Keeping myself sane!!!

The majority of races I have entered have been half marathon distance or longer.  On a normal running day, it takes me 3-4 miles before I begin to feel warmed up and in a good rhythm.  I am definitely not a sprinter!  I figured this would be a good opportunity to challenge myself to a race distance that I'm lacking experience in.  I set out with a goal to finish under 40 minutes, as I have been doing a 9 mile loop from my house with some of the pacing coming in under 6:30/mile.

The first 5k was aided by a tailwind, but the second 5k had a not so pleasant headwind.  The course is an out and back on a fairly flat frontage road, with no more than 100ft. of overall elevation deviation.  I was delighted to see the finish and managed to meet my time goal, while becoming better acquainted with the 10k distance.

My goal for this event was to beat my time from last year.  I managed to do so by 1:21, even though the conditions were less than ideal.  Snow along the roadsides and an initial fierce headwind made this race a little more challenging and interesting at the same time.  We started near the parking lot alongside Little Dell Reservoir, and made our way up the gradual 2 mile slope leading to the top of Little Mountain.   The elevation gain was not enough of a challenge itself, so mother nature gave us a headwind and pelting of snow to bog us down.  We were however, rewarded with the next 8 miles down Emigration Canyon to the finish at the parking lot of  "This is the Place" park.

This was an awesome experience, and it will be one I look back on for years to come.  My performance was less than I had hoped for, given my consistent training since STG last year, where I qualified.  On the other hand; I knew this would probably not be a pr course, and I tried to enjoy the moment.

There is no doubt that the intense crowds have a substantial effect on the overall feel of the race.  The support is incredible, and it is an overwhelming feeling of participating in this event. 

I went into this race only hoping to better my time from last year of 3:22:32.  This course hasn't been a one of my high points, and I had almost resigned myself to letting it remain that way.  Tried and true words of wisdom from fellow bloggers helped me to formulate a strategy to better manage myself in this race.  I guess it should have come to me as a no-brainer by now to hold back from the start, and then to start the serious push after the hill at mile 14.  In the past, I had believed in maintaining equal splits or even "putting a little in the bank."  These ideas however, had very rarely paid off for me.

My overall experience was much more enjoyable, I had a negative split of 6:40, I pr'd for the course by 13:14, and even hit the Boston qualifier a second time around.

THANKS FELLOW BLOGGERS!!!

I rarely participate in 5k races, as they are over when I'm just getting warmed up.  (Yeah, I like running for the long haul!)  A friend of mine is the race director, and there are no entry fees.  How can I say no to that?! I started out with a 1.84 mile loop to loosen up and to ready myself.  I don't perform well from a cold start, and know this all too well from previous experiences.  This was my 5th. year participating, and my goal was just to improve from last year's time of 18:49.  I guess this race was a success, as I managed to shave off 12 seconds.  Not a major time improvement; but still an improvement nonetheless.

I set my goal to finish somewhere below 3:10 and figured that I'd run it in the same manner as Ogden.  I held back on the first half and intentionally created a deficit, and then picked it up after the half.  My splits ended up as: 1:37:57 & 1:30:03. (7:29 pace 1st. half, 6:52 pace second half)  Looking back; I wish I had pushed a little harder in the 1st. half, and then pushed as I did in the 2nd. half.  On the other hand, I may have faded out if I had run that way. Overall it was a great experience, the weather was perfect, and I enjoyed the course changes from last year.  I'm looking forward to this race next year!

I'm hoping to continue shaving my marathon times down, and then to break 3 hours in St. George this year.

I really enjoyed this race.  It was a fun way to start out a Saturday on the 4th. of July weekend.  We started about six miles up Emigration Canyon, and ended at the state capitol building.  The course led us along paved roads and dirt trails with fantastic views. 

The only drawback of this event was the late start of about 25 minutes.  It seems that the race director was trying to wear too many hats and had a hard time keeping everything in check.  The hired timing company finally called the start since they were tired of waiting for the final word.  I was not surprised in the least of the untimely start, as this race was hosted by the same director that did the Provo Halloween Half Marathon year, which also had a late start.

I would do this event again, as I had fun with it and the late start was only a minor inconvenience to me.

I have enjoyed running this race the last couple of years, and just wanted to keep with tradition.  I tried to hold back on the pace, as I made the decision only a few days prior, to run the Missoula Marathon.  I knew it would be risky to run a half marathon, and then a full only a day apart.

This race was planned only five days in advance, and I knew it would not be a fast one for me by any means.  I was a bit nervous about how I'd feel, considering I ran a half marathon last week, a half marathon the day before, and had a 7 hour drive to get to the race. 

Missoula is on the way to Glacier National Park, where my wife's family has a cabin that we spend a week each summer.  It seemed only appropriate to take advantage of being in the area, and to see why Runner's World Magazine hailed this as the best overall marathon in America.

My splits were: 1:36:26, and 1:48:32.  It is clear to say that I fell apart in the second half!  I was running on stiff calf muscles, and overall fatigue.  It confirmed my belief of taking a couple of days off completely before a race.  I could tell from early on that I had very little in the tank and that I would have a literal uphill battle to the finish.  My strategy of negative splitting wasn't to be, and just hanging on until the end was all I could do.

I'm glad I did this race, if anything; for the experience.  All involved in putting the race together did a wonderful job; the volunteers were plentiful and the community support was better than many I've seen. 

I had a fun time with this race and was able to converse with a few fellow bloggers.  It's great to get out and see some familiar faces and to enjoy the sense of cameraderie.  I consider today a great success because it was an all around enjoyable experience. 

My splits were (approx.) 1:37:30, and 1:32:30.

I don't know my official time yet, but the timer at the finish was about a minute off my Garmin.  I wanted to beat my last year's time of 1:26:55.  This has always been a fun race, especially with all the chaos and confusion at the start.  At least I've learned what to expect, so I can take it with an air of humor.  I stuck to my guns with the best overall pace I had in me.  There was a female runner in a blue shirt that I exchanged positions with a few times in the last 3-4 miles, and therefore; she unknowingly became my pacer.  I believe she finished 3rd. in the women's.  It's nice to find a runner that tows the line and forces a better performance on one's self.

This was my fifth time running this race, which was my first marathon ever in 2006.  One would think by now that I 'd remember how tough this course is with a majority of uphill climbs the first 15 miles.  Maybe I choose to block this from my mind and that's why I keep coming back to this race!  J/k.  I actually really do enjoy this race but know that the hills combined with elevation will not lead me anywhere close to a pr.

My goal, like other races I've done before, was to improve over last year's time.  I managed to do so, but not in a big way.  I shaved off 2:02 from last year.  I guess a personal course pr. is nothing to complain about.  The two things that really weighed me down this year were the headwinds along the rail trail, and the heat.  I don't do well in the heat, but a constant splash of water over my head at each aid station in the second half seemed to really help.

There was a runner I must have exchanged positions with at least 10 times from around miles 16-23, and this really helped me to keep my pacing in check when I felt like fading into oblivion.  It turned into a joke of  "see you soon" when one of us would pass.

It was an overall decent race for me and I look forward to running it yet again in 2011.  With this race behind me, I can now focus on doing what it takes to (hopefully) reach my goal of breaking 3 hours at St. George in Oct. I have had the bad luck of not having my name drawn for the lottery to run St. George for 4 years now, and have used the Grand Slam each year as a means of entry.  I would probably run the required races anyway, and so it has only made sense for me to sign up.

 The marathon course started along a rolling, yet overall down hill dirt mountain road that continued for about 9.5 miles.  It then followed along a main highway, with a very short segment passing along a single path paved trail aside the lower Mesa Falls.  We went back to the highway where we came upon the half marathon start area.  I scanned the crowd of half marathoners, and located Melissa.  I found it only appropriate to momentarily throw on the brakes and gave her a hug and quick peck.

I didn't keep track of my mile splits, as I managed to join in with a group from the start that seemed on que for my pace.  It was a lot of fun running with 3-5 other runners that I'd just met and to carry on great conversations for a bulk of the race.  I believe we hit the half in around 1:34.  I became a solitary runner around mile 22 as our paces were no longer meshing due to a 3 mile of uphill from 17-20.  After the uphill, the course meandered through the countryside of fields and quaint neighborhoods, and then joined the main street of Ashton.  We proceeded for several blocks through the middle of town and made a final turn to the finish line alongside a town park.

After the finish, I back tracked the course a 1/4 mile to the cabin Melissa and I stayed in, to pack all our stuff.  I then drove the car to the finish area, and once again back tracked the course, but this time about 3 miles from the finish until I found Melissa pounding away at the pavement.  I figured that she would need some good morale support in her final miles of her inagural challenge.  I really enjoyed seeing her through and am proud of her.  She had a rough race, as she took a fall around mile 2 when she tripped on a rock and scraped up her lower right leg and left knee.  Her diligence kept her from a DNF even with her unsightly gashes.

I would highly recommend running one of these events and may come back again sometime in the future.  The organization was first class, the scenery is quite enjoyable, and it has a wonderful small town and not over-hyped feel.

I managed to do some things in this race that I've never done before.  First off, it was my first official trail marathon, and I ran it below my range of aerobic capacity.  I also came up close and personal with the course more so than I've ever done in a race.  I felt strong physically through the entire race, however, my encounters with exposed jagged rocks and tree roots forcefully put me in my place.  My clumbsiness and apparent lack of coordination shined through in miles 8, 10, and 12 (and many close calls throughout the course). Fortunately, the only thing I injured was my pride.  Every time I felt I had a handle on my running, good old mother nature was there to let me know who's boss!  So, after my 3rd experience of outstretched arms like superman (but with much less the glory!) I decided that this was not a race for me, and just to finish unscathed was my goal.  This ended up being the slowest marathon I've run of my last 22.  I plan on running a few more marathons & halfs in the very near future, so injuries are not an option! 

I'm sure I'll look back on this experience and laugh, but for the moment; I am working on a waning frustration of my performance.  It was indeed a beautiful course, and an opportunity for me to expand my running experiences.  Maybe I'll choose to do some more trail races in the future as I gain control of my awkward footing!

This was my ninth marathon this year, and it was my fourth in a five week stretch.  I could definitely tell that running them so close together had taken its toll.  I'm glad to have next weekend off from racing to prepare physically and mentally for St. George on Oct. 2nd.

I have had a difficult time with this race in the past with the inclines appearing from around mile 19 onward, when a good downhill (like Utah Valley, or St. George) is needed to keep the legs moving.  I knew that I'd need to take advantage of the canyon segment and the next 5 or so miles thereafter.  I hit mile 13 approx. 1:33:23, so my next 13.2 miles were around 1:39:46.  I guess that wouldn't be construed as major of a blow up as it felt at the time.  Around mile 21, I could feel that my legs still had some speed in them, but no longer the energy storage to support them.  I had kept my fueling consistent as with other races, as taking GU every 4 miles, and orange slices when available. This proved to keep me hanging on from total disaster, but I did ultimately bonk in the end.  Each time I'd try to hold a steady pace of 7:00-7:15, my heart rate and respiration would begin to climb significantly.  I knew I could only hang on for the finish I had left in me.  

By mile 24, I really wanted to shut down and finish up with walking, but this wasn't to be.  I spotted a runner friend ahead, and knew that if I could catch him, he would be nice enough to help pace me through the last 2 miles.  This really helped me from mentally giving up.

Going into this race my primary goal was to go sub 3:10, but my back up plan was to better my time from last year of 3:19:39.  I guess it wasn't a total failure, as I did manage to course pr by 6:30. With this marathon behind me, I can now prepare to take on the challenge of St. George in 2 weeks!

A quick run down:  I had a great first half, and dissapointing second half.  It was a bit warm, but I'm unsure how much that affected my performance today.  Being my 10th. marathon this year, maybe my body was telling me to back off.  I was hoping for a pr, but it wasn't to be.  More details later...

Initially, my goal was to go sub 3:00.  If that didn't work out, I felt that I'd be close and at least have a new pr.  I felt great the first half, and hit it around 1:32:30.  With the major hills behind, the second half should have been an easy negative split.  I continued feeling decent,  but knew there was some work to be done, so I took nothing for granted.  Around mile 20, a dreaded slowdown started to hit me.  I didn't 'hit the wall,' but my pace began to lag and it only continued to decline as the final 10k progressed.  I figured I could still hold on and make the best of it, so I became more focused on the finish and not so much my bombed out splits.  It was around mile 25 when I had the realization of not setting a new pr, being slower than last year, and it was not a fun feeling.

I'm begining to really wonder if my recent marathons have taken their toll on my speed.  When running them close together; I spend my time recovering from one before running the next, and not getting in good quality mileage.  My training mileage has therefore gone down, and I have become a little stale.  I guess this year has been more about sheer numbers rather than speed.  I have no regrets, but have to accept the reality of quantity over quality.

It was easy to see early on that this would be an interesting event for me.  I forgot my Garmin, so I knew I'd be running blind.  This also being a new event; I expected there to be some 'hiccups.'  There were some indeed!  The race started about 15 minutes late, which was not a big deal for I have dealt with worse.  What really messed things up for me were to find out after the race that they had lost my drop bag.  I had a premonition this would happen, and should have heeded its warning.  The worst part of it was the response I received from the race director: "Well, that's just the nature of the marathon."  Responses like that, without any form of apology or sympathy is about the easiest way for me to black list an event from future participation!  I'm hoping I can get a hold of him in the days to come, and see if they did ever find it.  I can replace most of what's lost, but it was his attitude that perturbs me the most!

Now, on to the race details...We parked at Ellison Park in a field to catch the bus bound for the starting line.  There were about 6-8 busses lined up curbside to the park, and I was able to hop right on one.  One thing that entered my mind upon seeing how few busses there were was a couple of prerace e-mails that had been sent out.  The participation had been capped at 1200, and they had anticipated it completely filling up.  What I didn't realize is that number was for the total of all four distances: 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon.  So, this ended up being a fairly small marathon.  No big deal, as I enjoy marathoning both big and small.  The ride to the start was uneventful, but sure felt never ending!

The start was about a mile north of the Field Garr Ranch on the east side of the island, and followed a mostly flat, but gently rolling roadway. The only real climb (and not much of one) began around mile 7, peaked at mile 8 and had dropped back down before mile 10 as we headed out the causeway.  The causeway was definitely the longest stretch for me, which lasted about 7 miles and felt like running on a treadmill.  Oh boy, doesn't the Great Salt Lake smell so wonderful?! It was completely level, and seemed to go on forever!  From here, the course lead us alongside corn fields and eventually through residential areas.  The last of about seven turns beyond the causeway sent the runners in the final stretch to the finish in Ellison Park.

Without my GPS, I just ran on how I felt.  I did ask another runner at 13 what the elapsed time was, so he told me 1:37.   So, I certainly slowed WAY down in the second half!  My legs were definitely feeling the wear and tear of this year's running season.   I have a couple of half marathons this month, which will sign me off from running races until early next year.  (Unless I find myself having withdrawls before then!)

My goal was to run this course below 1:30:00.  The conditions ended up being perfect, and I felt fresh. The hills in the late miles of the race did less damage than I thought they would.  I exchanged positions with the second and third place women multiple times, and they turned out to be unknowingly good pacers.  Of all the distance races I've participated in, I think I enjoy the half marathon the most.  It's short enough that I can give it all I have and not worry about 'hitting the wall,' but long enough to make it worthwhile to plan a trip around.

Melissa and I were accompanied by my father, my sisters, and one of my sister's friends to run the race.  My brother-in-law, a neice and nephew also came and provided the cheering section at the finish. It was exciting to have a group of us to take part and motivate one another.  We rented a house, watched some movies, and ate some meals that were better than I've had at my own home in a long time.  All of us had an enjoyable experience.

This didn't end up how I had hoped, but 'Some days are diamonds, some days are stones!'  I definitely lacked the aerobic capacity to propel myself to bettering my time from last year of 1:24:01.  I guess it's back to the drawing board.  I plan on taking a break from racing, and to focus on my training through the winter, so I can come into next year's race season with a vengeance!    

The weather was perfect and the course was really scenic, so from those standpoints; it was a great day.  The race had just over 700 participants last year, and had grown to almost 2,500 this year!  It seems that running events are really gaining in popularity, as I've seen races growing and/or filling to capacity in record times.  I remember registering for events only days before, but now that's not the case.  It's a good thing I registered for Ogden already, for I would have been bummed to sit that one out!