Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't

Took a few extra rest days and then went out nice and easy today to test the knee.  Things felt good for the 3 miles.  I'm not one to mess with an injury so I like to kick right at the beginning if possible.  Hopefully that is what I have done.  The test will be Saturday in beautiful St. George.

Tom and Kimi out and back on the Bear Claw Poppy Trail.  Beautiful day here in St. George!

Tom and I love to pace this race....especially on beautiful days like this one! 

There were not really too many at the beginning who said much about joining in on our group.  Usually there are a few that will let us know of their intentions there but it took till we got running to start gathering our little brood.  

Unfortunately I could tell right at the beginning that a POP was going to be needed before the race was over.  I kept a look out for when the perfect time might come to have a POP there without a line.  Of course that perfect time never happens.  So I saw a volunteer and asked when the next one was and she said it was right up around the corner.  So I gave Tom my watch so it would stay in sync with our pace and I hurried up ahead for a quick stop.  Luckily there were two open stalls and two of us running to get them.  :)  I had asked a volunteer to watch for the 2;20 pacer so I would know if they had passed and I would know which way to go to be with them again.  She said they had not passed.  So I was waiting there for a few seconds when luckily someone I knew said hi.  I told her I was watching for Tom and she said he had already passed.  So it was time for me to book it and catch up to him.  Unfortunately it was on the biggest hill of the whole race.  I caught him right at the top and had to take a few walking steps to catch my breath but then all was well.  It was kind of fun to have to throw a little speed in there but it made me want to pick up the pace so I had to keep an eye on it.  

We were able to stay very close to pace throughout the whole race and ended up about 11 seconds before the 2:20 time slot.  It was a great last few miles as we had several who were with us and a few we picked up along the way.  It was also fun to get in and see a few who were able to pick it up and come in around 2:14 or 2:16 after starting with us.

Pacing is a great gig!  

Tom and I just ran a bit more afterward to make it to 14 miles.

Very hard to leave the beautiful St. George.  We love it so much down there...especially at this time of year.