Official Time: 55:01
Placement: 38th place overall, 22nd male, 4th in the 40 - 49
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Lower 80's, overcast with slight wind from north.
Garmin Dump: Here (Garmin somehow quit recording my location)
Previous Years: [2018] [2012]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:15 | First half mile or so is up hill. |
| 2 | 8:35 | Nice stretch here where I could get some speed going. Some downhills |
| 3 | 8:55 | Hot out and it is wearing on me now |
| 4 | 8:58 | Trying to hang in there |
| 5 | 9:26 | Lots of turns and curves here. I was pretty cooked at this point |
| 6 | 9:18 | Mustered up a bit of a rebound but I was pretty gassed. |
| 6.06 | 0:35 | |
| Total Miles: 6.06 - 55:01 | ||
Introduction
This weekend tends to be fairly light as far as races go. I think there is a lull between the 4th of July and Utah's state holiday: Pioneer Day.
One of the races that I like to do is the Farmington Festival Days. Farmington is located about 20 minutes north of Salt Lake City and is in the heart of Davis County. They celebrate their town's history this weekend and like most summer time celebrations they tie a run to it.
In the past, they've held a half marathon but recently they just offer a 5K and 10K. It comes in at an affordable price and it is hard to pass up.
The Race
I rolled into the race at about 6:15 and grabbed my bib and shirt. I was one of the first ones there so it was easy in and easy out.
I wound up doing about a mile warm-up before the race and it felt tough. The air seemed oppressive and muggy. While it wasn't mid-western humid, it just felt heavy. My warm-up didn't instill much confidence in me and I still felt half-asleep when I started to toe the line for the 7 AM start.
The race started on time and almost immediately you are greeted by a hill. The hill lasts about a third or a half of a mile. So much for getting off to a good start.
I was patient and took my time. Finally, after rounding a corner the race starts to go flat and in fact you get the downhill.
At this point of the race you are running down Main Street in the bike lane. Traffic at that hour is pretty light and the course was well marshaled.
Just after the mile marker, the 5K runners hang a right and the 10Kers continue down Main Street. In a way, I wished I had been running the 5K as I was already hurting. My legs just weren't responding and I was warm. However, a 9 minute mile is just way too slow and I know I would've been frustrated running that for my initial mile in a 5K.
We got a bit of downhill into a residential section after mile 2 and I felt my spirits rise a bit.
After running through the downhill section we are dumped out near I-15. I was dying for a drink but in the first 2.5 miles -- nothing.
At this point too we rejoined with the slower 5K runners. Unfortunately they were walking / running 3-abreast on the tiny bike trail. It wasn't too hard to navigate through them though.
Close to mile 4 or so, the 5K runners hung a right to make their final push to the finish, while I continued to hit the Farmington Bike Trail.
The trail is your standard-issue bike trail but it is heavily shrouded in trees. It is actually quite pleasant. You also get to take a few sneak peeks at the Lagoon Amusement park's animals.
I was hurting at this point and was trying to keep my pace going. I had resigned myself that this wasn't my race but I hoped to beat last year's time (about 53:50).
I couldn't gain much ground here on account of all the turns and also I just didn't have a lot to give. I felt pukey and I felt like I was running on fumes. I wasn't too surprised to see a 9 minute mile flash on my Garmin.
The last mile took me out of the bike trail and back onto Main Street. There were some rolling hills here and I was working on sticking with the few runners that I had been with for most of the race.
I remembered from last year that the race was a bit short and I was thanking my lucky stars as we hung the final right hand turn towards the finish.
I crossed the finish line just over 55 minutes. I just didn't have a lot to give on this one and was totally spent.
Just after the mile marker, the 5K runners hang a right and the 10Kers continue down Main Street. In a way, I wished I had been running the 5K as I was already hurting. My legs just weren't responding and I was warm. However, a 9 minute mile is just way too slow and I know I would've been frustrated running that for my initial mile in a 5K.
We got a bit of downhill into a residential section after mile 2 and I felt my spirits rise a bit.
After running through the downhill section we are dumped out near I-15. I was dying for a drink but in the first 2.5 miles -- nothing.
At this point too we rejoined with the slower 5K runners. Unfortunately they were walking / running 3-abreast on the tiny bike trail. It wasn't too hard to navigate through them though.
Close to mile 4 or so, the 5K runners hung a right to make their final push to the finish, while I continued to hit the Farmington Bike Trail.
The trail is your standard-issue bike trail but it is heavily shrouded in trees. It is actually quite pleasant. You also get to take a few sneak peeks at the Lagoon Amusement park's animals.
I was hurting at this point and was trying to keep my pace going. I had resigned myself that this wasn't my race but I hoped to beat last year's time (about 53:50).
I couldn't gain much ground here on account of all the turns and also I just didn't have a lot to give. I felt pukey and I felt like I was running on fumes. I wasn't too surprised to see a 9 minute mile flash on my Garmin.
The last mile took me out of the bike trail and back onto Main Street. There were some rolling hills here and I was working on sticking with the few runners that I had been with for most of the race.
I remembered from last year that the race was a bit short and I was thanking my lucky stars as we hung the final right hand turn towards the finish.
I crossed the finish line just over 55 minutes. I just didn't have a lot to give on this one and was totally spent.
Conclusion
No medal on this one. For a budget race you have to finish in your age group and I was 4th. Kind of sad about that but I would've had to finish about 4 minutes faster to get into the hardware.
I grabbed a bottle of water at the finish and worked my way around congratulating people that had run with me. Once my stomach had settled I grabbed a banana and sauntered back to my car to get my stuff and some Powerade.
One of the nice things about this race is you get a super nice french toast breakfast. While I was eating the clouds finally let loose with a decent rain. Why couldn't it have done that during the race????
Overall, I was pleased with my race experience. The course was easy to follow and the Farmington police did a good job managing the traffic so I could run without car interference.
My performance however, not so good. The heat got to me and to be honest, my heart really wasn't into running this morning. It was just tough going the minute the air horn went off.
For $20 I got my money's worth. The shirt is a tech-cotton one. Pretty simple design and nothing fancy. The race could've used another water stop. There were two water stops and given the temperature, another one would've been nice.
For the price, I'd definitely do this one again.
One of the nice things about this race is you get a super nice french toast breakfast. While I was eating the clouds finally let loose with a decent rain. Why couldn't it have done that during the race????
Overall, I was pleased with my race experience. The course was easy to follow and the Farmington police did a good job managing the traffic so I could run without car interference.
My performance however, not so good. The heat got to me and to be honest, my heart really wasn't into running this morning. It was just tough going the minute the air horn went off.
For $20 I got my money's worth. The shirt is a tech-cotton one. Pretty simple design and nothing fancy. The race could've used another water stop. There were two water stops and given the temperature, another one would've been nice.
For the price, I'd definitely do this one again.
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