Timpanogos 1/2 - 2014
So mixed feelings about this one. The good things were:
-Its always fun to take the win (although no one fast showed up).
-It was the best I've felt in a half so far this year. Definitely felt better at this one compared to the Hobbler last week. I would attribute that to a more condusive work schedule, more regular sleep partterns, and better timed workouts this week compared to last week. Generally, I feel my fitness is heading in the right direction.
-Splits for the first 8 miles were really good (for me), and they should be given that you're falling off the face of the earth down AF Canyon. I slowed considerably on the flatter miles, which I need to work on.
The big negative was that the course was very poorly marked. The last 5 miles of the course were different this year. I got lost somewhere during the 10-mile and never was able to get back on course. I ended up improvising and running my own route to get my mileage. It ended up being a smorgasbord of turns, loops, and several U-turns. It definitely threw me out of rhtym and slowed me down. During the 11th mile, which ended up being a 6:24 split, I finally made it to an aid station and literally stopped and asked them what direction I should be running. None of the 10 volunteers knew what to tell me. Pretty frustrating. I wasn't the only person who got lost either. The race organizers seemed pretty unapologetic about the whole thing. Oh well... It surprises me how often things like this happen; poorly marked courses, leaders being misled off-route, short courses. In retrospect I should have done a better job of familiarizing myself with the route.
The time is just under a minute slower than my best time at this race 2 years ago. The course was different this time, there was no Scott Keate to pull me, and last time didn't have any off-course debacles (certainly no 6:24 splits). So all things considered, I feel pretty good with the result.
The highlight of the morning was arguably the cooldown. After finishing the race at the Lone Peak HS track, I started running west on one of the roads to cooldown. I ran into Matt Poulsen and Nate who were in the latter miles of their run and started running with them. It made for a brisk cooldown (6:00 average for 6.7 miles). Great conversation and they introduced me to the 'Big Mother' which immediately caused me to drop serveral seconds behind. Matt and Nate both look super strong right now. Matt was talking up a storm and wasn't out of breath at all. The run ended a couple miles later at Matt's house where his wife had prepared a deluxe spread of breads, fruit, juice, eggs, the works! Several other guys also trickled in. Matt was gracious enough to leave all his guests and drive me back to the HS... Such a cool guy.
P.M. - Millcreek/Little Cottonwood double canyon ride (~60 mile). Been eyeing this one for awhile and finally got the guts to attempt it. Intentionally kept the Millcreek portion real conservative. Stopped at the 7-11 at the mouth of BCC to fill up the bottles. I definitely looked/felt like a turtle going up LCC, but eventually made it to the end of the paved road. ~7,550 total vertical feet and a good confidence booster for the Ultimate Challenge ride coming up in a few weeks.
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