1:21.54 - B performance with A effort. I was really hoping for sub-1:20, but feel good about my effort considering the conditions. I am happy with the PR too.
John picked me up from Liberty Park at about 4:25 and we headed up to the stadium to catch our bus. John mentioned that his back was already sweating on the bus ride up. It was going to be a warm one, but we knew that going in. After resting for a bit, John and I did about a mile or so warmup up the canyon. The wind was blowing pretty hard in our faces as we were heading up. We stopped to turn around and chatted about how the headwind could be pretty strong and if so we would have to adjust our goal.
We met up with Jeff and Angie at the start who were also shooting for sub-1:20. Angie said she was going to try and conserve a little energy and Jeff was hoping for sub-6:00s in the canyon like John and I. We were off and the first 2 miles felt easy. 5:49 and 5:58. During mile 3 we had some gusts of wind and every right turn they seemed to get stronger for the next several miles. John, Jeff, and I didn't say anything to eachother, but I think we all had the same thought simultaneously that we needed to maintain effort, but not try and fight the wind. This resulted in slower miles than we had hoped, but it was the smart decision, I think. 6:00, 6:07, 6:17 (that one was hard to see this early), 6:12.
We kept plugging away together until we made it out of the canyon. At this point I was showing a 6:06 average. I still had hopes for something close to 1:20, but knew it would be tough. At the aid station near the zoo, Jeff pulled away and John fell back a bit. I was happy to see mile 7 come in at 6:05. I had planned on slowing for mile 8 across Foothill and then hoped to drop back down when it banked left by the stadium. I was tiring at this point, but it was not horrible. 6:20. Ok, that is tolerable, now just one more slower mile across 13th and then I can pick it back up down South Temple. 6:15.
I hit South Temple and the legs didn't come back as planned. For a bit, I entered survival mode. I could still see Jeff up ahead and it seemed like I was gaining on him just a bit. I knew I could keep him in sight and just keep plugging away. The two miles comprising mostly South Temple came in at 6:27 and 6:35. Made the turn on 200 East and saw that Jeff was a little closer. I also had a kid in a bright yellow singlet only about 5 seconds up. I committed to maintaining that gap and trying to close it near the end. 6:21. As I looked up to the final aid station on 200 East I saw Jeff walk through it. I passed the kid in yellow and then caught up to Jeff after making the final turn onto 900 South. 6:43. We ran together for about 100 feet and then a younger kid passed us and Jeff told me to chase him down. I honestly thought I didn't have it in me. I hesitated for a few seconds and then went for it. I eased onto the effort and he was still 15 ft. up when I hit 500 East. I started my kick and passed him right before the finish. 0:41
So, all in all I am happy. I don't want to blame the wind for anything. It is just part of racing. It really was a strong headwind at times and I think most experienced it. I am stoked with an almost 2 min PR on what I believe to be a tougher course than Timp. Big thanks to Josh for running with me often and helping me push myself. It is paying off. Now time to focus my training on St. George where I have a goal of sub-2:50.
Congrats to all those that raced today! It was fun to see Fritz, Josh, and others finish the full before I had to bail to work.
| 
