When I registered for the Painter's 1/2 Marathon in St. George I was hoping for a little break from the cold weather. The normal temperature in St. George in January I think is around 50 degrees. I believe the temperature this morning was around 19 degrees. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a very enjoyable run. I ran into Nathan Gage just before the race began. He and I ran together for about 8.5 miles, then he slowly pulled away. We had both talked about being content with a 1:45 time today, but we both ran a bit faster than that. It was great running with Nathan. Shortly after the start I saw Larry and he said that Wayne was up ahead and was pushing to beat his previous PR of 1:36. About 1/2 way into the race (I think) I saw Wayne ahead down below on a big switch back. Nathan and I gradual gained on him. Shortly after Nathan pulled away from me, I saw him pass Wayne up ahead. I managed to maintain the distance between Wayne and me and keep him in sight from about mile 9 to the end. At mile 11 I tried to pick up the pace a little but Wayne did, too. Then we both kicked about the same time near the end. Wayne never knew I was chasing him, but he seemed to match every push I tried to make anyway. He ended up beating me by 5 seconds with 1:36:01...so close to his goal of breaking 1:36. I was thrilled to finish in 1:36 (average pace of 7:20/mi). I was also surprised, and pleased, to find out I had finished 3rd in the 45-49 division. Despite the unusually cold weather, I really enjoyed this race. I liked the course and I thought the race was organized pretty well. The finisher medals and awards were nice. I will definitely consider doing this race again next year. | 