It was a great day for a marathon. Cool temperatures at the start (low to mid 40's) and probably low 60's when I finished.
This year I got way out of shape over the winter and never did the training to get back into the shape I like need to get to so I have a chance of a sub 3. I was surprised at how slow it took me to get back in any kind of shape in my older age. So I knew going into the marathon that it would be slower one. I thought I had a 5% chance of getting a 3:15 if everything went perfect, about a 7:26 pace. Of course it didn't go perfect.
As usual I rode over to the start with Great Tom and Kim Lee. It was Kim's 10th SGM and all in a row. I tried to find some South Jordan friends at the start but didn't ever bump into them.
When the gun finally went off I was feeling good. I tried to keep the pace slow and easy.
First 7 miles (7:40, 7:28, 7:05, 7:03, 7:15, 6:55, 7:07) 7:13 avg.
Next 6 miles (9:25 pit stop, 7:54, 7:57, 8:16, 7:54, 7:30) 8:27 avg. At 13.1 I was at a 7:41 avg. This is usually the time to hit some fast miles, but I could tell my legs were not ready for 13.1 more of fast miles.
Next 7 miles (7:49, 7:22, 8:02, 7:46, 8:09, 8:42, 8:17) When I was at about 15.5 miles my right lower calf started getting tight and soon after a felt a few tugs on the left quad. I have a problem with cramping and it would get bad if I didn't back off to 8 minute miles. I took a few walk breaks during this period to keep my legs cramp free.
Last 6.2 miles (8:04, 8:08, 8:11, 7:47, 8:03, 8:13, 1:45) Next time I run the SGM I need to respect the distance and train so I can take advantage of all the down hill the last 6 miles. I definitely got passed much more that I was passing the last 6 miles.
| 