We've been packing in the fun these last few days of summer before The Princess starts kindergarten next week. Bean started preschool today and said goodbye this morning without any tears. Probably good or I might have lost it. But it was fun to spend a little time with just The Princess, since that doesn't happen very often.
Anyhow, as far as running goes, I managed to pace the 2:15 group at the South Valley Half without any notable incidences or accidents, so I am considering pacing again in the (possibly near) future. The course was off a little, so when I thought it was going to be short 2/10ths of a mile, I slowed down. I was worried I would finish two or three minutes early, based on my time, and the goal was to be within a minute of the pace time. When I passed the mile 12 sign, it still looked like the course would be short. But when my watch hit 13.1 miles, I still couldn't see the finish line. When I finished, my watch said 13.23 miles, 2:16:44. Most of the other pacers ended up with similar results, so I tried not to be too disappointed in the result.
In spite of it getting warm towards the end and a tough course with 3+ continuous miles of uphill (I just told myself the hills were good practice for St. George), I had a lot of fun and would certainly do the race again. It was a smaller race than the last few I have done, so it would be fun to see how I could do if I really ran it.
As far as pacing goes, it wasn't too bad holding the sign the entire time except in the last few miles when it got windy and my thumb got tired from holding the sign so it wouldn't hit me in the head. But the sign also came in handy to block the sun during a lot of the race. I was a little worried about wearing a shirt I'd never worn before, but I didn't notice it at all. And the bright yellow made it easy to pick me out in the race photos.
I changed back into my own shirt before I took pics with Blaine (who is off the hook since I didn't crash and burn) and Whitney (an awesome blogger who won her race entry through my blog), otherwise Blaine and I would have been twinners in this pic:
Anyhow, as far as running goes, I managed to pace the 2:15 group at the South Valley Half without any notable incidences or accidents, so I am considering pacing again in the (possibly near) future. The course was off a little, so when I thought it was going to be short 2/10ths of a mile, I slowed down. I was worried I would finish two or three minutes early, based on my time, and the goal was to be within a minute of the pace time. When I passed the mile 12 sign, it still looked like the course would be short. But when my watch hit 13.1 miles, I still couldn't see the finish line. When I finished, my watch said 13.23 miles, 2:16:44. Most of the other pacers ended up with similar results, so I tried not to be too disappointed in the result.
In spite of it getting warm towards the end and a tough course with 3+ continuous miles of uphill (I just told myself the hills were good practice for St. George), I had a lot of fun and would certainly do the race again. It was a smaller race than the last few I have done, so it would be fun to see how I could do if I really ran it.
As far as pacing goes, it wasn't too bad holding the sign the entire time except in the last few miles when it got windy and my thumb got tired from holding the sign so it wouldn't hit me in the head. But the sign also came in handy to block the sun during a lot of the race. I was a little worried about wearing a shirt I'd never worn before, but I didn't notice it at all. And the bright yellow made it easy to pick me out in the race photos.
I changed back into my own shirt before I took pics with Blaine (who is off the hook since I didn't crash and burn) and Whitney (an awesome blogger who won her race entry through my blog), otherwise Blaine and I would have been twinners in this pic:
Blaine, Whitney & Me
I have to say this race has one of the COOLEST logos. Both the medal and the shirt are awesome! And thanks again to Aly for letting me be a part of such a great race.
Nice job! I love the shirt/race name! You rocked it as a pacer.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on excellent pacing! I would be so nervous trying to keep a certain pace for a whole race and trying to judge if the course was long or short - you did fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool that you were a pacer. I think I would like to give that a shot one of these days! I'm glad you had a good experience with it too. How many people did you help pace?
ReplyDeleteI love the shirt! Simple but very creative!
That race sounds awesome! Great job with the pacing. You did amazing.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you at the race! Great job on pacing, especially with that big hill in the middle!
ReplyDeleteI could never be a pacer. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI have tons of respect for pacers. Well done! You are brave indeed. Here in South Africa we only have pacers in the big ultras and some of the marathons to qualify for those ultras. The pacers get a harness with a flag on a stick(pole) that they wear as a backpack with the flag towering above them. Works well if you are used to it and you don't carry anything in your hands.
ReplyDeleteI'd say hitting the finish line within 2 minutes of a projected time qualifies as a fantastic job of pacing. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job! I think it's so cool that you paced!! I can't imagine carrying the sign for that long. Carrying water tires me out enough!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great shirt!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job and I'm sure your "pacees" appreciated it. Pacing a marathon is on my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I smiling like such a freaking goon? Oh right... I couldn't hold myself up after crossing the finish line. BLAH!
ReplyDeleteWell done girl and don't sweat the distance oversight, not your fault you did great!!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry we missed each other at the race. I saw you prior to boarding the bus, it looked like you were having a little meeting with all the pacers. Then I never found you at the start.
ReplyDeleteWay to go on pacing!!! That hill was a killer!
I would love to pace a race one day! You did a great job!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on leading a pace team! That is really cool you did that!
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer about the course length issues, only solution I can think of is to wear a pace band on your wrist so that you stay on track according to the actual mile markers and not your garmin. But if the 12 mile marker was off, then this plan goes out the window.
Carrying a sign for that long would be really annoying! lol
Great pacing job and I love the shirt!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats for the pacing job. 3 miles of uphill at the end of the race are an .... ambush!!!!
ReplyDeleteI like the medal and the original t-shirt.
I'm sure your pace group appreciated you holding the sign for two hours and helping them make it to the finish line. Great job!
ReplyDelete