Timpanogos Half Marathon Results

The Timpanogos Half Marathon marks the half way point of my racing season. Yesterday was my 15th race completed in 2012, and if everything goes as planned in the upcoming months, I should log approximately 15 more events between my own personal racing and pacing.

When I turned off my alarm at 2:05 Saturday morning, it hit me -- I was burnt out. It's my own fault, really. I wasn't able to take my Friday afternoon nap -- a pre-race ritual for any run that requires me to roll out of bed before 5 AM. To compound my lack of sleep, I stayed out way too late Friday night to go to dinner and a concert with friends. So by the time I arrived at Timpanogos, I was running on less than two hours of sleep.

The first eight miles of Timpanogos run down American Fork Canyon -- the same canyon I ran down for the American Fork Half. My game plan to beat my American Fork PR was to tackle these eight miles faster since the last part of Timpanogos is slightly hiller than AF. By the time I arrived at mile three, I realized I just wasn't able to beat my AF pace. I was becoming discouraged that my pace was about 20 seconds per mile slower than AF, and I just didn't have it in me to push harder. At this point I let go of aiming for the PR, stopped glancing at my watch, and just ran by how I felt.

Timpanogos Half Course Map

I was approaching the last mile before I looked at my watch again. I was right on track for a PR! I kept mile 13 at a comfortable 8:23 pace, then sprinted the last .1 at a 5:30 pace. I finished in 1:51:21 -- over a minute faster than American Fork.

My Timpanogos splits:
8:50
8:47
8:25
8:13
8:10
7:48
8:03
8:33
9:08
8:37
8:41
9:23
8:23
5:30

After reviewing my Garmin stats, I realized I did keep an overall pretty steady pace. Aid station stops accounted for 17 seconds of walking, but besides that, I did not take a single walking break.

I had thought about attending a free 5K this weekend, but it's probably best to skip a race, and spend my Saturday boxing or at Taekwondo instead. I need to reenergize for the Provo River Trail Half in two weeks!

Deseret News 10K Results

My third year running the Deseret News 10K went really well. I didn't push too hard during yesterday's race since I'm aiming to PR at the Timpanogos Half Marathon in three days (fingers crossed!).

My splits for the 10K were as followed:
8:29
8:08
8:43
8:51
8:24
8:36
8:00

I had a total of 7 seconds walked during the entire race (one aid station stop), and I crossed that finish line in 53:10! That is 5 minutes and 32 seconds faster than last year's time!

**Taekwondo belt promotion in three days**
**South America in three months**

Friends Of Animals 5K Results

Me and our FOA adoptee, Desi.

I PR'ed at the Friends of Animals 5K yesterday. 25:19! My year's goal is close!

**Post script: I just learned I placed second in my age group!**

Hobbler Half Marathon Results

I tackled the Hobbler Half Marathon last week for the first time. The course looked like a pretty easy, downhill run so my goal going into this race was to try and match my half marathon PR of 1:52. Since this route is not nearly as steep as American Fork (where I set my PR), I knew I'd have to push harder to hit that mark. 

When we finally started the run, I realized the course was not nearly as downhill as the map led me to believe. Yes, we were continually losing elevation, but the course rolls...a lot! Below is the map from my Garmin.

About two miles in I realized a 1:52 finish was going to be a bit lofty, so I reevaluated, and decided a sub 2:00 hour finish would be more obtainable.

My splits were as followed:
8:59
8:27
8:39
8:59
8:59
8:56
8:51
9:25
9:48
9:17
9:44
9:03
10:20
7:21

I came across the finish line at 2:00:47. Blast! I was 47 seconds over. Overall, this was a pretty fun race. Yes, I had gone into Hobbler thinking it was going to be easier, but now that I know the course, I would definitely try it again. Next year it's on, Hobbler!

Foster Care: Year 3, Months 4-6

With all our travel earlier this year, our fostering became a little hit or miss. We've been getting back on track, though, and in the last three months, we've taken in the following three dogs:

Dude (Corgi/Heeler)

Murphy (Bichon mix)

Rex (Pit Bull/Pointer puppy)

We're proud to say these three have all been placed in a forever home, and we'll be picking up our next foster this weekend!