Top of Utah Marathon
As has been the case with every marathon that I have run this year (except Park City) my goal was to just sneak under 3 hours. Because of the nature of the course, my plan was to run 6:45’s coming down the canyon then slow to 7’s from mile 18 on. Wanted to hit the half in 1:29:00 and run a 2 minute positive split. I’m still holding onto the idea that I am a legitimate sub-3 runner and last year’s SGM wasn’t a fluke. At the starting line, the temperature felt perfect while I was wearing shorts and a singlet. This usually isn’t a good sign. My only hope was that there would be good cloud cover outside of the canyon that would protect us from the sun.
Lined up at the start with RivertonPaul and we were off with the firing of the muskets. The first mile was 6:20 which was way too fast but I wasn’t concerned because the first mile is a pretty good downhill and I always run the first mile fast because of the rush of adrenaline. I consciously slowed the next mile (6:51) and let Paul go ahead. The next 2 miles were 6:40 each. My focus was to keep a good consistent effort coming down the canyon and let my splits be dictated by the terrain. Occasionally, when a runner would pass me, I would hitch a ride with them to keep me from getting lazy and letting the pace slow. My splits were in the 6:45-7:00 range during the first half which I hit in 1:29:18 and was right on target. I couldn’t decide how the race was going, though. At times, I felt really good and other times I felt pretty fatigued. Maintained the same consistent effort through 16 but could start to feel the fatigue. Just as I started to notice that I was getting warm, the sun snuck behind some clouds and I had good cloud cover for the rest of the race. Every once in a while, there would be a cloud burst and the rain came pouring down. It would last just long enough to cool you down but not get soaked. At mile 17 another runner passed me and got a lot of cheers (I think he was a local) so I latched on and stayed with him the next mile. He was breathing pretty heavy so I knew it wouldn’t be long before he dropped off. Miles 17 and 18 were a little slow (6:59 average) but I was able to pick it up on the uphill during mile 19. I could see that Paul was starting to come back to me which gave a little extra motivation. I caught up with him at the aid station and we ran together for the next mile. I knew that I would be meeting up with Cody shortly and was looking forward to getting a little help because I could start to feel my energy dropping off. I was happy to see an entire crew of the FRB coming towards me. Cody brought Jon, Paul and Joe along with him. Unfortunately I was completely fried at this point. My pace really started to slow. Hit mile 20 in 7:24 and mile 21 in 7:01. From here on out, I was in survival mode and wanted to walk so badly. Having the crew there really kept me going. I can’t thank them enough. Averaged 7:45 for miles 23-25 and I hurt all over. Usually I only have problems with my legs but this time my legs, back and just about everything else was burning. The guys challenged me to catch a few runners that were ahead of me but I was hurting. This is about as hard as I have hit the wall in any race. Moved up on and passed one runner and I was ready to hurl. As Cody jumped off the course with ½ mile to go he said there was 1 runner ahead and he expected me to be ahead of him when I make the last turn. After the guys left the course, my first thought was “good they are gone so I can slack off now”. Of course, I took the challenge and passed the guy. I was so relieved to be done. Finish time was 3:04:30 which was 5 minutes slower than planned. This is pretty consistent with the other marathons that I have run this year as every marathon that I have run this year has been 5 minutes slower than I have wanted.
While standing around I started to get a little light headed and felt like I was going to pass out but was able to snap out of it after 30 minutes. I really feel like I gave it everything that I had today. The race strategy was perfect for a sub 3 I just wasn’t quite ready for it. The good thing that came from this marathon is that I’m getting more comfortable with where I am as a runner. I would like to be faster (wouldn’t we all?) but accepting my fitness level will allow me to run a little smarter and be more satisfied with my performance.
I am still in 3rd place in the Grand Slam standings and, barring something catastrophic in the next 2 weeks, I should be able to hold on to this position. | 