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Striders Winter Racing Circuit 1/2 Marathon

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20102011
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Location:

Kaysville,UT,USA

Member Since:

Oct 11, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

I started running in December 2006. I just completed my 11th marathon. 

PR 3:17 at the 2011 St. George Marathon

PR 1:28 at the 2011 Striders WRC 1/2 Marathon

3:35 at the 2010 Boston Marathon

4 ultra marathons including the 2009 Wasatch 100 in 30:33.

Completed the 2011 LOTOJA on a tandem with my wife in 11:00:32.

Short-Term Running Goals:

Improve my PR to 3:09 in any marathon. Run a 3:19 at Boston in 2013.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Have the body of a drill sergeant at 60 years old!

Personal:

Married with four sons. My oldest is currently serving an LDS mission in Knoxville, TN. My wife and I also love to cycle together and we completed eight 100+ mile rides last year. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Lifetime Miles: 474.15
2011 Spin Miles Lifetime Miles: 520.00
2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Lifetime Miles: 2180.75
2011 Trail Miles Lifetime Miles: 178.25
Saucony Jazz 14 Lifetime Miles: 494.35
Tandem 2011 Lifetime Miles: 1258.50
Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Lifetime Miles: 220.90
2011 Swimming Lifetime Miles: 20.00
Brooks Launch Lifetime Miles: 121.75
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
149.5547.6416.110.00213.30
Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 47.00Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 46.002011 Spin Miles Miles: 52.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 16.00Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 91.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.500.000.000.003.50

Just some easy miles with some strides mixed in before tomorrow's Strider's half marathon. Should be interesting. Funny how when you taper, your confidence about whether or not you can even run goes down the toilet.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 3.50
Comments(1)
Race: Striders Winter Racing Circuit 1/2 Marathon (13.11 Miles) 01:28:20, Place overall: 23, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.0013.110.0013.11

Well the weather couldn't have been better (40's) and I couldn't be happier with the race results. I was nervous because I knew in order to make my goal of sub 1:30 I would have to run at a good clip the entire time. I was open with anyone who asked me what my goal was because I believe that telling people what your goals are makes you feel that much more accountable to accomplish them. I was happy to meet up with Troy A. and Paul C. before the race and we boarded the bus together. Then Sherm S. got on the bus and we had a nice ride to the start line and porta potty central where the group split up.

It was a mass start so I positioned myself at the front which still feels kind of weird to just assume that I'm faster than so many fit looking people, but since I've been in the top 25 of each of these races I can't see lining up at the back so I can weave through a crowd to get to my eventual pecking order in the race. John W. called the race into action and off we went. I was running with a group of people that were faster than me and I let them go rather than bury myself too badly early in the race. I had my goal and it was to average 6:52 or better, but 6:52 would be just fine with me.

I ran the first mile at 6:16. Faster than I wanted too, but it's so hard not be somewhat pleased with banked time. Something you know you shouldn't have if you're running the race correctly, but you're glad it's there. Everyone says this is a fast course, and it is, but it's not the downhill festival some people think it is. There's 782 feet gross downhill with 208 feet climbing. Most of the course is rollers around a lake. After letting the elites move on, I had a few more runners pass me in miles 2-5 which I ran progressively slower from 6:30 to 6:43. These two or three people I figured I would pass ahead of before the race was over. One of them had a jacket on and the other one whom I later came to know as Mike had the word "Staff" on the back of his shirt. My wife was riding her bike along the course, taking pictures and cheering for me. I saw her about mile 5 and mile six I picked up the pace to show off a little at 6:41. One guy that passed me looked familiar from the back even though I later learned that I did not know him, but should have worked 11 seconds harder to beat him since he was in my age group.

At mile 7 the race begins its route around the lake. It starts with a decent uphill climb and then goes through several rollers. My breathing patterns were changing as I ran downhill and switched to uphill. The 1/2 is a strange distance because it's still short enough that you feel you can push yourself fairly hard and you know it will be over before long. I'm not sure how I feel about extrapolating my results from the 1/2 to the full because the full is...well obviously twice as long. Miles 7-10 were run at between 6:45 and 6:51 and I knew in this time that I was going to start consuming my prescious banked time. But I knew that every mile I logged at 6:52 or less would work in my favor at the end. I passed two runners in this section and hit the barn corner and headed west. There was an aid station at mile 10 and since I hadn't eaten or drank anything I stopped and guzzled some gatorade. This seemed to hit my stomach in a heavy way and I wasn't sure if it was the right decision, but off I went trying to push myself for the final 5k.

About mile 11.5 I caught up with Mike AKA "Staff" and we pushed each other to catch the next guy ahead of us who looked like he wasn't running very fast at all, yet he was ahead of us. As we drew closer we saw that he was really tall, so his turnover was slow, but the real estate consumption rate was high. Lisa took some pictures of me about here and I asked her to meet me at the saloon in Eden. That gave me a good goal to work for. I ran hard for mile 12 and Lisa cheered for me as I asked her to meet me at the finish line. I left Mike behind and passed the tall guy who appeared to be favoring a bad knee at this point.With one mile left and 6:44 showing on my watch I knew I was going to make my goal. I even wondered if there might be a 1:27 something at the finish line. I passed the final intersection and ran as hard as I could to the big u-turn into the Red Moose Lodge parking lot. Down the road I could see the finish line, Lisa's yellow biking jacket and 1:27's ticking off the clock. She told me to run! I knew I couldn't keep the 27's, but was pleased that I was able to sprint to the finish.

I was spent. 1:28.20 was the final score. I had met my goal and it felt great. My friends were all very gracious as they congratulated me at the finish. It made me feel kind of embarrased, but good at the same time. It was fun to talk to some of the other people that I've met during the series including Kam from the blog who's headed to Boston soon. I ended up getting 3rd in my division and 23rd overall.

Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 13.11
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.503.001.000.0010.50

Good recovery run that I couldn't help let slip into a few marathon pace mile. Ran 6 easy and then 3 at 7:30 and the final mile at 6:40 with 1/2 at the end to cool down. Felt better than I expected. I am a little sore in the quads from Saturday's race, but feel like I'm recovering quickly. SL Marathon looms overhead with only 12 days to go.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 10.502011 Spin Miles Miles: 16.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

Four easy trail miles today.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.300.000.000.0014.30

Six mile easy run this morning. Then headed to Zions with the kids for Spring vacation. Did two hikes in Kolob Canyon. Highly recommend the Taylor Creek trail. Absolutely gorgeous at sunset. Definately springtime runoff. We noticed we were crossing the creek a lot and so we counted the number of times on the way back. 49! good thing the creek was small.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 6.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 8.30
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.700.000.000.007.70

Climbed 1500 feet up to Angels Landing today and then another 850 feet up to Hidden Canyon. A great day of hiking with the kids.

2011 Trail Miles Miles: 7.70
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.250.001.000.0014.25

Treadmill run today after skiing with the kids. Snowing hard all day. Ran average 8:34 pace for 13, then 6:40 for 1 and cooled off for a quarter. Good recovery week with the hiking and mild long run today.

Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 14.25
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.750.000.000.003.75

Sunday powerwalk with my wife. She doesn't do anything slow.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 3.75
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.753.000.000.008.75

A good final speed session with 2 miles at 7:15 and one at 7:30. Felt pretty good. Ran along the Ogden and Weber rivers.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 8.75
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Took it easy around the business park for 6 miles at lunch.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

5 easy miles along the Ogden River parkway.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

Two easy miles as final item in taper.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 2.00
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Race: Salt Lake City Utah (26.2 Miles) 03:43:04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.2020.000.000.0026.20

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Apart from being inside the porta potty when the gun went off (I should know better!), the race got under way just fine, with a little extra bobbing and weaving through the 8,000 marathoners and 1/2 marathoners. About mile 9 my left buttock and hammy started to irritate me and change my gait a bit, feeling a little weak. This was weird because I've never had hamstring issues. I pressed through it. My goal for the day was a 3:14 which required a 7:25 pace. It was fun to see my family at mile 13, but my hammy was still kind of nagging me. Through mile 19 I was at a 7:15 average pace and still feeling fairly strong. Somewhere in mile 20, however, my hamstring tightened up and forced me to walk for a few seconds. I restarted and the hammy was not happy. I felt a tear sort of like sinews pulling apart or stretching. I knew I was finished and even considered dropping out, but figured I could still finish in under four hours even if I had to walk the last 6 miles. This was a very humbling experience. I hated having people tell me, you can do it and thinking to myself, I know I can if my stupid leg wasn't so stupid (the rated "G" version). After a while I began to pay more attention to the people around me thanking the voluteers, the police and encouraging other runners around me. I mostly walked, in some section when I felt able and until the hammy shut me down. I was able to jog the last mile so I didn't feel like a complete idiot walking down the finisher's chute. I ended up with a 3:43. I calculated that I would have needed to run the last 7.2 miles with an average 7:57 pace in order to get my desired 3:14. Definately possible, but nothing's a gimmy at the end of a marathon.

Anyway, I thought the day had great potential and I really liked the course. It was really well laid out and there were plenty of aid stations. The uphills were mild and not very long. The second half is mostly down or flat until you get to the approach to the Beehive House on State Street. Then it's a decent climb before the last mile of the race. I recommend this marathon and may try it again depending on my future goals.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 26.20
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.000.000.000.001.00

Short walk to loosen up the hamstring. Wasn't feeling too bad. The big tendon on the outside of the left knee is the sorest.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 1.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Nothing today. Travel day.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.000.000.009.50

2 miles in the morning and 7.5 more at night. Muscles felt fairly void of energy, but I took it slow so I could get some good, cleaning, oxygenating blood flow through them.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 9.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Took it easy for 3 more miles this morning.

Ran 5 miles more this evening. Easy.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.001.000.000.005.00

Did a fun workout to get things limbered up after the marathon. I would jog for 20 seconds, then sprint for 20 and then walk for 20. It really loosened me up. I didn't have my watch, but I wonder what my average time was. Fly home and run the Strider's 30k tomorrow. Not sure how that's going to go.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 5.00
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Race: Striders WRC 2011 30k (18.64 Miles) 02:17:34, Place overall: 19, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0018.640.000.0018.64

Great race for me! I was really dead this week after the Salt Lake Marathon last Saturday where I pulled a hamstring. I didn't do a ton of miles this week, but I did try to run enough to flush out the yuck from my muscles. I massaged things hard and rolled some stiffness out last night. My hamstring issue was major enough to stop me from running at mile 20 of the SL, but is mostly healed (knock on wood) and I feel really blessed to have been able to run this race today.

I ran the first four miles with my friend Paul Clark. We kept a good pace at about 7:20. This is an out and back course that is really the worst section of the Ogden Marathon...twice. Today I felt I understood and experienced the concept of the slight lean forward as a means of propulsion. I just kept a slight lean into the road and the legs just kept turning over. I don't think my gait was very pretty, but it worked. I haven't looked into my exact splits, but I think for the most part I was between 7:12 and 7:32, but my average pace throughout hung right around 7:20 so I think my splits were fairly even.

I ended up 2nd in my age group (to Tom Kuehls who ended up 4th overall) and 19th overall out of 304 runners.

In the five race series, I cumulatively ended up with first place in my age division (because Tom was 3rd overall...go Tom!!). I'm so glad I was able to run today. I almost didn't go because it was my wife's first bike race and I was sore and tired. It ended up to be a great decision to race and then I drove as fast as I could to the bike race and was able to see my wife's four times on the course. She rocked the house, but we don't have the results yet. I won't be surprised if she placed.

Now it's time to recover and get everything back into equilibrium. So nice to have four weeks between now and Ogden. I am really hoping for a good time, but I've learned that a lot of things have to go right for a marathon to have a happy ending.

Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 18.64
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Resetting everything this week after so many races. Planning good hard week next week.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

Easy day.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

Spin class and then a run. Feeling pretty good. The doc cut off 2/3 of my big toe nail that was dead yesterday. Fun Fun!

2011 Spin Miles Miles: 18.00Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 3.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.100.000.000.0013.10

Nice longer run this morning in this great weather today.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 13.10
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.000.001.000.002.00

Spin for an hour and then run 1 easy and 1 at 6:40. Good workout.

2011 Spin Miles Miles: 18.00Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 2.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
18.002.000.000.0020.00

Lisa had a race on Antelope Island. The race starts at the harbor and goes out to the causeway and back, then around the visitor center and out Ranch Road about 11 miles to the ranch and back. After the race started I ran down ranch road about 9 miles until her Cat 4 group passed me. After 10 miles they passed me again heading back to the finish line. I turned around knowing I had committed myself to more than I wanted. I ran the first few miles of the return in the 7's and ended 13.1 at an average of 7:59. Then I came around a corner and saw a long uphill that I had run two miles down at 7:15 on the way out. I had to laugh as I saw it on my way back because I was dead after 15 miles with no water or calories. I ran up the hill a ways and then walked a bit to the top. Then Lisa met me and told me she had taken 3rd place! She rocks! I was inspired and ran the last four miles back to the harbor. Overall average of 8:25. It was a good run. Soon (if not now) it will be time to taper for the Ogden Marathon. Probably one more good hard week with a shorter long run this Saturday.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 20.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
149.5547.6416.110.00213.30
Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 47.00Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 46.002011 Spin Miles Miles: 52.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 16.00Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 91.30
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