Ran the second leg of the SL half marathon relay. The course was an aggressive downhill from the top of Big Mountain to Ruth's Diner. I have been having some nagging foot problems and was not quite sure how I would fare, but I wanted a good solid effort. I got the hand off from Dantley who was a few minutes behind the leaders, but he came in with one of the other relay teams. I took off with the other relay and he soon opened a small gap on me, I did not know who he was, but thought I should at least try to stay close. I closed the gap at the mile mark and came through in 5:22, I pushed the pace in the second mile and he responded to stay with me, I thought this would be ok to have someone to run with down the hill, maybe share the work a little. We came through mile 2 in 5:10, maybe a little fast. The guy I was running with fell off the pace and I just tried to relax through the next few miles. I was feeling pretty good until about the last half mile, where I was ready to be done. My back had gotten a bit tight and I was getting uncomfortable. The guy I started with finished about 2 - 3 minutes back from me. Miles 3 and 4 were 5:33, mile 5 was 5:43, and right about 3 minutes for the last .62. I jogged down to the finish when I was done, but decided that anymore was not in my best interest with the way my back and foot were feeling. Sasha looked outstanding today as well as Mike and Neal, what a great race!! | 