8:00 am - 18.80 miles @ 6:59 pace - 2:11:37 I had a great long run with a great group including Jake, Andrea, Mark P, Emily, Paul, Rachel, and Toby. We left from Sugarhouse Park and headed up Emigration Canyon to the hairpin turn and made the return trip. I ran with Jake and Mark (until Mark turned around) to the hairpin. We managed to average 7:33 pace on the way up to finish in 71 minutes. There were a couple of times when the pace got tough (especially the last half mile) but I was really pleased with the effort I was able to put in. At the turn-around Jake turned on the afterburners and took off down the canyon. About a mile down the canyon I started spotting Emily up ahead and finally reeled her in after 3 or so miles. She asked me to run with her and I gladly obliged. We finished the rest of the run together cruising at low 6 minute pace the rest of the way. Total time for the return trip was 60 minutes for an average pace of 6:23. I was very encouraged by this run. I have struggled the last few runs long runs (18 miles+) to keep a good pace going through the end. Even though the second half was a nice steady downhill I worked hard to earn the ride down and hung on well through the end. Thanks Jake (and Mark) for the run up and thanks Emily for keeping me going through the end. And last but not least thanks Toby and Rachel for the carpool and conversation (Nice running out there guys.). | 