Seeking a better country...

6 miles on very dead legs, still sore and tired from Saturday.

Mental health run; Max leaves tomorrow.  Too much crying lately.  Wah wah wah.

MTC day for max.  Frowny face.

Park and back, home a longer way.  Still not feeling it.  

The last 25 miles of the wasatch 100 with spencer.  He was beat, but finished just under the final cut-off at 35:35:35.  (time unofficial, but it was close to that)  We left Brighton at 8:45 and finished at Soldier Hollow just under 8 hours later, so a lovely slow pace, just over 3 mph, mostly walking miles.  We ran the flat, runnable sections, but they were few and far between.  Footing on descents was horrible; I slipped numerous times.  I couldn't afford to look up and enjoy the scenery, otherwise I would trip over a rock, rut or stump.  The climbs were very steep, and in his condition, running them was out of the question.  The last 8 miles were on a wider dirt road, and we were able to make up enough time to make the cutoff easily.  

I was pretty beat after 15 miles or so.  I can't fathom how he continued for those last 10 miles.  He was a ghost, bent on finishing.  I was really proud.  

The clouds rolled in and we watched uneasily for the last 7 miles.  We were glad of the cover, but nervous about lightning.  I was, anyway.  I think Spencer was too out of it to care.  I told him the thunderclaps were God's applause for the runners, for their efforts.  It rained on us for 10 minutes, very lightly.  Thank goodness they ran this on Friday Saturday instead of Saturday Sunday.  What a slog that would have been.   My white shoes aren't white anymore...

9 pm  Jens was feeling ripped, and asked if I'd go with him to Smoot.  I went despite my legs; we managed 10 minute miles and a good chat.

6 am  9 with Andy and Tara.  Due to tapers and such, tempo tuesday turned into an easy out and back on a cloudy morning.  I doubt we ever sniffed the 7's for pace, no complaints.  In my continuing quest to become the employee of the month, I made it to work by 10.  Made up for it by staying till 10.

sick.  ugh.  But the timing is right.  It seems like frequently I'm making calls to physician friends the week before a marathon begging for a script for antibiotics, just in case.  Not this time.  Sickness will be out of the way well in advance.

7 pm.  Delivered a few bills with Jack in the stroller.  One of them was from May; it was recently discovered in a pile.  It was a bit sparky outside, and definitely windy.  Jack didn't like the sidewalk bumps and kept yelling at me, "Stop it, Dad!"  We stopped at the park for a while and he ran loops around the slide while I did pull-ups on the primate bars.  His stroller had a flat tire for the last half mile.  I think I got around 200 miles out of that tube.  Stupid goat-heads.

7 am   The weather was nice, but it was lonely.  I need some more junk miles; I'll have to go again tonight.

8:30 pm  So I've been a little under the weather since last week, and I'm beginning to be nervous about having all these throwaway days leading up to the marathon.  Despite feeling lousy, I thought I needed to go get in a few miles.  I should have stayed home.  I started with Jack in the stroller, but by a half mile in, the re-inflated tire was flat.  We turned around, and I dumped him home, and left alone.

It was the warmest run I'll have in a while; 75 degrees.  I made it 2 miles, and felt so lousy I lay down on the sidewalk for 10 minutes to look at the moon.  Using the "don't be a quitter" part of my brain, I continued further from the house, determined to go mind over matter.  At the turnaround, I was really feeling bad.  I started walking home, now three miles away.  I never run with a phone, and I don't know any of these neighbors.  I kept using the force to send telepathic messages to my family to come pick me up, but it didn't work.  Finally, with 1.5 miles to go, I got the nerve to ask a walker if she had a phone.  She let me use it, and I got a ride home.  

I fell into bed, somewhat delerious.  Shoulda stayed home and gone to bed.  I don't know how I'm going to get on track.

11 pm  Midnight wanderings, central time zone.  The moon was full, the air was crisp and cool.  Jens and I spent the early evening getting rid of the last of Tami's campaign signs.  We actually put them up, rather than tossing them in dumpsters.  I'm sure many of them will be stolen by the end of the week.  Nevertheless, I was feeling much better, and jonesing to be on the road.  My marathon shoes came via ups on tuesday, so I wanted to take them on a test run with my new broken toe.  Yes, while walking into the chiropractor yesterday I tripped on the curb and kicked it so hard with my left foot, I broke my toe.  The good news is, the toebox of the mirage accommodated it nicely, and 4 miles happened pain free.  I'll have to check that holds true for downhill running.  Who am I kidding?  I'm going to turn my feet into hamburger next weekend.  

It was a nice run.  I'm feeling much better, and glad to have 10 days to sort things out, and feel primed.

6:30 am  45 degrees to start.  I wore long sleeves and GLOVES.  What an awesome morning.  No signs were missing, and everything felt fine.  The only moment of sorrow was for a dead raccoon in the middle of the southbound lane just into Farmington.  Poor critter, didn't know what hit him.  

7 am  BST to south Farmington, steep down, then home on Main Street.  I wanted to get some faster running in at the end, but my back started tweaking a little bit, so they all ended up pretty easy pace miles.  I'm still fighting this cold.  I hope it isn't a factor next week.

8:30 pm  Usual "10k".  I didn't stop running for a change.  It has been a long time since I ran continuously for 6 miles.  

With the race on Saturday, it was hard to hold back and not run too fast.  I think I managed, though.  I think realistically, I'm looking at a 3:05-3:10 type of performance.  I don't know how much weight to put on the last couple weeks of being relatively sick, and training much less than I would have preferred.  My "cold hard facts" assessment is that it's going to cost me.  I'd like to think everything is in the bank, but...I can't quite convince myself.  

So I'm not sure what to do at the start of the race.  Nothing to lose, so maybe just go for broke and run down the hill again with Angie, or take it a bit slower from the start and save something left for a decent finish?  Conundrum....

Okay.  After adding things up,  I'm actually 22 miles ahead of last year's mileage from July 1st till the marathon.  I guess I'll chase Angie.  It was nice to pretend last year that all those first female cheers were actually for me.  I'll bask in her reflected glory for as long as I can stick...

8 am.  Just making sure my legs still work.  I thought I'd be done with this cold by now, but it turns out I should have had my doc friend give me a scrip for some antibiotics.  It has settled in my sinuses, which has the unpleasant side effect of making it feel like my teeth are going to fall out everytime my left foot hits the ground.  I'll have to chew up a big wad of gum to keep in my mouth to cushion the blows.    

One might consider endless snot is another unpleasant side effect, but after 30ish years of lawnmowing and landscaping, I am quite adept at the snot-rocket, and don't mind wiping my nose on my sleeve.

7 am  Just a couple on the TM.  That's going to be a tough habit to resume.  I guess it'll be easier as it gets cold and dark.

Okay.  The nervousness has arrived.  Big dinner last night, normal food today, plus pre-hydrating.  I'll probably make a dozen trips to the bathroom today.  My only remaining physical activity is the dad/daughter tennis practice today with Nena.  I don't do well on the tennis court, so it will mostly consist of standing around and picking up balls once in a while.  We won't win, but we will have matching shirts left over from some race or another.  

23:50 minutes till the race starts...

This report should be titled HOW TO NOT RUN A MARATHON.

The first splits I'll share are:

1st half:  1:26 

2nd half: 1:52.  

I think that adequately sums things up.

But wait, there's more.  I ran a solid for 14 miles, side by side with Angie.  By mile 4 I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep it up over the long haul, but I decided to stick with her as long as possible.  It was a solid plan last year, but an epic fail this year.  She went on to run 2:55.  

The first 14 miles were all 6:20-6:45 pace miles.  After 14, I told Angie to put in her earbuds and take off.  She encouraged me to stick, but I just couldn't do it.  The splits after she left into the distance tell an ugly tale of pain, mental weakness, quitting and lack of will.  Once the goal was out of reach, it just didn't matter enough to me.  I learned today you can't prep a marathon lackadaisical.  You can't race a marathon casually.  You have to want it  deeply, because letting up is so easy.

Splits from 15-26

7:22

7:40

7:43

8:48

9:35

9:55

10:05

8:45

8:45

7:46

9:38 for the last 1.2 miles.

So there it is.  Don't ever run a marathon this way.  

Even on Saturday, I didn't mind this result.  I knew a sub-3 was highly unlikely, but I was happy to drink the koolaid and think there was a chance.  3:18 is just as unsatisfying as a 3:07, it's just different placement.