Running on Eddie: June 2023

Saturday, June 24, 2023

2023 Taylorsville Dayzz 5K Race Recap - Taylorsville, UT

Official Time: 24:03
Placement: 24th overall, 1st in 50 - 59 age group
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: upper 50's, no wind
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2022] [2021] [2019]

Mile	Time	Comments
1	7:45	First quarter mile wasn't good but got into the race and held onto a decent pace.
2	7:48	Dug myself into a hole around mile 1.25 but pulled out of it. Rock solid pace.
3	7:49	Still strong until about the last .5 of a mile.
3.10	0:41	Fast finish!
	Total Miles: 3.10 - 24:03

Introduction

One of my summer "must-do" races is the Taylorsville Dayzz 5K. It is super close, starts early, affordable and less than a 5 mile drive. Also, a lot of my runner friends who live in the area show up to run it.

I've done the race every year with the exception of the Covid year in 2020 (it was canceled). One of the best things about the race is that you can "win" you registration fee back by winning your age group. Also the overall winners can win a tidy sum - in years past $100.

The race is just a really nice community driven event to celebrate the summer festivities of Taylorsville UT.

The Race

The race starts at 7 AM -- just before it starts to get warm. I got there early -- mostly to get in a decent warm-up. I was one of the first to arrive and getting my bib was as easy as it could get. I had also pre-registered early and snagged a shirt.

After a quick chit chat with some other people I knew, I began a warm-up. One of the benefits of this race is that there are a TON of bathrooms -- with it being a fairground. I got about a mile in plus some drills. I wasn't feeling "on" though - just some residual fatigue from the week's training. I tend to get this feeling before a faster race... whether it is nerves or reality, I am not sure, but I am usually able to shake it off.

The race started right on time and off we went along the perimeter of the park's walking trail. It was crowded at first, but fortunately I had moved up a bit to avoid some of the slower runners.

With this being an important race to me, I pushed the pace a bit as the lead pack disappeared. This is definitely a young person's race, with a lot of runners in their teens and twenties.

The course is a bit confusing and it helps to know it. It isn't well marked and obvious where to go at times, but all I had to do was follow the lead runners.

The course has a few hills in it, but nothing very serious. I felt good and I wasn't too surprised to see 7:45 come up for the first mile. Exactly where I wanted to be.

I then ran into a bit of a problem. As we circled the baseball park I ran into a younger runner. He was cruising along but I was closing ground on him. Eventually I was tailing him but I needed to overtake him. Every time I tried to pass he'd pick up the pace. I wasn't ready to gas myself so I pulled it back. Consequently the young runner did as well, slowing me up.

It took about 3 times before I had had enough and just simply "broke" him. Unfortunately, this caused me to slow up for a bit to get my heart rate to go down. He didn't do anything wrong -- by any means -- but it was frustrating for me.

At this point we had exited the park and were doing some street running through a neighborhood. The northbound route is tree lined and there is a creek on the left. It is just a bucolic round and I wish the course had more of it.

I was running solo with only a stop-and-go runner behind me. I could see a few other runners in front of me but they had put a lot of ground on me. I was still running strong though. I hit mile 2 with a 7:48 pace. Actually not too bad given I had jacked my heart rate getting around the other runner.

The last mile wends its way through a neighborhood before re-entering the north side of the park. You can see the finish line less than a quarter of a mile away, but your watch says you still have at least half a mile to go.

It was at this point that the lactate started to flood my legs and I definitely slowed up. I kept willing myself forward but my legs were heavy. The final half mile also has a few sections that are run in dirt and grass, so I wasn't getting a good return bounce from my shoes.

Once I hit the final turn though, I was all business. My watch read about 23:30. Could I make the final .10 of a mile under 30 seconds?

Conclusion

So the answer is no - not quite. I finished in 24:03. My watch also read 3.10 miles for the first time. In years past it has consistently come up a bit shorter. I asked a few other runners what they got and it ran the gamut of 3.03 to 3.22. Amazing how expensive technology can differ from runner to runner. I will say that the mile markers were pretty much spot on with my Garmin.

I wound up socializing for a good 15 - 20 minutes before braving to find my results -- which are provided by a printed card. They only give out first place awards in this race and they have 10 year age increments. As stated above, first place gets you $25 (about the price I paid for my race entry).

I hadn't seen any other runners my age so I felt pretty confident. Fortune smiled upon me as I did indeed place first in my age group, netting the cash prize. I didn't hit my time goal (it was about 23:45) but I did grab my age group win!

Post race refreshments were fairly simple. Water, granola bars, and bananas. It was enough to keep me happy and I always bring my own.

The shirt is a technical one and one I'll definitely wear. They also had a finisher's medal which was nicely designed and better than expected. The goodie bag was also stuffed with coupons that I'd actually use as well. Again, this is one of the best bargain races around.

The organization on this race is always well done. They had ample volunteers at some of the more confusing parts of the course and they had one aid station. I do wish they would put a few chalk markings on the ground -- just to let you know you were on the right track. With a course that loops back on itself, it can be confusing especially to the uninitiated.

Overall, I am happy with my time. I ran strong and my splits were rock solid. I didn't quite hit my time goal, but overall this was a good race for me performance wise. I am getting more confident in my racing abilities, especially in the 5K distance.

I am looking forward to next year and plan to attend.

Upcoming Races

~~07/04: 2023 Riverton Town Days Country Races 10K - Riverton, UT (Confirmed)~~

07/08: 2023 Draper Days 5K - Draper, UT (Confirmed)

07/15: 2023 Farmington Days 10K - 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)

04/20: 2024 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)

Sunday, June 4, 2023

2023 Utah Valley 10K Race Recap - Provo UT

Official Time: 47:25
Placement: 5th in age group, 59th overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: mid 50's, breeze from the south
Garmin Route: Here
Previous Years: First Year for me

Mile	Time	Comments
1	7:54	Slight uphill. Holding it in check and seeing what the course offers
2	7:38	Hooked up with the half marathoners and some downhill. Bit of tailwind.
3	7:50	Holding it in check. I see a hill ahead
4	8:01	The hill slowed me up but not as bad as I thought. Confidence building.
5	7:41	Pushed it here with a gentle downhill.
6	7:50	Desperation building. I can see the finish from a mile out. Takes forever to get there.
6.08	0:29	Push!
	Total Miles: 6.08- 47:26

Introduction

At some point during the spring I got an offer from the Utah Valley Marathon people to sign up for their race. It was a pretty nice discount for an otherwise fairly expensive race that in the past I've neglected to sign up for.

There are basically 3 big (well attended) marathons in the Salt Lake area in the spring: Salt Lake City, Ogden and finally the Utah Valley (Provo). Of the three, I've never done the Utah Valley one. It comes at an awkward time of year where it can be hot and usually by now I've done the half marathons I've set out to complete.

But this race does offer a fast 10K and it fit into my schedule. I also had a runner friend who was interested in doing it. I figured why not, plunked down the money to see just how fast this race could be.

The Race

One of the hitches of the race is that the day before the race, you have to get your bib at the Expo. That is a fairly typical experience with the larger races. It was held at the Provo Convention Center and it is about a 30 minute drive from my house. It was bigger than I expected and I wound up picking up a few of last year's t-shirts for $4 apiece. Like I don't have enough shirts.

I got to the race site pretty early expecting a fiasco to get on a bus to take me to the 10K starting line. I was shocked to find ample parking and virtually no wait to get on the bus. It is always a source of anxiety for me, on getting to the starting line on time and with ample time to use the restrooms / warm-up.

The race starts at a local LDS stake. They had a fair amount of bathrooms and on the bus ride up to the starting line, I spotted some construction sites with porta-potties. There were a few hundred people milling about waiting for the 7 AM start.

Time went by pretty quickly. The weather was absolutely perfect for a race. A slight breeze, cool air, and no chance of rain. I managed to do about a mile warm-up and some drills.

I had studied the course beforehand to some extent. I had heard it was mostly downhill and I had run the second half of the course when I ran the Provo City 5K. The first mile or so was definitely a slow uphill, but after that I felt the race was going to be a fast one. I also heard that my Garmin would likely read about 6.07 miles. Armed with this information, it gave me some confidence in knowing how to pace myself.

The race was supposed to start in waves -- I am not sure why they did this, but it wasn't really necessary given that I've certainly run much larger races. The first wave were 7 minute per mile runners, which there weren't many.

I wound up waiting for the first wave of runners to begin and when the coast was clear, I started running.

The first mile was indeed a gentle uphill and it wasn't terrible. I kept telling myself to be patient and that once I hit the single turn on the course, that I'd be able to cruise. I wound up catching some of the early runners but the lead pack certainly had left me in their dust. 7:55 was the time of my first mile -- right where I wanted to be.

The race had started out as a residential run but quickly evolved into a race down Main Street towards the downtown area of Provo. Flashes of memory were coming back to me -- I had never run the first few miles of this race, but I had certainly driven it.

We had a coned off stretch of a large road and I quickly found myself integrated with the half marathoners, who were around mile 7 of their journey. It was nice to run with them and I wasn't impeded with them in any way. But I was clearly running about 30 - 45 seconds per mile faster than them. It gave me a bit of gusto to be honest and I wasn't surprised to see 7:38 on my Garmin

There was a hint of desperation as I ran through miles 3 and 4. There were memories of Monday's race which didn't go well and I was questioning whether I had blown the race by going out too fast. There was also a decent-sized hill just after the 5K point that I certainly remembered. I was really pleased that I was able to hang on to a decent pace for the middle miles of the race.

Now, I could see the finish line-- but it was still way off in the distance. It was also at this point that the race leveled out. But it was still a gradual decline, so running a faster pace was easier. My passing of the half marathoners gradually ended as I started to catch up with more of them who were running about the same pace. I knew I was on target for a good race and despite the buildup of lactate acid, I knew I had it in me to push through the last mile or so.

It was also at this point that I had a young man -- probably half my age -- who was running the half marathon, decided he wanted to run with me. I grunted okay -- I was pushing the pace so hard that I could barely talk. He seemed a cheery chap and it was great to receive his encouragement.

I was running as fast as I could and I was definitely in a pain cave. I was driven just to run through the finish line. Also, from the mile markers, I had determined that indeed the course would come in around 6.07.

Anytime I backed off, the younger runner would encourage me and charge ahead. This made me determined to keep up with him and I'd push it a little to get back to his side.

Finally my watch beeped that I was at 6 miles and with the finish line looming, I surged ahead. I crossed the finish line in 47:25. A massive improvement over last week's 51:07.

Conclusion

So part of me was thrilled but part of my excitement was tempered by the fact that:

1) The course appears to be short

2) This was a runner advantage course -- it was downhill - about 300 feet.

So even if I took the 6.08 miles I ran and put it into a race converter, I ran about a 48:15, definitely an over the age of 50 PR for me (my lifetime best is 40:30). So, I am going to take this one for what it was: really a great race and one that I'll take as my PR -- with the time of about 48:15.

Finishing with the half marathoners was a lot of fun as well. The finish line was packed with people and those serving up post race refreshments: slushies, cold drinks, snacks, chocolate milk and so on.

I'll be honest, it was a bit of let down to "only" have run the 10K. I usually run at least a half marathon for these types of races and I had to push aside my ego on this one. It looked like the half marathoners also loved the course (and I've heard it is very scenic).

I loved the medal. It clearly shows I ran the 10K and the shirt proudly shows the race. Race support was good with accurate mile markers and aid stations. There was even a lot of crowd support along the way at times cheering us on. For a 10K, I felt like I got a "big" experience, although I still would've wanted to run the half.

Overall, I was pleased with my experience. It was on the pricey side, even with the discount (I think I paid about $50 plus service fees) but this was a big race. I just wish the 10K was more of a race with a certified course. There were some people who had run 6.20 and above, but most people ran 6.07 to 6.08.

The race was super competitive. I half expected to place in my age group, but I was crestfallen to find that I was 5th. I was about a minute shy of placing.

This was a big confidence builder. I ran this race well and pushed myself to the max. This was the race I wanted to run on Monday but my body didn't show up.