Another Saturday, Another race :) Back to my regular ol' routine I guess.
I was pacing the St George Half at 1:45; which was nice, because I wanted a little speed work in my long runs and this was perfect.Enough to keep it steady, but not enough to exhaust me. I was a little nervous about pacing 1:45 on the hills, but after a few miles I knew it was going to be okay and I fell into pace comfortably. Strange how sometimes I can't run a 10MM uphill, but then I can pace this half at a 1:45 and still talk to people and encourage them.
There were a few people that stuck with us the entire time. Then at mile 10 I announced that the warm-up was over and now it was time to start the 5K race. Then a few more of my usual comments to get people moving. A girl turned around and said "we need you on a loud speaker to get us through to the end!" I told her she should be lucky I was pacing faster, because the slower I go the more I talk and annoy everyone :) We got to chatting and the last few miles just flew by. Kaylee was her name and she had been in a horrible accident where she was hit head on by a truck, then spun into the other lane and rear ended by another truck! She had intense brain injuries and she shouldn't have lived. This was just in October and here she was running her first half back and killing it! I was SO impressed with her that I felt it was practically my duty to get her in under 1:45. So, I kept up with her and told her at the bridge I was going to let her go and finish strong and I would need to finish on pace. I did have to wait a bit for Andy to get there, which means I was running incredibly too fast those last couple, but I felt the encouragement I supplied to those around me was worth it. We finished on the race clock just under 1:45. Chip time came out 20 seconds early, but I'd rather be 30 seconds early than 2 seconds late when pacing.
I got to visit with some great friends that were running and I heard Toby's name called right after I finished. I KNEW she should've come with us! She did an incredible job and I am SO proud of her 9 min PR for the course. She has worked hard to get there and I can't wait to see what spring brings for her.
I chatted a lot longer than intended, but then again...this is ME we're talking about :) I left at 12:27 to start my 2nd loop. My garmin died around mile 8, so it was a good thing I knew I was just going to run the course again and I didn't have to worry about miles. I stopped for a few minutes at the first aid station (also the last one, so it was still set up) to take a GU and drink/refill my water bottle. Good thing I did. I was late enough I didn't get any other water stops and I was out when I got back. I stopped again around mile 6 to text Craig and let him know about when I'd be back. I made one final stop before the finish line, because my hands just felt sticky and gross and I wanted to wash them. So, I stopped to grab some snow on the side of the trail, but it was frozen and I couldn't grab any, despite trying :) Oh well, finished up just as they were pulling the barriers down. The volunteers cheered me in and I told them I liked the course so much I decided to do it twice. I then refilled my water one last time, grabbed my stuff from we-got-your-back-shack (they are amazing!! Last minute race stuff and bag drop! I'm in love!) and headed back to the hotel. I'd run the mile over to the race with Lowell and so I decided to not inconvenince the family and just run back. A couple extra miles at that point is nothin'...right?
Ended the day rock climbing with the family which included a mile+ hike to and from Turtle Wall climbing area, because Chuckwalla was full. Then we went to Paulas for dinner and Nielsons frozen custard...yup, ate myself sick...fantastic day!
| 
