AM - 10.2 miles. Met AdamRW and ACorn - we ran down to Memory Grove and back, finishing up just as the rain/snow started to pick up. Perfect timing. Another good run w/ friends this morning.
PM - 5 miles. Drove over to horsepark and ran lots of laps on the grass. It hailed for part of the run. Meanwhile - here's where Andrea ran this morning. ----------
PM - 7 miles. Down to SHP, met Andrea along the way and we wandered through Sugar House neighborhoods a bit, then finished with 6 x 200m on the track in ~32.5 average (into a headwind this time... the south wind has finally changed directions!). Legs felt like they had some bounce in them today. A lazy weekend w/ lots of rest will do that!
AM - 6.4 miles. Horsepark loop w/ Andrea then added on a little extra.
PM - 7 miles. Warmed up 2+ miles with Andrea and Kevin (Redd). Workout was supposed to be 2 x 5K. Hit the first one in 15:25. Did a 1/2 mile jog then started #2 - made it just shy of 2K when my stomach, which had been feeling progressively worse since I finished the first 5K, just went nuts on me. Luckily the school was open. I tried to re-do the second 5K, and only made it 200m this time before having to stop again. By the time I got back on the track, my heart rate was back to baseline and the workout was shot. Jogged a mile and called it a day. Naturally my jeep was completely dead and needed to be jump started before I made it home.
Ughhh, so a mixed bag this afternoon. I know that at this point, fitness isn't going to change one way or the other, these workouts are mainly done for psychological reasons and to build confidence. Well, today doesn't exactly leaving me beaming with confidence, but I also realize that it wasn't a lack of fitness that did me in.
On the bright side - Andrea, ACorn, and Redd all ran stellar workouts out there today, so that was good for our "team".
AM - 9 miles up to work... first couple miles w/ Andrea.
PM - 5.5 miles down to SHP and around the park. First 2 easy, then a 2.5 mile tempo(~2% downhill)in12:07 (4:58, 4:47, 2:22 - 4:51/mi avg). Cooled down a mile with Andrea. This was pretty easy... just wanted to do something a little faster. Simulating the opening miles of Boston, except that I'll be going at least 25 seconds slower per mile!
I'm not going up for the Striders 1/2 on Saturday. Made the executive decision this morning. Even a super-controlled effort doesn't make any sense. I used the "is this stupid?" litmus test and the answer was "yes." I don't trust myself to not race.
Saucony is launching a new project today. I can't post the link yet, but here's a preview...
AM - 9 miles up to work. I did not expect it to be so "wintery" out there this morning. Wearing my trail shoes was a good choice for the slushy roads, but they didn't seem to help with the snow/ice pelting against my face the entire time. Ah well, unless we get 25 more days like this, no complaints. Its gonna be 70 degrees again this weekend :-)
PM - 4.3 miles down to SHP. Andrea picked me up. Back to nice warm weather!
AM - 12.5 miles. Got going at the crack of 11am this morning, once it got nice and warm. Gotta simulate waiting around all morning like I'll have to do on the 16th, right?
Andrea and I went to Liberty Park for the workout, warmed up 2 miles, did strides, then got it rolling - 5 x Mile @ 5K-10K pace. Splits were 4:48, 4:52, 4:50, 4:49, 4:49. Then I did a 2 mile MP tempo in 10:30 (5:15, 5:15). Cooled down on the woodchips. Felt pretty good about this workout. Honestly I would have been fine running these in 5-flat today, so I'm happy that I ended up averaging ~4:50 w/out killing myself. I felt good afterwards, could have done more, and 5:15 pace felt like a jog in the park for that portion of the workout. I did a similar workout just before running 1:05:45 at Long Beach in the fall, and today my splits were all about 5 seconds faster per mile.
I wore my new flats that I'll wear at Boston. Same old Fastwitches, just a much sweeter color scheme!
10 day forecast is showing a W/SW wind.... :-)
PM - 3 miles shakeout.
Tomorrow we're going to run the SLC 1/2 course (easily) at 8:30am so Andrea can get a good feel for the route. If anyone wants to join let me know b/c we're going to need to figure out a car shuttle. The start/finish lines are only ~4 miles apart but I don't need to run 17 miles tomorrow.
AM - 12.6 miles. Easter Sunday Funday Runday! Andrea and I picked up Allie & James, then met Fritz up at the Legacy Bridge. We ran the SLC 1/2 marathon course, except for cutting off a little bit around Liberty Park. Andrea had no interest in looping around the park again after our mile repeats workout yesterday :-)
I really like the course and part of me wishes I could run it. Obviously I can't because its only 4 days after Boston! There is something nice about racing on streets that you run on several times a week. It will definitely be fun to bike along and watch everyone race.
A beautiful spring day. Its hard to believe this is what we were doing exactly a year ago. That was fun too. But warm and sunny is nice!
PM - 3 mile very enjoyable shakeout run w/ Andrea.
AM - 7.3 miles up to work... first couple w/ Andrea.
PM - 4.3 miles to SHP.
Got a email this morning from George Delalis, who has made a cool movie called Fast Women (check it out). He also filmed the 15K I ran in Arizona last month, and he sent me a "teaser" clip from early in the race. About 30 seconds into the clip, I make my little move to the front. [Youtube link]
AM - 9.2 miles. Last Chance Workout! Warmed up 2.2 miles, 2 x 2.5 miles @ MP - 13:12 (5:17/mi), 13:03 (5:13/mi). Half-mile jog in between reps, easy run home for a cooldown.
Just dialing in the pace today, finding the rhythm, and enjoying the fact that I've gotten myself to a fitness level where this kind of morning is a walk in the park.
Looking back at my workouts over the past couple weeks, I feel like I have been very conservative with the intensity and duration of the harder efforts since the 26.2K tempo run. That workout told me I was ready, so I haven't really dropped the hammer during any sessions since then. There are no awards for an impressive training log, right? In the 2-3 weeks before Philly, I did some incredible workouts - maybe too good. This time around I've made a conscious effort to dial it back (while keeping the volume up a little more). I'm confident this strategy will pay off.
PM - 3.5 miles at SHP, warming up with Andrea and ACorn. Then I took some photos and called out splits while they did a 5K tempo run... Andrea's improvement curve over the past month has been phenomenal. Its fun to watch and coaching her completely takes my mind off Boston, so its a double win! :-)
AM - 9 miles. The group run was a JAJAFA today, as ACorn joined us. Our pack will be up to double digits by 2013 at this exponential growth rate. A nice casual pace - legs felt nice and loose. Andrea has been working on getting some of the knots/tightness out of my legs, hips, and back over the past week, and its doing wonders for my range of motion.
PM - 6 miles. A quick, very easy workout. Warmed up 2 miles w/ Andrea and Allie and then did a "mile down" starting at marathon pace and picking it up just a tiny bit on each successive rep. Splits were 5:14 (1600), 3:53 (1200), 2:27 (800), 68 (400). Jogged a few laps with the girls and called it a day. It was snowing when I left work and the sun was shining by the time we finished the workout.
Letsrun is calling this upcoming week the "8 days of Marathon"... Rotterdam, Boston, then London. Lots of good articles on their site... I particularly enjoyed this profile on Moses Mosop. SI also did a story on Sammy Wanjiru.
AM - 5 miles. Horsepark loop w/ Andrea, same as yesterday.
Looks like its going to be pretty warm on Monday. More reason to start off conservative. I'm not too worried, you can't expect perfect conditions in Boston, especially after last year :-) Depending on what the temperatures actually end up being at the start, I may have to make some minor adjustments to my pacing strategy and dial back my time goals a bit, but it also probably means that if I run smart, there will be more carnage to blow by in the latter miles of the race.
Letsrun has a preview of this year's race and a look back at how last year redefined what is possible in the marathon.
I know I've been preaching the "run slow on easy days" thing for a while, so I loved reading this article in the Globe about Mutai running 8 minute miles on his recovery runs. So there, if you don't believe me, at least listen to the guy who holds the course records at Boston and NYC.
PM - 3 miles around the block in my racing flats. One last test drive. Now all that is left to do is shave my head...
AM - 5 miles. Rainy morning. Ran 4 w/ Andrea, then an extra mile with the last half-mile at marathon pace, on a downhill stretch. Did it on "feel" and hit 2:33 with my shoe untied. Too fast! Its going to take every ounce of control I have to keep the first mile slower that 5:15 on Monday.
PM - 1.5 mile shakeout in Cambridge before dinner. The day of travel was uneventful (a good thing!)... we got in, met up with some friends at the expo, and picked up our packets. Ran into Saucony's CEO, and they are counting on me to come through as their top guy on Monday!
I'll post some thoughts on my goals tomorrow. Obviously I'm adjusting my time range a bit due to the heat... but its a race, not a time trial, so competition is the name of the game.
I was excited to see Andrea run the 5K this morning. Based on her recent workouts I figured she could run 17:20-30, but she would have to run a smart, negative split effort. She did just that, I was so proud of her for sticking to the plan and executing a really great race. 17:23 is a fantastic season opener and after all the injuries and setbacks this year, its been fun to watch her make some rapid progress over this past month. I'm really happy for her. I took a lot of photos... they are on Andrea's race report.
So - I guess there is a marathon race tomorrow? :-)
Everyone is (for good reason) talking about the weather. Anyway you slice it, its going to be freaking HOT tomorrow. Highs will be in the 80s and it will already be in the 70s by the time the gun even goes off. Not ideal for fast racing, obviously.
I believe that in good conditions, I'm ready to run 2:17-2:18. I've got that 5:15 pace locked into my legs. I've done enough workouts to know that was a realistic goal. But when its this warm out, times are going to be 3-5 minutes slower. I'm not lacking any confidence in my ability to run 2:17, trust me, but I feel like going out at that kind of pace tomorrow is suicidal. Any mistakes you make are going to be magnified. Running smart is going to be the name of the game. So I'm going to force myself to run more conservatively for the first half of the race. Guys are going to blow up, and hopefully I'll be there to run them down. I'm targeting ~1:10-1:10:30 for the first half. I think that will be conservative enough that if the weather is brutal, I'll be able to hold it together. And if I'm having a great day, then I'll still have a chance to break 2:20, which I realize will be tough in these temperatures but I still believe I can do it.
Its hard after focusing so much on this specific day to not be able to chase the time goal I want to. But its a race, not a time trial. If I run a smart race, I can place pretty darn high.
I'm not nervous at all. I haven't been all week. I feel very confident in what I have done to prepare. And I have to say that I have downright ENJOYED this training cycle and buildup towards Boston. I've pushed my body and discovered that I'm nowhere near my limits. I've made new friendships along the way. Its been fun and rewarding already. Tomorrow is the icing on the cake, or spinkles on the ice cream, as I prefer to say.
My Dad texted me last night to say he thinks I am "ready to race in -40F or 110F." He said to just adjust the pace and enjoy the fact that I will running on sacred ground. He is right.
This new weather twist almost has me more excited about the race. People are freaking out. Yeah, its going to be tough. But the marathon is tough to begin with. This is where you find out. This is an opportunity. Tomorrow is where you find out what you are made of.
Can I run a smart, disciplined race? Can I stick to the plan? Can I COMPETE? Can I leave absolutely everything I have out there and hit that finish line with no regrets?
I want to know the answers to all of those questions.
Boston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:30:21, Place overall: 23
Running Miles
Swimming Yards
Bike Miles
27.20
0.00
0.00
Well, I ran 2:30:21 today, so considering I thought my race at Philadelphia last fall was a complete disaster, you'd think I'd be pretty bummed about this one, right? Nope. This was a tough day, a historically brutal Boston Marathon, and I'm actually not disappointed.
I'm just going to go through the whole thing from start to finish, partly for my own record-keeping. I want to remember all of this.
Pre-Race
My buddy Greg (who we were staying with in Cambridge) dropped me off ~6:45 at Copley Square... I boarded the elite bus and we drive out to Hopkington shortly after. Our bus was surrounded by about two dozen motorcycles who had blocked off every on-ramp on the Mass Turnpike. It was pretty cool - as if one of the other world marathon majors was going to attack us or something.
We got off the bus there were members of the media taking pictures as we walked into the Korean Church. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced and it was only going to escalate... in a good way.
Everything we needed was in the gym area of the church/school. Chairs and exercise mats to lay out and stretch on. They had Gatorade, food, etc. The talent level in that room was off the charts. I just hung out, mostly kept to myself, although I chatted with a few other runners - Scott Mindel (who I ran against in high school), and Camille Herron. Uta Pippig came over and asked me if I had run Boston before and when I said I hadn't, she asked if I had any questions about the course. She ended up spending 15 minutes giving me the most detailed course description ever - she is like an encyclopedia. My favorite part of the pre-race was that Joan Benoit couldn't decide which singlet to wear. You'd think after her storied career and experience, she'd have those things down by now. :-)
At about 9:15 I went out and jogged a mile on the little 200m loop that they had sectioned off for us. You could hear the low roar of the 27,000 runners nearby, but couldn't really see them.
At about 9:45 they brought us all outside behind the church. I did a few strides with some of the best runners in the world. Yet through all of this, I wasn't getting nervous. I felt calm and ready. I felt like I belonged there.
With 5-10 minutes to go, they "parted the seas" and the 30-40 of us made our way alongside the first corral and up to the starting line. As we were walking up, everyone was afraid to be the first one, and I found myself all of a sudden at the front. I turned around and Geoffrey Mutai was right behind me. I put my arm around him and said "Geoffrey, they are chearing for YOU, not me, you gotta get in front of me, brother!" He said "OK man." So that is how we made our way up to the starting line - Mutai, ME, then everyone else. It was incredible. The runners in the first corral were cheering and giving us high fives. Helicopters were circling overhead. They were like a hundred police officers and race officials. An unreal setting. In that moment I felt like my hard work was already paying off - just to be a part of this kind of scene - to be considered an elite athlete at the Boston FREAKING Marathon. Its something I wish everyone could experience, because its really a cool thing.
We all did a few strides and the first timers (like me) commented on how the first 100 meters is REALLY downhill. Like, impossible to run it slowly.
The announcers introduced the top 5 runners, then we lined up. I figured what the heck - I'm just going to stand next to Mutai in the middle of the starting line. Its not everyday you get these kind of opportunities, so that is exactly what I did.
RACE
The gun went off and guys ran like idiots, as I expected... since most of us had numbers on the front and back of our singlets, I could see lots of #s in the 50s-70s chasing the lead pack. I immediately fell quite a bit back, yet looked at my Garmin after 2-3 minutes and I was running 5:00 pace. I dialed it back immediately. First mile was 5:13. Perfect.
The lead pack quickly disappeared, and I found myself running alongside Mike Cassidy (#23). We decided to work together and try to hit 1:10ish for the first half. We ran together for a few miles (maybe until 8K?) and then I never saw him again. Other than those 3-4 miles, I ran solo for the entire race. I'd pass people (and ended up getting passed by a few at the end), but otherwise ran completely by myself - just like all my hard workouts!
But the crowd - ohhhh the Boston crowds. Wow. Just unreal. I started hamming it up for them right from the start. All it takes is a little wave and some fist pumps and they would just go CRAZY. They helped me a lot. And I was surprised at how many people knew my name - there were a ton of "Go Jake Krong"s and people yelling out "Amsterdam NY!" (my hometown). Whoever you all were out there, if you are reading this - THANK YOU!
Back to the race. Miles 2-9 were 5:19, 5:19, 5:14, 5:25, 5:16, 5:14, 5:23, 5:23. At 6.5 miles Andrea was there (along with our friends Greg and Sarah) and they had a gatorade bottle and cold wet sponge for me. This was very helpful. I was taking a sip of Gatorade at every aid station (getting most of it in my eyes, despite wearing sunglasses), and dumping 1-2 cups of water on myself. I was soaked early, but it was so hot, you had no choice.
Miles 10-13 were 5:32, 5:31, 5:23, 5:27. I hit the halfway point in 1:10:19. Just what I wanted. Wellesley was fun - I flexed my biceps, blew kisses to the girls, got them going absolutely crazy. I'm sure some great photographs are going to come out of this part of the course! :-)
Honestly, to this point it was freaking easy. I felt like I was jogging the whole time. Other than my feet were hurting. They hurt bad from about 15K on - a by-product of running in the heat, I think. But it wasn't conservative enough. It was hot out, really hot. And there was no tailwind - it actually ended up being an east wind (headwind - although maybe that was better for keeping cool?). I could tell I was getting too warm, so I dialed back the pace a bit. I knew it would going to be tough to run even splits. I told myself the new goal was to break 2:21:46.
Miles 13-16 were 5:30, 5:41, 5:31. Slower, but I still felt OK. I felt like I was running the right effort. Greg and Sarah gave me another bottle and sponge ~15.
Somewhere around the start of the Newton Hills, I threw up a little bit in my mouth. My stomach wanted nothing more. Andrea was ~17 and gave me another bottle and sponge. As I passed her, I told her "this is getting really tough!"
From 17-23, the throwing up in my mouth became a constant battle. If you've ever done that, you know how you just can't describe how disgusting it is. I honestly thought about dropping out around 30K. But then a huge pack of people cheered specifically for me (turns out it was Derunzo)... and I said "F this" I can't quit! Thank you Derunzo, you pulled me out of a bad spell.
At the base of heartbreak hill, Emily Bates was waiting for me. She ran up with me and poured water on me the whole time. She kept me focused - thank you Emily. After cresting the hill, I knew I'd finish, and just went into "long run pace survival mode."
Splits for 17-23 were 5:51, 5:58, 6:02, 6:13, 6:23, 6:02, 6:14.
All through this stretch, and for the last couple miles, I was pouring water on myself about every quarter mile. I couldn't go longer than a minute without over heating. Luckily, there were little kids with cold water bottles every hundred feet, it seemed. I probably used about 50 gallons of water today - sorry environment! I was completely drenched from head to toe.
The last 3+ miles were a struggle. Unfortunately I got passed by 4-5 guys and just didn't have it in me to respond. I was probably in 18-19th place with 5K to go, but dropped back to 23rd.
The crowds carried me. Every though I didn't have the energy to play it up for them anymore, they were still amazing. Loud, really loud. Splits for the final stretch were 6:18, 6:45, 1:28 (I clicked it at the "1 mile to go" marker), 6:38. Not exactly a fantastic finishing stretch down Boylston Street, but I was just happy to still be upright.
Post-Race
I ran through the line, stopped, and saw stars. Two volunteers helped me walk to the elite tent. They said they were impressed that I could even walk the whole way, because they had to get wheelchairs for most of the finishers ahead of me!
I got a few bags of ice and put them on my head, neck, and feet. Sat in front of a giant industrial fan for about 20 minutes and got my core temperature back down. I got a massage, slowly drank about 4 x 20oz bottles of Gatorade, then made my way out of there and found Andrea. All the while, I got a ton of supportive text messages and phone calls. My Dad called and said Mutai dropped out and the winning time was barely under 2:13 and the women ran ~2:32. That really put the day in perspective, compared to last year.
I'm glad I stuck it out. 23rd place (8th American) at the Boston Marathon is pretty good. I can't be too disappointed, since we were running in historically tough conditions. You can learn something from every race, especially the hard ones. I obviously need to dial in the hydration/fueling strategy for the marathon (I only took one GU today - that was all my stomach would accept). In terms of eating/drinking before the race, I ate a lot more than I ever had before, and I felt really good in terms of energy at the start. I also really did a good job of pre-hydrating with electrolyte drinks. Andrea has been crucial in helping me out with this aspect of preparation. And a final thought... I think we need to stay in Utah or the west coast for my next marathon because flying east isn't working out for us! :-) I know I got myself in better shape this spring than I have ever been in my life - I'm going to switch my focus to shorter races for a while now and pop some fast times this summer with the aerobic base I've built. Then, re-visit the marathon in the fall.
Tomorrow we'll go out to visit Saucony HQ, then do some sight-seeing if my feet allow it. They are pretty blistered. Otherwise, I feel alright.
Thanks to everyone for the support! It means so, so much to me.
Thanks especially to Andrea and my parents. You guys are my rocks.
Greg took some fantastic photos... I'll post more as they pop up on the web - like I said, I think there are some good ones floating around out there from the start and those first 15 miles. If anyone recorded the webcast / TV broadcast, I'd love to see it when we get back to Utah.
AM - 5.2 miles along the Charles River with Andrea. More of a jog than a run, but you get the picture.
Some quick thoughts...
-I am VERY sunburned. I have unreal singlet/sunglasses tan lines. -My legs feel good. That's what happens when run slower than goal MP for the first 16 miles, and then your body shuts down and you run at long run pace for the last 10 miles. -I do plan to actually take some days off this week to expedite recovery. I think its very important to run the day after the marathon, though. But I want to make sure I play this smart and I can be back running at a peak level again in time for Portland and the USA 1/2 Champs. I also think its very likely that I'll run Bolder Boulder now as well. -My feet are 98% back to normal. Epsom salt works wonders. Seriously, that stuff is amazing. Its worth its weight in gold. -Andrea gave my legs a massage got them loose and more flexible than they were even before the race. -Pizza and ice cream are the ultimate recovery foods. -I had fun yesterday... the Boston Marathon is awesome.
I have another good story to share tomorrow, about how the race made a impact in my hometown in upstate NY. I'll save that for tomorrow, though... we're off to Saucony for the morning and then having some fun in Boston tonight.
Zero miles today. Yes, a planned day off. I don't want to, but its probably "smart". We woke up at the crack of 4:30am, flew to SLC, then I went straight to work. I might go walk a lap around the track later if Andrea is doing a workout, or maybe I'll just go home and go to bed. My legs feel good, but I'm tired from traveling and not getting my normal 8-9 hours of sleep the last two nights.
The city where I grew up (Amsterdam, NY) had a newspaper (The Recorder) that always did a great job covering local sports. They were very good to me during high school. I haven't been back to Amsterdam in about 6 years, but The Recorder apparently remembered me and got wind that I was in the elite field for Boston, tracked me down, and did a pre and post race interview. The ran a story on Monday, and then apparently it was the lead story on Tuesday's sports page (I've only seen a snippet of the article - below). The thing that mattersin all of this is that my grandmother is probably like one of a hundred people that still get a hard copy of this newspaper on a daily basis - so for her to see my picture on the cover page (unexpectedly) ... well, it was like her grandson just won an olympic medal, and she now gets ultimate bragging rights to all of her 85 year old friends. They don't know any better :-) I think that I have good self-awareness, that is - I realize where I stack up in the grand scheme of things in the running world, and its nowhere near the top of the totem pole. But if there is one person that I don't need to qualify that to - its my grandma. She can barely even read anything other than the headline, and the Boston Marathon is the only race she's ever even heard of, so if she wants to believe I'm the 23rd best runner in the world, in this case that is fine by me. There has been an outpouring of support from people back "home" that I haven't heard from in a decade - it goes to show how Boston is viewed differently than other races.
The local TV station ended up running some of the footage of me from the race as well. My grandmother called my Dad in tears because she was so happy to tell him. She was beaming when I talked to her, she sounded 20 years younger. So if nothing else, I was able to do something this weekend that injected a heck of a lot of joy into her life, and that makes me very, very happy. Little things like that make this whole thing worth it on so many levels.
This is one of my new favorite pictures from Boston. The fact that I am making an effort to go for a 1 ounce dixie cup (when there is water everywhere) says a lot about my frame of mind. And I'm jealous of the little girl eating the slice of pizza as big as her head...
AM - 4.6 miles w/ Andrea. Easy run as she gets ready to run the 1/2 tomorrow. I'm already feeling close to 100%... but I'm just going to play it conservative and not do any runs longer than 40-60 minutes until next weekend, at the earliest. My fitness is excellent right now, so I think I have the opportunity to use the aerobic base as a springboard and make a smooth transition to more 5K/10K/HM specific running. My plan is to run Bolder Boulder, Portland Track Festival, and the USA 1/2 Champs. I'm excited about racing more, although 10K workouts are somewhat daunting :-) Less mileage slogging and more quality sessions. If there is a silver lining in the Boston Massacre, its that I bet most of us will bounce back really quick because we didn't destroy our legs like we would have in cooler conditions.
AM - 5 mile cooldown w/ Andrea after the SLC 1/2. I might be more proud of her for running a long cooldown than for how well she ran in the actual race :-)
PM - 5.3 miles. First run without Andrea since the marathon, so there were no pace restrictions :-) I ran the 5th mile in 4:32, just because I felt like it and knew I could. I kinda needed it. Guess I still got some wheels.
Fun morning - dropped Andrea off at the "math suite" then dropped off my car downtown and biked back up to Foothill & 2100E, where I waited for the racers to come by. From that point until the finish, I was able to bike alongside Andrea for the entire race. It was a lot of fun to just cruise around on the roads and watch her run the whole time. Amiee joined me on the bike, and along with the bike marshall guy, we had quite a peleton! Last night we calculated the splits for 1:18:30 and Andrea pretty much nailed it, running a strong, controlled race, and actually running up State Street a lot faster than I anticipated she would. Happy to see her have 2 fantastic races in the past 6 days! She's on a roll now.
Last night I was seriously considering jumping in the half-marathon on a last minute whim... I felt like I did the smart thing (long-term) by resisting the temptation, but I also feel like I left some $$$ on the table this morning, and I'm about to go take my jeep to get new brakes. Oh well - I'll get my chances... I'm just getting anxious to race again because I'm feeling back to 100% already.
Congrats to everyone who ran today!! Lots of great races by the blog... FRB cleaned house!!!
I also took a lot of photos. Most of Andrea, but Fritz, Allie, and James make appearances as well - SLC Marathon Photos
#2 - Breaking and entering. While getting our ski gear loaded in the car, we accidentally locked ourselves out of the condo. Andrea was able to use a piece of a plastic cup and pick the lock. It was amazing and only cost us about 15 minutes.
#3 - SKIING! Finally, a day in the alpine. I've put more details and lots of photos on Wasatch and Beyond, but we had a fantastic day up in LCC. Started from Alta, skinned up to Mt Wolverine via Patsy Marley and the cirque traverse, then skied Wolverine Bowl and Stupid Chute. It felt so good to get up high and spend some time in the mountains. I didn't realize how much I missed it.
#4 - Bowling! Quick shower and shoved down some ice cream, then met Fritz and Amiee for a showdown on the lanes. Fritz showed no mercy (and no post-marathon letdown) and beat me by about 100 pins. I was quite happy with my games of 165-130, though. For me, that's about the equivalent of a 1:05 half-marathon.
#5 - 5.6 mile mile run. Andrea biked along so I would keep it easy breezy. It was hot out!
#6 - Re-fueling... this is an ongoing process.
I had a great day today! We're thinking a Brighton BBQ or something like that next weekend if anyone is interested. The resorts will be closed and we can go play in the sun and snow - ski, sled, whatever. Bring the grill, a cooler, etc. Could be fun...
AM - 8.8 miles. Started from work and ran up Emigration to Ruth's, then back. On the return trip I decided to run the "zoo mile" faster. Hit it in 4:18, which is 10+ seconds faster than I've ever done it. I think I'm going to have to try and run this stretch all-out at some point this summer and see if I can dip under 4 minutes... I think once I get the muscular coordination down, I might be able to pull it off.
AM - 7.3 miles up to work. Another nice, warm morning.
PM - 6.8 miles. Down to SHP, met Andrea along the way. There was a track meet going on, so I did 6 x ~200m on the grass... just ran fast for 34-35 seconds, then jogged back.
Went to the Jazz/ Suns game last night w/ ACorn, Fritz, and Andrea. A very good time was had by all... totally worth the season low for hours of sleep. Thanks ACorn for setting that up!
FYI - Town of Runners, a new documentary about running in Ethiopia, can be streamed online for free until Sunday night.
Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:10:58, Place overall: 4
Running Miles
Swimming Yards
Bike Miles
22.00
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Andrea and I decided, sort of on a whim a few days ago, to run this race as a marathon-pace tempo run. I'm really glad we did, because it was a super-fun morning and one of the coolest courses I've ever run on - it was a mix of road racing, cross country, and a very advanced level of Mario Kart!
I went into this with a set of rules - don't run faster than 1:11-1:12, don't get caught up in actually racing, just get a good workout and have some fun. I knew Riley was running and he has been on a tear lately, so I figured a tempo effort would probably at least yield some 2nd place prize money, but then when I saw John and Brandon about 15 minutes before the start (we still hadn't warmed up yet), I had to dial back my competitiveness a bit... Andrea was instrumental in drumming "don't be an idiot" into my head :-)
So the race itself was very cool - we had a big pack right from the start... the 3 guys I mentioned above, along with Scott and Walter. First couple miles were on the roads and we were just bopping along - its fun running with a pack! Especially after running solo the whole time in Boston. We went into the gardens after 3-4 miles and then the Mario Kart portion of the course began! Winding through the gardens, TUNNELS, bridges, around trees, and about a dozen 90-180 degree turns. Riley led through most of this section, thank goodness, because I would have run off the course about ten times!
Then we made our way over to the golf course - lots more rolling hills and more turns than I could keep track of. We pretty much ran as a pack of 4 until somewhere between 9-10 miles. The other guys started stretching it out on the steep downhills, and I wanted no part of that. So they had a little gap on me when we went into the last 2-3 miles, and I was more than content to continue running MP effort while they duked it out up front. Cruised to the finish just a bit under 1:11, so I got exactly what I wanted out of this run - minus any cash, but that would have required a harder effort than I needed today... Jon, Riley, and Brandon ran great!
Watched Andrea finish up, then we grabbed Melody and went out for a leisurely cooldown until we hit 19 miles. My legs felt great today and this was a good indicator that I'm ready to get back into the swing of training again.
The post-race was a lot of fun, chatting with everyone for a long time (too many people to list!) and getting a bunch of chocolate chip cookies. The blog had a strong showing - Melody and Lily went 1-2 in the 5K and Walter won the master's race despite going off course for about a mile.
I would highly recommend this race. Its not your typical "fly down a canyon" Utah half-marathon by any means. I don't even know how else to describe it beyond my Mario Kart analogy, because its so different than any other road races I've done. And despite the fact that it was a "complicated" route, the course was well marked with arrows on the ground and signs.
Splits - 5:29, 5:25, 5:18, 5:18, 5:36, 5:31, 5:35, 5:24, 5:28, 5:21, 5:40 (long?), 5:20, 5:33 for the last 1.1 miles (~5:03 pace, but this may have been short). I felt like I kept the effort very even the entire time.
Started from Brighton, skinned up to Catherine's Pass. Skied a pair of incredible laps off the ridge b/w the pass and Sunset Peak. Then we booted up to the top of Mt Tuscarora, and since we were up there, decided to tag Mt Wolverine as well. Skied the bowl, tried to ski Stupid Chute but it was too sketchy, climbed back out, up to Wolverine, then wound our way back to Brighton and my jeep. It was a very adventurous day and we hadso much fun. In true Andrea & Jake fashion, we triggered 2 decent sized (but slow moving and manageable) avalanches, and I got myself in over my head climbing with no protection or snow tools in a very exposed area. Ahhh, what a day! I'll write up a full recap on Wasatch and Beyond tomorrow. I have a lot of photos to go through tonight.... here's a few...
AM - 10.5 miles up to work. Bumped into AdamRW along the way and ran the last couple miles with him. Legs felt like they had some real good bounce to them this morning.
