Splits: 5:31, 5:27, 5:37, 5:30, 5:38, 5:31, 5:38, 5:54, 5:33, 5:55, 5:54, 6:05, 6:23, 50 (6:03 pace for .14 according to garmin). I signed up for this race last Saturday because I was feeling less than enthralled with the Timp Half as a St. George prep race. I did a few workouts that caused me to decide to shoot for 5:30s for the downhill and hold it together on the flats, hopefully sub 6. I woke up at 3:25 and was able to accomplish my morning routine without any complications. I recognized Ben Van Beekum as I was waiting in line for the Honey Bucket and met up with he and Riley after I finished. Sat around for a while then warmed up two miles going up the canyon road and back. Felt good and the temperature was very nice. Still cool and very little wind. I got to the start and said hi to a few bloggers and met Brandon Dase. I learned that he was shooting for a sub 75 like me and Ben. It started pretty much on time and we were off. We kept the first mile under control as many darted out. After about 3 or 4, Ben separated and I worked with Brandon for a while. I learned later he had a bad side stitch and I lost him right after the turn onto Foothill. No pain to this point but I was in new territory as far as speed and distance so I wasn't sure how I would hold up. My pace slowed to the low 6s for the flat on Foothill leading to 500 S which I took as a bad sign for the last 2 miles. Mile 8 on 500 S had some good downhill and I restored pace a bit but slowed again on the flat on 1300 E again to low 6s. Legs were feeling tired but no pain. For the turn onto S Temple, I perked up my form and sped up a bit because I knew my boss would be looking for me at about 1050 E. He got up a bit early to cheer me on. I told him to look for me from 6:55-6:57 and there I was in the 6:55 time frame. I maintained sub 6 pace on S Temple but slowed from 5:30s to 5:50s. After the turn onto 200 E and the initial downhill, I struggled to keep low 6 pace. Then the turn east on 900 S caused a bit more slow down to the 6:20s. A 10ker challenged me at the finish line, so that was the last bit of excitement I experienced. A very aided PR with 1600 feet of drop, but good prep for St. George. A 3:37 improvement. Met up with Fritz, Kevin and Collin and ran the woodchips. We found Matt Poulsen and Mike Nelson not too far along and they joined for the rest. On the second lap, we lost a couple and added Brandon and a couple others. 2.9 cool down. Then a couple miles walking and watching the parade with my brother and son. Then Eggs in the City with their meat lovers hash with eggs. A nice day thus far. Will still run Timp. I have no idea what to expect. We'll see how I feel Friday.
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