Striders 10 Miler

Yesterday was the much talked about Striders 10 miler. It is much talked about because it is pretty brutal. The hardest 10 miles I will ever do. It has uphill stretches that just seem to go on forever. You will see a turn at the top and think that that has to be the end of the hill but just as you get to the corner you realize the climb isn't over. It's kinda crazy. But with the uphill there are some fun downhills too. Overall, I feel pretty accomplished having done this run.

The weather was perfect. The sun was shining. There was no wind. We were ready to tackle this run. The only thing missing was Tom. Poor guy. He has had a cold for the past two weeks and has had numerous nosebleeds. So he sat this one out.

The run for me was actually somewhat "fun". I ran by myself and just tried to concentrate on getting through it. I have not been running consistently at all and was worried how hard this was going to be. The worst part of this run was the first 3 miles when I desperately needed to pee. I was praying that if there wasn't a porta potty at the first aid station that Ogden High's swimming pool was open so I could go in there. If there was neither option I was preparing myself to just walk back to the starting line. Yup, I had to pee that bad. Luckily there was a porta potty at the aid station. Quick stop and I was off again. The rest of the run went pretty well. The only disappointing thing was that my time was better last year. I was hoping to improve or at least stay the same. Oh well. Not bad for not running much.

Todd said the run was brutal. He ran with Neil, who is one of those people who is just made for running. Neil hasn't ran at all but can run a race like it's nothing. Todd kept telling Neil to go on but he wouldn't leave Todd. On the steepest, longest hill of the run Todd said he stopped 3 or 4 times and told Neil over and over to go on ahead. He was getting pissed because Neil wouldn't leave. This of course made Todd feel like he had to run faster than he probably should have. So at the finish line Todd was spent. He felt good but he was done. Neil was busy talking on his phone while Todd was ready to leave. I was laughing. I also found out he slept for 3 hours after the race. haha

**STATS**

Distance: 10 miles
Temperature: low 30s
Time of Day: 8:00 a.m.

ME

Time: 1:37:54
Pace: 9:46 min/mile

TODD

Time: 1:28:04
Pace: 8:48 min/mile

TOM

No Show


Shay, girl I don't know, Me

Me and the girl I met at the last race. She has a cool accent. Wonder where she's from.Todd, Neil & Me