If anyone happens to be near the 22 mi. mark on Univ. Ave. in the next couple of days and happens to stumble across my dignity and self-respect I'd appreciate it if they'd drop me a message so I can forward my home address so they can mail it back to me, COD of course. K, thanks in advance.
This was my sixth marathon and while I'm no expert by any means, far from it, I'd like to think that I've acquired some general knowledge regarding these sufferfests. That's what I'd like to think. In the end, I feel like the only thing I really know about marathoning is it ALWAYS exposes your weaknesses. It's like that schoolyard bully who points and laughs and then tries to get others to join in the mocking and public shaming.
It is well-known, to those who know me, that my goal was a BQ (3:15). As was the case in St. George, it looked as if that goal was within reach until I suffered my customary GI distress. This time it hit me at mile 20- where I went into the POP 44 secs ahead of pace and left the POP 2:30 behind goal pace.
More than that, it knocked me off my rhythmn and forced me to play catch-up. I came out firing w/ a really good mile at 21 (7:19) but in hindsight I think I worked a little too hard during the remainder of mile 20 and the next to try to get it back all at once. That really cost me as the downhill became less pronounced and I was forced to generate more speed from quicker turnover. When I hit mile 22 at 7:47 and mile 23 at 7:44 I was quite literally devastated. I mean it really destroyed me mentally. Never felt more despair during a marathon. Looking back, that's really an interesting point to me because the last 10k of my first marathon in '08 I was running much slower, walking more and not quite sure that I would even finish. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. As we begin to demand more out of ourselves, the disappointments become more heightened. I guess the hope is that the other side of that coin is that the eventual success will offer a commensurate amount of joy and excitement. However, I think I posses enough self-awareness to acknowledge that this is decidedly not the case.
Back to the race: Miles 24 and 25 I walked a fair bit, beating myself up for lacking the fortitude and will to fight for my goal. That's what this cruel, contemptible mistress does to you. Wallowing in this existential pit of self-loathing, I came across my family in the middle of mile 25. That helped pick my spirits up a little bit. Not enough to push for sub 3:20 but enough to avoid a total meltdown at the end. Got back under 8:00 for the last 1/3 mile (I had the course .1 long). A new PR by 9+ mins but it wasn't it all like I had imagined.
Note: I loved the race itself. Only 3 yrs old and it ranks right up there w/ Ogden and St. George, IMO. Definitely a lot more uphill packed into this course than I had estimated from the course profile. The hills aren't huge but they seemed to keep comin', at altitude, in the middle miles (9-17). As many better-conditioned runners showed today, it really is set up for negative splitting.
Race stats: 1:37+ 1st half; 1:42+ 2nd half. Not too bad considering the POP stop at mile 20 cost me 3 mins + an unquantifiable mental penalty.
Splits:
1- 7:31 (gradual uphill to start the race; ran strong but was mindful of holding back)
2- 6:58 (tried to stay ahead of 3:20 pacer)
3- 7:28 (short pee stop on the side of the road to burn off the pre-game jitters)
4- 7:13 (saw a girl pull of the side of the road (10 ft) in plain view and do her business; 200 commando pts!!)
5- 7:17 (making a conscious effort to stay between the 3:10 and 3:20 pace group)
6- 7:22 (began to realize that the 3:20 guy was going way too fast)
7- 7:18
8- 7:57 (1st gu stop and the first significant uphill; tried to relax and not burn too much glycogen)
9- 7:42
10- 7:07 (strong mile; leaned forward and began to cruise w/ the hills behind me, for now)
11- 7:09 (actually a decent hill here but the downhill was even bigger)
12- 7:44 (course flattened out)
13- 7:12 (pushing hard to get to the half in the 1:37's)
14- 7:56 (2nd gu stop and more uphill)
15- 7:18 (Garmin shows the most total elev gain & elev loss in this mile)
16- 7:51 (I think this is where I started walking through the aid stations every other mile to make sure I got enough fluid)
17- 7:28
18- 7:24 (big downhill here but the little roller offset it and then some)
19- 7:07 (some decent downhill and, more importantly, no uphill)
20- 8:55 (last gu stop) (emptied the chamber in the POP) (kicked it in gear to get pace under 9 for the mile)
21- 7:19 (last of the downhill; worked too hard to get it back on track)
22- 7:47 (this is where self-doubt crept in)
23- 7:44 (more of the same)
24- 8:21 (this is where it took over)
25- 8:21 (this is where I began to curse like a sailor w/ Tourette's Syndrome)
26- 8:18 (would have been 9+ if I hadn't seen my family here) (not sure if they could read my lips; to their credit they didn't say anything)
26.3- 7:41 (finished solid but nothing left for a kick) | 