I wasn't sure where to put this entry since technically the race started at Midnight but they advertised it as the 7th so here I am.
A friend told me about the race and since I know alot of the people that were putting it on through Sandy City I thought I would give it a try. I was a little apprehensive because of the start tim and I have never done a night time race. Looking at the times from last year I thought it wouldn't be very competitve. It seems like most decent runners are in bed at Midnight.
Preping was a little difficult because I didn't want to take a bunch of caffenie and be awake until 6 AM I did use my advair inhaler, I took 1 scoop of N.O. explode about two hours before and it contains some caffenine. It was a little odd waiting for the night to pass as well. Suzanne and the kids are still out of town so at least I didn't have to deal with that. I tried to eat normal foods but I mostly skipped dinner and I went for a big Jamba Juice smoothie instead.
I got to the race about 40 minutes early had time to warm up for two miles make a few potty stops, stretch, and get fully hydrated. Orginally I was worried about the heat but it was 20 degrees below normal so it felt cool. I think my body loved the temp but my lungs were not use to the cold air.
I have learned my lesson the last few races and I place myself right in the front row and when we started I took off. The first 200 meters was a slight 2% downhill and I was at the front. When we turned on to highland it had already thined out and 3 strong runners went past and I didn't try to stay with them. I believe they were the top three finishers. Going up highland it was a slight uphill and 4 other runners crept past. I know I still started faster then I would have liked but any lost energy was more then made up for by not having to surge past other runners. As we came towards the turn at 98th a couple other runners past me turning up the hill.
The next part of the 5K was the most difficult part and it was not hard to figure out. in about .4 miles there is a 120 foot climb. This fact alone had lead me to believe that I should expect to add 20 seconds on to my Draper Days 5K time. The fact that my right hamstring had been a little tight gave me some pause. I am naturally not a strong up hill runner. I was passed 4 more times going up the hill. I recgonized one of the runners from the Des News 10 K. As we started to crest hill a couple more runners passed me. We turned the corner and I could already feel the recovery kicking in. My first mile had been 6:50 nothing impressive but I knew that the worst was over. Before we turned our next corner to start the down hill I made a sudden surge and passed 3 runners quickly. Hit the corner and started the down hill. I really skinny passed me his name was Chad we talked after the race.
I let Chad go but when we hit the down hill and I could feel everything ease up I hit the gas full throttle somewhere in there we finshed mile 2 in 6:10. It was dark but I did have on a little head lamp. I made a concsious effort not to watch the clock becausee I figured it would cost to much time. I would have to guess the 1st half of mile 3 was sub 5 min pace then we turned the corner it was flat for a 1/4. Then a short slight uphill turn the corner back the way we came. slight downhill and finsh strong. Chad almost caught the next guy in front and when he did he surged and stayed just in front. I excelereted at the end but never did kick. My lungs stung a little but no leg pain, virtually no stiffness and no naseau.
I was happy with my time 6:15 pace as compared to 6:22 at Draper and 6:20 at Des News. I have lost a few pounds, trained hard, new shoes, and cooler temp. On the other hand I think the course was far more difficult. I expected to finish a little slower so that was good. Most of the people in fron were much younger. They had a lot more run this year I was told. I think it was 378 or 382 so nothing to complain about. All and all a good night. It might have even been a Utah PR I'll have to check. | 