Winter Series Final Race 15K

15K, 9.3 miles, the longest and last of the 30K series.   The weatherman predicted dreary weather, but thankfully the weather man was wrong.  I woke up to beautiful blue skies, and white snowcapped mountains.  I ate a good breakfast;  oatmeal with bananas, a boiled egg, glass of OJ, and of course some water to hydrate.  I started to drive to the event, the nice weather was getting me excited.  It was just beautiful outside, and warm (it was probably in the 40's).  I realized half way there that I forgot my watch, oh well!  I was a little worried, but figured I will be able to pace myself pretty well, and this will be my test.  

I arrived at Saltair, and of course had to go to the bathroom.   Met with Trish, and we went back outside to warm up two miles.  Perfect weather, I had a short sleeve shirt and a light jacket on.  There was a slight head wind going out, but nothing bad.  Finished the 2 miles and needed another bathroom stop, what is up with me and the bathroom, especially before races!   I had just enough time to make my pit stop, strip off my jacket, and get to the start.  My plan, since I had no watch, was to just listen to my breathing and keep my friends Karla and Alaina in sight.  They are a little faster than me, but I knew if I could pace myself just behind them I would have a good race.  I felt great.  It was so pretty to be running on the empty road, and looking east to the pretty white topped mountains, and then turning around to see the west mountains, and the vastness of the Great Salt Lake.  The fun part about an out and back run, is you can see everyone on the course.  You see the people ahead of you as they are coming back, amazed at how fast they can run, and then cheer on and encourage the people behind you as you pass them.  You see your friends, and it is always nice to here your name called out, or just a "good job."   It was so warm, I am very glad I decided to shed my jacket, I could see many people who looked overheated or struggling to remove layers while running.  I kept a good pace for the first half of the race, I didn't go out too fast this time.  I had some people in sight and loved that I was keeping speed and they were slowing down.  I was able to pass up a few of them and picked up some speed for the last couple of miles.  I finished feeling satisfied that I ran a good race, no complaints. 

I couldn't stick around for the raffle or awards, I had to hurry back for my son's first indoor soccer game.  I got another two miles of cool down, and had a little time to chat with a few friends, get a cup of coffee and banana, and took off to continue my busy day.  

My official time was 1:07:50.   That is a pace of 7:18 per mile.  I can't complain about that.

The Winter Series finishers medal.  You get this if you did all three races.  Its pretty, and I love the smell of burned wood. 

All in all the series is a great way to stay motivated and keep training in the winter months.  It is cheap, fun, and very well organized.  I look forward to doing in next year.