Psalm 91:1 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place

Jogged around with my 3 year old at the soccer fields in Jackson Hole.

I ran 6 miles today at a 6:52 pace in 41:38.  It was nice to be back home from Jackson Hole.  Now I have to leave on Thursday for St. George.  Part of me doesn't  want to go with the long drive, and  being away from my family again.  I found out I have to go to a conference for work in San Jose, California for 4 days on October 29th.  

Today I picked up the pace a bit and did consecutive miles of (6:18, 6:18, 6:19, 6:14). The total mileage was 7.25 at an overall pace 6:30 in 47:09. Really felt good and fun. I really wanted to go to the track and do speed work, but I couldn't get my act together, because I stayed up till midnight last night with work related issues. I'm actually really thinking about coming up to STG on Thursday and traveling all the way. I would get there probably at 10pm or later. That way I would have all day Friday to relax. I would probably find a place and sleep in the car for that night.

Today I ran 7 miles at a 6:54 pace.  I ran 3 miles uphill and 3 miles downhill.  The last three miles downhill I wanted to push a little (6:43, 5:49, 6:01)  trying to feel the mp for the last two miles.  I felt okay at that pace, but its not 26 miles.

Easy 4 mile run today. See everyone in St.George.

This morning I ran 3 slow miles with Ted in Cedar City.  It's been great getting to know Ted and very nice of him to share his room. Will see the rest of you in St. George.

The St. George race was fun, and I enjoyed meeting everyone. I ran a 2:39:29, and that was good. Although it wasn't an all out effort. I was too conservative in the beginning and felt I could have ran a lot faster time. I had a lot of energy at the end and really I'm not that sore other than tightness in my calves. That tells me I didn't go all out and push until really the second half of the race. But I met the goal that I wanted to reach, and that gives me confidence for future races. I think my main concern in the first half was not really knowing the course that well. I ran the first half in 1:23 so that tells you how big of a negative split I needed to get under 2:40.

One thing I'm thankful for is that Ted is alright through this whole weekend experience.

 The race started a little early and I was just getting into the elite corral so I was caught off guard and not where I wanted to be in the elite corral. I felt kind of sluggish the first couple of miles, and it might have been from all the carb loading (6:21, 6:18), and I didn't warm-up. I caught up with two runners Dustin and Steve that were going to pace for a 2:40. We seemed to be running great for the next 5 mile splits hanging around a 6 minute mile pace and dipping in the high 5 minute mile pace. At mile 8 starts the Veyo hill and I slowed down way too much, but the hill wasn't a problem (7:07).  I'm not sure what happened I remember just not paying attention to my pace and just looking at the hill.
The next 3 miles is a gradual decent but not bad, but I went slower than I should have. I'm not sure why we went so slow from miles 9 - 11. After mile 11, I abandoned the Dustin and Steve  and went on my own. I picked it up the last two miles before the half way point (6:11, 6:10), and was at a 1:22:59 or 1:23 time. I would need a huge negative split to get 2:40, and that's exactly what I did.

I got in such a rhythm that I felt unstoppable. At mile 20 they had a digital clock at the mile marker, and the time was 2:04, so I knew for the next 6 miles I needed to average 6:00 per mile to hit 2:40. Well, I did that and better with one mile left all I needed was a 6:20 to get 2:40.
I felt so good that for the last 6 miles I averaged a 5:50 pace. I still had plenty of energy crossing the finishing line. My official time was 2:39:29. I felt good, but I do feel I didn't go all out and could have ran faster (2:3?), but that's okay because I accomplished another goal, and there will be other faster times. I'm really not sore other than tightness in my calves, which is normal for me after a marathon.

Mile Spits 6:21 6:18 6:00 5:59 6:04 5:55 5:58 7:07( Here's where I could have picked it up better) 6:38 (ditto) 6:28 (ditto) 6:47 (ditto just ugly times) 6:11 6:10 6:03 5:55 5:40 5:52 5:59 6:13 5:57 5:45 (run for my life the next 6 miles to get 2:39) 6:00 5:48 5:37 5:35 5:35 (felt like I could have kept running)