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Spanish Fork 1/2 Marathon

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Location:

Orem,UT,USA

Member Since:

Apr 03, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

HS/COLLEGE:
mile: 4:56, 2 mile: 10:21 (1978)
marathon: 2:52 (St. George 1982)
OLD MAN (20+ years later):
5K: 19:53 (Nestle/Art City Days 5K 2007)
10K: 39:55 (Spectrum 10K 2008)
half marathon: 1:26 (Hobble Creek 2008)
marathon: 3:07 (St. George 2007)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get back to a BQ marathon time (currently 3:40).

Long-Term Running Goals:

Have fun running, keep fit, and fight middle age spread. Run consistently and injury free. Maintain a healthy balance between running and other life priorities. Encourage my ever-aging running buddies to keep running so we can continue to share runs on the trail instead of rocking chairs.

Personal:

Blessed to be married to Karen for 30 years. We have six children (4 daughters/2 sons) ages 16 to 30, and one wonderful granddaughter.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Altra Instinct 1.5 Lifetime Miles: 83.50
Altra Lone Peak 1.5 Lifetime Miles: 21.80
Saucony Guide 7 Blue 2 Lifetime Miles: 376.95
Saucony Fastwitch 6 Lifetime Miles: 200.05
Saucony Guide 7 Black 1 Lifetime Miles: 271.15
Race: Spanish Fork 1/2 Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:29:57, Place overall: 16, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.5013.100.000.000.0016.60

What a beautiful day to run!

I wasn't sure what to expect today, but my legs had felt good this week so I was hopeful I could get under 1:32, maybe even close to 1:30 if things went really well. My plan was to take a mental break during the hills, basically at mile 4, the hills in the middle, and again at mile 9.

The traditional matchup with Hal and Josse didn't happen today. They were both running on high mileage with some soreness in their feet or legs. I ran most of the race alone, at least mentally. Cal was near me during most of the race, and we talked a little in the middle of the race, but we were both working too hard to talk much.

I was a little surprised at how well taking the mental breaks on the uphills worked. When it was time to focus again, I almost felt refreshed and ready to get back to work. That said, I didn't really slow down all that much during the mental breaks. It's hard to tell because they were uphill miles where I naturally slow down anyway.

Cal pulled even (he had been just behind me for a while) as we started the middle hills. We talked a bit, but when he noticed how much we had slowed he went on ahead up the hill. I let him go, because I was on my mental break, but on the downhills I gained back ground. I pulled back even with him on the last downhill just as we merged back with the runners still coming the other way.

I took my last mental break during mile 9. Cal was still with me as we passed the mile 10 marked, but then the break was over. I pushed the last 3.1 miles hard and pulled away. I could see Tom up ahead, as I could most of the race, but I never caught him. I think I drew energy from all the 5K runners I was passing at the end. A couple of high schoolers (I think) passed me in the last mile or so, but I was running sub-6:30 at the time and that was the best I could do.

1 - 6:55
2 - 6:52
3 - 7:03
4 - 6:59
5 - 6:50
6 - 7:14
7 - 7:15
8 - 6:37
9 - 6:53
10 - 6:52
11 - 6:49
12 - 6:35
13 - 6:27

13.1 1:29:57 (avg 6:52/mi)  [16 of 311 overall]

It felt good to finally have some juice left at the end of the race. That, and finishing in 1:30, gives me renewed hope to be near 3:00 at St. George.

Comments
From josse on Sat, Sep 06, 2008 at 17:01:23

Great job! One more in the bank for you:)

From Tom on Sat, Sep 06, 2008 at 17:05:25

Paul great to see you today and great to see you running so well! With the way things are trending I can see that the stretch I've had this year of beating you could come to an end sometime in the future. Hopefully not at SGM... actually I would be happy as a lark if we happened to BOTH come in around 2:5? at SG, regardless of who comes in first.

I did a bit of the mental break thing myself and found it quite helpful. Besides the uphill slowing I walked for a few seconds through a couple of water stops and it seemed to help kick the brain in gear a bit. Glad that Josse mentioned this technique on your blog the other day.

From MichelleL on Sun, Sep 07, 2008 at 00:13:25

Great race! Nice splits. You are green light for sub-3:00 in St. G.

From Kerry on Sun, Sep 07, 2008 at 14:23:08

Great race, Paul! That's an impressive time on that course and should be a real confidence booster for SGM.

From Cal on Sun, Sep 07, 2008 at 14:51:10

Nice finishing miles there Paul. You really picked it up near the end. It was good meeting you.

From RviertonPaul on Sun, Sep 07, 2008 at 19:02:59

You continue to impress. Good job.

From Justin on Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 00:53:36

I'm glad to know that at 25 I can still pass for a high schooler. You had a great race and thanks for giving me someone to shoot for at the end.

From Paul T on Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 10:08:26

Justin - I'm sorry about calling you a high schooler. From now on maybe I should just use "young'un" to refer to runners 20+ years younger than me. I guess I'm getting old. You all look alike...young and fast.

From Paul T on Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 10:11:27

I just checked the results and the other "high schooler" that passed me at the end was 24. I'm I really that old? I guess I am. I have a daughter that is 23.

From Justin on Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 12:37:37

Don't worry about calling me a high schooler; people often think I'm younger than I am. I'd be plenty happy keeping up with you in the marathon--it's only been in the last few months that I've run with much consistency.

From Terry on Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 15:42:11

Nice run Paul. You really smoked the last few miles and 2nd in the AD is great! Nice run for an old man.

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