I ran the water tank hills with Larry and Wayne this morning. Prior to meeting up with them I had a little time so I ran a little over a mile. I warmed up the first half mile then settled into marathon pace effort for a half mile. I was pleased to discover that the pace for the "marathon pace effort" half mile was 7:22/mi. We took the first part of the run a little easier than normal. About the time we started up the first big hill we were talking strategies for St. George next week. I mentioned I was going to run by feel and Larry, who's run St. George about 20 times, was warning me I needed to be careful to not go out too fast and bonk. He's got many stories of people who passed him early in the marathon going too fast whom he passed back near the end after they bonked. I countered that I've been training to listen to my body and I trust that I can read my body's sensory data accurately enough to not overdo it while still not holding back too much. He continued to warn that the excitement of the race can make "too much" to "feel good" at the beginning. I said that even if that happened, that I prefer (this year at least) to err on the side of pushing my limits even if I risk bonking. About this point Wayne said the big hill was "kicking his butt" today. I realized then that we were near the top of the first big hill and I had been so distracted that I had hardly noticed the climb. After hill one I pretended to be upset with Larry (he knew I was kidding) because he had questioned by race strategy. I told him his punishment was that he would have to run the rest of the hills alone. I was going to push ahead and I could tell Wayne was in the mood to follow me. I jokingly muttered things like "I'm not going to bonk" and "stupid Larry" as I pulled away. I am supposed to be tapering a little this week so I didn't push too hard, but I did try to hold "marathon pace effort" up the remaining hills and got to the top faster than normal. Larry said he pondered his own race strategy for St. George as he ran alone up the hills, so it worked out well for all of us. With the beautiful full moon, clear skies, and cool but not too cold temperatures this morning I really enjoyed my run with my two good buddies this morning. If the only rewards were found in PRs and awards at the finish line I don't think I would be a runner. I experience the rewards and benefits of running almost every single day (exertion, fitness, challenge, discipline, the outdoors, natural beauty, fellowship with other runners, satisfaction, achievement, ...) and that's why I'm a runner.
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