A few 5 -6 mile runs this week all at a relatively easy pace. I did run 3 miles at tempo pace on a lunch run on Wednesday but all the rest were easy miles.

Today I paced a friend Loka through the Mercer Island Half Marathon. Mercer island is east of downtown in the middle of Lake Washington. An affluent suburb just a 5 minute trip from Seattle. The race generally ringed the island on a road that twisted as it avoided small ravines leading 100 feet down to the water. No massive hills on the route but definitely not a flat race. I am guessing that the field was 2000 people, to me the perfect size for a half.

Our goal was sub 1:40 or just under 7:40 pace. The pace should be a breeze for 13 miles but I was a little apprehensive before the start of the race. Something about all that nervous energy while you wait for the gun. We settled right into a good rhythm as I chattered away and tried to keep his mind off the race. It worked well through 8 or 9 miles as I took in the beautiful views of the lake below and the Cascades in the distance. We wrapped around the bottom of the island and the hills got a little longer but we took it in stride and pace stayed generally the same.

I have paced people through all or portions of a race in the past and really enjoy it, but get bummed when the person falls off their goal. Loka was definitely tiring as we got through 10 miles but still running strong. At mile 11 with over 16 minutes remaining I knew he had sub 1:40 in the bag. We came in right on target in 1:39. 30 seconds to spare. A beautiful morning and a great race. I look forward to actually racing this thing sometime in the future.

In other news... I have already landed a new job in Seattle. My current position was 40 minutes north of the city but over an hour trip when I have to drop Zach off at day care three times a week. The commute is grating and the work was decent but doing development on contract from other companies just isn't the same as when your working on your own products. A great opportunity popped up a Dendreon, a biotech in downtown Seattle.

A promotion, a raise and a 25 minute commute by bus or a 6 mile ride by bike, I couldn't say no. As an added bonus it's minutes away from a trail that parallels the Puget Sound.