Running on Eddie: Legacy Midnight Half Marathon 07-11-2014 Race Review / Write-up

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Legacy Midnight Half Marathon 07-11-2014 Race Review / Write-up

Official Time: 1:52:37
Placement: 17th out of 99 men (~25th overall) 1st out of 9 (40-44)
Results:Website
Race Website: http://www.legacymidnightrun.com/
Course Map: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6001050
Weather: low 80's and semi humid.

On Friday, I ran the Legacy Midnight Half Marathon in Farmington Utah. This is my 3rd year in doing this race as now appears to be a summer tradition. Unfortunately, it is also a reminder that I am getting a bit slower every year. This year's 1:52 was passable and it got me into the hardware, but I was really hoping to at least meet or exceed last year's race. You can read about last year's experience here on my blog, in which I ran a 1:49. In 2012 I ran a blistering 1:39.

The race works like this: You arrive at the Farmington Legacy Events Center around 8pm, pick up your t-shirt (which is exactly the same as the Provo Midnight Half Marathon), board a school bus no later than 9pm and make a 13 mile trip south on the freeway to a "secret" location in North Salt Lake (if you look at the course map it really isn't a secret). Around 10pm you start the race running north along the bike trail. It is a pretty easy route to follow with only a few (and this year well marked) turns. While I carried my headlamp, I rarely used it other than to check my progress on my watch. We had a full moon as well as wearable
neon glowsticks, so as you progressed north you'd see glowing and bobbing lines and circles.

The course had a few mile markers and I did manage to get pretty close to lapping my miles on my Garmin:

Mile	Time	Comments
1-2	17:03	Missing the first mile market. Pretty good splits though, 8:30's which is what I wanted
3	8:45	I was holding back here a little, perhaps too much
4	8:19	Picked it up
5	8:19	Picked it up
6	8:19	Keeping it consistent
7	8:33	Held back a little
8	8:21	Back on target
9	8:30
10	9:33	Stopped and got a rock out of my shoe. Was feeling it here
11	8:31	Back on target
12	9:12	Hurting but managing
13	9:05	Final 1.1
Total Miles: 13:05

Once again, around mile 5 my right hamstring got tight. It would squeeze a bit and then let up. Every few miles it would feel like it needed a good stretch. I've been stretching it and foam rolling but it looks like when I increase the pace it likes to get angry with me. I suspect mentally it affected me more than anything, as I half expected it to cramp up.

While the race appears short, around mile 7 I ran under a .10 mile long bridge and my GPS lost contact in there. I am not sure how my Garmin recalibrates itself after reconnecting with the satellites, but it might be lost distance. I suspect the course was very accurate.

My goal was to start the first 3 miles with the 1:50 pace group in my sights and then after mile 3 start to increase my pace until I caught and eventually passed him. I was making good ground on him until about mile 7 (I think I could still see him in the distance until mile 10 or so). The humidity (as far as Utah goes it was a semi humid night) and my bothersome hamstring made me realize tonight wasn't my night.

Either way, what I like about this race is I again maintained for the most part pretty even splits (although I faded in the last 2 miles). Normally I start out fast and have to drag myself to the finish. This time around, I held on pretty well and managed to move up the leader board a bit in that I passed about 3 - 4 runners near the end of the race

Afterwards, I picked up my award and headed home. While I chatted with a few people at the race, I didn't really know anyone. If the finisher's medal and the age group award look familiar, it is because they are: they are the same as the sister race that was two weeks ago in Provo (as well as the t-shirt). Sort of a disappointment in a way but I am sure it helps keep costs down.