Pullman Winter Ultra Series 2011-2012

This is the second year that I have co-directed this group run, and it was definitely a success. Last year's first race only had eight runners and grew to twenty-two by the end of the winter. This year we had forty participants on the December run and forty-four in January! It was pretty cool seeing so many people who wanted to get together and run on a Saturday morning - not for medals or t-shirts but for the fun of it.

Last year my best time for the 7.75-mile loop was 1:37:48. This year I beat my time by 48 seconds, which I am pleased with since I have not been training. Before the race I thought I would just walk most of the loop, but after my first couple of 11-minute miles, I thought that I might have a record in me, so I ran harder than I planned. Of course, I still walked up the hill by Schweitzer and the hill by the golf course, because, sheesh, those hills feel bigger and steeper than they look.

This weekend was also going to be my first 25K, or two 7.75-mile loops. I wasn't feeling 100%, so I decided that I would be okay with not attempting my first 25K if I beat my December time. Thankfully, I came in at 1:35:36, which is a 12:20 pace. (And my RunKeeper app said that I ran 7.82 miles at a 12:13 pace, which is even cooler...especially since I had to wait at the light to cross the Moscow/Pullman highway.)

I was pleased by my time and amazed at how strong my legs felt (even though my body felt achy and fevered). I hope to be motivated to run my first 25K in 2012.



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