Canyonlands Half Marathon. This is my first time running this race since 2006 (I last ran the 5 mile in 2007 because I was injured). In 2006, I ran 1:22 and had the best race down there to date. That said, I have never run very well down there. I have often been a victim of bad weather (too hot) or bad training. Since I basically took off 2009 from any real racing, I was looking forward to this race to see if I still have a little "oomph" in my legs, and if I have any reason to continue real training. In short, it's been a goal race for the winter. I would like to have had 3 months of 70+ mile weeks as prep, but I have been running 50+ since mid-January and overall have had a pretty strong base. In the last several weeks I have been running some hard workouts on Thursdays with Josh that have really helped show where I am at and helped improve my overall fitness. Not really knowing what I could do over the half, I set a relatively modest goal of 1:20 for this race. It seemed like a target that I should be able to hit and if I didn't then all of my running questions would be answered for now. If I did hit it, anything under that would be gravy. I had no secret goals. The weather at the start was very cool, but the skies were clear and there was little wind. I went out at just the right pace, running 5:45-5:55 in the first four miles. After that, I tried to stay with my little group of 3-4 runners but got dropped. I knew I just had to run my own race. Miles 6-8 seemed like they had way more uphill than I remember (and I know I have thought this same thing every time I have run this race). The hill at mile 9.5, "The Dragon," was not too bad--it's just a grunt climb and then it's done with a nice downhill reward after. The final two miles into town were not too bad. The cool weather made the exhaust from the big rigs more bearable on Highway 191 and it seemed like fewer locals were burning trash and debris in their ditches this year. In the last mile, I did catch one of the guys that I had been running with early in the race and had been chasing for 6 miles. I saw my wife and boys as I headed toward the finishing chute and that gave me a boost. I heard Josh (who looked well rested after running 1:11 and finishing 3rd) yell out to me that I was headed for 1:19 and that sounded like good news. I crossed in 1:18:45, shaving nearly four minutes off my course PR, finishing 14th overall. All things considered, this was a strong race for me. As always, I would like to have had a little more power to draw from in the middle of the race, but I never let up and never gave up. I did what I was capable of on Saturday March 20, 2010. Congrats to all who finished.
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