My first 10k went surprisingly well. The race was very different in so many ways. It started at 10pm at the Davis County Fair Grounds and hooked onto the Legacy Parkway Trail, it was an out and back course and it was required to wear glow-sticks. Definitely a fun atmosphere, but the late start time has messed up my whole schedule! The worst part about the race was that I had all day to be nervous and think about it. The best part is I felt like I was able to fuel my body a lot better, which for me makes a big difference. I got dropped off really early for the race, around 8, because my wife wanted to go see her sister in Syracuse. It was probably a good thing that I was there so early because I think I used the pop like 5 times before the race. They had some free samples of simply sushi, one of the sponsors, which I was able to avoid. I was very proud of myself for not giving in and eating some! Anyways, warmed up 2.2 miles to kind of check out the course and some of the transitions, stretched and headed towards the start line. Based on the times from last year I knew the field wasn't going to be super deep, so I went towards the front of the race, the beginning of the course bottle-necked and I wasn't about to get stuck in a big crowd. I chatted with a few of the guys who were at the front. One kid that runs at SUU and his friend, and an older guy who will be known as "The Old Guy" throughout the race. I asked them all what there plans were, and assumed that I wouldn't see any of them after the first .5 or so. My mind was set on keeping the pace right around 7. Mile 1- 6:52 We started, and like always, I went out a bit too fast and had to slow it down a bit so that I wouldn't get too worn out. About .5 in I lost track of the SUU kid and friend, and another guy in black. The old guy was right in front of me, so I latched on to his back hip and stayed there. Mile 2- 6:52 What am I doing, running on a treadmill!? Everything felt really good this mile, but old guy and I got some company from mo-hawk boy, who I did not take seriously because he was breathing way too hard. Mile 3- 6:58 I felt what I thought was a small headwind and made the comment to the old guy that I was happy for the turn around so that we could get rid of the little breeze of a headwind. During this mile mo-hawk boy dropped back. Mile 4- 7:06 Yeah, that head-wind . . . . it was actually a tail-wind :) I have no idea what I was thinking, but this mile was really exposed on the parkway and the wind was pretty strong. The most surprising thing here was that mo-hawk boy actually caught us, and passed us. We didn't take him seriously because he was breathing even harder than before and because we just assumed that he would fade again. Did I mention that his mo-hawk was full of lights and glowing? Mile 5- 7:14 Wind kept blowing and I started to get frustrated mentally because I was about 10 seconds behind both mo-hawk boy and old guy. It was during this mile that I asked myself "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? THIS IS AN EASY PACE!!" So about 1/2 way through I dug in and ran. Mile 6- 7:02 A bit better and I started to reel in the old guy, but surprisingly mo-hawk boy had actually held us off. Props to him for a gutsy finish. At the end of this mile I really kicked it in hard, but I thought maybe I had let the old guy get too far ahead. I also knew that I was for sure a faster sprinter than him, so there was a chance. .2- 46 sec, yeah I was flying . . . . I passed the old guy about 5 feet from the finish line! It was exciting and I was very happy with my finish. The only thing I could think about was that I left way too much in the tank if I could close that fast. Anyways, It was a great race, and I learned a ton. I need to learn how to keep pushing and not let my mind beat me up when things don't go exactly how I want. Overall a good run, and it is always fun to win a medal. I forgot to mention that I cooled down with 2.1 miles :)
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