Last year I ran the inaugural UVM in 3:30 and finished 13th overall and 2nd in my AD. This year I ran the UVM in 3:50 and finished 112th overall and 11th in my AD, and I'm happy about it. As I mentioned in my blog earlier this week, on Tuesday I heard about a possible opportunity to get a free entry via a sponsor, and by Thursday I was in. I really wanted to run UVM again this year, but with the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay the following Friday/Saturday I didn't want to beat myself up too badly. The free entry allowed me the luxury of treating it as just a long training run...no pressure to run fast.
I'm happy about 3:50 because it shows that I kept to my plan to run the race at a slower pace. I won't mention that, like some other bloggers race reports described their last 5-8 miles, from roughly mile 20 on felt a little like a death march. In other words, I was no longer running a slower pace by choice. I was running a slower pace by choice at the beginning. In fact, I decided to be one of the last runners to start and run from the back as a new experience. (I love chip timing.) I decided to make a last minute pit stop and the race actually started while I was still sitting in a portapotty. I wasn't worried. I finished up and just walked to the starting line. I almost delayed too long (2 minutes 45 seconds). Just before I crossed the start they yelled to a few runners behind me that they were about to pull up the timing mats. I forgot to turn off the auto-pause on my watch, so the following splits do not
include a 1+ minute potty break about mile 9 (ran into Canyon View park
restrooms, much needed, wouldn't have made it much farther), and a stop
to talk with Tom Lee at Geneva Rd. (he had to drop out because of a bad
migraine...dang!...and he's been running so well...he can't seem to get
a break in a marathon). My mile splits were roughly: 9:20 (easy start, uphill), 7:59, 7:32, 7:54, (passing people, downhill), 8:39 (uphill), 8:04, 8:11, 8:04, (still passing people), 8:45 (pit stop), 7:56 (out of the canyon), 8:21, 8:41, 8:21, 8:21, 8:42, 8:44, 8:42, (slower on the level, but still a pretty steady pace), 8:52 (talked to Tom, met Larry on his bike who rode with me the rest of the way - unplanned, unexpected, much appreciated - as you can see from the following splits I was quickly running out of gas), 8:47, 8:54, 9:04, 9:12, 9:38, 9:36, 9:27, 9:44, 7:45/mi for 0.2 (I was pleased to have enough juice left for a decent kick; similar to Ogden last month I simply willed myself to the front of the group of 5 or 6 runners ahead of me - one still barely beat me). I enjoyed talking with a number of friends/runners after the race...after I downed about 6 cups of Gatorade. The day seemed really humid, especially at the beginning. My glasses kept fogging up the first 8 or 9 miles. Although I hydrated well during the race, I think I was slightly dehydrated by the end. My chief goal was to leave my body in good enough shape to recover in time for the Ragnar Relay on Friday/Saturday. I'm optimistic that I met that goal. I have a little soreness in my left foot/ankle (which has been there for many months), but I soaked my legs in our above ground backyard pool (which is still really cold since the weather hasn't been hot) and I feel pretty good...good enough to agree to some mall shopping with Karen and the girls this afternoon. I think Verdon (a relay teammate), who was watching his son in the marathon, was a little surprised to see me run by. He good naturedly (I think) yelled that I was supposed to be tapering for the relay. When I saw him at the finish and told him I ran 3:50, he seemed confident that I had not overdone and could recover. Like I said, I'm optimistic. I feel pretty good. I ran the Ogden marathon last month 14 minutes faster than today's marathon and felt like pushing my training again by the following Wednesday. Time will tell. Last year I ran the 1st UVM because it is in my backyard, I wanted to support it, and I thought it would be cool to say 10 or 20 years from now that I had run every one of them since it started. The goal is still intact...2 down, many to go.
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