Placement: 1st in the 55 - 59 age group, 25th overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: 29F no wind.
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2024] [2023] [2022] [2021] [2020] [2019] [2018] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:44 | Solid start! Enjoying the mild downhill |
| 2 | 8:33 | Felt like I was running faster here. |
| 3 | 8:51 | The last mile is the worst mile -- steady grind up hill. |
| 3.09 | 0:45 | Trying to find some not-slushy ground to run on. Difficult |
| Total Miles: 3.09- 25.55 | ||
Introduction
One of my February Valentine's Day tradition, is to run the South Davis Recreation Center's Sweethearts 5K race. It is held at the Davis County recreation center and has been in existence for quite some time. I discovered it soon after I moved to the Salt Lake area and have been a regular at it since 2013.
The race is a good kickstart to see where your fitness is at. The recreation center holds 3 races at the site each year, on the same course, so you can track your fitness.
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| Packet Pickup Area |
The Race
The race starts at 9 AM and I got to the race site about an hour early. I managed to get my bib in short order, use the indoor restrooms (a major perk) and get warmed up.
The weather for the day forecasted it be damp with a chance of rainy / snow. The morning was living up to its expectations. The freeway was slick but not blizzard conditions. The morning of the race saw the roads were fairly clear in Bountiful, but it was damp and puddles of water.
It was cold out, but I was taking on the race wearing a pair of shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, a ball cap and my brand spanking new Saucony Endorphin Elite 4. I was ready to race!
I did about a mile warm-up with some drills and strides. It was pretty abbreviated in all honesty, but I felt ready to race. The race started a little after 9 AM.
As soon as the race started, it started to snow. It was almost blinding for a bit -- it was coming down hard. Had I underdressed? I was suddenly a little worried.
I had lined up in the front and was off to a decent start. I found myself in about 15th place overall. After about a quarter mile, the fact that it was snowing sort of became irrelevant, in fact, I think it stopped. The road conditions, as we ran down the main artery of Bountiful, was ideal for running. I wasn't worried about slipping at all. And the first mile is a gentle downhill, so I honestly felt like I was running a PR pace -- and I felt good too.
Visions of PRs and glowing posts on Strava rang through my head. Perhaps, the magic of the highly touted Endorphin Elites were holding true.
Mile rang up at 7:44. At first, I was a bit sad. I hadn't really glanced at my Garmin at all and was just running by effort / feel. I felt like I was running a LOT faster. My breathing was good and I was still feeling solid, but I knew the latter half of the race was uphill.
As we reached the bottom of the hill, I was begging to reach the first turn of the race. I knew that is when things would get tough. The section from about mile 1.25 to 2 is uphill but it isn't super steep. I just know that usually it costs me an extra 30 seconds to get through it.
I had snuffed out the people that looked to be in my age group and there were some that appeared to be in my age group, but from what I could tell, they weren't anywhere near me. I was working with a bunch of 20-somethings and the occasional teenager.
My pace petered out a bit as I rounded the corner and was greeted with the first mini-hill. It didn't seem as formidable, but I say that every year and every year it gets me. My pace slowed down a bit.
While I could feel my pace drop, I still felt like I was running strong. I wasn't looking at my watch at all. I just kept willing myself forward -- and again, I felt fast despite the uphill.
After the short run eastward, I hung a right and passed the first (and only) aid station. The site of the bigger hill at the end of horizon always stings. The last 1.5 miles is pretty much uphill.
Finally, at the traffic signal, I hit mile 2. Like a familiar friend, my Garmin chirped that I had just run an 8:33. I cursed under my breath. This was not going well. I knew I had slowed down, but I expected more of an 8:15.
I wasn't holding much hope that my final mile was going to be my fastest. At best, I figured I could match the current pace, but every year it usually winds up being about a 30-40 second slowdown for each mile, just given the nature of the course.
I doubled down my effort.
There was a lot of whizzing traffic going by and I was a little more out into the main flow of traffic than I would have liked. It was either that, or running in the slush along the side of the road -- no thank you!
I kept focused and worked to maintain my position. A few people had passed me but none of them were in my age group from what I could tell.
My breathing and form was solid but I knew my pace was slow as the hill climbed upward. I was well familiar with Bountiful's version of Heartbreak Hill. Finally I reached the summit and even crossed over the "false" summit.
At this point, I knew if I was going to salvage this race, I needed to push the last quarter mile to the max. It is also at this point where runners are encouraged to jump onto the sidewalk to avoid even more traffic that might be trying to get by.
The problem was, though, is that the sidewalks were a mess. As soon as I jumped onto it and started to speed up, I realized that there was no way I could run fast on it. It was smeared with patches of slushy snow and puddles of water. My shoes weren't having it. I tried to jump onto the grass, but my shoes lost all of their responsiveness and I felt like my pace dropped even more off of a cliff. I even jumped back onto the street, but I realized I'd have to run even further and endanger myself.
I sort of gave up at that point. I didn't really try to smash the final chunk of race. There wasn't anyone behind me and no one in front to chase down. Once I did enter in the parking lot, it became clearer to run but still, it was so short of a distance I couldn't make up any time.
Conclusion
My time was on par with what I did on this course on Thanksgiving Day. But suffice to say, I had had much higher aspirations for this course.
I wound up finishing first in my age group, so I netted a teddy bear that I could add to my collection. I love the awards that this race organization gives away and I was so grateful that I placed.
Post race refreshments included hot chocolate, bananas, oranges, muffins, fruit gummies, and bread with honey. They also had either water or sports drink (it was so chilly I didn't need any).
Overall, this is a very budget friendly race. There are a lot of ways to save money on it and I want to say I paid about $30 for a fully supported 5K race. They always do a great job with their medals and the t-shirt is a nice long-sleeved shirt made of technical material -- one I'll definitely wear.
In short, though, I wasn't happy with my race performance. I was hoping to hit about 25:15, maybe even under 25 minutes. I had trained hard all winter and mentally I was in the game from the time the race went off. I expected to make an improvement over my recent times.
Assuming I am still in the Salt Lake area, I plan to be in attendance next year. The race is affordable, fits into my schedule and offers a rare bargain in the racing community.
Upcoming Races
02/23: 2025 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
03/01: 2025 March Madness 10K - Woods Cross, UT (Confirmed)
03/15 2025 Lucky 13 10K - West Jordan, UT (Confirmed)
04/26: 2025 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
05/10: 2025 Run Farmington 10K - Farmington, UT (Confirmed)
