Believe to Achieve

yay hit 500 miles on my kinvaras albeit with holes on the top!! Anyway...sleepless night as usual for me these days but frustrating.  Awoke to alarm (did sleep 3.5 hours so technically not sleepless)at 3:42am. Drove up to Cotton Wood Heights.  Got on second bus to the top of the start of the half.  Ran 3.5 miles then another .37 before the race (ap 8:35).  Ran up and back down in the pitch black avoiding buses heading up for the start of the marathon.  It was very cold up there and this was wise in order to wake my body and warm it.  I got up there at 525am and the race starts at 6:45am.   Well met up and met my pace partner along with hanging with pace group for a moment.  We were unaware how close it was to start time apparently. NO announcement and the race was started before we even knew it.  I still had my race bag with me so ran off back in the area of the second loading truck a quarter of a mile away.  I came back and noticed the race had started.  I was in shock.  At mile one I passed the 2:00 pacer.  I was passing tons of people sprinting down the mountain not ready at all to be running faster than goal 1:30 pace.  I had put my watch in average pace mode which turned out to help me (as later when I noticed I had run a 5:59 and 6:09 mile for miles 5 and 6) .  Had I seen these paces I would have assuredly inwardly be anxious about how fast I was running and immediately slow down.  I pretty much ran by feel.  Paces were--6:52, 6:42, 6:41, 6:23, 5;59, 6:09, 6:31 (shoe came untied,hard to stop when flying and hard to start rolling again but it happened), 6:14, 6:36, 6:52,  Intentionally slowing or for sure I would be in at 1:26...7:30, 6:54, 7:25, and 0.17 at 7:14 pace ( realized I was close to 1:27 but too late in this noticing...but it wasn't a race for me) .  Basically I cheered anyone I could on the way down...chasing my pace partner who incidentally is in the results right next to my name (she ran 1:27:50).  13 seconds apart in chip time although I started 3.5 minutes after her!! ha ha.  I passed the 1:40 pacers at mile 4 and was trying my hardest to catch Melissa but apparently she too was flying fast.  Anyway....last year I ran it perfect.  I thought arriving early I would be even more perfect.  Totally bummed.  But wow I got a good work out.  Ran 3 miles after race at 8:38 ap.