Nice 30K this morning up at Eden. This is an out and back course on a rolling hills section of the Ogden marathon. I believe the altitude is around 5500 feet. This was the last race of the Striders Winter series and my goal was just to hold third. I thought a 2 hour effort would do it. Mile 1: 6:26. Line up for the race and no Albert! He was in second on the circuit. So, he's in Oregon running a marathon on Sunday. Thanks for the gift! Ran the first 10K with Ben (circuit winner) discussing many things. Too bad he decided to do a tempo and drop me after the first 10K-(probably to much talking) LOL. Mile 2: 6:31. A younger runner name Alex was in the lead. I believe Ben had been helping him with his running a prep for Ogden. Mile 3: 6:20. We catch up to Alex. He has a goal of 2 hours identical to mine. Mile 4: 6:18. We lost Alex, but he still looked to be running strong. Mile 5: 6:23. Still having a nice long run. Mile 6: 6:29. At the conclusion of the first 10K Ben drops down to something closer to 5 minute pace. Mile 7: 6:21. Lonely now. I should have brought my MP3! Mile 8: 6:30. Up the canyon toward the mountains and the start of the Ogden marathon. Mile 9: 6:30. Mile 10: 6:27. Finally make the turn back around. Mile 11: 6:15. Faster pace, but I see Adam behind me has decided he was warmed up! Mile 12: 6:16. Mile 13: 6:23. Mile 14: 6.22. Adam has caught me and we talk for a minute. He's running sub 6:00 pace, so I decide just to hold my planned pace. Mile 15: 6:33. Uphill. Adam is still running strong. Mile 16: 6:30. More uphill. Mile 17: 6:37. More uphill. Mile 18: 6:39. Tried to get a kick going, but felt kind of flat. I can still see Adam, but no one is behind me. Last 0.7 (course was a little long on everyone's GPS): 4:19. Total was 2:00:08, but would have been good with a legit 18.6 distance!
Overall it was a nice, comfortable run. Did a cool down with Tara and Kam from the blog. Also, 2nd place in the series for some cash! The Striders people do a great job with this circuit.
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