Not really a race but I'll still fill out a report. Due to the issues I've had all summer my race goals turned into nothing. I would have bailed on this race completely if my wife wouldn't have been signed up too. So we were already going all the way to Logan- I guess I'll run the course and take a mental note for future summers where I may want to race it. Saw a bunch of boggers at the start. Warmed up with Jake, Adam and a few others. We did 2 miles then I did a little more. It was cold at the start. Under 50 F. I wish I would have had some more warm cloths. So I basically just ran not really to warm up for the race but to get warm because I was freezing. No gloves and my hands were ice until about mile 5 of the race. Didn't have a time goal at all. Just wanted to try and run a little harder than I had the last 2 months and in the last 2 months I haven't gone any faster than 6:30 pace. The gun went off and I went out semi hard but not killing it. Hit the first mile in around 5:45. I felt like I could hold this pace and just kind of settled in. The ankle felt pretty good. But my stride is not normal because of it putting stress on other parts of the body. Worked through the first 5 miles and the guys who I started out with (Adam, Walter and about 3 others) had moved up around a 70 seconds on me. I was just grooving a long not concerned at all about place and time. Until... about mile 7 and I could hear heavy breathing and a motorcycle behind me. I didn't and couldn't look back but knew it was the first girl. Time to decide. Just run EZ the rest of the race and get "chicked" or push a little harder and avoid being "chicked". It's been a long time since a girl has beat me in a race and even though I wasn't truely racing I didn't want it to happen today. So I got a little more serious from 7-10.7 where we turned off the main road and started the little up hill climbs. During the Hollow road section I ran into Cody D who was running the opposite direction. He turned and ran with me for around a mile. His first words were. "Your about to get chicked". I thought, I know, I know.... but we chatted and kept her at bay. Anyways by the time we turned at the Maverick I'd gaped the chick enough to stop worrying and went back into EZ mode. Finished and felt pretty happy about how the body held up. Most importantly it gives me confidence that I should be able to break 3 hours at STG so I can keep the streak a live. A little over 5 miles of cool down. Most of them with a big group. Fun times.
Good to see the blog community up in the great white north. We left Logan at noon and got home to STG at 8 p.m after a bunch of stops a long the way. It was the longest drive of my life.
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