I switched my race plan multiple times before the race. I opted to get a new pair of shoes that I'd never run in, purchased multiple flavors of shot-blocks I'd never tasted, and was unsure what to wear.
We stayed the night at Oma's house and got very little sleep before waking early in order to catch the bus at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The tempature was really warm and I could feel the altitude effects given that I train at sea level. Once at the starting line we waited for 30-45mins before the race began. The wind picked up and there were 2 microburst that passed by quickly.
Once the race began it snaked its way down imigration canyon. The race was very warm and I wanted to finish before the sun came up. I ended up carrying the shot-blocks in alternating hands throughout the race...not the best idea. I also "broke in" my new shoes. They were a totaly different feel that my other shoes...they are very soft! I ended up having toe pain on my left toe along with some large blisters on both feet. The toe pain my have been due to my chip placement on my left shoe.
The run was OK, I ran with Mary for the first few miles and then she stoped to fix her shoe. I wore the Garmin watch and realized early on that the mile markers the race had set up were not in sync with my watch. The watch would beep every mile far ahead of where the race set them up. This only bothered me towards the end of the run when I started to wonder where the finish was. I felt OK until mile 10 or 11 at which point I was ready for the race to end. I really slowed down and walked when I should have finished strong. At the finish I didn't feel strong but seemed to recover quickly once the race was over.
It was fun to run with Mary, Anton (his first half), Aubree, Aubree's mom, and Jim.
PA - 8:00
My take aways for St. George..
- more training!
- figure out a storage place for my nutrition
- the margarita shot-blocks worked well
- find the right shoe and stick to it for the race
- my running form fell apart...not sure if it was due to new shoes or fatigue
- need more training!
|