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Provo Halloween Half Marathon

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Location:

Logan,UT,USA

Member Since:

Apr 27, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Region 9 Cross Country Champion 2004 (5K: 15:42)

400m: 00:54 (running start)

800m: 2:03 (7th place State Meet 2005)

1500m: 4:30 (2nd place Utah Summer Games 2004)

1600m: 4:31 (4th place State Meet 2005)

3000m: 9:55 (1st place Utah Summer Games 2004)

3200m: 9:52 (4th place State Meet 2005)

5K: 15:39 (2nd place Enterprise, UT Pioneer Days 2004

 

 

10K (very aided): 33:33.3 (8th place USG 2008)

15K:  53:04 (6th place Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run)

Half Marathon (very aided):  1:10:38 (5th place, Provo Halloween Half)

Marathon:  2:38:15 Top of Utah Marathon 2010 (6th Place Overall, 1st Local and 1st 19-24)

Won the 1st Annual Sand Hollow Marathon in 2:41:22

Ultramarathon:  Logan Peak Trail Race 2010:  28 miles, 7261 vert. 4:23:48 (2nd Place), El Vaquero Loco 50k 2011: 6:02 (2nd Place)

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Go where the trail takes me.

 

Personal:

My hometown is Hurricane, UT but I currently live in Logan, UT where I attend Utah State University.  I am working on a PhD in Education, with an emphasis in Technology and Engineering Education.

You can also check out my blogspot running blog where I post race reports.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Type A2 Racers Lifetime Miles: 219.40
Brooks Cascadia 6 (Green) Lifetime Miles: 527.90
Brooks Launch (Orange/Yellow) Lifetime Miles: 250.40
Altra Lone Peak (Yellow/Gray) Lifetime Miles: 94.60
New Balance MT110 (Black) Lifetime Miles: 75.00
Altra Superior (Green) Lifetime Miles: 103.30
Brooks Cascadia 8 (Blue) Lifetime Miles: 185.10
Trail 2013 Lifetime Miles: 140.15
Road 2013 Lifetime Miles: 121.35
Altra Lone Peak B (Yellow/Gray) Lifetime Miles: 65.70
PI M2T (Orange/Blue/Grey) Lifetime Miles: 27.50
Trail Miles 2015 (Start May) Lifetime Miles: 64.00
Road Miles 2015 (Start May) Lifetime Miles: 31.50
Race: Provo Halloween Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:10:38, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.0013.1014.10

This was my debut half marathon, which, as Paul pointed out on my facebook page is kind of strange, considering I've run two marathons and a trail ultra already.  But I had never actually done a half before today so this was new to me.  Here's the somewhat belated report:

Woke up at 6 AM, and drove with my friend Jamie to the bus pickup.  I thought that this race seemed to be more about dressing up than racing, and this was confirmed when we got to the pickup area and there were 2000 people in line and about 5 buses.  More buses came, but it took a long time compared to other similar events.  It was ok though, because I kind of expected it to be that way just from the tone of the event website and things so I wasn't too stressed about it.  After all, this is just a race to keep me motivated through my post-marathon doldrums.  Finally got on a bus at about 7:30 or so and did most of my race prep on the bus and talked with Jamie on the way up.  My "costume" was just my full body black winter spandex stuff with black gloves and a black "ninja" mask which I use in very cold weather.  Didn't look much like a ninja with a white SGRC singlet on (totally stealthy huh?), but oh well.  Maybe I should have bought some plastic katanas (sp?) to go with it.  Anyway, we had about an hour before the start once we got up to the staging area so I earned another star (** for the race) and went inside the big and very warm tent for awhile.  Temps outside were chilly, but not as bad as I expected.  Probably actually warmer than the TOU start.  Warmed up for about ten minutes and made my way to the starting line where I saw Walter and Steve (?) who was also wearing a blog singlet.  There were also a couple of fast looking guys wearing Utah Elite singlets (they would go on to take the top 2 spots).  I was happy to see that it would be at least somewhat competitive even with the party vibe.  Anyway, enough prelim.  We started about 12 minutes late, but apparently that wasn't too bad compared to the previous year.  There was a bus blocking the way about 100 yards out, and I would have paid 10 bucks to see the bus driver's face to see us all come around the bend full tilt while he was still crosswise in the road.  I was too busy trying to figure out how to get around to look though.  We settled into a very fast pace down the side canyon.  Mile 1 was a 5:18, mile 2 was a blistering 4:53, but I felt good and didn't really want to let that lead pack go, so I just tried to relax and hang in there.  3 miles was 15:30 according to somebody, but I must have accidentally pushed something on my watch because it had stopped.  So now I was running blind.  But I wasn't worried.  This was just for fun and to see what I could do.  Near the bottom of the first canyon I could start to feel some fatigue in my quads from the hard downhill, but thankfully we soon turned onto the highway with more reasonable grades and I quickly felt better.  I picked off a couple of guys over the next couple of miles and settled into 5th place with Walter nipping at my heels and some really really tall guy with a 10 foot stride dressed as a devil a little bit in front.  The two UE guys were in front followed by Steve in 3rd.  Some other guy was with Walter.  Anyway, we turned onto the River Trail and soon after I started getting some very severe cramps.  it got so bad that I actually had to stop and double over twice to relax it away.  The first time was right next to some old people roller blading and I think they thought I was dying or something.  I also had problems getting enough air, oddly.  Same scenario as coming down Dry Canyon at Logan Peak.  I fought through it though and slowly gained ground on the devil guy and somehow managed to stay ahead of Walter.  I kept feeling like I was starting to lose it, but I was somehow able to mentally tough it out through these miles and maintain a respectable pace.  Somewhere around mile 9 (the marker was WAY off, so I don't really know) Jamie's mom and siblings were there cheering and so that was nice to have someone there to motivate me through a tough section.  Somewhere in here I also got passed by another guy, who looked like he was doing really well, but he didn't end up finishing that far ahead.  With 5k to go, my right calf started cramping pretty hard, but with that short of a distance left I ignored it and turned my focus to beating the devil guy, who had done an admirable job thus far of staying just out of contact, even while carrying a wicked looking trident.  I was somewhat nervous as to what would happen should I try to pass him.  But I slowly reeled him in and FINALLY passed him just after the 12 mile mark.  He was actually very gracious and not devilish at all and we exchanged congratulations between breathing.  At this point I was dead, but I willed myself to push hard the last mile and was very pleased that I actually had a decent kick.  Finished in 1:10:38 which was much much better than what I had been shooting for and very unexpected, as I had been running without time for 10 miles.  I thought I had faded a lot more, but it turns out I wasn't going all that slow after all.  Overall I was very pleased with this race.  It was a fun time.  I don't know if I'll count it as any kind of PR, since it was such a crazy downhill affair but it was fun and a good first time half.  And I beat the devil.  :)

Saucony Type A2 Racers Miles: 14.10
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Calories: 0.00
Comments
From JamesH on Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 21:10:36 from 74.211.22.194

Nicely done. Some may scoff at a PR on a downhill course. Not me(but thats mostly because thats the only time i can pr). Good job.

From Jon on Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 21:22:05 from 98.71.130.239

Congrats, Joe. Sounds like a good race, and beating BJ is quite the feat. Heck of a PR (even if it was downhill and short, from what I hear)- you'll have to work hard to beat that time. What's next on your calendar?

From Cody on Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 21:32:39 from 174.52.244.185

Awesome ninja moves to sneak past the devil himself (you are in very good company to beat BJ) You should see me next to him, quite a sight! Well Done!!

From allie on Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 22:16:00 from 174.23.195.124

nice debut! that's a great time. good job beating the devil.

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 22:50:48 from 70.58.47.122

that is a nice 1/2 debut for sure, nice job!!! and glad you survived with no injuries.

From Walter on Mon, Nov 01, 2010 at 00:04:01 from 24.10.169.110

Hey Joe, that tall guy you beat is BJ Christiansen. He just so happened to be the fastest marathon runner on the run portion in the Lake Placid Ironman from a few years ago. No easy feat there! Im glad he had a cape and a trident to slow him down enough to almost beat him myself! I went through so many emotions im not used to in that race! I was going to stop and wait for friends to run with but after being at a pr speed I had to push it for all I had. Everytime I got within striking distance to you you blasted ahead! I was only 2 seconds behind you around mile 10. You finished a minute ahead of me. So you had 3 really good miles. When most people fade. Keep up the great work.

From crockett on Mon, Nov 01, 2010 at 14:12:48 from 216.49.181.254

Way to go Joe. Hope to meet you one of these days. Wild crazy race realy got the feet moving. Good fun. I did get to see the bus driver's face. First it was panic then with was "I'm so sorry."

From jtshad on Tue, Nov 02, 2010 at 10:30:28 from 204.134.132.225

Nice race! You were running with some stiff competition! Great job on your debut!

From baldnspicy on Tue, Nov 02, 2010 at 23:44:28 from 72.77.120.222

Great job and a fun report to read. Beating the devil is cool, but apparently you beat the grim reaper too! Congrats on a killer placement and Half debut!

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