American Fork Half Marathon

The American Fork half marathon is a gorgeous run down American Fork canyon. I helped pace this race. I was responsible for the 1:50 time slot.
My running since the Ogden marathon has been sporadic. I knew I would be able to hit the goal time. It was just a matter of how would the quads feel afterwards.
I always question my sanity when the alarms goes off at 2:45 am. With only about three hours if sleep I felt energized and ready. With little sleep the gut was not a happy camper and tried revolting. Luckily the gut cooperated by the time the fun went off.
I was out of sorts with my fueling. I had a crazy Friday at work were I went 13 hours without a break. I was able to snack a little. I decided after work to consume a pizza. Not a bad idea as this has helped in the past. The problem I did not give myself enough time to digest before I awoke to get ready. I did hydrate well throughout the day. My new hydration plan is working out well.
I enjoy arriving at a start line to see a line of porta potties and thousands of runners waiting in anticipation for the start of the race. There were about 3,000 runners for this race. As I was prepping for the race I had many runners come ask questions and I had several ready to follow and keep pace with me.
This was the first time I ran this race. I had a great time and the seven miles of canyon were worth the lack of sleep. My worries of hydration, fueling, and leg endurance were put to rest early on. I felt great and was ready for a great run.
The first three miles I hit my paces. I was coming through the mile markers a few seconds early. I anticipated this as I wanted to be able to walk the aid stations. I had several people following me and it was great to chat with them and encourage them. For the most part runners kept passing me eager for a pr.
It was around mile five or so I noticed a young man keeping pace with me. He would walk the aid station, speed up, and slow down with me. From then on my goal was to make sure he kept up with me. I was also on the look out for a couple of ladies that wanted to keep up with me. They must have felt good because I hardly saw them after we started.
As we came out of the canyon I had a lady keeping with me who six weeks ago decided to train and run. She wanted a 2:15. She was looking great and I admired her for attitude to go reach for a goal in a short time frame.
It was after we came out of the canyon there was not much shade on the trail system we were running on. My fueling plan would now be tested. I passed with flying colors. It was also at mile 7 I needed a potty break bad. I stopped and turned on the after burners to catch up to my little running group that had formed. It did not take long to catch back up. At the half way mark I was about 39 seconds ahead of 1:50. I was ok with this since I knew I needed a potty break and the coarse was a bit slower to the end.
Around mile 8 I started gathering up runners and encouraging them to follow me. I enjoy pacing for this reason. It pulls me out of my comfort zone and makes me be more extroverted.
The crowd was great. They encouraged all the runners and many kids were out giving high fives to the runners.
All was going great until about mile 10. It was at this point the race was dull to me. We ran on the shoulder of a road. It was also at this point I was trying to make sure I hit my paces. I knew my garmin was indicating miles about .10 early. I was making sure as I hit the mile markers my time was accurate. At mile 11 somehow I was behind schedule. So picked it up a bit and this was were I lost many runners. At mile 12 I was still behind. Good grief I thought. This was a solo venture in pacing and to this point I thought I was right on pace.
Coming near the end I was keeping an eye on the finish and my watch. I was now going to finish a minute early. I ended up finishing in 1:49:16. And my watch read 13.14. Somehow I was off more than .15 or more a mile at mile 12. Then I finish almost even with the coarse.
It was fun to meet a couple of runners I have followed through different groups on Facebook. It was also fun to hear of pr'a from other pacing buddies.
Lessons learned
1- stay near the finish and watch for those who were trying to  come in with me. I never found out I those  I chatted with on the coarse came in on time or how their race went.
2- stick around after to meet the run4fun group. Work can wait, I really need and want to meet other runners from this group.
Now to train in earnest for the St George marathon

Chasing a cop car

Recently I had the opportunity to run a small local 5k. I was given the morning off from work so I joined my wife and girls to support the Malala fund. This was a 5k put on by a group of sixth graders from Sunset elementary. I was looking for redemption from my DNF at the Ogden marathon. I also wanted a check on my fitness to gauge goals for next marathon. I went in thinking maybe I could go sub 20 minutes.
I decided to run the one mile to the start line as a warm up. It was chilly at the start. Just the way I like it. I spent 30 minutes scanning the crowd looking to see which runners I could keep up with or those that would push me to a pr. Ok in reality I was checking to see any other runners would take first from me. I wanted to win. I figured with the majority walking my pace could win.
A police office was going to lead the whole race. If I was out in front I would be chasing the cop car. How cool would that be?
The race was about to start. As is the case about 10-15 young boys lined up right in front of the cop car. Not being very sportsmans like I thought to myself I am going to show these little punks up. Sometimes I do not have very nice thoughts when I run.
The signal was given and we were off. It only took 100 yards or so and I was the lead runner. At the .25 mark I was running a sub 6 minute mile. I tried to slow and new this would hurt me in the long run but the adrenaline was flowing and there was no holding back. It was cool running and chasing a cop car. Thee was no one around. The police officer was my own escort. I was flying and having a great time.
I has slept funny the night prior and was unable to turn my head to see who was behind me or how far behind me they were. Just after mile 1.5 I was able to take a turn and see a couple of runners about 50 yards behind. My pace had slowed significantly.  But I was still hanging in the seven minute range. It was going to be close to have a pr. I knew a long gradual hill was coming and I was preparing for the hill. I conquered the hill and maintained my pace. This was good for me because I usually lose ground on the hills. Now came the fun part. What goes up must come down. After flying down the hill I made a right had turn and had about a .25 mile to go. I found another gear and pushed hard to the finish. I was wearing my orange compression sleeves and my bright Florissant sketchers shoes. I must admit I was feeling my inner Meb come out as I headed to the finish.
My time of 20:30 was not a pr, but that is ok. I felt good considering I raced hard for 18.5 miles the week before. I do wish someone was with me in the front to help push the pace a little faster. This was a fun race.
My girls were disappointed that all I won was a T- shirt for first. I was lucky to win this as this was a last minute decision. Back in February I took second overall at a valentines 5k. For that effort I won a teddy bear that was taller than my four year old. My girls were hoping for this to happen again. A great opportunity to talk to my girls about fundraising and why not all races have medals.
Coming in first has it perks. I was able to watch all the runners and walkers come through the finish. All those boys I passed and "showed" all recieved a high from me as they came through the finish. It was just as rewarding winning as it was watching everyone finish their race. I was had the joy of running my four year old into the finish.
Fun was had by all and that was the end goal of today's race