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| Our St. George Pacing Team |
Some readers may remember a few months ago I was offered the amazing opportunity to pace for American Flyers, and St. George was our first race of the season. I have been quite giddy about pacing this year as it allows me to run races I wouldn't sign up for normally. Take St. George- I wouldn't be inclined to book a hotel room and pay a hefty registration fee to run a primarily uphill course. And let's be real folks, I live in Utah. A state where on any given Saturday you can find at least five races within a 20 mile radius. Why would I travel for a measly 13.1 miles? But as a pacer, our registration fee is waived and for destination races, like St. George, lodging is provided.
Given the mostly uphill course of St. George, I choose to pace 2:20. Pacers have to be able to run at least 20 minutes faster than their pace time so while I was tempted to snag the 2:10 spot, I thought I'd play it safe and take the 2:20. Another eventful thing happened over the race weekend: Utah got its first real snowstorm of the year. I was pretty excited to ski the fresh powder Friday morning (I'm almost half way through my ski challenge!) then head down to sunny St. George. But the joke was on me. While it had been 60 degrees Friday when I arrived, the Saturday morning temperatures plummeted and the rain clouds rolled in. I really can't complain because I truly enjoy running in the rain and snow, but oh boy, I was getting chilly after 13 miles! Even though I was sopping wet, I crossed that finish line at exactly 2:18:30! Woohoo!
Our pacing group has already lined up to pace four more races this spring, but sadly one race is the same weekend we'll be in Vegas while another race is going on while Troy and I will be soaking up rays in the Florida keys. I am, however, signed up to pace the 2:20 again in the Riverton Half this March. Yay! This is going to be the best running season yet!
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