I had a good race. I had to take almost 2 months off of running because of my hamstring (February and March). I've since had 2 progressive, gradually building 2 months of training. I decided 2 months ago that, as long as I was healthy, I would run this race as a benchmark. I knew I wouldn't yet be where I wanted to be. But, I'm sure glad I did it.
I PR'd. My listed time on the website was 1:10:59. My watch time was ~10 seconds faster. Because everyone else I know who ran had similar discrepancies, the race timers must have started the timer before the race actually began. Not a big deal; just annoying. I didn't quite know what to expect. My current fitness was somewhat uncertain. This week, Scott and Mike helped me realize that starting conservatively was the best approach (I often have a tough time doing this). I sure appreciate their advice. It payed off big-time later in the race. I ran the first 6-7 miles with Justin and Mike. What an honor to run with both of them. Nothing quite beats sharing in pain with friends. Can't have 2 more quality guys than them. When I've previously done half marathons (which hasn't been a lot), I'm usually alone in la-la land. Today, I really enjoyed running with friends. Splits for miles 1-4 were: 5:27, 5:28, 5:39, 5:28. I wondered if I was being too conservative, but it felt right. Miles 5 and 6 were 5:15 and 5:14. Justin started dropping back a bit at this point. I was hoping he'd stay longer, but my word: he just did Ogden! He looked great today -- very smooth. I have nothing but respect for him. Complete animal! Splits were a bit all over the place from this point on, but they felt right. I just went by feel on this one. Mike was with me for another 1.5 miles, and then started to fall back. Such an honor to run with him today. Mike has completely transformed. Just look how he performed last fall, and how he is now. He's a machine! Inspiring! I felt great. I knew it was going to be a good one. (Wish all races were like that :) I noticed we were gradually reeling in 3 runners. It took several miles, but I finally passed them all. I passed 2 at about mile 9 (Nate Hornok and a guy named "Blue" from California), and Trevor Baker at close to mile 11. They all looked great. Trevor may have started out a bit fast (which may have cost him), but what a great, gutsy runner.
Splits for miles 7-12 were 5:28, 5:13, 5:16, 5:27, 5:32, 5:24. I still felt good. Of course, there was the usual distance running pain, but that is a good thing. At mile 12, to my amazement, I heard footsteps. I never turn around, but because I was so surprised, I turned around to see who it was. It was Nate Hornok. I had never met Nate (until today), but I know he is a great runner. I experienced this first hand last summer, when Nate beat me handily in a 5k by over a minute. But, I never forgot that experience. I saw him at the starting line today. I had no idea where his fitness was at, but I told myself that if our fitness levels were similar, I would not lose to him today. Anyway, I was impressed that he had caught me (he was right on my shoulder). But I was not about to let him beat me today. I knew that he had to have worked hard to catch me. So, I decided to immediately drop the hammer. My last mile was 5:14, and I put 20 seconds on him. My garmin said 13.16 miles, so my last .16 was :46 seconds. I'm thankful for the result. I've got a long way to go, but I now have a baseline. Time to improve. Thanks a bunch to my boys (running crew) who drag me all over the streets of northern Utah county. And thanks to my wife for her unconditional support. Here are some pictures. Sorry about the last one, but I need some advice. Both of my feet are thrashed with blisters (symmetric on both sides of both feet). Clearly, it is the shoes (Nike Lunar racers). I love the shoes, but I'd better stick with 5k's and 10k's with them. Nothing longer. I'm guessing the forefoot is either too wide or too narrow (tough for me to tell which). I could tell by mile 8 that I had some really bad blisters. But it didn't affect my race -- I don't let details like that make a difference. My question: any advice for racing flats I shoulder consider buying for longer races? I'm open for suggestions. Any brand is fine. I wear size 9.5, and my foot is standard width (maybe even slightly narrow, but not much).        
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