A good race for me, and a PR (last year I ran 1:14:28 here). I'm very happy about my race. But, I'm not happy about falling apart the last 3 miles. I went for the win, and it probably cost me ~ 20-30 seconds. But, I would not have changed a thing. Sometimes, you just have to hold nothing back, lay it on the line, and do all you can to win a race. It's been a long time since I've approached a race in this manner. I enjoyed it. I'm very thankful to have been able to train consistently, uninjured, for 4 months. But, I'm hungry for more. I just need to get more training and miles under my belt -- and, of course, stay healthy. Such a great group of running friends to hang out with today. Many great performances. Mike, Ty, and I carpooled to and from the race. Warmed up and warmed down with a large, talented crew. My splits: 4:41, 5:00, 5:00, 4:52, 5:04, 4:58, 5:07, 5:07, 5:08, 5:03, 5:19, 5:29, 5:09 (for .94). My garmin said the race was 12.94 miles.
My plan was to hang with the leaders, no matter who showed up. I knew Zak James and Jacob Howell (the winner from last year) would be up there, and that there may be others. The race started and Zak darted out in the lead, and Jacob followed. I was ready for a fast start, but they were probably going ~ 4:20 pace for the first 1/2 mile, so I decided to hang back for a bit and then catch them. I progressively caught them from 0.5 to 1.25 miles. My first mile was 4:41, and I was still a few seconds back. The three of us then stayed together through 9 miles. Jacob then made a strong, calculated move. I went with him; Zak fell back slightly. I knew this was the race-deciding move, and I had already decided to immediately respond to anyone that made a move. My next mile was a mostly uphill 5:03. That may not seem like much of a difference compared to the pace I was running, but because it was mostly uphill, and because I was trying hard to stay with Jacob, I crossed the red line and began to fall apart. As can be seen from my splits, my last 3 miles were a bit of a death march. Zak caught me and passed me, and I was unable to respond. I really don't like how my last 3 miles went, but such is life. I went for the win, and it cost me. But again, I would have done the same thing if I had it to do over. Jacob and Zak ran very well. Jacob ran 1:04:57, and Zak ran 1:05:48. My hat is off to them. A lot of other guys ran well today, including Mike, Reed, Ty, Spencer, Karl, Brandon, Dave, and many others. Karl ran a 1:09 at the end of a 120 mile week. Impressive! Brandon crushed his PR! So did Reed! Scott very wisely did a tempo effort and paced Brandon. Scott is ready for a great one at TOU 1/2 next week. A great day with great performances. Here are some pictures, courtesy of my wife. Sorry there aren't pictures of everyone. (obviously, my wife can't always capture everyone :) 
   
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