my intermittent blog about training and racing

My training has been mainly focused on marathon endurance preparation (i.e long slow runs). So I haven't had a chance to do specific half marathon type stuff except for one tempo run last week. I figured this race would be an acceptable "speed" ingredient for marathon preparation.  I started out with the front pack of guys. We were going at about 5:15-5:20 pace. It felt pretty easy since we were running down the canyon, but by 2.5 miles I decided to ease up a bit (my last race was a 15k at 5:35 pace so I knew I had to be cautious). I ran the rest of the race alone, watching the front group of guys slowly pull away from me. Jace was in the gap between me and the front group. I wondered if I could eventually catch him, but by 8 miles he had disappeared and my plan had changed to just trying to maintain my pace until the finish. My legs started hurting at mile 9.5, and things got more painfull right before the 12 mile mark, but I mostly kept my composure and finished strong. I wouldn't call this course too hard, but it is difficult to maintain even splits with the rolling hills during the second half. Overall it was a fun race and I'm excited to see how this effort will help me get in better shape than I was yesterday.

My rough splits were

1-3 in 5:20. 3-7 in 5:31, 7-10 in 5:39, 10-finish in 5:35.    (average 5:31)

The key word for today's race is B-O-M-B! I set a new PW (Personal Worst) today. I entered this race with the goal to run at 2:40:xx pace and see if I could progress a little faster and surprise myself over the later miles. My 1:12:18 HM from 2 weeks ago, and my 25 mile long run in training indicated that this was not too lofty of a goal. I decided to wear trainers instead of racing flats so that I would not be tempted to run the early downhills too quickly. I hit 5 miles in 29:57. 10 miles in 1:02:08. 15 in 1:33:38. Mile 15 to 18 was mostly downhill. I started to let myself run a little faster, and did mile 16 to 17 in 5:55. I was a little more tired that I expected to be at this point in the race considering that I was running very conservatively. Also, I started to regret that I was in trainers-they felt heavy. Mile 18 to 20 had a few patches of uphill. While climbing up a short hill before mile 20 (2:04:30), I knew things were not right. I felt exta tired and started having the temptation to walk. My legs didn't feel too awfull, but I felt like I was running of fumes. My pace started slowing and I started having thoughts of letting today be a DNF. At mile 23 the course passes within 2 blocks of where I live. I knew my wife and kids were going to be there. I really wanted to just drop out at that point and chalk it up as a bad 23 mile training run. I decided to stick with it and jog my way to the finish. I spent about a half mile saying "just don't walk" to myself, but then eventually failed to meet that goal as well. I walked three times (twice during water stations) over the last three miles. The walking actually helped be regain a little energy. My PW before today was 2:48:xx from my first marathon. I never thought I would run slower than that today, but oh well, at least I didn't drop out.

I think (or hope) there is an explaination for today's awfull performance. I have had a slightly sore throat this week, but I just thought my spring allergies where hitting early this year. I didn't want to start worring that I was coming down with something. Also, my stomach was a little unsettled yesterday and this morning, but I thought that was just "racing nerves." So, maybe I have a bit of a cold, I would rather use that as an explaination because it is better that telling myself that my running ability has deteriorated so much since my last Marathon which was just 18 months ago. The Utah Marathon where I ran 2:38:xx on a more difficult course.

Lastly, there is a possibility that I didn't take in enough liquid or calories during the race. I took Powergels at mile 11 and 20. I alternated between water and powerade from about mile 12 on. I'm hesitant to drink fluids earlier in the race because I don't want to risk having to stop to pee. This happened to me once in the Park City Marathon where I dank right from the start and had to pee at mile 10. I did notice today, that after taking the gels and powerade, I felt a little worse for several minutes, so maybe my stomach wasn't absorbing the calories the way it normally should. I would apprecaite any feedback on what other's do to drink during a Marathon, especially when it is a slightly cold tempurature at the start and you don't start really sweating untill 5 miles into the race.

Anyway, that's my Marathon BOMB story. I've always heard people say that "anything can happen in the marathon." Too bad, the "anything" they are refering to is having a horrible race rather than being the first human to go sub 2 hours:) Plus, things could have gone worse, I could have pooped myself. Also on the bright side, my legs don't feel too trashed, maybe I will be able to recover quickly from this race.