Intermountain does a good job with this race each year with the help of their sponsors. The shirts are nice and the vendors with free samples are plenty. Very well organized and friendly volunteers. Plus, I had a discounted entry for being an IHC employee, which is a bonus!
5:30am- I made my way up to Layton to run the Classic 10k. I had big plans to get significant miles in before the start, so I figured I would run the the course twice, instead I ran out and got lost, back tracked and ran back to the start. Six mile warmup, instead of 12. I guess it made me more fresh for the race.
We lined up at the start and I saw Jasmine and Alyssa. The course was tough for me. The first mile is slightly up, miles 2-3 are uphill, then 4-5 are downhill with the last mile was flat-ish with a few small hills.
I stayed in 2nd place throughout the race, but could hear breathing behind me. The first three miles were rough, especially mile 3. It began to feel like a crawl up to the top of the turning point. Jasmine had a decent lead at this point. I knew if I could hold on till the downhill, I would make up some overall time. Spits were 6:02, 6:43, 7:05. 5k seemed around ~20:30.
It was hard not to relax a bit on the downhill, but I made sure to keep pushing. I tried to visualize my current exhausted state as a mental exercise for SGM, when the last miles are tough. Except, I started to feel stronger each mile closer to the finish.The last mile was tricky due to running into the 5k runners. Lots of dodging and fancy tricks to get around. The last mile had one more uphill, but it was doable. Final splits were 6:23, 6:16, 6:31, 6:11 (.10)
Cooled down with Alyssa and Jasmine. Then returned for the awards ceremony. It was fun to sit down and chat with other FRB'ers, Allie, James, Jake, Andrea, Kassi. Stars, Allie and Kassi took the gold and silver in the 5k. I placed 2nd behind Jasmine, and walked away with $75:) Thanks to Kassi and Jakerea (like that one? Give me time, I can do better,) for staying around and giving me great advice and support for the upcoming marathon.
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