We got a couple of hours of sleep on the church lawn at Veyo, then were off again. Leg #26 (Highway Hustle) - Medium (7:14am)
One of Stacia's young friends from the other van is training for the St. George marathon. Her 2nd leg began at the marathon start. She asked to tag on our first leg, the climb up Veyo hill, so Larry reluctantly surrendered his 3 mile leg. He ran the first 3.1 miles of Leg #26 through Dammeron Valley and I ran the last 3.1 miles, mostly gradual downhill. My mile splits were 8:16/mi, 7:40/mi, and 7:16/mi. This leg descended from about 4,600' to about 4,000', and breathing was much easier than earlier legs. I think I passed 3 runners and was not passed. Surprisingly, I still felt pretty strong. Leg #29 (Red Hills) - 5 miles - Medium (8:51am)
This was my 5th run, and my 3rd and final official leg. It was gradual downhill for about 2.5 miles then leveled off for the last 2.5 miles. The temperature had been cool and nearly perfect for all my earlier runs. It was in the mid-70's for this run and I was feeling pretty warm by the end. My mile splits were 8:49, 8:03, and 7:53 for the first downhill miles then I slowed to 9:17 and 9:07 on the flat, hot miles. I averaged 8:37/mi. Again I passed a few runners and was not passed. Overall, I'm very encouraged by how strong I ran. I was worried about how my hip would hold out, but my magic sacroiliac belt came through for me. I felt a little soreness in my calves the next day, and a little weakness in my quads, but no significant pain from my sacral stress fracture or any other injury. I was surprised to run paces in the 7:00's and 8:00's. My training runs have been much slower, with 9:00/mi feeling almost like a sprint. I'm more optimistic about finishing the St. George marathon. I ran about 19 miles during the relay and felt pretty strong throughout. I think I could run the first half at maybe 9:00-9:30 pace or so, but with my lack of training those later miles have me a little worried. The relay showed me I'm in better shape than I thought for multiple 5 mile runs with rest in between, but it remains to be seen if I can string 26.2 miles together in a single run without the wheels coming completely off. Oh well, there's only one way to find out. I'm wary, but excited for the adventure. It beats sitting home and hearing about other people's adventures. | 