What a beautiful day to run! I wasn't sure what to expect
today, but my legs had felt good this week so I was hopeful I could get
under 1:32, maybe even close to 1:30 if things went really well. My
plan was to take a mental break during the hills, basically at mile 4,
the hills in the middle, and again at mile 9.
The traditional matchup with Hal and Josse didn't happen today. They
were both running on high mileage with some soreness in their feet or
legs. I ran most of the race alone, at least mentally. Cal was near me
during most of the race, and we talked a little in the middle of the
race, but we were both working too hard to talk much. I was a
little surprised at how well taking the mental breaks on the uphills
worked. When it was time to focus again, I almost felt refreshed and
ready to get back to work. That said, I didn't really slow down all
that much during the mental breaks. It's hard to tell because they were
uphill miles where I naturally slow down anyway. Cal pulled even
(he had been just behind me for a while) as we started the middle
hills. We talked a bit, but when he noticed how much we had slowed he
went on ahead up the hill. I let him go, because I was on my mental
break, but on the downhills I gained back ground. I pulled back even
with him on the last downhill just as we merged back with the runners
still coming the other way.
I took my last mental break during mile 9. Cal was still with
me as we passed the mile 10 marked, but then the break was over. I
pushed the last 3.1 miles hard and pulled away. I could see Tom up
ahead, as I could most of the race, but I never caught him. I think I
drew energy from all the 5K runners I was passing at the end. A couple
of high schoolers (I think) passed me in the last mile or so, but I was
running sub-6:30 at the time and that was the best I could do. 1 - 6:55
2 - 6:52
3 - 7:03
4 - 6:59
5 - 6:50
6 - 7:14
7 - 7:15
8 - 6:37
9 - 6:53
10 - 6:52
11 - 6:49
12 - 6:35
13 - 6:27 13.1 1:29:57 (avg 6:52/mi) [16 of 311 overall]
It felt good to finally have some juice left at the end of the race. That, and finishing in 1:30, gives me renewed hope to be near 3:00 at St. George. | 
