The Other Half Half Marathon. The point of our trip to Moab for this race was for my wife Heather to run. She was awesome, finishing in 2:04, just a scant 15 weeks after giving birth to our baby Jack. She ran with our friend (and fellow blogger) Helen. They finsihed together and looked very strong on this tough course. I am extremely proud of my wife and impressed with her accomplishment. She has showed a lot of determination and toughness in getting back into running shape. I hope she continues to stay motivated. This is probably her fifth half-marathon and (pr 1:49, I believe) and I think she has many speedier times ahead. Go Heather!!
Since I'm still in 'easy' mode after St. George, my expecations for this race were pretty low. I'm proud to say I met them. My own plan was all over the map until the gun went off. It went something like this: try to run it as a marathon pace tempo workout. Do that until my calf gives, and if it doesn't give, then just keep going. If the calf locks up, drop back and take it easy at no risk of injury. I figured that, at least, it would be a good test of where my recovery is at since the marathon. The start was cold, probably 30 degrees. We also had some headwind, not to mention some very nasty hills between 7 and 10. It's not a fast course.
At the start I ran into Brad Anderson, a fellow Black Sheep. He doesn't race often, but he is very fit and I looked forward to running with him today. We ran the first couple of miles together with Nathan Hornok. I was still kind of feeling out my condition in those early miles and didn't go with them when they pulled away at about 5k. Nathan said he wanted to run 1:15-1:16 which was not in my plan at all today. From 5k to 10k, I was just kind of coasting, still feeling things out. I picked it up from 10k to the 10 mile mark, eventually catching Brad. I thought he might go with me, but the course was taking a toll. I tried to take advantage of my downhill training where appropriate and just held on for a decent finish. Legs felt fine. No calf problems of any significance. A good day for this kind of race.
Finishing order: 1) Ewen North in 1:12. He's a brit, lives in Boulder, former Adams State runner. This was a course record by nearly three minutes; 2) Nate Hornok in 1:16:06. Great work. 3) Bernie Boettcher in 1:17:38: Age 43 and 3 time winner on the course. 4) yours truly; 5) Brad Anderson, Black Sheep and masters winner; 1:19:09. This is my best recollection of the finishing times..
Oh, I ran a couple of warm up miles and another mile at the end. This course is gorgeous and, in my opinion, beats the Canyonlands Half Marathon (same race organizers) for sheer beauty. It is at least a couple of minutes slower, howver. The finish at the Sorrell Ranch can't be beat. | 