Yay! So I got lucky today that the benefits of the marathon training are still with me a bit. I didn't run Wed- Fri. (no good excuses, just really busy w/ work & tired). But Wed. I registered for the Snow Canyon 5k. I knew I'd see some friends there, but I went alone which made it a bit of a challenge. It would have been really easy to stay home and blow it off.
I decided I'd warm up a bit more this time, did 1 easy mile (9:20) right before the race. To PR I would have to run a 7:43 av. pace, so I set my virtual partner to that knowing it would be a stretch. I didn't know much about the course except for that it was a trail out & back with what looked like a "slight" incline up for the 1st half of the race. So I took off near the front but wanted to hold back a bit so I didn't burn out in the first mile which I usually do. I looked down and was 6:XX so I backed off a bit. I felt good that the front of the pack wasn't getting away from me like usual. I was staying near the front of the pack! I spotted my friend Emily who I know is a 22:XX finisher and she wasn't too far from me. I decided to keep my eye on her and just try to stay the say distance from her. We got into the incline soon after start- ughhh! But I got excited knowing if I could just keep a good pace on this uphill that I could fly on the downhill. An aid station was semi set up at the turn around point but not manned. I decided to definitely skip a drink. I loved the 2nd half of this course, very fast & fun. Passing the runners who were completing the first half of their course gave me a spring in my step. I even had a little kick at the end of the race (I never have that!).
My time ended up 24:36 Garmin / 24:43 race time (of course I prefer the Garmin time!). Didn't make my PR by about 30 seconds but still happy with this race. I knew I'd be happy with anything 24:XX given my training the second half of this year. I got 1st in my age division- icing on the cake! That means a lot to me! (pays to run small races, I know...) Got a little cut glass looking award. Shirts were pretty cute for this race too, long sleeve white ones with a fun font for the logo. Unfortunately I was a bit late picking up my packet and they had run out of the bags that had headbands and other goodies. My shirt is also kinda big, but it was the last M so I should be thankful I didn't end up with XL (all they had left after I got my shirt) | 