Well, this has been a long time coming for me. I feel blessed to be
back in the saddle so to speak. First St. George in 3 years. I didn't
race much this year, and not at all this fall. I haven't had any speedwork so to speak, and logged about 140 miles in August after being sick. My goal was sub 2:40:00 and I thought against some odds I could still do it, but still not sure what to expect? I had fun seeing everyone in St. George on Friday, and Saturday before the race. It was kind of like old times. The weather was great and the race turned out well. Here is a little break down of splits as I got them. Mile 1- (6:06) In the dark trying to get warmed up and moving, and running behind the first two women. Mile 2- (6:16) I can see Steve Hooper up in front of me a ways so I figured I was fine pace wise. Mile 3 & 4- (11:46) I am still a ways behind Steve and with the first two girls, and Brett Hill. Feeling like I am starting to get in a groove.
Mile 5 & 6- (11:46) Run with couple of guys that I can tell are going to take off soon and taking advantage of the downhill. Mile 7- (5:49) This mile is always a fast one going into Veyo. I got my first drink here. Mile 8- (6:55) Took the hill very easy. I am trying to settle in on this next section and keep a semi decent pace until half. Still behind Amber Mile 9- (6:35) By myself Mile 10- (6:21) Always nice to get the first 10 out of the way. Can see Steve again. Mile 11- (6:38) I start actually paying attention to my time and I maybe shouldn't have because this was a slack mile for me. Get another drink. I planted more in the middle of the race this time.
Mile 12- (6:22) Starting to get tired of people cheering for Amber and getting ready to go. Mile 13.1- (6:39) 1:21:18 for the half. Not bad. Now I no where I am and I focus on hitting 6s and getting away from any chicks. Mile 14- (5:32) Legs are tired and now I just have to hold on. Finally starting to catch some people. Mile 15- (5:54) Kind of slow, but I got another drink and made sure I got enough fluids without choking. Mile 16- (5:53) I see my teachers aide here cheering her little heart out for me, didn't know her dad was running. I realize that I might be able to break 2:40 this year.
Mile 17- (6:00) Start to catch a few more people. Hooper is coming back to me. Mile 18 & 19 (12:20) Pass Steve try to encourage him through some cramps. Get my last drink and get ready for the downhill. Mile 20- (6:22) This mile felt faster for some reason. Legs are dead. I need a 36:40 to break 2:40. Mile 21- (5:28) I wonder if these splits were off a bit. Holding on to the goal. Mile 22- (6:06) This mile is all alone and I am struggling a bit. Mile 23- (5:54) Finally a couple of guys to catch and a bigger cheering section. Mile 24- (5:55) Catch a couple of guys like Jose just before this. I know it is going to be close, but I can't get going anymore. Mile 25- (6:02) Want to take off, but I am done. Mile 25.2- (1:07) If I can run a sub 6:00 I will do it. I am confident that I will break 2:40. Mile 26.2- (6:04) I can see Walter and two other guys coming back to me. I lost focus here a bit and thought I had a better cushion than I did. I could see the clock at the end ticking down to 2:40 and there was nothing I could do about it. 2:40:01, just missed it! Dang it! Oh well, I was just super glad to be done at this point. Walter was getting ready to puke and I was glad to be walking. Dave and Clyde were waiting to greet us in the chute, like old times. One of my Cross Country girls and another one of my guy's dad came to greet me. Trevor Sharp and Logan were there at the end too. Fun times, if a marathon is ever fun. Overall I felt decent and ran pretty well considering all. 2:40 is a respectable time no matter what and I will take it. It is good to be back and get this one under my belt. I hope to get going a little more this next year. Great to see everyone and see a lot of those people run well. Thanks to Fritz for winning the race and the age, so I got bumped into 4th in the age.
I also enjoyed the ten year club dinner that night with my wife, and the great fall weather in St. George. Bad News now. Saturday night we got the call that my little brother's wife had been killed in an ATV accident in the Park City area with a friend. My little brother is now a single daddy with a 3 year old daughter. Very sad situation. Don't know yet exactly what happened, but kind of a shocker. I pray the Lord will bless that little family, they are taking it hard. Not the best ending to the day or best night sleep after that news. But I have faith that everything is part of a greater plan that we don't always understand and that things will work out in the end if we do what we should do.
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