Believe to Achieve

I signed up for this race yesterday to try and get my butt in gear even with a bum ankle.  Yup still insane.  Would you expect anything different from me?  More insane is the first 2.5 miles of this course.  The first  mile is all uphill with part of it labeled "Goliath".  The second mile contains the second half of Goliath then some rollers.  It starts at Timpview Highschool and heads north, turns right after going .8 miles and head up Goliath then turns south at the top with a rollers that is still a net uphill until mile two, then a few more rollers in mile three then if you can even get your breathing/heartrate in control (which I couldn't since I am out of shape) you can take advantage of the second part of mile three (wonderful downhill) and mile four some little roller then downhill by the Provo Temple.  Miles 5 and 6 are flat with the last .2 miles UPHILL.  Seriously this course kicked my butt.  IT was soooooo hot and humid that I was completely saturated in sweat in the two mile warm up I ran.  I was so much worse in the race.  

Splits-- 7:53 (9:08 in the warmup where I felt I was suffocating), 7:51 (I am pretty sure I was moving in place for a bit at the beginning of this mile, the rollers in view didn't help me mentally after the first water station.  Mile three pleasantly surprised with 6:30.  One guy (in his 50s based off his white hair) completely cut off the corner after we turned left and you were to stay and go around the cones.  He gained momentum from this and easily gained 15 seconds based off that move.  I was irritated!!  Mile 4-- 6:40.  I seriously was like if SGM is hot this year I am not racing it!!  The heat was killing me.  My HR just never recovered from that ridiculous hill climb!!  I thought the girl ahead of me was the woman I talked to at the start that I had warned about the first mile and she said she ran track but just had kids so she was out of shape.  Turns out that wasn't the case at all-- it was 17 year old teeny bopper (cute blonde, taller and I but skinnier).  We met just before the awards.  She was like "wow you did great.  Last year you would have beat me.  I ran it over 43 minutes".  This year she ran it in 41:24.  She won 100 dollars.  Nothing for second place.  I didn't care and knowing she was somewhere out in front and unseen from where I was just gave me the excuse to slow it down.  I was seriously nauseated.  MY legs felt like jello.  Mile 5-- 6:55.  See I slowed but it was flat to slightly uphill then a short downhill.  Mile 6 I wanted to quit and walk so I am sure that is why I slowed.  7:15.  Oh well.    The last .2 miles are uphill.  Yuck.  The sun was beating in my face.  I was just glad to get this over with!!  Oh at mile 4.7 there was another left turn and the guy in front of me completely cut off  the corner without going around the cones.  So losery!!! It was obvious where you were supposed to run.  I am sure white haired guy (who finished close to the first girl) cut that corner off too!!  Sorry it just annoys me.  I want to run the course the right way and I expect others to but what do you do???  blah.  Funny sidenote-- two bikers at different times just before mile two were giving me encouragement.  I was still recovering and running a lot of rollers and told them "sorry I can't talk".  I told one of the bikers to tell the girl up in front to "slow down!!"   He said she was slowing on the uphills so I could catch her on the down.  I was in no mind set to race so I didn't have it in me to catch her.  I was feeling quite dehydrated.  In fact right now I think I have a slight case of heatstroke-- I am dizzy and my HR is up and I feel like vomiting.  I needed to take in some salt before this race.  I only took a few swigs of powerade and 1/4 of a banana.  I think a salt tab would have saved me.  I was wondeirng if someone would have collapsed on this course because I thought I was about to.  Okay, long report.  Nothing wrong with 2nd place on a comeback. Ran coolddown in 8:09 pace.  Warmup pace 8:14 for two miles. Total miles 10.2.  Oh yah-- Course short unless the garmin can't pick up the intense vertical gain accurately.  The race director swears the course is on but Ian Hunter ran it and really believes  it is closer to 6 miles as well.  The RD is my neighbor.  He used his bike with a device to track the distance.  Not sure what kind that would be or how accurate it is.  According to a recent conversation on this about the Boston Marathon course-- GPSs can be off hence why they use a similar device to mark the course.   Feel free to enlighten me.  When I course tooled it the satellite had a hard time getting elevation at times.  We are right upside the mountain.  Effort the same for me in the heat and with the giant (goliath) hill.  Of course THOSE who took OFF the corners even ran less.  Silly boys!!