Placement: 4th in age group, 53rd overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: 57F -- no wind - felt warmer than it was.
Garmin Route: Here
Previous Years: First Year for me
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:53 | Off to a smooth start. Right where I wanted to be |
| 2 | 7:49 | Feeling really good. |
| 3 | 7:56 | Getting tougher. Looking for the half way point |
| 4 | 8:37 | Game over. Shocked at how much I slowed down |
| 5 | 8:34 | At times I felt like I was running fast, but in reality I was really slowing down |
| 6 | 8:37 | Grinding on a gentle up hill. |
| 6.22 | 1:42 | Give it all I have in the last quarter mile |
| Total Miles: 6.22- 51:10 | ||
Introduction
Finally, a competitive race with finisher medals and age group awards! For the last few years, on Memorial Day weekend, I look for a race in hopes there'd be one that would be worth attending.
This year, the Run of Remembrance 10K came with a finisher's medal AND age group awards. Definitely worth the effort and something to compete for.
This race is popular and has been going on for a few years. So I was excited to give it a go and it would be my first time visiting American Fork -- about 25 minutes drive south of where I live.
The Race
Fortunately, I was able to get a friend to pick up my bib the day leading up to the race. So all I had to do was get there, use the bathroom and warm-up. I got there with plenty of time to spare, so I had a few moments to run a bit of the course, use the bathroom a few times and see a few friends.
It had been a few weeks since I towed the line of a race, so I was a bit nervous. I felt pretty good and I've come off a decent training block. I felt like I was due for a good race.
The race was well attended, with hundreds of people lined up and many more in queue for the restrooms. The race started after the Star Spangled Banner and we were off.
The race is held on the city streets of American Fork -- all residential running with the exception of the 2.5 - 4.5 mile section, which was running along a creek and farm land.. I eased into my tempo pace and I felt completely comfortable. For the first mile I didn't look at my time -- just running by feel. My breathing was in control and I felt like it was a pace I could hold for most of the race.
The first mile also was blindly bright. The sun was coming up over the mountains and I was sort of wishing that the organizers had started the race 30 minutes earlier. It was warm, but not insanely hot.
I was getting passed by a few people and I was surprised to see the first mile come in at 7:54 pace. Exactly where I wanted to be.
Mile 2 and 3 -- I was still feeling fantastic. Nice even splits. Could I hold this and go sub 50?
As I rounded the corner to start making my way back to the starting line around the 5K point, I glanced at my watch: a comfortable 24:15.
Then the wheels came off. I am not exactly sure what happened but it suddenly seemed a lot harder to run. Mentally I was just "done". Perhaps it was the thoughts of "I've still got 3 miles to go" or "I should've run the 5K" or just the feeling I had a long straight, bleak road ahead. We were running by a nearly overflowing creek at this point and I was tempted to jump in (it was a very fast moving creek though). I was warm and just wanted to cool off.
Occasionally I glanced at my watch and was disheartened to see 9 minute miles come up at times. I tried to dig deep but I just couldn't get anything going.
Granted, this part of the course was uphill but it wasn't a terrible uphill. It was just extra work and I certainly felt it.
By mile 4.5 or so, I had caught up with the 5K runners. The course suddenly got a bit more crowded, but it wasn't a terrible situation. But I didn't even get a second wind here with some of the runners cheering me on. I was actually surprised to see I was hitting 8:35's fairly consistently.
Finally I could see where the final turn was to end the race and I couldn't wait to get there. Gone were my dreams of going sub 50 minutes and I was actually stunned to cross in 51:07.
Conclusion
So the race was well done. Well organized, well marshalled and it was accurate with mile markers at each point. The medal was well done and actually quite heavy.
Post race refreshments were fruit, sports drink and chocolate milk and the finish line was near a city park, so there were plenty of places to sit and watch other runners come in.
I am disappointed with my performance though. For the first 3 miles I was running my best race and I was full of confidence that this was going to be a "good" race. I am still scratching my head wondering what happened.
Overall, I was pleased with my experience. The race offered an optional t-shirt, which I passed on. It was well organized and reasonably priced, especially having registered within the last few weeks. I'll gladly do this race again next year if they continue the tradition of having awards and finishers medals.
Upcoming Races
06/03: 2023 Utah Valley 10K - Provo, UT (Confirmed)
06/17: 2023 Lamoille Canyon Half Marathon - Lamoille, NV (Probable)
06/17: 2023 West Fest 5K - West Valley City, UT (Not Likely)
06/24: 2023 Taylorsville Dayzz 5K - Taylorsville, UT (Confirmed)
07/04: 2023 Riverton Town Days Country Races 10K - Riverton, UT (Confirmed)
07/08: 2023 Draper Days 5K - Draper, UT (Probable)
07/15: 2023 Farmington Days 5K - Farmington, UT (Probable)
07/22: 2023 Steele Days 10K - American Fork, UT (Confirmed)
07/24: 2023 Desert News Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
08/05: 2023 Roy Days 5K - Roy, UT (Probable)
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)
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