Oh my word! What a downhill course! I mean this thing was NOTHING but downhill. Okay, so there were about 30 stairs you had to go down, but other than that and maybe a couple flat spots this thing was screaming downhill...and my quads paid for it :) Pacing the 1:45 group
I'd never paced faster than a 1:50 before so I was a little nervous. I knew it was downhill, but still nervous. Becca was coming to pace with me and the buses left at FOUR AM! Oh my word...seriously. So, I was up at 2:45 AM to get ready and meet Becca at I-15 and head up in time to meet the pacers. Becca wasn't feeling well and I felt horrible! She thought it was nerves until she remembered her sister had had the flu :( She made the good decision to NOT run, but that meant since we'd carpooled she had to sit in my car for 4 hours waiting for me while she felt like CRAP. I felt SO bad and wished I could've done more. Poor girl! The buses took you up to the Solitude resort and you got to sit in the lodge while you waited. They had hot cocoa and coffee too, but the cocoa was watered down and gross, I had a couple swallows and that was all. We ate PB pretzels and chatted by the bathrooms until they kicked us out to go WALK the mile to the start line. At least the bag drop was there so we could stay warm until then...it was only SIX AM! Lined up and before I knew it we were off. I had one girl with me and it seemed like she was breathing easier than I was :) Holly had never finished a half under 2:00 and remembered me from PCHM last week...crazy! I told her she was doing great and we chatted for quite some time. Around mile 6ish we picked up Sunny, a 15 year old running her 2nd half! Her other half she'd finished in 2:20...so another PR! She was running strong and I kept her talking and going until just before mile 11 where she had to stop and walk. What an awesome young lady! At each mile marker I was picking up a few seconds. I tried to slow down, but it was hard. Especially having others around me, because I would just keep up with them! Then I'd have to look at my garmin and slow down. Crud. But, mile 11 all of a sudden I was 40 seconds late! What the crap?!? I was hoping the sign was just misplaced. We then went down the stairs...weird! And I tried to hit some 7:50's just in case I really was that far behind, but not too much in case I wasn't. Just before mile 12 someone asked me if I was on time. I told him my predicament and that I was waiting until mile 12 to be sure. Shortly after that we passed mile 12 marker. I was 1:36:00! Pace band wanted me at 1:36:10...perfect! So, I told the guy who was just a few feet behind me that I had 10 seconds to spare. Just pull a nice even 8:00 and we will achieve perfection :) The problem came when I crossed 3000E and saw the finish arch...and I was at 1:41:54!!! What the heck?!? I looked at the distance...12.72. Oh, I get it! Jonathan was running towards me and I asked what I should do. He said to wait, so I did. Just stood there for about 2+ minutes until I could run slowly to the finish and come in on time. 1:44:57 was my official finish time, not too shabby for a SHORT course! :( blech. Whatever. I hate short courses. Downhill and short will take away from anyone's PR or race that they'd put SO much into! The finish line was great, "medals" stunk, but Jimmy Johns and raffle prizes already labeled with names were really nice. I grabbed some food and water, hit the pop and found Becca in the car more than ready to go home. I was glad all the other pacers had the same issue I did with the short course. Frustrating, but I got plenty of people in by 1:45! Even Sunny ended up coming in while I was waiting! So proud of that girl! Holly is running UVM as her first full and I'm pacing 4:00 with Jonathan and that is what she wants to finish in, so I'm excited to see her again in a couple weeks! Overall it was a nice race, but a few things could definitely be improved. Since we walked DOWN the canyon to the start it could easily have been the correct difference. They had some weirdo UFS or some kind of stuff that tasted like salt water instead of regular powerade/gatorade stuff, which for me didn't matter, but for racers may have. Also, the stairs...just weird! AP: 8:10 splits: 7:58, 7:50, 7:55, 7:45, 7:50, 8:02, 7:52, 7:51, 8:09, 8:22, 8:25 (trying to keep Sunny inspired and knowing I've got some time to burn), 7:53, 10:39 (last .83 recorded) total descent on garmin: 3454.... QUADS ARE SO SORE!
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