Official Time: 25:11
Placement: 59th overall, 3rd in my age group
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: mid 60's, slight breeze from the north
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2021] [2019]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:38 | Fast first mile with a bit of downhill |
| 2 | 8:03 | Still holding on |
| 3 | 8:42 | Forgot how long / steep the final hill was. Was on target for a decent race. |
| 3.11 | 0:45 | Not much left but pushed it. |
| Total Miles: 3.11 - 25:11 | ||
Introduction
The last few months I've been really looking forward to the Roy Days 5K. It harkens back to the days when I first started racing: a community event to support a local community and a fairly low frills event.
The race is located about 40 minutes north of my house in Roy -- just south of Ogden. The local athletic director (and I think he doubles as the track coach) puts on the race. A lot of high school kids show up as well as past Roy alumni.
It is a quaint event and they definitely know what they are doing. It is just an easy race to do and affordable. With nothing else on the calendar, I figured why and take down the Roy Days Challenge 5K.
The Race
I arrived at the race site early enough to be one of the first one's there. The packet pickup was a snap and I got a stuffed goodie bag and a t-shirt and bib in short order.
For about 300 runners they had a whopping two bathrooms. Not a very good situation and I managed to get in twice before the race. Unfortunately, when it came time to race, I had to go again and there was absolutely no place to go. Kind of rough to run a 5K with a full bladder.
Either way, I got a mile of warm-ups in and I felt ready to race by the time 7 AM came up.
The race is chip timed, but when you cross the starting line is not recorded. So I lined up fairly close to the starting line. A lot of high school aged runners took the lead ahead of me. I remarked to the guy next to me, who I figured might be in my age group, that I suddenly felt very old.
I took off and was immediately passed by dozens of runners. This race was attended by many high school kids who clearly were faster than I was.
The race is primarily a residential run through the neighborhood of Roy. There are some rolling hills at the start but the first 2 miles are largely flat or downhill.
I aimed to run a quick first mile, hang on for the second and then hope for the best on the final mile. I felt comfortable as I sped to a 7:38 first mile. In fact, I was kind of surprised I managed to hammer that pace out, but I was aided by about 50 feet of decline.
The second mile is flat and we parted ways with the 2 mile walkers (maybe they are allowed to run). I had retaken my position ahead of some of the runners that had flown by me at the start. The other guy I was working against I had managed to drop. I figured I was in 2nd place for my age group.
I wasn't aided by any hills as we ran the perimeter of some of the parks and made the final turn to the finish. I actually was pretty happy with an 8:03 second mile -- but I knew the hardest mile was yet to come.
After making the final turn you can make out the finish line in the distance: at the top of a hill. You can see the traffic lights and flashing police lights. It appears so close, but looking at your watch, you know you have more than a mile to go.
My form was ragged at this point and I was doing some math. My goal on this race was to go sub 25 minutes. It would show some progress at least as I recover from my back injury and illness. I haven't done much hill training in the past few months on account it usually irritated my back.
I really dug down deep but I was saddened to see my age group competitor fly by me. Had my pace dropped off that badly? I would have to settle for 3rd place.
The final half mile is really tough. The hill gets steeper and my pace dropped. I was constantly checking behind me -- was anyone closing in on me? I had definitely put a gap amongst everyone else and I didn't see anyone who resembled a middle-aged adult behind me. Still, I gave it all I had.
Finally I crested the hill and saw the finish line. My watch was showing 24:45 and I still had at least .1 of a mile to go. I smashed the final tenth of a mile but it wasn't enough -- crossing the finish line in 25:11. Still pretty decent for a tough course but I missed out on my goal.
Conclusion
So -- I felt a LOT better about my time and effort on this race versus the race I did 2 weeks ago. The course profile is similar (I think handcart has a faster first mile and the final hill is more drawn out, where as Roy Day's is steeper).
I didn't give up on myself and at no point during the race did I feel like throwing in the towel.
I did wind up getting third place in my age group. I never saw the first place winner and I suspect I had correctly identified the 2nd place and the guy who I was working with was in a completely different age group.
They were very quick to dole out age group awards. I love it when races are organized. The race had started a few minutes late but the awards were being called out at 8 AM. I managed to snag a medal and a t-shirt from a previous year. They had hats and water bottles as well. The medal isn't anything fancy and it reminds me of the medals I used to earn 15 years ago when I first started to race.
Post race refreshments included bananas, granola bars, Powerade in a bottle, and fruit chews. They also had bottled water. All things considered a pretty nice race for $25.
I am fairly happy with my race performance. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but given my current state and where I am at with my training, I was happy. I am slowly making progress every few weeks and I am hoping once the weather cools off and I rebuild more of my endurance, I can take more time off of my 5K.
Looking forward to smashing this one next year!
Upcoming Races
08/13: 2022 Bluffdale Badlands 5K - Bluffdale, UT (Confirmed)
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)
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