This race was a bit mystery for me in terms of how I would perform... for a number of reasons. First off, I spent the majority of July and August battling an achilles issue. This was apparent after taking a week off before the Provo River 1/2 Marathon, racing, and then not being able to walk afterwards. Some constant stretching and strengthening during September helped, but it didn't help the missed training miles in July/August. The other big variable was a cold I developed a few days before the race. After battling it Thursday and Friday, I woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty close to normal, so that ended not being a factor.
My friend and (sometimes) training partner Bob and I talked about running the first couple miles together. His goal was to break 3:00, which was similar to my goal (break 2:55). A couple months ago I had planned on breaking 2:45, but I knew that wasn't realistic this year. The big variable with Bob was this being his first marathon. I knew it was possible because he ran a 1:22 half at the TOU 1/2 Marathon, but experience is much more key at the marathon distance. We also tried talking Mark (aka "Red Dragon") into running the first 1/2 with us, but he was set on breaking 3:10 and running the first half conservatively (1:34-1:35). Our goal was to run the first half in 1:28-1:29.
So we took off and did a very conservative 2 miles in 14:08. I started to get impatient, so we gradually picked it up and started logging 6:30 miles at mile 3. Veyo and the gradual uphill to mile 12 slowed us down again to a 7:00 pace, but I started getting a second wind as we approached mile 13. The first half time ended up at 1:28:15, which I wasn't thrilled with because it was my slowest 1/2 time at St George ever. But, considering the goal, it was appropriate. Once we reached the downhill, I started to pick it up and temporarily left Bob. I tracked 6:05-6:10 miles going down the big hill to mile 16, where Bob met up with me again. I was surprised to see him, as he must have been logging sub-6:00 miles down the hill. After the hill, I kept a pretty steady 6:20-6:30 pace, and Bob gradually backed off and fell behind. I knew the hill before mile 19 would be tough, but I felt strong and passed a handful of people up it. I kept waiting for the wall, but it didn't come until mile 25, at which point I slowed down to a 7:00 pace and cruised in with a time of 2:53:05 and a -3:25 split.
Here are the splits:
| Mile |
Pace |
| 1 |
7:15 |
| 2 |
6:53 |
| 3 |
6:21 |
| 4 |
6:26 |
| 5 |
6:31 |
| 6 |
6:14 |
| 7 |
6:15 |
| 8 |
7:28 |
| 9 |
7:04 |
| 10 |
6:56 |
| 11 |
7:13 |
| 12 |
6:46 |
| 13 |
6:31 |
| 14 |
6:25 |
| 15 |
6:11 |
| 16 |
6:05 |
| 17 |
6:12 |
| 18 |
6:20 |
| 19 |
6:38 |
| 20 |
6:24 |
| 21 |
6:14 |
| 22 |
6:33 |
| 23 |
6:20 |
| 24 |
6:35 |
| 25 |
6:46 |
| 26 |
6:58 |
| .2 |
1:23 |
Generally speaking, I think I had a good, consistent performance. I bailed out on speedwork almost entirely this year due to a chronic achilles issue. So I think my endurance was ok, but I lacked the speed and threshold training that would have allowed me to pick up the pace. I think I can realistcally move these numbers down about 30sec/mile next year, which would put me right at my sub-2:40 goal. I've finished in the 2:40s twice, so I think that goal is very attainable.
I noticed times were a lot faster this year. Normally, a time of 2:53 would gaurantee a spot in the top 100, but I fell to number 121 overall this year. I attribute that to the weather more than anything else. Is it possible that runners are gradually getting faster with more information sharing and better gear? Possibly.
I keep thinking about next year. I think the different focus on my training that I've gained from veteran runners on this site will help.
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