, I have really been upset about SGM, and hitting the roads running is the only way I knew how to deal with that frustration.  Ok, enough whining.

From the gun today, the lead pack consisted of 6 runners:  Jacob Howell, Ben VanBeekum, Dave Olson, Walter Brown, a 21 y/o from the southern Utah area (I can't remember his name), and me.  There was an impressive headwind for the first 3 miles of the race, which made for a relatively slow start.  There were several lead changes during the first 3 miles.  I decided to take the lead at 3.5 miles, and I was feeling great.  That mile split was 4:50.  We then turned into Snow Canyon.  I knew the next 3 miles were quite aided and would be fast.  I picked up the pace, fully expecting the others to go with me.  My mile 5 split was 4:38.  I was shocked at this; it felt like 5:00 effort.  I thought, "don't over-react; don't go too fast, Matt."  But, I felt great, so I decided to roll with it.  And, I no longer heard footsteps behind me.  I knew there was a strong field of runners behind me, so I never let my guard down.  Jacob Howell beat me at the Hobble Creek 1/2 Marathon in August (he put a minute on me during the last 5k), so I knew I had to be focused if I wanted to keep my lead.

I had a 4 mile split (miles 4-7) of 18:57, and a 5k split (miles 5-7) of 14:35.  Probably a bit fast, and I probably paid for it a bit later in the race, but again, I felt good; so why not roll with it?

Miles 8-13 were tough.  A lot of uphills and sharp turns, which certainly slowed my pace.  I felt strong the entire time, though.  I averaged 4:56 through 8 miles, had a 5:01 average through 10 miles, and had a 5:07 average for the whole race.  I ran the last 2/3 of the race alone, which is always a bit tougher than having company.

My splits:  5:08, 5:24, 5:03, 4:50, 4:38, 4:43, 4:46, 5:20, 5:05, 5:12, 5:31, 5:25, 5:20, :44 (.15)

My garmin said 13.15 miles, as did most the other runners' garmins.  This course may have been a bit long (I likely would have just broken 1:07), but I'm not concerned about this in the least.

This course is certainly aided, but it was definitely more difficult than I expected (the course description online made it sound like it was screaming the whole time).  Those rolling hills the last 5 miles are tough.  A lot of the race was on paved trails.

This was such a fun and gorgeous race.  I'm convinced there is no 1/2 marathon anywhere in the world that has more beautiful scenery than this one does.

Many great races today!  My wife, Elaina, crushed her PR by 4 minutes!  Ben tore it up and ran a PR!  Dave ran very well also! (I enjoyed finally meeting Dave)  Rachelle also ran unbelievably well and crushed her PR!  Other great performances (I'm sure I'm forgetting someone; if so, sorry):  Jacob Howell, Jeff L., Spencer, Collin, Walter, and Amy Cook!

Thanks a bunch to Riley for his cheering and encouragement!

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