2007 Ogden Half Marathon
I toyed with the idea of bumping up to the full marathon but decided that I need to get a feel for the shorter, faster races before making an attempt at dropping my marathon PR. I just have a hard time “only” running a half when a full is offered. As the weather forecasts started coming out, I was glad that I stuck with the half. It is unseasonably warm and highs were expected to be in the upper 80’s.
It seems that I can’t write a race report without a POP story. At the starting line the POP’s were lined up along a small creek. Three of them were tipped over backwards into a small creek. I sure hope that nobody was in them when they went over.
After warming up with an easy mile, I headed to the starting line. The half marathon course starts at the halfway point of the marathon course. It comes down Ogden canyon and is a beautiful run. Other than a decent climb during the second mile, the course is mostly downhill with the last 2 miles flat. My goal for the race was to start out at 6:40/mile and try to hold on. Based on last year’s results, I knew that I had a chance at an AG award. Of course, it all depends on who shows up but the thought was there.
Mile 1: 6:30
Gun, horn or something went off (I honestly can’t remember) and the race was under way. I started out running and a pretty good pace and it felt very comfortable. I knew that it was a little faster than my goal pace but it felt good and I wasn’t going to back off. I made the commitment to myself to push harder in this race than I normally do. If I crash, I can still back off and finish in a decent time. It is not like a marathon where going out too fast can completely ruin a race.
Mile 2: 6:48
This is the uphill mile and it was faster than I planned. I expected this to be around 7:00 but I just plugged along and was still feeling good.
Mile 3: 6:32
Just running by effort and maintaining a steady pace.
Mile 4: 6:35
Much of the same.
Mile 5: 6:11
There is a big downhill through this section and I opened it up a little. My legs felt alright but I was starting to get a little winded. My legs are usually the first to go so this was an odd feeling.
Mile 6: 6:39
Still plugging along. Up to this point, I have been running with another guy and there were 2 younger guys about 20 seconds ahead. We were all pretty much running the same pace.
Mile 7: 6:49
I have no idea why this mile was so slow. I think that I was too focused on hanging with the group of runners that I was with and they all slowed a little.
Mile 8: 6:33
Picked up the pace a bit and was back to where I wanted to be.
Mile 9: 6:16
Running downhill with the wind at my back. What more could a runner ask for? I moved past the small group of runners that I was with and started looking for the next person ahead of me.
Mile 10: 6:15
More downhill with a tailwind. This is great and figure that it is pay back for the miserable weather in Boston. I notice that I am starting to heat up and the sweat rate is increasing.
Mile 11: 6:30
I am starting to get tired and the “just back off and cruise in for a pr” thoughts start creeping into my head. A female runner cruised by me and I tried staying with her so that I could make a move on the male runner ahead of me. She was cruising and I had a hard time keeping up.
Mile 12: 6:50
I am really starting to fade. I slowed down for a cup of water which was a huge mistake. It made me realize how tired I was and I had a hard time shifting back into gear. It was getting difficult to stave off the negative thoughts. The girl that passed me earlier was gapping me but I was still making up ground on the runner ahead. I noticed that he had a very low arm swing which meant that he was tiring.
Mile 13.1: 6:19 pace
I promised myself before this race that I was going to make it hurt. Despite the fatigue, I only had 1 mile to go and I started to push the pace. I moved past the male runner and could see the female that passed me and another guy. I could hear the finish line ahead but it didn’t seem like it was getting any closer. I started getting nauseous and decided to push through it instead of backing off. Despite the extra effort, I couldn’t make up any ground on the two runners ahead. Saw my wife and son near the finish line and pushed on through to the end.
Time: 1:25:51 (6:33/mile)
Overall Place: 18
Gender Place: 14
AG Place: 3
This was almost a 4 minute PR. It is also the first time that I have ever placed in my age group. We waited around for the awards ceremony and got a pretty cool plaque. The half marathon is so much more fun than the full. It is certainly not as rewarding but it is a great distance to race. I have been debating whether or not I should make a sub-3 attempt this fall and this helps convince me that it is possible.
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