I have a love/hate relationship with the weather this time of year. On the one hand, I love that the snow has melted and the weather is warming. The struggle I have is judging how warm it will be for race day and having enough layers on that I am cool, but not cold throughout the race. By mile 6 I was warm so I wrapped the jacket around me. I could have dropped it at the clothing drop, but they weren't real well marked and I would have been sad to lose my $60 jacket that I found on clearance. The course was challenging with some of the hills, but otherwise well planned out. The good news about living in the Utah Valley area is that there are no lack of hills of all shapes and sizes for training. I started a little too fast at a 6:40 pace in an effort to keep up with a friend, but I reigned it in after 2 miles to a 7:30 pace knowing that I couldn't sustain 6:40 the whole time and I'd pay dearly for it later if I attempted it....maybe by the fall I can be there if I stay injury free. There was a short 1/2 mile run on an unpaved section of the course down by the Jordan River trail where they are working on the Trax extension. The goal going into the race was to be at 1:45 or under. Finishing at 1:43 was awesome. That finish time shaved 6 minutes off my SLC half marathon from last year. I'm looking to do the half again this year so I'll definitely be able to tell where I am this year. An additional benefit from this race was that my sister and her husband ran this. It was their first half marathon. |