On the bus up, it dawned on me that my Garmin was still in my bag. Despite all my best laid plans, I had to run by feel. The weather was perfect and the wind was a nonfactor; a slight headwind breeze. I did a short warm-up up the canyon and I have no idea how far I went.
I went out trailing Albert Wint who I trailed in the Striders 10 miler. That didn't last very long and soon I found myself behind the first ten and running by myself. In mile 7, Rob Murphy caught me and we crossed mile 8 together. I know I was at 47:20 or so at mile 8. Rob continued on and, knowing he was targeting 1:18, I tried to stay close. At about mile 10, my outer quads started to tighten. Its at this point in a race that my legs start to get heavier and I start to fear breaking down. I kept pace as best I could but I knew the miles were slower; its also a slower part of the course. At the main intersection in Eden close to mile 12.5 I am guessing, I picked up the pace and was surprised by how light my legs felt. I bounded to the end including a hard sprint to try to break 1:19 and felt strong finishing.
Based on the 8 mile call out by Rob, I ran 5:55 average for the first 8 and 6:13 for the last 5.1. The goal was 1:18 with a 1:20 worst case. This was my fourth half and my previous PR was 1:28:08 officially, though that was the Haunted Half and the timing was off - it was about 1:27:30 on my watch. So an 8+ minute PR!
I am happy with the result but as usual, it leaves me wanting more. I have progressed faster than I anticipated and I am feeling confident that I will exceed my goals for Ogden.
I ran a bit of a cool down with my wife in the grass near her parents farm. | 