A Runner at Heart.....Riding a Bike

7:30am:  It was about 40 degrees at the start.  I felt pretty good when we started.  The first mile was downhill then miles 2-4 had ups, downs, turns, you name it.  I was slower than I had planned at mile 5.  I was averaging 6:33.  Then we hit more straight and gradual slope so I was able to settle in to a better pace.  The good news is that it clouded-up and we barely saw the sun the whole way.  It was probably only 55 when I finished.  Except for the headwind the last 5-6 miles, it was perfect.

I hit the turn at the 10 mile mark averaging 6:25 so I was back on plan.  The next 4 miles were tougher with some nasty hills on an out and back up to the entrance of the Biosphere 2.  I hit the halfway point at 1:25:31.  By the time I hit the main road again at mile 14, my average had sagged to 6:35.

 Back on the main road I was able to bring it down a few seconds over the next few miles.  I was moving pretty good through mile 19 when we started to hit a headwind and I was getting a little tired.  By mile 20 we had some uphills off and on until mile 23.  My pace faded due to the wind and hills and my fatigue but I still kept it respectable.

At mile 24 we had to make a sharp turn, run 100 yards uphill to the back of a strip mall, then make another sharp turn and climb again to the other end of the shopping center.  Then we got to make a sharp left to loop around a neighborhood to make the finish.  Mile 24 was bad but I did better the last mile even though I had to dodge a lot of half-marathon walkers that were clogging the narrow lane we had to run in.

I finished strong and set a new PR for myself at 2:53:24.  I was thinking I could get a 2:51 or 2:52 but I slowed too much in the last 4-5 miles.  I will keep working harder and I KNOW I can get that 2:45 in 2009!!!

Here are my mile splits:

1.   6:11

2.   6:34

3.   6:37

4.   6:51

5.   6:28

6.   6:15

7.   6:15

8.   6:20

9.   6:18

10. 6:25

11. 6:50  (uphill)

12. 7:14  (lots of uphill)

13. 6:34

14. 6:44

15. 6:27 (back on a straight road0

16. 6:33

17. 6:30

18. 6:29

19. 6:37

20. 6:47

21. 6:49

22. 6:52

23. 6:49

24. 6:49

25. 7:05

26. 6:55

0.2 6:17

I finished in 16th overall, 15th in men's and 2nd in my age group out of over 1200 runners.  It was a GREAT DAY!!!  I know that MILES=SUCCESS and I want MORE!!!

No run today.  Travel back from Tucson to Idaho.

7:00am:  It was snow covered and icy in my neighborhood this morning and my legs were stiff from travel yesterday so I ran on the treadmill this morning.  I ran 6.25 miles at a 1.5% incline finishing at a 6:58 pace.  Legs are a bit tight from the race.

6:45am:  It was 23 degrees this morning with light winds and some icy conditions.  I ran 8.52 miles with 2 faster miles in the middle.  My friend Jed was running 1/2 mile repeats so I ran 5 with him.  We did them in 3:18 to 3:25.  My legs only hurt when I ran downhill towards the end, so my stiffness is pretty much gone.

6:30am:  It was 17 degrees when I started, 12 degrees when I finished but it really wasn't too bad due to no wind.  I ran an easy 10.61, partially with Bob.

6:45am:  17 degrees this morning.  There is supposed to be a big storm tomorrow so I enjoyed the dry roads today.  I ran 8.52 miles with a couple of pick-up miles.  Legs are feeling great.

There was a nasty blizzard this morning.  I was still going to run, but my oldest daughter needed to work at the hospital in Blackfoot and the roads were really bad so I drove her up in the morning.  There were wrecks everywhere on the freeway so I'm glad I took her.  I made today my day off and will run tomorrow.