Each Day Is a Gift

I was supposed to run 18 miles today; so plan was to run to the mouth of AF Canyon to wait for Wendy (who's running the Timp Half) then run her to the finish and then tag on 5 more miles afterwards.  Lowell called last week and asked if I would run this Half (for old time sake when we used to run the SOGOFull/Timp backward).  Anyway, last time I ran him in to the finish, I wished I had signed up and ran the race.  So, the night before packet pick up, Lowell called and said he was not going to run this afterall because he had a wedding to go to in Pocatello on Sat.  But really, this is only a half...I told him I would sign up if he would.  SO, we both signed up at the last min.  By now the entry fee is a whopping $90 (more than what I paid for SG Marathon).  Luckily I got a FB discount of 15%.  With that, I feel motivated to actually run this and test where my fitness level is.  Three weeks earlier I ran the Hobbler Half in 2:19:  , I figure I can shave at least 30 sec./mile on this. 

Wendy and I picked up the race packets at AFHS.  We bought some running shorts/capri at the Expo.  Lowell got to my house at 6pm and off we went to Oliver Garden, his favorite, for his birthday celebration! :)  We didn't go to bed until 11:30 so got about 3 hours of sleep.

Since I'm driving, I told Lowell we have to leave the house at 3:35 to pick up Wendy and make it to the bus ride by 4:00.  Well, we left at 4:45 and got to AFHS at 4:05.  I ate a Greek yogurt and 1/2 banana on the bus.  Got to the start with 90+ min to spare.  Wendy brought a camping pad for us to sit on.  Saw Don and David Rogers, Emily King, Josse Tobiason and Michelle Lowery.  Plenty of portapotties and time to make 3 trips.  Race started on time at 6am.  We all lined up with the 2:30 pace group.  Temp was probably in the high 50s. as the sun was rising. 

Within the first quarter mile, we passed the pace group.  I told Lowell we should run the canyon miles in 10 mph pace conserving energy.  We started to pull away and lost Wendy after about mile 3.  At times Lowell would run ahead chatting with other runners, I kept a steady comfortable pace and would always catch him at the aid stations where we would walk.  I took a Gu at mile 3 since breakfast was over 2 hours ago.  There was a nice tail wind around mile 6 which I took advantage of.  Took another Gu given by the volunteer at mile 7 aid station.  The course flattened out at mile 7.5 leaving the Canyon onto the Golf Course trail which was rolling with some inclines which I also walked. 

Mile 9, 10 and 11 are on the Cedar Hills trail and Murdock Canal Trail which for some reason slows me down; may be my brain has been conditioned to run these slowly because I've run on them for my long runs.  Weird!  Once I got to Art Dye Park, I realized there's only couple miles to go, so I put a little more effort.  It was also getting warm, so I took off my hat and dump water on my head at the last aid station.  I saw the 2:10 pace group as we turned onto 700 N. so I focused on reeling them in.  We made a right turn onto Cavemen Dr. I focused on passing people and before long I saw Larry and John (Wendy's hubby) at the corner by the Seminary Bldg.  I smiled and waved to them as we made the last turn left towards the High School's track.  We had to run 3/4 way around the track to the finish.  The 2:10 pacer was yelling for us to go faster.  I realized he had gone a bit faster than pace and waiting to get the group in on time.  The clock read 2:09:xx when I crossed.  My official time 2:08:01.  So pleased with this time, and no cramping.  Well, I did have to keep walking after I finished around and around the water mister.  Lowell came in couple min. after me and Wendy came in 14 min later.  We're impressed with the finish goodies: chocolate milk, fruits, pizza, creamies, wash cloth.  We took some pictures and high tailed out of there as Lowell had a wedding to attend in Pocatello at 1pm.

Splits: 9:58, 9:50, 9:46, 9:58, 9:23, 8:48, 9:36, 9:14, 10:40, 10:28, 10:22, 9:43, 9:35, (0.1@8:12)