Sunday, April 9, 2023

2023 Eggs Legs 10K Race Recap - West Jordan, UT







Official Time: 49:40
Placement: 9th overall, 1st in the 50-54 age division
Results: Here
Race WebsiteHere
Weather: Upper 40's, breeze from the south
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: Previous Years: [2022[2021]



Mile TimeComments
18:04A little congested at the start, and some headwind
28:03Running solo here. Headwind but just holding steady
37:59A little shelter from the wind. Picked up the pace slightly
47:59A bit of tailwind now. Fatiguing a little
57:55Grinding it out. Passed a few half marathoners
68:02Running solo.
6.20       1:35Lots of turns in the final push. 
Total Miles: 6.20 - 49:40







Introduction


One of my Easter weekend traditions, of late, is to run the Eggs Legs races at Gardner Village.  It is a local race put on by OnHillEvents.  Gardner Village is also conveniently located a few miles from my house.  

The race is held along the Jordan River Bike Trail.  It is a paved trail and one that I know very well: I train on it quite frequently.  The race offers 3 distances: a 5K, 10K and half marathon.  I opted in for the 10K when they had their Black Friday sale last year.

The race weather looked extremely iffy: we had a series of snow storms in early during the week and I think everyone was worried about residual snow / water on the course.  We were fortunate though that warmer weather arrived in the Salt Lake valley to melt it.  In fact, race day weather was near perfect.





The Race


I arrived at the race about 40 minutes before the race start and managed to get my bib.  I spent a good 15 minutes taking pictures of the shopping area and socializing with a few of the course marshals, who had started the half marathoners about 80 minutes prior to my arrival.  I got a sense of what I would wear: short shorts, a tech t-shirt and thin gloves.

I also did my warm-up -- about a half mile of super easy running, a stride or two and some drills.  I felt a bit sluggish and began to question if my head was in the game.  My legs didn't have the pop and I felt a little worn down.




The race started promptly at 8 AM.  There were about 100 10K runners (the bulk of the race consisted of 5K runners, who would start at 9 AM).  At the start I surveyed my competition and got an idea of who was in my age group. I suspect a few of them were doing the same.


The first tenth of a mile was run through the shopping center.  Fortunately, the shops weren't open yet to shoppers and the initial start was congested.  It wasn't too bad though and since I had lined up fairly close to the start I managed to circumnavigate some of the runners and jockey myself into a decent spot.

About the only hilly section of the race is the start. You can see how much of a hill it is by the photo above and below -- it isn't much.  But it always tends to give me pause.  Any bump while pushing 10K race pace will slow me up a bit.


I didn't really look at my watch for the first mile.  I roughly knew how far I had run -- having trained and run on the course many times.  I was working on controlling a steady pace and not going out too fast.  The lead pack clearly were putting ground on me and the suspects that were probably in my age group, I had passed in the first half mile.  I was working with a woman about my age group but even she put ground on me.  I was more or less running solo for the entire race.

I was telling myself to be patient -- I wanted to run a solid race, but with a decent headwind I merely needed to hold my pace and not blow up.  My breathing felt in control and while I was fatiguing, I didn't feel like I was going to come to a screeching halt.



I was still running strong when I flew by the 5K turnaround.  In a way, I regretted not running the 5K but I wasn't exactly running 5K pace.  I was holding back a bit.

It gave me confidence to know I had put in some tough speed sessions and that I could tolerate the pace I was holding.  I kept breaking down the race and I knew where the turn around was.  My pace was holding steady at 8 minutes per mile.

Around mile 2 I started to run into the lead back of the half marathoners, who had started an hour earlier.  I got a bit of encouragement seeing them zip along.

Finally the turn around hit and I reached it at 3.10 miles. This was going to be a legitimate 10K course.  In the past, the course has come in a smidge short.

I also got to run with some of the half marathoners as well, who were holding my pace.  

Also, on the out and back, I got an idea of what my age group competition were doing.  I was safe in my positioning and all I had to do was hang on.

I got a boost of energy as a result of the tailwind and I felt my pace quicken a bit.  I also got a few shout outs from the 10K runners who were behind me.  Despite my suffering, I tried to put on a brave face.

I wound up passing a few half marathoners and I was starting to reel in another 10K runner but I ran out of real estate.  Despite the difficulty of holding the steady pace, I had the tailwind.




The last quarter mile was a challenge.  No one to chase down, and I had a series of turns.  Also the micro hills were back.  I still managed to speed through the OnHillEvents finish line in under 50 minutes.



Conclusion


Overall I am pleased with my race. I accomplished one of my 2023 goals: run sub 50 minutes on a flat, 6.2 mile course.  I figured it was going to happen fairly soon given the direction my running has been headed.  

I've been doing a lot of work dialing in my 10K race pace and it all came together nicely on Saturday morning.  The pace was right where I wanted it to be and I was able to hang on for the duration of the race.

I wound up winning my age group -- which wasn't too hard given that there were only 2 of us in the 50 - 5 age division.  I was also 9th overall - but there were only about a hundred runners in the 10K.  



I had registered for the race on a discount, so it was budget friendly.  The medals were awesome. They were Easter themed and heavy.  Definitely a quality award.  The t-shirt -- sort of ho hum.  I like the 100% polyester ones.

The course was spot on accurate for both the 5K and 10K.  They had a pair of aid stations (one we hit twice).  Fortunately the weather didn't warrant much extra hydration.  Post race food consisted of a little bit of candy, granola bars, sports drink, cheese sticks and fruit.  Of course, they had the Fat Boy brand ice cream sandwiches at the end as well.

Overall, I am walking away from this race with a smile on my face. I ran well, was rewarded for my work and it was also great seeing so many of my friends who were also running the various events.  Looking forward to this race for next year.

Upcoming Races


04/22: 2023 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
04/29: 2023 Blossom Run 10K - Santaquin, UT (Confirmed)
06/03: 2023 Utah Valley 10K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
06/24: 2023 Taylorsville Dayzz 5K - Taylorsville, UT (Confirmed)
06/24: 2023 Timp 10K - American Fork, UT (Confirmed)
08/19: 2023 Rock 'N Roll Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
09/23: 2023 Witch Run 10K - West Jordan, UT (Confirmed)
10/21: 2023 Haunted Half 5K - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
10/28: 2023 Haunted Half 5K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
03/03: 2024 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
04/202024 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)



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