I was pacing this race with Tom for the 2 hour group. As you can see it was a fail for me. I knew going into it that it was going to be hard for me with this year's training and some down time for sickness and back issues. But I was hoping it would have a little more down hill to make it so I could pace this one ok. I should have traded the 2:10 girl but I didn't. Anyway, I wasn't much help pacing so I decided to let Tom go and just take it in however it came. I ended up having two POP stops which didn't help matters either. So I decided that since I was a pacer I better find others to help along the way even if it wasn't the two hour people.
Some of the trails had been washed over with the big rains and it had some pretty bad places. At one of those places a gal right ahead of me tripped and skidded on the rocks. I helped her up and tried to comfort her a bit and give her some encouragement. She was road burned pretty good on her arms, legs and tummy. She was awesome and ran it off.
About two miles from the finish I found a lady who was struggling a bit so I decided to run with her and help motivate her. She stuck with me to the end and we ran across the finish line together. So even though I failed at my first job I still had the opportunity to help others along the way. In that case I don't feel like a failure.
Looking at this race helps me realize I don't want any pressure for SGM. I am just not ready to prove anything out there this year so I plan to just go and have a fun time. That may mean going fast sometime, it may mean walking sometimes, it may mean stopping to help someone along the way or taking pictures with the crowds. I'm not quite sure what it means right now but I know I am not worrying about time for SGM... I may even leave my watch at home.
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