Winter 10K

Oh how the week has flown! We've been so caught up in watching the Winter Olympics that little else has gotten done, including blogging. So here is a quick catch-up: last weekend was the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 10K, the second of three installments. Just like the 5K, my goal was to build my pace throughout the run and finish strong. Unfortunately I was not able to entirely achieve this goal but it was still a pretty strong effort for this time of year. All of the races in this series are out-and-back courses on a frontage road sandwiched between I-80 and the Great Salt Lake and the winds can be really fierce out there. We were lucky to have a nice tailwind on the way out...which in turn translated into a beast of a headwind coming back home in the second half. I was pleased to be able to beat the wind and maintain a building pace throughout the first four miles, but the wind eventually won out in the last 2.2 miles and my pace slowed. I was still able to hold onto 4th place for the women with a 40:49 time, which is actually one of the faster open 10Ks I've ever run. Things are looking good for some fast half marathon times this spring!

I'm beginning to have a friendly rivalry with one of the local male masters runners, Mel Lemon, who we know from the Wasatch Athletics running group. He has always soundly beaten me in the past, but with the improvements I've made in my running over the last six months I've been getting closer and closer to him in each run. I actually passed him soon after the turnaround in this race, but he tucked in behind me for a couple of miles and conserved enough energy to be able to swing around me with maybe a half mile to go. Argh! Maybe next time I'll get him. One of my swimming clients, Jed Brain, is also doing the series this year and he watched the scenario unfold from about 10 seconds behind. He said jokingly afterward that Mel should give me half of his trophy from winning the Grand Master Champion state title at this race, since I pulled him along for a good part of the race. :)

While there were fewer participants than at the 5K, there was still a good turnout and lots of familiar faces were there. Albert took third place again, just squeaking in under 35 minutes with a 34:59 effort. He was really pleased with that. Jed ran well, and his training buddy Randall Cooper (also a triathlete) had a solid performance too. They will both be racing at Ironman Canada later this year.

Next up, the 15K! My goal again will be to build up and negative split the run. And see if I can best Mel this time! Until then, it's back to putting in consistent solid training and laying a strong foundation for the rest of the season.