Just one race at a time

I wanted to run this run as close to marathon pace as I could.  The course I ran is really hilly I am running either up or down the whole run with the first three being gradual downhill, which makes the last three up hill...and it does not feel so gradual.  

At the one mile mark I saw to ladies running ahead of me.  Their pace was slow enough that I thought I could catch them fairly quickly.  I needed to make a potty stop before I could pass them though.  After the potty stop I could only see them when they ran under a street light.  I think they were about a half mile out.  As I ran I could tell I was getting close but not as fast as I thought I should have been.  I finally caught them a little after the 3 mile mark.  This is why the splits for those miles are faster than they should have been

When I got home I compared my splits to Cougars pace chart.  The terrain was not quite the same (my big hill was at mile 7 rather than 8 and miles 9 through 12 are steeper than at St George) I think this helped me feel like I can hold a faster pace when my legs are tired.

Splits: Mine followed by Cougars pace chart

9:00   9:05

9:26 (potty stop) 8:54

8:14   8:33

8:15   8:23

8:42   8:44

8:31   8:44

9:28 (potty stop and hill) 8:44

9:22   9:47

8:27   9:21

9:18   9:05

8:50   9:26

9:29   9:00

Walked the last .82  If I had known I was that close I would have walked .18 further to make it an even 13.