OGDEN WRC HALF MARATHON
Well first race in over a year is finally in the books! Man it felt so good to finally race again. I'm grateful to be back at it and healthy. I tried to keep my expectations in check for today. It's only been four months since I resumed training and although I've had some good workouts, I was worried about my stamina/endurance. I've hit short tempos in the 5:15 range but nothing close to 13 miles!
I came up with a range of 1:10-1:12 and hoped to hit that, but full disclosure in the back of my mind I thought on a perfect day I could maybe, just maybe hit a 1:09. But I tried not to think about that and I certainly didn't want to try and force that.
At the start we knew it was essentially a four-man race up front with Fritz, Mike, and Dave joining me. I stuck to my conservative start for the first mile hitting a 5:20 on the mile that has the most elevation drop of the whole race (NOTE: They changed the course a bit, moving the start line up the canyon a mile so it corresponds exactly with the first half of the Ogden Marathon, but after mile 8 they had us go onto a paved trail along the road that was very rolling and probably slower than the road would've been. So essentially they gave us probably 20 seconds by switching start line, but then took some back by making us hit the path. Overall, this new course is faster though I'd think). Fritz took a lead with some mystery kid, while Mike and I ran side by side for the first two miles. Mile 2 was 5:24, so still conservative.
Here's picture taken by OnlyinOgden of the race start:
Toward the end of mile 2 Fritz was coming back a bit and Mike and I weren't really pushing the pace, by mile 3 we had caught and passed Fritz. It was obvious it just wasn't Fritz's day; he's at the end of a long marathon block with tons of volume and workouts and his legs just weren't fresh (He'll be just fine though once he tapers for a marathon). Mile 3 was 5:09.
I could hear Mike's footsteps just behind me through mile 4 or 5 and then they slowly faded away. So, I knew I had at least a little bit of a lead. Mile 4 was 5:08 and Mile 5 5:09.
Here's Mike and me in either mile 3 or 4, not certain which:
Right around the same spot on the course:
Not too much else to report for the rest of the race, I mainly tried to keep a good pace as I knew there were excellent runners still just behind me. At Mile 6 I did a mental check and evaluated how I felt. Breathing was good, legs felt good, and I felt I could keep this effort for quite a bit longer. At mile 8 you turn and the downhill is over and you hit the path and the rolling hills. Mile 6 5:09 Mile 7 5:12 Mile 8 5:15.
Mile 11 was particularly brutal on the path with a gradual climb and then a very steep bombing down; I couldn't help but look at the road at this point and yearn for it! Mile 9 5:20 Mile 10 5:17 Mile 11 5:27.
During mile 12 I got a side-stitch but nothing bad enough to slow me down. At this point I just really wanted to get to the finish. Mile 12 was 5:19 and Mile 13 5:18 with 5:18 pace for final tenth as well. I was happy to cross that line with my first race back under my belt and even happier it was a win.
Finish photo by GOAL Foundation:
After the race Dave, Fritz, Mike, and I did a cool down on the trails around the lake. It was fun seeing so many familiar faces that I haven't seen in awhile.
So, the comeback is going well (as good as I could hope really up to this point). But I still have a ways to go! I want a huge year and I want to take a crack at an OTQ. But I'm nowhere near fit enough yet for that, so it's back to work!
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