Deseret News 10k. It took me a while to make up my mind about running this race, but I'm glad that I did. It takes a toll in terms of effort and recovery time, but it is a good test of fitness and the field is so full of strong runners that you're never wanting for company. My plan was to try to run a smarter race than I did last year and hopefully run faster too--with the ultimate goal of running sub 33. I decided I would go out a little more conservatively and then try to push miles 5 & 6 a little harder at the end since that's where I was losing time last year. I did run a smarter race, but not a faster one. I warmed up 3 miles before the race (2 w/ Josh & Megan). Lots of fit runners at the start. It's so loaded with talent (of both genders) that I am happy to just get lost in the mix. I nearly did get lost in the mix as the race started and I was cut off in the worst way by a woman that I would end up passing very soon. Nearly forced me into the gutter. Last year my splits were 4:53 and 4:56 for miles 1 & 2. This year I wanted to back off to ~5:00 pace. And I was close, 5:04 and 5:01. I started running with Adam at mile 2 and we were stride for stride through about mile 3 when he put a little gap on me and I just hung back a bit. Albert Wint, who I understood to be taking a break from racing, was with us too. Also a couple of speedy women were in the mix. One of them would end up crushing me. Mile 3 split in 5:24. (My goal for that mile was 5:20, so a little off pace). Albert and Adam were battling for a while and then Albert dropped back a bit behind us. I was feeling physiologically good, but the brain's messages to the legs to "run faster" were not being well understood. We made the turn to 200 E. along the Parade route. Spectators much nicer this year--probably because I was with the lead women and they were getting lots of cheers. Mile 4 in 5:19. Goal was 5:15, so now I'm thinking that I'm losing time I can't regain in miles 5 & 6. The goal for mile 5 was another 5:20, but I only managed 5:25. At this point, it seemed a challenge to get under 33 without a huge mile 6, but that mile is tough to make up any time on. The goal was 5:40 and I ran 5:44. As we closed for home, Albert had overtaken Adam and they were both about 20 feet in front of me. With a tenth or so to go, I decided that it was worth contributing a solid kick to the morning at least to see if I could test myself a little to put in a good effort while hurting. I nipped Adam and Albert and maybe a high schooler or two. As I finished, I saw the clock turn to 33:13, so I assume that will be my official time. It's possible with the chip timining I may be 33:12 and change, but the bottom line is it's pretty much exactly the same time I ran last year. At the end of the day I did run a smarter, better proportioned race than last year. But I think I got a little comfortable in spots where I needed to keep the gas pedal down. That's the challenge in 5k and 10k almost without exception--push the entire race and never let up. Cody met up with Adam & I at the end and we ran back toward the start. We missed the marathon leaders, but saw Bill Cobler come through running completely by himself on Foothill Dr. It looked pretty lonely, but he was strong. Adam & I tacked on a little more so I got 6.3 for the cooldown. After the run, Cody treated me to a delicious breakfast at Cucina on 2nd Ave. Thanks for the chow. I wonder if I may have hit my maximum speed on this race, considering I didn't improve over last year. A better question is whether it is important to me to run faster than I have on this course. | 