About 6 weeks ago I signed up to run Pocatello Half marathon today. This year my running has really tanked after last year was my best and I PR'd in everything I did. 2 months ago I finally felt like my training was starting to feel better and my legs were starting to feel less stale. I got up to 40 plus miles for a couple of weeks with some extra biking thrown in. Then things fell apart again and I have only managed an average of 9 miles a week over the past 4 weeks. I have managed some biking mixed in but not a lot. 3 weeks ago I had a knee problem come out of nowhere while I was barely training anyway. I have been able to run about 5 miles fine and then it gets sore quickly and I'm done. I think it is Patelor Tendonitis. I've run very little the past 3 weeks and it hasn't gotten any better. I knew I wouldn't be able to run the half so I switched to the 5k rather than bag it all together. I drove to Pocatello last night and stayed at my daughters house. I have had a terrible cold the past few days that has zapped my energy with a lot of coughing and congestion that has moved into my chest. Needless to say my expectations weren't high. I got a good night sleep for the first night in the last 4 and woke up feeling much better [other than the chest congestion] than I had been. The overall trashed feeling was gone. I ran a 1.17 mile warmup before getting on the bus about 40 min before race time. The race went out and I took off at a good pace and felt good. I hit the first mile in 6:06 and was feeling pretty good. I thought maybe I would be shooting for sub 19 for the first time this year. The way I felt yesterday 21 minutes wouldn't have surprised me. I was surprised to have been leading the race from the beginning and ran a chunk of the next mile at around the same pace. Then my lack of endurance from not running much lately caught up with me and I slowed way down. 2nd mile ended up at 6:25 which seemed bad now but yesterday I wasn't sure I could run 1 mile that pace so didn't feel too bad. I was content to just cruise and not make it hurt too bad knowing I had a good lead. I picked up the pace a little the 3rd mile without realizing it to 6:13 and kicked a little but not too much and finished the last 1.1 [Garmin] at 5:30 pace for 19:22. I was surprised that that time was good enough for first overall this year. I won 55 dollars in gift certificates to a running and cycling store that I can definitely use. This Pocatello Marathon is just the best. I did the Marathon twice in 96 and 97 and just had to wonder why I haven't been back. They give you a nice duffel bag for your cloths drop, a bag of Idaho potatoes and package of hash browns along with all the typical stuff you get from other races. The food at the finish is awesome. And includes a baked potato bar and barbecued pulled pork sandwiches. Now I'm signed up for the Saint George Marathon in 4 weeks so it will be interesting to see if my knee will let me get in at least one long run before then or if I'll even be able to run it.
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