A memorable experience.
I was driving west on I80 at about 9:00 and all was clear but the western horizon was black. Then a flock of more than 100 seagulls flew east fleeing the storm and several more flocks followed. The wind picked up and the storm hit right after I arrived at Saltair. I warmed up 3 miles on the course and my face was frozen with the wind blowing from the west. Luckily I had a ski mask to cover my mouth and nose in my bag for the race.
There were fewer runners this time and the snow was more than an inch deep when we lined up. I decided to throw out any targets and just finish the race. Splits were 6:14, 6:18, 6:24, 6:20, 6:27, 6:47, 6:50, 6:45, 6:38 and about 2:01 for the last .321. I am not sure about the finish because I didn't have the wherewithall to stop my watch so I will have to update after I see the official stats. At the turnaround, the wind picked up considerably and the second half was miserable. I am happy to have done the race and the 6:31 pace is my target marathon pace so I can consider this a good marathon pace run.
I also feel fresh so my 17 miler tomorrow should be ok. I met Fritz and Adam from the blog. Fritz had to tell me that my Altras were the newer version. I think the girl at SLRunningCo in Foothill Village told me they weren't the newer version but obviously neither of us knew what was going on. I learned after the race that I ran a faster mile 7 than Fritz (6:50 to 6:52) so I am excited to have outpaced him for likely the only mile ever. Adam was also very nice.
No cool down as I was a popsicle at the end with a drenched shirt and a numb torso.
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