My first race since Red Hot was a gift, so to speak, from a friend, Mike. It was a free entry into the Platte River Half. I wasn't planning on running this race as a 'race' and thought it would be fun to run with Mike. Our friend, Chuck, was also running and we all drove down together. I told Mike I was just going to take it easy and if he wanted to run ahead he should. I had just run 20 miles and 4k' of vert the day before and didn't want to push my training too much. He said he was going to hang with me and we proceeded to run at a reasonably mellow pace. We talked a lot, as we always do, and I really enjoyed the run. He mentioned trying to progressively pick up the pace. I felt really good and agreed.
About half to two-thirds of the way through the race I realized I could PR and casually mentioned it to Mike. I think that was all it took for him and he very quietly started to pick up the pace, egging me on a bit. After another mile or so, we were really moving along well and Mike picked it up again. He kept asking how I was feeling and I was good. So he would pick it up again. Then he talked about the bridge. The only "hill" on the course, which is a downhill course, is a bridge that goes up pretty good. He said lets push it up and kicked it into gear. I hesitated for only a brief moment and latched onto his heels. We passed a lot of people going up and over that bridge. We crested, turned the corner and hit the homestretch. We both sprinted in and heard Susie Wargin, call our names.
I ended up PR'ing the half with a 1:40:22. We walked to the finish party and met Chuck. Grabbed our food, our beer, and headed back with a free ride on the LightRail. Great day and had a blast running and hanging out with Mike and Chuck.
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