Clyde and I did a 3 hour pace group for whoever wanted to join us
today. It was the first race of the year and since the hip has been an
issue it was perfect for what we both wanted to do this year. The
weather was awesome and it was fun meeting people at the start who
wanted to break 3 hours or at least get close. We were planning
on hitting the half at 1:28 or possibly faster to give everyone a
little bit of room towards the end if they needed it. We had about 10
guys with us through the half and then Paul Harmer was the only guy
that stuck with us. He stuck right behind Clyde and I for the rest of
the race. I am glad he did it. At mile 19, he was not looking good.
Clyde and I both said we need to keep talking to him and giving him
fluids and GU at every station. Not a lot of time for great
detail but as the race went on, Clyde and I kept talking with Paul to
keep following us and not worry about anything. Paul looked like he
was going to pass out at anytime but it was his day and he had the
"race day magic." Paul was dragging the last couple miles so Clyde and
I would pump up the crowd for him. I kept slapping Paul's hand down
because he looked at his watch probably 20 times in the last 2 miles.
Paul crossed the finish line with a huge smile knowing he broke 3 hours
and then collapsed into the arms of the National Guard members. He got
a one-way ticket into the medical tent and deserved all the attention he was receiving. His previous best was 3:40! Are you kidding me? A 40 minute PR! Clyde
and I waited around to see how the rest of our group did. Matt Rowley,
Nate Bundy and a few others came in just over 3 hours. They were a
little disappointed they didn't get under 3 hours but were thrilled that they
had huge PRs. It was a blast running today. It reminded me a
lot of when Paul Petersen and I paced Jon Allen at TOU in 2007. Lots
of memories were made today. I am looking at doing a couple trail
races soon. I am doing a 50K at the end of this month to see I do in a
bushwhacking race. It should be a lot of fun.
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