St. George Half (pacing)

Don't I look soggy? And I'm pretty sure I was
squinting because I couldn't see through
the rain!

Last weekend I got the chance to head down to St. George to pace a half marathon.  Sam and I had booked a hotel in Springdale a few months ago in anticipation of going to enjoy the relative warmth and sunshine, compared to how Provo would probably feel mid-January.
Well, the joke was on us, because it was pouring rain on Saturday morning!  The race was still fun, though, and it rained heavily for only about half of it, with a mist for the other half.  It wasn't dreadfully cold, either, and there wasn't a ton of wind.  I paced the 2:20 group again.  Pacing that time is a bit weird, because it's not a super "common goal".  I feel like people would rather round it out to getting a 2:00, and anything slower it's kind of "whatever I get" sort of mentality.  My pace buddy and I were more or less alone until the last bit of the race, at which point people would usually see us coming, curse, and try to get farther ahead of us.
Unfortunately, with the rain it was hard to find much to do the rest of the day.  Sam and I had planned on going up to hike around in Zion, but a lot was closed off.  Now, the rest of the story isn't supposed to sound like complaining, because I really just found the whole thing funny.  You just have to laugh.  So here's how the rest of the trip went:
Back in Springdale, we went to eat at this diner (the only place open) that was so deserted and "rustic" that we felt like we had walked into someone's house uninvited.  It was totally silent and we could hear the one worker doing the dishes.  I felt like I should get up and help her.  The owner's grandkids came in to visit, and a lady from the ward came to tell the girl about what the choir director wanted them to do for the song the next day.  Also, we could hear them using the microwave to make our food.  I also caught a glimpse of the kitchen, and I don't think it would have passed a health inspection.  Back at the hotel, our key cards wouldn't work, and rather than fixing it the lady asked us if we could just not leave our room until we checked out. Later that evening I got hungry again, but everywhere was closed, so I went to the hotel vending machine where there were about 3 items left, and the thing I bought was 2 months expired.  Then later I tried to buy a drink, but the machine was broken.  So I wandered across the street to another hotel and creeped around until I found a vending machine, but alas, it would only take quarters and I had 1's. That's what you get for staying in a remote tourist town in the off-season.
Anyway... If you don't remember, I fractured my foot in December, so I have only been using the elliptical and cycling in January.  It has been torture.  You know you really miss running when one day you see all of these runners out and you start bawling in the truck.  Yep, I'm cool like that.  Anyway, considering that the only running I had done before the race was a 7 miler on the Thursday before, my body felt really good during and after.  Being diligent in letting my foot heal has paid off, because now it feels totally fine and I can resume running just in time to start official marathon training for my next race!

Oh, and by the way, I guess that even with the rain we had way better weather than further north!  Check this out!  It gets craaaazy a bit into it. Yeesh!