Another St. George in the books.
I wasn't sure what to expect this year. I knew I was in decent shape but I didn't have the build-up I was hoping for.
I ate my oatmeal and yogurt and road the bus up with Matt. It was a little warmer than last year but the wind was blowing in the right direction.
I started out with Ben, Dave, Trevor, Nick and Logan, making up the chase pack We worked together through 7. I stopped at 7 for a few seconds to find my bottle and gu and let the group get ahead of me. I wasn't feeling great so I decided to not push it up Veyo. I could already tell it wasn't going to be a great race. I slowly realed in Trevor and then Nick. Nick and I worked together through Dameron Valley. There was a slight headwind and we took turns leading every 1/2 mile or so.
I caught up to Logan around 12 but he fell back a little at 13. I came through the half in 1:13:50 or so . Just slightly faster than last year. I wasn't feeling great, but not bad either. The big down hills were ahead.
The next 10 miles I ran about 30 seconds behind Dave and Ben. Around 23 Clyde came back to me and a mile later Dave. Ben looked strong and I didn't think I'd catch him. I felt pretty good on 23-25 and picked it up a little and caught Ben. I could see Matt in the distance but he looked too far ahead to catch so I kind of settled into a more comfortable pace and cruised in.
I crossed 26.0 in 2:24:00 and knew I could just edge out a PR if I ran hard so I kicked it in.
I am content with the race but not excited. I hope for more...of course I hoped for more all year. Not sure what's next...
Lots of great times, PRs and smiles this year. It was a great event, as always.
Splits: 5:38, 5:46, 5:30, 5:25, 5:24, 5:11, 5:18, 6:12, 5:49, 5:50, 6:02, 5:39, 5:27, 5:28, 5:15, 5:13, 5:25, 5:29, 5:49, 5:32, 5:14, 5:37, 5:25, 5:22, 5:23, 5:39, 1:01
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