Saturday, June 25, 2022

2022 Taylorsvile Dayzz 5K Race Recap - Taylorsville, UT







Official Time: 25:10
Placement: 28th overall, 1st in 50 - 59 age group
Results: Here
Race WebsiteHere
Weather: mid 60's, no wind
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2021] [2019]


Mile TimeComments
18:07Nice start.  Felt a bit fast though but going with it.
28:16Not an easy mile. I am actually shocked at the pace here. Better than expected
38:14Running through the neighborhood and the final stretch had me motivated to stay strong
3.080:33
Total Miles: 3.08 - 25:11





Introduction

Another weekend, another 5K.  I've done the Taylorsville Dayzz 5K now three times.  It is a fun, local race just a few short miles from my house.  It coincides with their city's summer celebration.

The 5K was going to be my "A" race for the early summer.  The course is flat and fast and offers some pretty good competition.  They also offer cash prizes and you must win your age group (with a 10 year age increment).  So each summer I make a mental note to really crush this race.  It sets a bit of a barometer for me on how my training and fitness is going.

But since I've been injured and my training has been fairly minimal, I knew my time wasn't going to be worthy of an "A" race.  In fact, this race was "let's get it done and hope I can win my age group".  My back was definitely not happy at the start of the race and more than likely I probably should've sat this week's race out.






The Race


I rolled into the race around 6:20 AM for the 7 AM start.  Packet pickup was a snap and it was a beautiful morning.  It was warm but not insanely hot just yet. Also there wasn't any wind to speak of.  I did a fairly brief shakeout run and some drills.  It also gave me an opportunity to take some course photos.  My back was definitely iffy and I focused more on drills to loosen things up rather than easy running.  I had a big question mark on my ability to finish this race without my back going into spasm mode.

The race started promptly after 7 AM and the plan was to go out strong but be willing to dial it back if my back started to grow more painful.

I wish I had had another 5 - 10 minutes to get the heart rate going before the race but I started off along the walking path surrounding the city's park.  I had eyeballed the competition before the race and didn't see anyone in the front section that appeared to be my age, but I wasn't taking any chances.

I was familiar with the course, having run it now for the 3rd time.  The initial quarter mile was crowded but the race thinned out and in no time at all I had settled into a pace.

I had no idea what I was running -- in fact I didn't look at my watch the first mile until I felt like I was getting close to the one mile marker.  I didn't want to get hung up on my pace -- I was simply going by feel and pushing hard, but not all out.

About the first mile area

The first mile came up at 8:07.  Way better than last week's race and right on target. I felt fast, but this was a 5K.  Hit it hard.

My back was griping a little but it was holding up.  I had taken some NSAIDs and rubbed some Voltaren on it and it seemed to be working.

We finally exited the park and I got hung up on a few small hills.  They just seemed to take a bit of my steam away.  They definitely weren't big but I had to dial it back on them on account my back doesn't want to tolerate any hills (which I had figured out on a training run a few weeks ago).



Close to the last quarter mile.

There is a long stretch of road along the park's edge we travel along.  It is probably my favorite part of the course.  Fancy houses on the left and woods / creek and the park on the right.  I could see some of my friends in the park  I was hurting at this point and figured the last 1.5 miles would be a painful grind.





I recovered a bit and pressed forward.  I was actually doing well and I hit mile 2 at 8:15 or so.  I had expected an 8:30 at the minimum.  

There wasn't anyone behind me but I was working on catching a few of the runners ahead of me -- none of whom were in my age group.  It kept me motivated but for the most part it was lonely running.  There were some course marshals that cheered me on as I ran through a subdivision and finally back into the park.  It was nice to receive some cheers as I surged ahead.

The final half mile seems to last an eternity.  You enter the park and you can see the finish line off to your left but you still have to make a wide arc around the right hand side of the park, You do get to run by some of the exhibitor tents but the finish line can't come soon enough.

I had found another gear.  It wasn't like last week's race where I was simply out of gas, but I was still pushing hard and holding a solid pace.

Post race finish photo with some of my friends.

I rounded the final corner and glanced at my watch. Less than a tenth of a mile.  I pushed hard and tried to catch a young man in front of me, but he wouldn't let me pass him.  I didn't want to pull anything and no one was behind me, so I coasted through the finish line.

Conclusion


I crossed the finish line -- with my back intact - in 25:10.  I was really happy with that, especially considering last week's painful 5K (about a 26:31).  I had hit my goal - significant improvement.



I hadn't seen anyone in my age group ahead of me -- as the race is attended by a lot of high school runners.  And sure enough, I had placed first in the 50 - 59, netting me $25.

I actually felt strong at the end and all things considered this was a great race, despite my time being about a minute slower than where I was 2 months ago.  So my fitness does appear to be coming back.




The race itself was well organized.  Easy parking, started on time, and well marked (despite a lot of turns on the course).  Post race refreshments included water and bananas.  I had missed the deadline for a t-shirt, unfortunately but I did get a nice swag bag.  Note to self: register early.

It was great seeing my friends from various races and I felt really happy I had made marked improvement.  I was pretty much all smiles on the way home.


Upcoming Races


07/02: 2022 Riverton Country Mile 10K - Riverton, UT (Confirmed)
07/04: 2022 Sandy City 4th of July 5K - Sandy City (Maybe)
07/09: 2022 Farmington Days 5K / 10K - Farmington, UT (Maybe)
07/16: 2022 Draper Days 5K - Draper, UT (Confirmed)
07/23: 2022 Handcart 5K - Bountiful, UT (Maybe)
07/30: 2022 Alien Run - Farmington, UT (Maybe)
08/06: 2022 Roy Days 5K - Roy, UT (Maybe)
08/13: 2022 Bluffdale Badlands 5K / 10K - Bluffdale, UT (Maybe)
08/20: 2022 Provo Canyon to Pleasant Grove 10K - Lindon, UT (Confirmed)
09/03: 2022 Swiss Days 10K - Midway, UT (Maybe)
10/01: 2022 Witch Run 10K - West Jordan, UT (Confirmed)
10/22: 2022 Haunted Emigration Canyon 5K - Salt Lake City (Confirmed)
10/29: 2022 Haunted Half Provo 5K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
01/14: 2023 St George Half Marathon - St George, UT (Confirmed)
02/26: 2023 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
04/22: 2023 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
08/19: 2023 Rock 'N Roll Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)


Saturday, June 18, 2022

2022 West Fest 5K Race Recap - West Valley City, UT






Official Time: 27:55
Placement: 1st in the 50-55 8th male
Results:  Here
Race WebsiteHere
Weather: 81 degrees, 9 mph winds from the south
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: First Year For Me



Mile TimeComments
18:14Faster than expected.
28:31This is the pace I was targeting.
38:55I was hurting here and sort of lost interest in pushing the pace
3.282:15Holding it steady towards the finish
Total Miles: 3.28 - 27:55 (26:30 for 5K)





Introduction


So I've been out of action for a while.  I haven't raced since Easter due to injury and illness -- which more or less have taken me out of my running routine for the better part of 2 months.

I was scheduled to do one of my favorite races this weekend -- the Lamoille Canyon Half Marathon.  But I am in no condition to do a half marathon -- even a fast downhill one.  I had toyed with making the 3.5 hour drive for the 5K but opted to just sit it out.

I was itching to do a race - just a local, low budget 5K and found one -- the West Fest 5K / 10K.  It was only $25, about 15 minutes drive and was tied in with the city of West Valley City's local Summerfest / carnival celebration.  

So I plunked down my money and showed up early Saturday morning for the race.





The Race


I showed up at the local elementary school an hour before the race site.  I've only dabbled a tiny bit in West Valley City so this was all new area for me.  Easy parking and I was able to get my bib in short order.  Instead of a shirt, I got a hat (I love shirts but I am okay with getting something).


I wound up using the bathrooms a time or two, did a short warm-up.  With my injury and lingering post illness issues, I kept my warm-up short.  It was already warm.

I watched the 10K runners take off -- they had started at 7:10 AM.  I was wishing I had done that race as the course looked very interesting.  My race started at 7:30 AM and it started exactly on the dot.


I didn't have many goals on this race other than to finish.  Like I said, I've gotten very little running in over the past 60 days and I knew my time was going to reflect that.  My training indicated that I'd likely be able to hold an 8:30ish pace, which I'd be happy with.



The race started at the elementary school and took off west for a short while before making a turn into a corporate center, bike trail, and residential area.  I settled into a comfortable pace.  I didn't really look much at my watch -- just going out easy but fast enough to be respectable.

Quite a few people sped ahead of me but I was content to just run my own race.  I honestly didn't know how much speed endurance I actually had.

The course was pancake flat and I hit the first mile in 8:15.  Off to a good start but I suspect I wasn't going to be able to hold that. My lungs haven't cleared since my illness a few weeks ago and the few tempo runs I had done indicated I probably wouldn't be able to hold it.

I slowly reeled in the faster starters.  It was warm and many of them were slowing down on account of it.  I took was slowing down and I hit the mile 2 spot at about 8:30, which was my goal pace.  But could I hang on?

The race had thinned out at this point.  The course was well marshalled with aid stations and spray chalk on where to turn.  However, there was a stretch where we were running east for the better part of half a mile and there were no turns but the spray chalk was all sprayed in the other direction (presumably for the 10K).  It was disconcerting and part of me wondered if I had been misdirected.

I was working with one young man (probably junior high school).  I looked behind me -- and the few people I had passed recently were no where to be seen.

I looked down at my watch and I was approaching the 2.5 mile mark and the finish line wasn't anywhere that I could see.  

At that point, I think I mentally gave up a bit.  I could see myself running a 5 mile race and finishing last.

I had studied the course beforehand and I finally saw the busy street I knew we had to make a right on before making the final right turn to the finish line.  I wasn't lost at all.

I kept looking down at my watch and looking for the finish line.  It should be coming up soon.  I was hurting at this point pretty badly.  No one was behind me and I had finally passed the junior high student I had been working with, so I was running for pride.

Finally I spotted the school as my watch beeped 3 miles.  The course was going to be significantly longer than a 5K.  I hit the 5K mark (on my watch) at about 26:30 -- about where I expected I'd be and cruised into the finish line, at 3.28 miles in 27:55.
 

Conclusion


Overall I finished pretty well -- 8th place for the men and about 12th overall.  It was a small race with about 20 10K runners and 85 5K runners.  A total confidence booster for me.

I managed to snag first in my age group.  The prize for that was a simple ribbon.  There were no finisher's medals for this race but every participant got a mug (apparently an age group award from previous years) as well as some running stuff.  I wound up winning a reflective vest with flashlight.  Actually kind of useful being that I'll be running more at dawn during the upcoming summer months.

Post race refreshments were fruit, Chik-Filet Sandwiches and water.  Pretty simple but I didn't expect much for my entry fee.

So performance-wise I did about what I expected.  A dream goal -- and unrealistic -- was to come in under 25 minutes.  2 months ago this would've been easy.  But with a lack of training and still not 100% recovered from my illness, I expected to come in well behind expectations.

This does give me a bit of a baseline to work off of as I work to regain my fitness.  Which was about 90% of the race (also to get out of the house and see fellow runners I haven't seen in a while).

Overall I was pleased with my experience.  It was well organized and the course markings were good. I just wish it had been closer to a legitimate 5K.  It will definitely be well off from my normal efforts.


  

Upcoming Races



06/25: 2021 Taylorsvillle Dayzz 5K - Taylorsville, UT (Confirmed)
07/02: 2022 Riverton Country Mile 10K - Riverton, UT (Confirmed)
08/20: 2022 Provo Canyon to Pleasant Grove 10K - Lindon, UT (Confirmed)
10/01: 2022 Witch Run 10K - West Jordan, UT (Confirmed)
10/22: 2022 Haunted Emigration Canyon 5K - Salt Lake City (Confirmed)
10/29: 2022 Haunted Half Provo 5K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
01/14: 2023 St George Half Marathon - St George, UT (Confirmed)
02/26: 2023 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
04/22: 2023 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
08/19: 2023 Rock 'N Roll Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)