I went to Moab with my family and mom. We stayed at the Aarchway Inn along the course and they shuttled me to the buses which was nice. As we were pulling away I realized I didn't have my watch and he waited for me to get it. Good service.
Buses were efficient and uneventful - I talked to a brewer from Alamosa, CO. When I got out in the canyon, it wasn't as cold as I was expecting. I found James before long and hung out with him. We warmed up 3. I felt good but worried that I didn't feel very hydrated and decided to drink at every aid station.
For the first mile, I was part of a chase pack chasing Smyth. That pack thinned out over the course of the mile and I tried to stay on the tail end of it. After I passed a guy probably right around mile 1, I was by myself the rest of the race. Never passed anyone and was never passed by anyone. Mile 1 was 5:22 which was what I expected. Then I tried to get in a good rhtyhym but I felt like the first four were a slight downhill the whole way. So my pace stayed a bit quicker than anticipated with 5:32, 5:37, 5:34 for the next three miles. The pace wasn't hard but I feared my ability to hold it for 13 miles. Mile 5 has a couple of gradual hills and I stayed with it at 5:43 and 5:42 for the next mile.
During this time, there had been varying headwinds/crosswinds/tailwinds but nothing that affected racing that I remember. During mile 7 was when the first big headwinds started hitting (gusts up to 30mph were in the forecast). I think I was at 6:13 pace right around 6.55 on my watch (36:50 at the half of the half which was right on but my garmin wasn't matching the mile markers) but I sped up and got the mile down to 5:55 when the wind died down. I decided that the new strategy was to not fall apart with the big headwinds and take advantage of the tailwinds as much as possible. Miles 8 and 9 were both 5:46 with varying winds. During mile 10, the headwind picked up right at the base of the hill that is about 50 ft over .2 miles. So, the strongest headwind of the race on the steepest hill. My pace was 6:29 when I hit the top of the hill and I managed to get it down to 6:04. There continued to be a strong headwind heading west and then finally relief toward the end of mile 11 when I turned south toward Moab. I was not feeling quick coming under the road - 6:03 for mile 11.
I am tired and I am not feeling great but now I've got a pretty big tailwind. I passed my family at the Aarchway and that was a nice boost. Mile 12 was 5:39. I felt pretty done at this point and kept looking at my watch which I hate doing (.8 to go...). I managed a 5:47 for the last mile and 5:20 pace for the last .18 (56 seconds). I was a bit long so all of the splits are a bit fast.
I was glad to not give into the wind and develop the strategy to really push hard at opportune times to make up time in the second half. There was a time there when it felt like the Saltair 10K where I was just going to have to give in to the wind and finish the race but the winds relented often enough and I was motivated enough to stay with it.
1:15:25 is my PR from the DesNews half so I missed it by 1 second! Obviously this is a much better performance but come on. Where was the mindfulness on that one? I was glad to place sixth among a competitive field and I feel like I am still on the right track for a 2:35 at Boston. Cooled down 4 with James and had two beers before my family caught up with me.
These are some of the best organized and executed races in Utah. My first half was The Other Half in 2010. With 167 miles of sporadic training and no running for the three weeks prior to the race, I got a 1:47 and that felt awful. Everything about these races is so well thought out. It is clear they care about the runner's experience and not just the entry fee.
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