Today's Utah Valley Marathon was a very enjoyable run. I just took it easy and averaged about an 8:00 minute pace the whole way and finished in 3:30 feeling great. I finished 13th overall and 2nd in the Male 45-49 division. That's how I should have run the race to get the time I did, and the experience I could have had. Now here's what I really did. I caught the early bus at 4:10am with about a dozen other brave (foolish) runners. Actually, the bus driver had been instructed to not leave until he had at least 30 runners so he delayed until he couldn't wait any longer (he had to make two trips). I didn't have any buddies running this race, so I didn't really know anyone else on the bus, except Andy who I only knew from the blog. Miss Utah (Jill Stevens) was on the bus and it was fun hearing about some of her experiences in the Army National Guard and as Miss Utah. This was her 13th marathon, her 4th since becoming Miss Utah. She was hoping to finish by 9:30am (a 3:30 marathon) so she could be showered and on the road by 11:00 because she had a speaking engagement this morning. In her motivational talks she includes talking about running marathons, including being prepared and carrying what she needs in her RaceReady running shorts with lots of pockets (I found that interesting because I also love my RaceReady running shorts). She said they originally wanted her at 9:00am but she told them she had a marathon to run and couldn't come until later. She was planning a 20 miler for today in preparation for the Lincoln, Nebraska marathon in two weeks, but decided to run UVM instead. I'm only saying all this about Miss Utah because you need to understand that she's one tough chick (meant respectfully) and a true marathoner. I really didn't want her to beat me, and held her off for about 22 miles, but she beat me anyway (she finished in 3:24, 3rd behind Josse and McKenzie). [Tom: my chicked count was 3]
I also talked on the bus with a guy who has run 33 marathons, and one who was running UVM as his first marathon because after he ran a half marathon his wife said he was too chicken to run a full marathon. He was just hoping to finish. And there were others. The bus ride was very enjoyable. It was cold and windy at the start area, but it was well lit, there were bonfires, and four portaportties (three of which were latched with nobody in them - we finally got them open). We huddled around the fires and talked some more. I met a group of ultra marathoner runners (mostly husbands and wives) who had run a number of 50 and 100 mile runs. It was interesting getting a glimpse into the minds of ultra marathoners. They are not your standard marathoner. The other bus eventually arrived and they started the race pretty much on time. I was planning to just run in short sleeves but the chilly wind, and Andy putting on long sleeves, convinced me to keep my long sleeve shirt on over my short sleeve. Andy was putting Vaseline on his legs to help protect against the cold and offered me some, so I tried that for the first time. It seemed to work well. When the starting gun (horn) fired I started my watch and started running into the darkness. One guy carried a small flashlight that helped the rest of us, but it was light enough anyway to see the white lines on the trail pretty well. When I looked down to confirm that my watch had started I tried to push the on/off button to get the light to come on. I had on knit gloves, but my hands were still pretty cold, and I think I held the button down too long, turning off my watch. I tried a second time to turn on the light, and must have turned it back on. When I finally got the light on my watch was stopped and had only recorded about 60 feet. I decided to reset the time and start over. This was a about 3/4 mile into the race. I just manually pushed the reset button at the first mile marker and I think the splits were pretty accurate after that, but I didn't get an overall time on my watch. My official finish time was 3:30:?? (can't remember the seconds). Like I said earlier, I wish all my splits were right around the 8:02/mi I averaged for the race, but you'll see they were not: Mile 1 - 6:40? (based on average pace for the 1/4 mile my watch recorded) - Because of the frustration of trying to figure out my watch, I wasn't really aware of how fast I was running.
Mile 2-4 - 6:52, 6:51, 6:56 - I was now aware that I was running faster than the 7:30/mi I had planned, but my ego convinced me that it was downhill with a tailwind and I was feeling comfortable and that it was okay. (What was I thinking?!!) Mile 5-7 - 7:09, 7:36, 7:27 - These miles included the climb up Orem Center street and the run to University Mall (I think). Mile 8 - 6:59 - I think this included the downhill from the University Mall to the tunnel under University Ave. Mile 9-10 - 7:57, 8:11 - This included the climb up Canyon Road until the turn around. Mile 11-12 - 7:29, 7:04 - This included the downhill back down. Mile 13 - 7:43 - I believe this is where McKenzie passed me (just after the tunnel), and when I got the first signals from my body that I had probably gone out too fast (7:20/mi avg at 13.1, which included the two big climbs). McKenzie kept asking people if she was the first girl, and finally one of the volunteers confirmed that she was. She was moving along quickly and with apparent ease.
Mile 14-17 - 8:01, 8:03, 8:04, 7:55 - Long lonely miles on the trail along the river heading towards the lake. I was beginning to struggle, especially on the short uphills out of the tunnels. I ran briefly with Josse as she passed me during the last of these miles not long before we reached the end of the trail, which is probably why this mile was a little faster. When I told her she had her work cut out to catch McKenzie she calmly said that there was a lot of time left and seemed confident that she would catch her. She was apparently right. When I talked to Josse after the race, she said she passed McKenzie shortly before the finish line. She only beat her by 11 seconds for 1st place and the $1,000, so it must have been close. I haven't read their race reports yet, but I look forward to it. Mile 18 - 8:31 - The wheels are definitely coming off, which wasn't good timing because the dirt road around the airport was tough going. I did my best to avoid dips and rocks, but I wasn't very light on my feet at this point and when I stepped on the rocks I could feel them through my shoes. With 8 miles still to go, I knew this was going to be a humbling and character building race.
Mile 19 - 8:13 - Daren Deadmond (sp?) caught me at this point and we ran together for a while. It turns out we both started at WordPerfect in 1992. He also said he had found my blog while searching for the Utah Valley Marathon, and mentioned that based on my blog I should be faster than him. Not today. He left me after a while and went on to beat me by 7 minutes and win our age division. Mile 20-21 - 8:46, 8:59 - The rough dirt road around the airport seemed to go on forever. I actually managed to pass one runner somewhere along here, and got passed by another, but running definitely wasn't very much fun anymore. Mile 22-26 - 9:21, 9:23, 9:13, 9:23, 9:34 - Those of you who have crashed and burned in a marathon know how I felt during these miles. I was trying every trick I know and dredging up every bit of mental fortitude I had just to keep my legs moving. It didn't help that early in these miles Miss Utah passed me with a polite "Good job" and just kept on going effortlessly. With a couple of miles to go Karen called me (I carried my phone) from the finish line saying the girls were cold and asked how long I was going to be so she could take them to the car to get warm. The last mile I was exhaling loudly every third step and the rhythm (and my marching band experience?) somehow got me through it. Last 0.2 - 1:29 (7:36/mi) - As I approached the finish line alone I heard the cheers from the crowd. I knew all eyes were on me, including Karen and the girls. Also, Sasha was running the other way and I apologized as I passed for embarrassing the blog. I was wearing a blog shirt so that was also a little incentive to not finish like a staggering drunk. Knowing that I could stop soon, I dug up enough energy to finish pretty strongly. I'm actually okay with a 3:30 time and finishing 2nd in my division, 13th overall. What I'm not pleased with was my foolishness in going out like I was running a half marathon. I did that at St. George last fall with success because I had the mileage in to back it up. That was not the case today. I did not have the training in to support what I attempted, and I paid the price. I enjoyed the first half, in around 1:36, but running the second half was no fun at all, with only 1:54 to show for all my suffering.
I feel like I've run a marathon, but the good news is I don't think I
injured anything. My left ankle started aching a little in the later
miles, but I rolled it not too long ago. I'll keep an eye on it, but I
think it will be fine. While my race strategy stunk, I have no regrets for having run this marathon. Hyrum did a great job organizing it, and the course is awesome! Everyone I talked to loved the course. Some didn't enjoy the rough dirt road around the airport, including me, but one ultra marathoner trail runner I talked to loved it and passed 7 or 8 people on that stretch. I'd leave it in, people don't like uphills but every good course needs some uphills. I think the dirt road along the lake and around the airport adds to the unique character of the course. | 