Everything was going great until mile 10 when we turned south to run
parallel with I-15. The next 16 miles with the exception of 2-3 were probably
the windiest conditions I have ever run or biked in. Nick (fairly short)
McCombs :) and I teamed up and took turns drafting for about 7 of miles until
he dropped back with about 5 miles left. From there I managed a few quicker
miles and then really suffered for the last 2 into the tornado. Someone should
really consider putting in a wind farm and/or just changing the direction of
the race depending on the wind conditions. I wonder what my time would have
been if I ran the course backwards today. 1800 ft of elevation gain but 16
miles of it aided by a 20-30 mph tailwind...I don't think I'll try that any
time soon. I will post my speedy and then not so speedy splits later.
Below are the splits. The first 6 miles are obviously very fast.
I tried to hold back a bit during 4-7 because I didn't want to beat my
legs up too early in the race. I was also talking to Nick McCombs quite a
bit during these miles which didn't make sense at the time because I thought I
would be the one who needed to conserve energy for the later miles.
Miles 8-10 had a few rollers but were still fairly fast. Nick and I ran side by side.
At around mile 10 we ran under the freeway and turned south towards
Mesquite. After just .5 miles going that direction and feeling how much
the wind was slowing us down it became apparent that the race and later miles
could get ugly. Miles 12 and 13 were especially hard (clocked a 6:04 and
6:30) because there was a long climb and the headwind must have been in the
20-30 mph range. Despite these slow miles I still crossed that half point
line in ~1:12:30. I knew the second half would just get slower so I came
to the realization very quickly that a PR was out of the question.
After mile 13 Nick and I figured it didn't make sense for both of us to
fight the wind so we started running in a line and switching the lead about
every 3-5 minute. Probably due to our mounting delirium and efforts to
avoid the wind, we almost tripped each other at least 5 times.
By mile 15 we started catching the half marathoners. Passing them
helped a bit mentally and it felt better knowing that we weren't the only ones
suffering through the wind.
Around mile 19 was the first time I realized that I could actually win the
race. Nick wasn't pushing the pace much when he was leading and I felt that if
I surged in the next two miles I may be able to put a gap between us.
My chance came sooner than I thought. While Nick was leading up a hill
at around mile 20 or 21 he started slowing considerably. I jumped ahead,
surged to the top of the hill and then ran down the backside as fast as
possible. I think that was the 5:36 mile I clocked at mile 22. I
didn't look back after that. Miraculously at mile 23 the course took a
turn to the NORTH (yes NORTH), which meant that the wind wasn't in my face for
the first time in 13 miles. That was a huge relief but sadly only lasted
for .5 miles. Miles 24 and 25 seemed unbelievably long, especially
straight and no less windy than the last 13. Fortunately for the last .7
the course turned back to the north so I was able to put in a last semi surge
into the finish.
Overall I was very happy with my effort and the finish. I only wish
the wind wasn't such a factor because I think I would have been very close to a
PR (sub 2:26) or at least better than my 2:29 at Ogden. Oh well. To
get a sense of the wind, Kyle Perry from BYU and the guy who won last's year
marathon in 2:19 ran just over 1:11 in the half.
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Split time
|
Elev. chg.
|
Accum. pace
|
|
0:05:08
|
1
|
5:08
|
-234
|
5:08
|
|
0:10:18
|
2
|
5:09
|
-250
|
5:09
|
|
0:15:33
|
3
|
5:15
|
-202
|
5:11
|
|
0:20:57
|
4
|
5:23
|
-219
|
5:14
|
|
0:26:25
|
5
|
5:27
|
-205
|
5:17
|
|
0:31:51
|
6
|
5:26
|
-140
|
5:19
|
|
0:37:22
|
7
|
5:30
|
-56
|
5:20
|
|
0:43:07
|
8
|
5:45
|
-21
|
5:23
|
|
0:48:53
|
9
|
5:45
|
-84
|
5:26
|
|
0:54:25
|
10
|
5:31
|
-97
|
5:27
|
|
0:59:51
|
11
|
5:26
|
-124
|
5:26
|
|
1:05:55
|
12
|
6:04
|
104
|
5:30
|
|
1:12:28
|
13
|
6:32
|
30
|
5:34
|
|
1:18:41
|
14
|
6:12
|
-36
|
5:37
|
|
1:24:44
|
15
|
6:03
|
-6
|
5:39
|
|
1:30:15
|
16
|
5:30
|
-158
|
5:38
|
|
1:36:24
|
17
|
6:09
|
76
|
5:40
|
|
1:42:56
|
18
|
6:31
|
5
|
5:43
|
|
1:49:06
|
19
|
6:09
|
-77
|
5:45
|
|
1:55:20
|
20
|
6:14
|
-43
|
5:46
|
|
2:01:28
|
21
|
6:07
|
8
|
5:47
|
|
2:07:04
|
22
|
5:36
|
-120
|
5:47
|
|
2:12:58
|
23
|
5:53
|
-11
|
5:47
|
|
2:19:08
|
24
|
6:10
|
-41
|
5:48
|
|
2:25:23
|
25
|
6:14
|
-5
|
5:49
|
|
2:31:25
|
26
|
6:02
|
22
|
5:49
|
|
2:33:36
|
26.38
|
2:10
|
40
|
5:49
|
| 
