A Fantastic Summer of Racing and Countdown to Chicago!

It's become a tradition for me to run the Deseret News 10K on Pioneer Day (July 24th.)  Jason and Andrew were backpacking so I headed to Salt Lake alone.  This race is one of the most prestigious road races in the state and the generous prize money always attracts some of the fastest runners.  Last year I was thrilled just to break into the top ten (7th place) after running a two minute PR.  I didn't think I had a chance at placing in the top three but was looking forward to comparing my time to other years to assess my fitness level.  I was hoping to run a PR again.  I woke up to a warm, humid morning.  Actually, I'm not sure you can call 4 a.m. morning.  I drug myself out of bed and put some loud music on to try to wake up enough to drive to Salt Lake.  There was lightening in the distance and as I pulled into the parking lot at the University of Utah at 5:15 I glanced at my car thermometer.  88 degrees.  HOT!  A really warm morning for the middle of July might be in the low 70s.  I figured I could forget about a PR.  I was just going to have to race on effort.  I was just glad I wasn't running one of the longer races.  I was hoping it would rain and cool things off a bit but it just stayed hot and humid.

Soon the we were off with the gun.  I started out fast and as I looked around at the runners I was next to I hoped I hadn't started too fast.  But I was feeling pretty good in spite of the heat.  The course is a screaming fast one, downhill for most of the first four miles.  My first mile was 5:18.  Maybe a bit too fast.  Mile two was still fairly fast at 5:31.  By three and four I was either settling into a more reasonable pace or I was starting to become fatigued from the heat and fast start.  Mile three and four were 5:53 and 5:49.  I was starting to wonder how the flat and uphill were going to feel the last two miles.  I was drenched with sweat, my mouth was dry and I couldn't get enough water at the aid stations.  We turned onto the parade route and I found I could keep going fast a bit longer.  Mile five was a 5:46.  I'd picked up the pace a bit even with the course flattening out.  The last mile is the toughest when we had to turn and head uphill to Liberty Park.  I had no idea what place I was but I thought if I finished fast enough I might have a chance to still run a PR.  My last uphill mile was 6:09.  My total time was 35:48, a PR by 4 seconds.  It wasn't huge but considering the conditions I was dealing with I was happy with it.  Then I found out that I had placed third overall!  The heat had made for a slower race and I was able to move into third place right at the end of the race.  I even came home with $250 prize money!

Last week Jason and I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon in Logan.  It's one of my favorite half marathons but I haven't run it for several years.  Unlike the Deseret News 10K the weather was looking perfect!  It was 49 degrees when we arrived in Logan with a chance of showers.  The course is a gradual downhill through Blacksmith Fork Canyon for the first half before leveling out for the second half with a climb about 10 1/2 miles into the race.  I wanted to get up to the start in plenty of time but because of a few mishaps we ended up on the last bus up the canyon.  So I got to the starting line with only a few strides and not ready to run fast in the colder weather.  I looked around at the starting line and as expected, there were a lot of fast runners there.  I was going to have to work hard in this race.  We started off down the canyon and I was trying to keep with the top women.  I knew Emily Jameson and Devra Vierkant were the ones to beat.  I was having a hard time keeping the pace they were running.  It seemed fast but when I glanced at my watch it was just where I wanted to be.  It must be the lack of warm up I thought.  A few times I started to let them put a little distance between us.  I debated whether it was wise to push myself to stay with them or save it for later in the race.  I really thought I had a chance to win this race and I was afraid if I let them go I'd never see them again.  So I pushed myself to stay with them.  Towards the bottom of the canyon we hit a couple miles around 5:45.  I really wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this pace and we weren't even to the halfway point.  At mile six I was coming up on a water stop.  Emily and Devra were on the inside so in order to get to the water I sprinted ahead a bit.  Suddenly that put me in front of them and they were letting me control the pace.  I could hear they were both breathing pretty hard and I was finally starting to feel good!  Before I knew it Emily and Devra were both dropping back and I was taking the lead.  That was a strange feeling for me.  I've won some shorter races but when it comes to longer races there are always at least one or two women in front of me.  I was excited to take the lead but I was also nervous about whether I could really hold this pace for the remaining six miles.  There was still a lot of the race to go and I didn't want to die and get caught later.  Tom Kuehls, one of my teammates from utahrunning.com, had been running with us down the canyon.  I was glad that he kept up with me when Emily and Devra dropped back.  The men in front of me were out of sight and if it weren't for Tom I would have been all alone.

Tom and I were able to keep our pace between 5:55 and 6:00 miles.  I felt like I had gotten a second wind and the miles were coming quickly.  With about 5K left I was calculating what time we could finish in.  I figured we would be right around 1:18.  I had a big enough lead that I was pretty sure I would win and a 1:18 would be a PR but I started thinking if I could run the last 5K under six minute mile pace I could break 1:18.  The only problem was the mile and a half of uphill coming.  I was going to give it everything I had though.  Our mile splits were still coming in just under six minutes.  I turned and started heading up the hills.  About half way through the uphills Tom dropped back a bit.  I was going to have to do the last stretch alone.

My uphill mile was a 6:11.  I was pretty confident I could make up those seconds on the downhill mile to the finish.  I was finally up all the hills and on the final stretch.  The gradual downhill didn't feel much like downhill at that point.  There wasn't anyone to catch in front of me.  I just had to race the clock.  I finished in 1:17:44!

My average pace was 5:56.  It was a two minute PR and my first time with a sub 6 minute pace on a race that long.  I won a $300 cash prize and a fun trophy.  The first four women were all under 1:20!  It was a fast race and I was so glad these women were there to push me through the first half of the race or I never would have been able to break 1:18.

Jenny Sperry, Emily Jameson, me, and Devra Veirkant: women's overall awards.

Jason wasn't thrilled with his race but still ran his fastest time on that course and third in his age group.

This was the perfect race to prepare me for Chicago.  The countdown is on with just six weeks to go.  This race gave me a lot of confidence to be able to keep the pace I did through the second half of the race.  All of my training has been so focused this year on training for Chicago.  I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will cooperate and I'll have another great running day!