Today I ran a total of 17.15 miles, but the real highlight was the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon (13.15 miles according to my GPS, which the extra mileage might be because of the weaving around people). I completed it in 1:35:26. My goal today was not to set a PR, it was to pace myself and push when I got tired. I wanted to average a 7:10 mile overall, but I averaged a 7:16 mile overall. I was still pleased with this. Remember, I really did not taper for this. It was just part of my training plan. For six of the miles (not consecutively) I averaged a 7:10 mile or faster, with the third and fourth miles both at a 6:54 pace. I was very pleased that the 9th and 11th miles I ran at 7:01 and 7:12, respectively. I was not exhausted, but feeling somewhat tired. Sometimes I demotivate myself at these points, but I was able to keep strong. So much of this is psychological. That's what this race really was for me, to prepare psychologically for the Ogden Marathon next month (that's my real race : ). At the very end, with .15 miles to go, me and another guy were running down the chute (to the finish). Independent of what he was doing, I thought that I would just finish strong. I always try to do this, which is why I always finish my training runs strong. It really does train your body (muscle memory). Well, this other racer could obviously hear me so he started running faster. Nobody likes to be beat at the very end, and there is a part of me that does not like doing it. But I have to remind myself it is part of the game and I never have bad feelings towards those that beat me at the end. Normally I do a lot of quick negative talk at this point and all too frequently let the other guy go. This time was different. I just thought I was going to give it everything I had. I literally ran as fast as I could, which the Garmin shows it was 12.6 mph for that stretch. It was all I could do to keep my balance and stay upright. I beat him though! : )
So the other miles I ran today included a pre-race mile at 8:31, a post race cool down mile at 9:57, and then two miles once I found my sweetheart who was also running the half. I always go back and support her by running the remaining distance she has back in with her. She did amazingly well. She thought today was going to be horrible because she did not prepare like she wanted to do. Turns out it was her second best time ever. Way to go sweetheart!
So my final results for this half was a time of 1:35:26. I came in 132 overall out of 3,496 finishers (top 4%). I was in the top 8% for all male finishers, and 9th out of 168 in my age division (males only) (top 5% for my age group). Top 3% for all runners (male and female) in my age category. Their was one female in my age category that beat me.
After arriving home, I cycled for one hour.
Total running miles for week = 47.50
Total cycling minutes for week = 1 hour 42 minutes
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