Any day you can run (especially a good race), go cycling, water-ski, and spend quality time with the family is bound to be a pretty good day. And that was pretty much my day in a nutshell. Hobble Creek Half Marathon Got up around 4 AM, had some oatmeal and peanut butter, and got ready. Made it out of the house by about 10 mins to 5 and had a smooth drive down to Mapleton City Park (the race's finish line and bus pickup) at about 5:30. I got my bib and was lucky to get on a bus right away. The past couple of years I've done this race I've had to wait a long time just to board the bus, so it was nice to get right on this time. I sat next to some friendly (talkative) folks on the way up. The buses drop the runners off a good 3/4 mile or so below the start line. Made my way up to the start area with the hoards of other runners, hit the potties, and by that time it was about 15 minutes to the official start time (7:15) and the race organizers were letting everyone know it. Holy cow, is this race going to start on time for once?! Used the few minutes I had to do some jogging and stretching. Made my way to the front of the line and chatted with Scott Keate, Dan Varga, Brick Berguson, and a few other familiar faces. I didn't recognize a ton of people lining up at the front. I was pretty happy with my result at Timp 1/2 (1:08:51) three weeks ago and was hoping that I could turn out another decent time to prove that Timp wasn't a total fluke. I've done this race several times (it was actually my very first half back in 1998; slightly different course though). I didn't expect today's time to be as fast at Timp's because the course, though also very aided, is not like Timp where you drop off the face of the earth for the first 8 miles. Hobble's a little more honest. At Timp I had went out too fast in my judgment and as a result, I had good splits through 8 miles, but after that I was done (splits there after were high 5's). My strategy this time was to go out more conservatively and see if I could hold onto a better pace later in the race; something I've been struggling with this year. The gun sounded and right away Scott, David Taylor, Jacob Buhler, and one other fast dude (apologizes, I can't remember his name, but he ran a 1:09 here last year) took to the front. I was in the next set back with Brick and Dan and ran with them for about the first mile while we exchanged a few brief pleasantries. We crossed the first mile mark a tenth to two-tenths of a mile before my Garmin counted the first mile. Every subsequent mile seemed to be off that amount too. My Garmin registered 5:14 for the first mile. That felt good and was right about where I wanted to be. By mile two, I had pulled a little ahead of Dan and Brick and was running alone in 5th place. The four ahead of me were already spreading out a little too, except for Scott and Jacob who were now squarely in the lead and very close. I suspected that I would eventually at least catch the other two, but was in no hurry to do so. Second split was 5:16. It was right around the early part of mile three where I caught David Taylor. There must have been a steeper decline here because I hit a 5:09 which would be my fastest split of the race. Still feeling good and not like I'm over-reaching. By mid-way through mile 4 I caught the other dude who's name I don't know. I was now running alone in 3rd place. 5:10 split. I could still see Jacob and Scott ahead. I estimated that they had 40 seconds to a minute on me and were probably still gaining. Miles 5 and 6 were still bombing down the canyon and I hit 5:14 and 5:12, respectively. I was still feeling solid, but knew the course would be flattening out soon. I decided to take my Gu earlier than usual just before I reached the aid station at 6 or 6.5 just to get it out of the way. For half marathons, I usually take a Gu around 7 or 8. Mile 7 is where the course starts flattening out for a short stretch the course goes up before it converges with the north fork. I definitely felt the effects of the up. It slowed me up pretty good and I was worried that it was the end of my sub-5:20 splits. After that brief stretch, a decline resumes, though more modest than the first six miles. Mile 7 was 5:25. Fortunately, it would be the slowest split of the race. The view of the course ahead widens out and I had a clear line of sight of Scott up in the distance. He was now in second and it appeared that I might be gaining a little on him, but a little early to tell. I suspected he wasn't feeling 100%. Jacob had pulled away and was completely out of my sight. Mile 8 was 5:18. I was happy about that; a pretty good recovery for me after the 5:25 for mile 7. Somewhere near the end of mile 8, the course moves away from the road on to the paved path; the same one we ran on as part of the Hobbler Half last month. The path is good and bad, but mostly bad in my opinion. It provides pretty views and its nice to get away from traffic/the road. But the rollers and turns dampen rhythm and speed. Splits 9 and 10 were both 5:21 - not bad. I only periodically got views of Scott, but it didn't seem I was making up any ground on him. After 10, you're done with the canyon. There's an aid station and you come off the path back onto the road and make a 90 left turn. The road, now heading south, goes down pretty steep for a moment before a quarter mile ascent that veers you back westward. Scott was holding about 45 seconds on me. After the little ascent, you have a straight shot for about the next mile. I was feeling good and we even had a bit of tail wind. Nice! Can I make up anything on Scott?! I feel like I should be able to. But mile 11 is another 5:21. Just can't muster anymore speed. At least I'm staying consistent. At this point, I know there's really no reason I shouldn't get a personal course record (sub-1:11). The 12th mile takes you onto a neighborhood street and there is another aid station. I was doing fine and elected to ignore the aid station, which is kind of atypical for me. We turn left out of the subdivision and we're now heading south on the final straight stretch to the park finish. Mile 12 is 5:22. The last part of the race was about status quo. I still had Scott in my sights, but wasn't doing anything about it. He still had the same margin on me. He said in his post that I would have caught him had the race been longer. That's simply not true. Had the race been another 5 miles, he most likely still would have finished with the same margin of time on me. I rounded into the park and saw the clock ticking up to 1:09. I mustered what I could to come in under 1:09 and barely did. However, after checking my Garmin and speaking to the others, the clock was about 30 seconds fast. My Garmin time for the 12.9 was 1:08:27. Good enough for 3rd overall. A big bummer that this course isn't a true 13.1. But this is by far my best result on this course. Last year was my previous best on it, 1:11:03. Overall, I'm very happy with the day. A good confidence booster for Pocatello in a couple weeks. Also a testament that all the biking this year must be doing something. Last year, I was consistently running probably 20-25% more volume, doing doubles, and virtually no biking. But both my Timp and Hobble times this year have been substantially better than last year. Spoke with Scott, Jacob, Brick, Dan, Brandon and others for a few minutes. I was particularly impressed with Brick's and Brandon's performances. Both had sizable PRs, I believe. They are looking strong for St. George. I continue to be amazed by Scott, despite the fact he wasn't feeling his best today. I love having him in the races I do because he's the next level I aspire to. Dan ran a terrific race despite his lingering injury and limited training, what a cool guy. I grabbed a little fruit and fluids and headed back to my car to change shoes and get ready for a cool down. I retraced the course backwards about 3.5 miles and back (~7.1 miles total). When I got back, I had missed the presentation of the overall awards (pulled a Fritz! = ). Scott and Dan got the announcer's attention that I was back. They disrupted the presentation of the division awards to give me mine. I got a cool big plaque, some socks, and $100 (sweet!). Got out of dodge a little after 10 because I needed to get home for Adventure #2 of the day. My family was planning an afternoon of boating up at East Canyon and that was a great excuse for me to ride my bike up to the lake and meet them. Got home at 11 and by a little after noon I was on the Cervelo heading up to the lake (via Wasatch Blvd, Foothill, Emigration Canyon, Little/Big Mountains). Good ride, but it was hot and took a little over 2 and half hours to get there (~45 mile ride). The lake was crowded with people (typical for a Saturday) and it was a bit windy. But I got some quality playing time with my daughter and nephew on the beach and even got the chance to ski in some choppy water (first time water-skiing this year....pathetic!). I had to cancel my 8 PM sports massage because I just couldn't make it in time. Other than that, it was a pretty terrific day.
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