Denouement

Payson Onion Days 10K

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Location:

Kowloon Tong,Hong Kong

Member Since:

Jul 02, 2007

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Olympic Trials Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Unaided:

5K - 17:11 (track Pre-kids and at BYU) (1998)

10K - 35:48 (track Pre-kids and at BYU) (1998)

10K - 35:34 (road - Shek Mun 10k 12/12)

1/2 Marathon 1:19:44 (UNICEF HM 11/12)

Marathon 2:47:08 (ING Hartford Connecticut 10/10)

Aided:

St. George Marathon 2:50:40 (10/08)

1/2 marathon - Hobble Creek 1:17:14 (8/08)

10K - Deseret News 10K - 35:02 (7/08)

Short-Term Running Goals:

PR 1/2 marathon AGAIN


Long-Term Running Goals:

Break 2:46 in Boston!

Personal:

I used to run for BYU, but only after trying out three times and finally walking on, so I was never a star. However, it was wonderful to run with great people and under Coach Shane. When you run with fast people, you can't help to improve! I graduated BYU in 1998, and didn't run a race until 2002, after having my second child. My hiatus and other crazy life commitments have made my competitive running suffer, but the last couple of years I have tried to get back into it the best I can. I have been married since 1996, to Paul Lowry, who is a runner himself. I have three boys (my three rascals), ages 12, 10, and 8.

After a great 2008 season, I was injured and eventually diagnosed and cross-diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a type of arthritis disease, which precludes running for all but the most stubborn.  So I am on medications, trying to stay healthy, and seeing my PT often.  And running!  Now beating the streets in Hong Kong.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
NB RC900 Black/yellow Lifetime Miles: 183.31
NB RC1300 Red/Black Lifetime Miles: 195.31
2012 MTR Lifetime Miles: 4035.70
890 Blue Lifetime Miles: 310.55
NB RC 1600 Lifetime Miles: 96.76
RC 1400 Lifetime Miles: 90.60
NB 890 Baby Blue Lifetime Miles: 233.26
NB 890 Electric Blue Lifetime Miles: 319.67
NB 890 Tokyo Turquoise Lifetime Miles: 163.54
Race: Payson Onion Days 10K (6.2 Miles) 00:42:14, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.500.006.200.000.000.000.009.70

Well, this race was kind of a mixed bag.

Tom and I were planning to trade off 1/4 miles leading and drafting.  I think that it went really well.  It felt good to be behind him on my off quarters.  I am not sure if it is the actual drafting or the emotional support, or how that prevented me from going out too fast, but I think it was a great help.  We stuck together for the first 4 miles right on pace or a couple of seconds faster for the mile splits, but somewhere in the fourth mile and then the fifth my watch went crazy on me and showed me a pace much slower than we were going.  I told Tom, "I think we have slown down," but he assured me we were on pace for another 6:45 (this was toward the end of the fourth mile).  He led the first quarter of the 5th mile, and I let him go.  There was a slight uphill at that point, and I was confused by my watch but most of all I was not tough enough to hold on!!!!!!!  Dang it, I shouldn't have lost touch with him.  Well, my watch was still screwy for the rest of the race so I couldn't gauge my pace well, but I caught a guy in the fifth mile and I think another one in the sixth.  I should have caught the last guy between Tom and I, but I just didn't have the drive to finish the race well. 

On the flip side, this is my best 10K in years.  I did a 43:24 on July 24th, and my fitness has come a long way since then.  On the 24th race, I slowed down in mile 3, and slowed further to a 7:28 in mile 4 and never went below 7 minute pace again.  On this race I stayed on pace through mile 4, and slowed to 7 minute -7:10 pace for mile 5 and 6 (I don't have reliable splits but extrapolating from the beginning miles and my ending time).  When I finished the race, my distance said 6.00 miles, and Tom's watch caught 6.19 miles so there was something up with my watch.  My time on my watch was right on though with the runnercard results.  My overall pace for the race was between 6:45 and 6:50, so I was close to my overall goal for the race, and I won the race which was also a bonus. 

Since this was to be mostly a training run, a tempo run, I suppose I should be happy.  The race puts me just under 3:10 for the St. George so that's in line with my expectations.  I am still not sure what to target for St. George.  The SF 1/2 marathon this Saturday should help since it is a flat hard course.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 15:08:18

Michelle - this predicts closer to 3:00 in St. George. Bill Cobler is in shape to run at least 2:40 in St. George, and he beat you by 4:09. This extrapolates to about 17 minute gap in the marathon, which would give you 2:57. Add another 5 minutes or so for the difference between his 120 - 150 mile weeks and your 60-70. I was also rather conservative when I said 2:40 for him - last year he was running slower times in all the control races and managed to hit 2:38. He wants to run 2:35, but I added a margin of error adjustment for the difference between what an ambitious runner wants to do, and what he actually will. That may be an error on my part - Bill hits what he shoots for right on much more frequently than the average competitive runner.

I hope you learned today that although you may have paid $250+ for your Garmin, and it does come handy at times, you should not put $250 worth of faith in it. Learn to rely on things like your leg turnover, breathing, muscle pain, and overall sense of momentum to judge your pace and effort.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 18:58:10

And you did bury the field, in case you did not notice - 4:45 gap on the second place, that is a lot in a 10 K.

From Lybi on Tue, Sep 04, 2007 at 10:03:24

Great job, Michelle! Hey I never noticed before that you have three little boys about the same ages as mine. My little guys are 6,4 and 2, but they all have birthdays coming up in the fall. It is inspiring to see what you are able to do with running along with all the other commitments you have. Congratulations!

From Kerry on Tue, Sep 04, 2007 at 11:52:34

Congratulations on a great race and a first place finish! I'm looking forward to hearing how you do at St. George (now if only we could get Tom there somehow). It certainly sounds like you're in line to beat 3:10.

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