Training in Montana

Spent time last night getting everything ready for this morning. Got to bed before 10 pm and must not have taken too long to get to sleep. Longer than normal, but not interminable. Woke up at 2:30 to use the bathroom and I was stoked at having slept so long before my first awakening. Slept fitfully until 4:30 then got up. Bathroom visit was uneventful. Hmph. Showered, got ready, toasted a bagel, and headed out the door. Rode the bus to the starting point and hit the POP. Success. I didn't realize we got to wait inside the community center so I brought all my warm gear. It was nice to sit inside on benches instead of the ground as I'm used to. Hit the POP once more, 10 minutes before. Small race but lots of POPs at the starting line. Excellent. Starting temp was 59 degrees, much warmer than planned. Good news is that it wasn't going to move much all day. My A+ goal was a 3:30 (8:01 pace), and my race bracelet showed me each of the splits based on elevation (borrowed from the SGM and modified for this elevation).

The first 11 miles are mostly a steady up, gaining 200 ft elevation. It then drops 900 feet to the finish. I took off with a goal for an 8:12 the first mile and hit that. At mile 3 we go South for an out & back to get more miles. It was fun to see the leaders and a lot of my friends. During this stretch I had a guy in front of me running 10 seconds per mile faster than I wanted but I couldn't help catching him. I said that to him and he mentioned trying to hit 8 minute miles. Me too, so we ran together most of the race. I had to pee at mile 12 and he kept going. I made the mistake of quickly catching up to him, hitting some sub 7 paces in a downhill section. It didn't hurt me at the time, but probably did later. I was feeling pretty good, getting close to the times for each mile. It honestly would've been easier to hit my paces if I ran the race by myself but it was great to have company and share tips. At mile 15 I started to feel the pace. Just before 17 we turn into a subdivision for a mile, and it's just-tough-enough uphill stretches. I felt okay but knew the rest would be tough. At mile 21 I really started feeling it. It was the last uphill (which I'd forgotten about) and a water stop at the top of that stretch. I stopped to get water and Pete my running partner didn't stop and I couldn't match him anymore. I struggled for that mile, then at the next water stop pulled out the 2X caffeine gu I'd been waiting to use, plus hit 3 endurolyte capsules (did 3 every hour) and within 10 minutes I was feeling like gold. I hit some 7:45 paces trying to regain some speed, and that mile was a good mile sandwiched between bad miles. My HR kept climbing even though my legs weren't moving fast, and I got dizzy. St. George all over again. At this point I was now on my regular Noon running route, and I loved that but felt rough. I had been dousing my head with water at the stops and it got on my singlet which was great. At mile 25 I pushed it as best as I could and gained 10 seconds from the previous mile, then when I hit 26 I hit the highest gear I could and ended with a 7:20 pace. My kids ran with me the last 200 yards and that was so fun! I loved it. I had done all that I could to run a good race.

 Finished having taken off 14:30 from my previous best. I'm very excited by that. At this point I don't see how I can improve from what I did today, but with hard work and some better speed/hard workouts I think I can improve that final 6 miles. 

Splits, elevation, and HR here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223613858