Finally, the marathon report. The quick version is that it was a fantastic race, a pr, a great morning with a long conversation with my pacer Paul, perfect racing weather, and the best way to start a vacation I can think of.
The long version starts with Paul hitting me with a pillow to wake up because I slept through my alarm. So I hustled to get dressed and put a little fuel in me, then we drove into Logan. Already a nice morning at 5 a.m., cold but not freezing and we didn't wait long for a bus. Cup of coffee for the bus ride up Blacksmith Fork Canyon, which was great until our driver missed the start line (which is as amazing as it sounds, since there are mobs of people and a brick of port-a-potties right there). We were all too nice to tell her to stop driving up the dirt road until she asked "Does anyone know where we are going?" And everyone's jaw dropped at the same time. She managed to turn around and get us to the start, but we had only minutes to warm up. Paul knows a secret bathroom we used (one person in line 10 minutes before a 2,500-person race, ever heard of that?), we jogged up and down the road to loosen a bit and jump in near the front. Perfect temp as the sun came up. Paul and I started a pack right from the start with a 6:27. We had the 2:55 pace in mind, and got about 10-15 guys on on tail right away, and a few sub-2:50s right in front of us. We ended up leading that group through 9 miles, just chatting and winding our way down through the opening miles of the canyon. Felt really light and even, and hit 6:25, 6:23, 6:31, 6:33, 6:31, 6:30, 6:22, and 12:54 for two. After the mile 9 gu station the pack broke up, and we wound up with Scott, Allie, and another guy, and got our picture taken for the local paper. Still cruising down the canyon, starting to pick up some tailwind. I was a little worried about the next few spilts, thinking they were fast, but Paul was encouraging and we kept the pace down to Hollow Road, even pushing a bit when we got the big tailwind (we let it do the work on that last hill): 6:25, 6:23, 6:48 (30-second bathroom stop included) and 6:16 as it flattened out. Picked up a guy (Keith?) as we approached Hollow, and he stuck with us. Good to have another pacer. We had lost Scott and one other guy who was in the pack of five, but slowly crept up on them on Hollow, passing both before the highway. Really ran strong on that stretch, packing in a few fast miles before the race got more mentally challenging. 6:13, 6:27, 6:23. Then we slogged through the highway portion, which wasn't quite as bad as I remember, and we did see Cody there waiting to pace Scott. 6:33. As we headed up to Millville we decided not to ruin the race there, and, according to the pace chart, backed off to our slowest planned miles. It was mentally helpful to take a "break" and focus ahead on the finish rather than worry about the Millville hills. Did a 7:00 and 7:04, and felt great for a 20-mile check-in. We were still a pack of three and talking (even got yelled at to stop by a woman worried we were wasting energy). Then 6:52 and 6:58 through Providence and into River Heights. I was feeling it at this point, no cramping (thank you Enduralytes) but my legs were pounded, especially the right hamstring. Paul suggested that we "had nothing to lose" at that point, and he was right. That phrase pulled my head back into focus, and I managed a surge to get a solid mile in 6:44. I knew we had sub-3, and putting on a strong one there got me ready to finish well. Walked through the aid at 24, where we lost touch Keith and hung up a 7:14, but I needed a quick stretch of the hamstring and to collect myself for the finish. I knew we were in good shape. Then a 6:55 as we started to sniff the finish, my legs were beat but I had energy left to push; no bonk at this one. 1:24 to cap it off, ran in side-by-side until I slowed up three feet from the line and Paul passed for the 0.1-second win. In my defense, a blister on my right foot popped with about 75 yards to go, and after a guy dose a wonderful pacing job like that you don't worry about the little things. We had finished, beat the pants off that sub-3 goal, and it was time to get a massage, sit in the sun and go have breakfast at Angie's. So we did.
supernova glide -- 282
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