think fast

i'm not fast.

but once in a while i feel fast, and that's almost the same thing.

saturday was one of those days.

in addition to a rare top-10 finish, i had an even rarer negative split in the second half of the race. 

which is to say i covered the first 6.1 miles in ~59 minutes, and the final 7.2 miles at a faster-pace ~1:03:30.

i'll take that any day.

paradise valley half marathon:

2:02:27

8/55 (overall)

1/3 (M 50-59)

shoes:

altra lone peak 3.0

song stuck in my head the entire time: "funknroll" ~ prince

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other uninteresting notes

weather.com said there was a 100% chance of precipitation before and during the race. they were half-right. it poured while we were standing around waiting for the start. but by race time, the rain was pretty much over. regardless, there was a lot of ponding on the trails. after daintily skipping around the first few puddles (as always), i went through the middle the rest of the way. once your feet are wet, they're wet® after all.

the "i don't fall down" lone peak 3.0.

runners were falling down all over the place. wet rocks/roots and non-grippy shoes are a tough combination. the LP 3.0s were having none of that. i never even slipped, let alone fell. if you're looking for a wet/winter shoe, these will treat you well for distances up to (and probably beyond) 50k.

they're also great for non-rainy and technical terrain. i mean, obviously.

oh! there was a bear warning at the trailhead. "bears recently sighted nearby," or words to that effect. if there were, in fact, bears nearby they at least had the good sense not to come out in the rain.

many thanks to the proprietors and volunteers at northwest trail runs. this was a fun track and a fine inaugural event at the paradise valley conservation area. always good to find new places to run!