Winning Back What I Lost

830PM:  Short, easy run to keep the legs from drying up.  Debating whether to get a massage tomorrow given that the race is on Saturday.  Sometimes a massage leaves me sore for about a week before I feel better.  Another short easy run tomorrow then a short tempo on Wednesday and I'll be done until race day.

1230PM:  Short tempo run on the GB to keep sharp: 1M warm; 4M @ 7:30/mi; 1M cool.  I've got a bit of the crud my kids have been fighting off for the past week.  Not really sick but a bit congested and fatigued.  I'm hoping the dry high-desert air in St. George clears it up.  What am I talking about?  Boise IS the high desert. 

Short, easy run tomorrow morning to stay loose and then off to Salt Lake tomorrow night and St. George on Friday. 

640AM:  Last run; 4+ miles slow and easy.  Little nervous right now about the weather (hot) and my inability to drop weight.  FWIW, I feel like my training is as good as its ever been.  Last year I just focused on base mileage but this summer I feel like I got in some good tempo runs and speedwork. But I never got my diet in order and consequently I wasn't able to drop some lbs to lessen the stress of so much downhill running and increase my speed.  

That said, I'm definitely in much better shape than I was in May when I ran the Great Potato Marathon on a flat course and pretty much tanked after 19 or 20 miles.  We'll see just how much better shape in a couple of days.  If I can survive Veyo Hill on pace or no more than a minute off pace then I think I'll have a decent shot.  I like how the SGM course gives you some nice downhill miles at the end when you need it most.  I know I'll be tired by then but its preferable to TOU and Ogden which flatten out during the finishing miles.  Psychologically, I almost felt like I was running uphill at the end of those races if only because I was coming off the downhill and suddenly had to generate more of my own momentum when I was at the height of my fatigue. 

Not the result I was hoping for even though it was a 6 min PR.  Ran the 1st half in 1:39 as planned.  What I didn't plan on was the desert heat getting me and running a 1:50 2nd half.  

Splits below do not reflect the 3 min I lost in POP while my Garmin went on auto pause at mile 15.  Up til then, I was on pace but not really.  The plan was to do a negative split based upon all of the downhill during the last half.  After mile 15, I kept up the charade for a few more miles even though in the back of my mind I knew there was no way to make the math work.  At mile 19 I saw the 3:20 pace group pull away and I decided at that point to just make sure I PR'ed and didn't totally blow up and spew at the finish line.  See My Great Potato Marathon Race Report for more details.  

Thankfully, I arrived at the finish line in relatively decent shape.  I had enough composure to stop and kiss my wife and kids as I ran down the chute to the finish.  My wife said I looked comparatively good at the end.  I definitely feel better than I have after any of my previous marathons, which is a nice bonus.  Taking this week off to go fish Yellowstone and the S Fork Snake with some my law school buddies.  Can't wait.