Ogden Marathon 2014
I’m pleased with how this race turned out. The result was where I was expecting/hoping to be based on the time of year and my training. I was about 30 seconds on the wrong side of last year’s time, but man, what a difference in weather conditions; last year was cold and wet. This year was sunny and warm. It was great to see so many friends and fellow bloggers. A lot of solid performances.
Pre-Race
Headed up to Ogden Friday afternoon with my buddy Scott. After a little run around at the expo, I was able to get my wife’s packet/bib for the half marathon (she wasn’t running due to hamstring issues). Later that night I off-loaded it to the person who would be running it in her place (perfectly legal BTW). Tony had also asked me to get his, which I did.
We got some grub and headed to the hotel (the Hampton on Washington). I about had a heart attack when they couldn’t pull up my reservation. Then I double-checked my email and realized we were at the wrong hotel! Idiot! Our room was actually at the Holiday Inn a couple miles away by the freeway. So we eventually made it to the right place, but unfortunately we wouldn’t be able to walk out of the hotel straight to the buses in the morning.
Got settled in and hit the sack around 11. Slept relatively well with the exception that I woke up in the middle of the night with a bloody nose (precious red blood cells!). It took a good 15 minutes to remedy.
Got up at 4, got ready, and had breakfast: Couple packets of instant maple oatmeal w/PB, half an orange, and half a banana. Drove to the buses and parked a few blocks away. As we were walking, I realized I had left Tony’s packet/bib in the hotel room. It was about 4:47 AM at that point. Stressed, I told Scott to go ahead and that I’d meet back up with him. I ran back to my car and buzzed back to the hotel. Aside from getting the heart rate up, everything worked out. I was able to get Tony his bib, regroup with Scott and a couple others (who had driven up that morning), and we made the bus with plenty of time to spare.
We exited the busses to much better conditions than last year. Instead of a wet cow-pie ridden field, the area had recently been dirt-packed. We hit the Johns, talked with some folks (including Steve Ashbaker and Jason Holt), and before long it was time to warm-up and get ready.
Strategy
In assessing where I was at fitness-wise, I figured mid-to-low 2:30’s was doable. Sub 2:30 was potentially in the cards, but probably not likely unless I had a really good day. I was feeling good, positive-minded, and optimistic for a good race. I knew that Bryant and Fritz would be duking it out at the front for the win and course record. Steve Shepherd was there and ready to put up a good time. And Jason Holt could definitely lay down the law if he decided to race. Unbeknownst to me beforehand, Jace Nye was also there. Steve Ashbaker could also lay down a good race. Then there was the possibility of having one or more dark horses that I didn’t know about. So placement wise, I figured top 5 would be hard, unless Jason decided not to put in a race effort and one or more of the others happened to falter.
My strategy for this year was to gun for a 2:30 time and run more conservatively during the early miles compared to last year. Last year I got to Ogden Canyon and felt like I didn’t have much left in the quads. So I was hoping that taking it a little easier earlier on this time would do me some good later on. However, I didn’t want to not take advantage of the downhill miles at the start to bank at least a little time. Knowing that I needed to average ~5:44 pace for 2:30, I had it in my mind to try and run between 5:35 and 5:40 for the first 8 miles out of the canyon. Then slower for the rolling miles through 15. Then pick it up again and give it all I had left down Ogden Canyon and to the finish.
Nutrition wise, I had 3 Gu’s onboard with me and would plan to take 2-3 of the race provided ones while on course. So plan was one prior to the start, then one at miles 5 (race-provided), 10, 15, 17 (race-provided), 20, and 23 (race-provided). Also planned for Powerade at each station. This ended up playing out mostly according to plan except for missing that last Gu at 23 (same problem as last year, BTW). The back-packer half marathoners were just too thick at that point. Note, taking the Gu at mile 5 is earlier than what I typically do, but I was confident I could stomach a fair amount of sugar during the race and figured it couldn’t hurt to be as generous as possible with it. In retrospect, I think it worked well and I’ll seriously consider doing it again for my next marathon.
Race
The race started and the big dogs (Fritz, Bryant, Jason, Jace, and Steve) immediately took to the front with me not too far behind them. According to plan, I kept it conservative. Bryant and the others seemed to be ‘loafing it’ a little more than I was expecting. Fritz soon grew impatient with the pace and slowly started gapping the other 4. I was feeling great. Came through the first mile at 5:39, right about where I wanted to be. I had decided to race in a pair of Adios Boost which, to prior to this time, I’d only done a few treadmill runs in. They were feeling nice and light underfoot. They’re heavier than the LunaRacers I’ve used for my last few marathons, but I was hoping the Boost cushioning would be a good thing.
This part of the course is beautiful. Mile 2 split is 5:42. I want to be a little quicker than that, so mile 3 is 5:33. For some reason, my legs didn’t feel quite as peppy as the first mile, but nothing overly concerning to me. Miles 4 and 5 are 5:31 and 5:34, respectively. A little on the quick side, but nothing crazy. Good miles to bank a few seconds for later on. I had done a good job ‘emptying the tanks’ before the start, but I had also hydrated well which may explain why about here I started feeling the slight urge to pee. I hoped that it would go away and not necessitate a stop later on. I tried to forget about and fortunately it never became an issue. I took a race provided Gu at 5 as planned.
The others continued to build their lead on me, but were spreading out. Jason, Jace, and Steve were still well in sight. I felt like I settled into a good comfortable rhythm for the remainder of the canyon miles hitting 5:33, 5:38, and 5:36 for miles 6-8, respectively. Definitely capable of pushing it more, but choosing not to.
We made a right turn heading north and Jason, Jace, and Steve are still in sight but gaining on me. Here is where the rollers begin. Mile 9 is a respectable 5:37 and even 10 is alright at 5:39. As planned, I take my second Gu right at 10. At this point, the 3 are pretty much out of sight. Mile 11 has a slight curving ascent to the left. As I crest it, there are some folks observing the race and suddenly Jason bolts out of one of the port-a-johns. It surprises me to see him there and I can tell he’s having issues. I’m not sure he notices me at that point and he quickly puts about a 5 second gap on me. Mile 11 ticks in at 5:53. I must have lost a little focus here.
I notice Jason’s great looking stride and form, but it’s not difficult to match his pace. I slowly bridge the gap and come up to the left of him. I ask him how he’s doing and he tells me not great. He asks me the same and I say “so, so,” which was a pretty honest answer. I continue to slowly move ahead and go through mile 12 at 5:40. During 13 you make another right turn north and run through the half marathon starting area. Lots of people and noise. I can still hear Jason not far behind me and he seems to be struggling. Mile 13 ticks in at 5:48. I notice the big race clock showing about 1:14:30. Not bad, but not a lot of wiggle room for the second half. I was at least a minute slower than last year through that point, but that was largely by design.
You take a left away from Eden Park and head west with about a mile to go before the biggest ascent of the race. I no longer hear Jason behind me. No one else is in sight ahead of me. Mile 14 comes in at 5:46. The climb begins and my pace definitely slows. I’m feeling pretty good and not worried about the slower pace. The last thing I want to do is blow a fuse pushing too hard up the hill. Mile 15 is 6:05. I take my third Gu. The course levels off and it’s time to try to start rolling again. Mile 16 is a 5:41.
By mile 17, you’re on a nice gradual ascent heading toward the dam. It’s about here that I realize I’m running a marathon. I didn’t’ hit the wall, but it’s not so easy any more. The sun is out, it feels a little warm. Positive thoughts are becoming more scarce. However, the legs and cardio still feel strong, albeit not fast. The quads aren’t shot yet. I take another race provided Gu and hit 5:48 for 17.
On the 18th mile, you cross over the Pineview dam and begin the canyon descent. A guy tells me that I’m about two and half minutes behind the 4th place guy. That’s quite a bit, I think to myself. I probably can’t catch him. I have no idea how far Jason or anyone else behind me is. Mile 18 ticks in at 5:32. I like that and want more like it, but I’m not feeling great.
Mile 19 is 5:41 – okay. I notice now that my quads are feeling considerably better compared to this same point last year. I was pretty sure the split was better this year too (it was).
Mile 20 is 5:50 – ugh. Should have been better. I knew I needed to get whatever I could out of these canyon miles. I take another Gu here. The caramel yeti one – yum. It would be the last Gu. The further I go, there are more and more back of the back half marathoners. They’re not too annoying yet. I realize here that I’m feeling pretty good for this stage of the race. Back into a pretty good rhythm. Miles 21, 22, and 23 are 5:43, 5:33, and 5:40 – Yes! I will take those. All better than the same miles last year. Perhaps the strategy was working? Quads are still there.
Toward the end of 23 you come out of the canyon, the terrain flattens out and you get on the paved path. At some point around here I see Matt Poulsen shouting encouragement and later Spencer Simpson. Spenser tells me that 4th place (Jace) is a minute up on me and hurting. So I’ve gained quite a bit on him since the dam, but he’s still quite a ways ahead. I’m still feeling okay through this point. Spencer would later tell me I looked pretty strong here.
Somewhere shortly thereafter, I guess I hit a soft wall. I wanted to take the race Gu at 23, but missed it. The half marathoners had grown very thick. I constantly had to yell “on your left.” Some would respond and move, others would not. I couldn’t help but get angry a couple of times. The small ups and downs and waviness of the path got the best of me and killed any momentum I had. I was mentally ready to be done. I really had no speed to call upon and just hunkered down to survival pace. Miles 24 and 25 were nothing to be proud of: 6:02 and 6:14.
Now on Grant Street and the home stretch to the finish. I know that 2:30 is no longer possible, but I’m okay with that. I’m feeling better now than I did on the stupid path, but still not able to really get the legs turning. Suddenly, I notice a marathoner in white compression socks 10 yards ahead of me. It’s Jace. Even at my current pace, I’m gaining and will soon catch him. I quickly access my options: (a) try and surge past him now and hope that I can hold him off through the finish; (b) stay quiet and a little ways behind him until closer to the finish, then try and out sprint him before he has time to notice and respond; (c) come up alongside him slowly and invite him to race me to the finish. I opted for (c). With about 300-400 yards to go, I came up along the right side of him and touched his back and said, “let’s go.” I picked up the pace somewhat fully expecting him to match me and likely blow right past me. To my surprise, he didn’t seem to have any fight left. I cruised almost unchallenged to take 4th place and he came in about 15 seconds behind. As little as that was, it was one of the highlights my race; to have that little excitement at the end.
I saw Bryant and Fritz at the finish. Bryant said he felt “torn up.” He ended up finishing 3rd. Learned that Fritz missed the course record by just 15 seconds (so close!).
I felt surprising good physically. Possibly because of all the sugar (6 Gus plus a little powerade AND water at most stations), or maybe the Boost shoes? Had I given it my all? It felt like it while on course, but I’ve noticed something (not good) about myself over time; I really don’t like the pain locker. My body doesn’t like to go there and tends to stay just out of it. I need to learn how to go there (and stay there for a while). I’m know it’ll take an overhaul in my training (e.g. less TM, more speed on the track, more long runs with tempo, more training runs with fast people), but I’m not sure I’m willing to do that stuff. At any rate, it seems odd, almost not right, to feel that good just after finishing a marathon.
Got a little food and made my way to the massage tent. Had one of the best post-race massages I think I’ve ever had. The guy was really good. I eventually found Scott’s wife and kids and learned from the race app that he was at 25.2. I jogged up course to find him and ran him in.
Overall a very fun day. Grateful for the way things turned out and I’m excited for this summer. Looking forward to some down time this week. Hopefully start getting on the bike. Next race will most likely be the AF half.
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