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St. George 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
117.2534.452.500.00154.20
Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 33.20Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 73.80Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 12.002011 Spin Miles Miles: 16.00Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 6.202011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 221.50Tandem 2011 Miles: 174.502011 Trail Miles Miles: 34.002011 Swimming Miles: 2.80
Race: St. George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:17:34, Place overall: 430, Place in age division: 48
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

What a great race for me! I really only hit the wall with about 2 miles left, but even then I was able to run all the way to the finish.

I didn't run at all on Thursday or Friday before the race. Lisa took the day off work Friday and I spent the morning selecting songs for my running playlist that were between 160 and 180 bpm. Unfortunately, the only songs that I had the data for were from mp3's and these are mainly from my old CD's collection. So Earth Wind & Fire, Journey, Smash Mouth, etc. But there were some really good songs. I have heard that 180 steps per minute is the optimul efficiency for running. After trying it in this marathon I'm a big believer.

Lisa drove and we rode to St. George with a friend for a passenger (Terry Foust) who just ran the Wasatch 100 three weeks prior. The time passed quickly with great conversation. We went to the expo and got our numbers, talked to friends and then dropped Terry off at his in-laws and checked into the La Quinta and took a quick ice bath. Lisa and I went back to the expo for the Spahghetti dinner and returned to the hotel to watch BYU pull off a miracle win and went to bed for a very restless night of sleep.

I woke up after minimal sleep and got ready including drinking 1/2 a bottle of Powerade. Lisa and I went downstairs for breakfast. The first person I saw looked like a ripped kenyan man who made me feel like I wasn't a runner and I should just go back to bed. I grabbed a bagel and a yogurt, put them in my bag and headed out the door. I said hi to Jeff Shadley and met Terry and Troy Anderson and rode up to the start. My goal was sub 3:20. This has been my goal ever since I decided to run a marathon--10 marathons ago. After a porta potty stop and another trip to the weeds, I got in the corral with the 3:15 pacer and the gun went off. I said a prayer for a positive experience and took it as a sign from heaven that the first song on my playlist was the Fisherman Song by Mae. A great way to start the run.

I stuck with the 3:15 pacer not really caring how close he was, but not wanting to run ahead of him and ran to the cadence of the music. 3:15 was not my goal. 3:19:59 would be acceptable and thrilling. I decided not to look at my watch for a while, but just run comfortably with the pacer in my sights and to the cadence of the music. I planned to drink at every aid station and fuel every five miles. I had "Stinger"s for fuel for the first half and GU for the 2nd half. Everything felt very easy and I found myself ahead of the pacer climbing the Veyo hill and for a few miles after that. But I let him catch me. I looked at my watch at 10.84 miles for the first time. Average pace was 7:29. Everything good so far. I caught a friend, Rick Nef, at an aid station and we ran together for a few minutes before I let him go. I stuck with the cadence that was comfortable to me and ran with the music. Across the Dammeron Valley there was a headwind, so I tucked in behind the group that was with the pacer and let them break the wind for me. The pelaton did a nice job. At mile 14 I was a bit behind the pacer, but the route heads downhill and everything felt good. Lisa cheered for me at mile 16 at the top of Snow Canyon. She had ridden her bike there and had a bottle of Heed ready for me. I had been carrying my hat the whole time and intended to give it to her. No hat next time. Too much heat retention. I forgot to ditch the hat. I drank some Heed and tossed the bottle.

About mile 18 I came up to a girl with the best mantra I've ever seen. It carried me for a while. "The only good race pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die!" It was awesome. I read it several times as I approached the last real hill of the day. At the base of the hill, I grabbed a half drank (dranken, drunken...) water bottle and decided it was okay to unscrew the cap and dump the rest over my head. It felt good. At the remaining rest stops I drank one cup of Gatorade and dumped a cup of water over my head. I at my two GU's along the way and tossed my last Stinger (which I love!), but let's ditch the extra weight.

At mile 22 I passed my Kenyan friend from the hotel as he stretched out something that wasn't working right. At mile 24 I was pretty beat, but by now I knew that if I just kept running I would realize my sub 3:20 goal. Lisa was there and cheered for me again. I ditched the hat. My watch read 7:29 average min/mi. I ran through some water misters and had 10% of the race left. I passed people walking and told myself to "Run through the carnage" which is a phrase I use to refer to all the suffering people that have hit the wall near the end of the race--Carnage. I was running out of gas myself when I saw my nephew Lamon and his wife Mary at mile 25 and they called out to me with a great cheer. It was awesome. I needed the lift. I turned to run down to the final turn and made it there with 1/2 mile left in the race. I was beat. I ran to the beginning of the chute and wanted to stop desperately with 0.2 miles left. Lisa called out to me to get moving. I thought of Audrey Hepburn's cheer for Dover in My Fair Lady, "Come on Dover, move your bloomin A...!" What else could I do? I ran it in at 3:17:34. Goal met. I got my medal, did two loops through the mist area and started looking for Lisa. It was sweet to see her and receive her congratulations. She is so supportive and was just as excited as I was. I met friends coming into the finish and enjoyed the food and the moment.

In the end my splits were positive by only 35 seconds. A near perfectly timed race. I credit blessings from above for a great day. I think the music was a huge factor and all things including my hydration and nutrition plan, my tapering as well as my maintenance plan to run at least two 10 milers per week while training on the bike over the summer for the LOTOJA all seemed to work out. Anything can happen on game day. It sure was nice to have things work out so well on this day.

My splits follow:

1 7:36
2 7:26
3 7:03
4 7:10
5 7:13
6 7:10
7 7:11
8 8:13
9 8:02
10 7:43
11 7:54
12 7:30
13 7:18
14 7:37
15 7:13
16 6:59
17 7:23
18 7:21
19 7:45
20 7:31
21 7:18
22 7:47
23 7:41
24 7:30
25 8:03
26 7:56
27 2:02

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 26.20
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.000.000.000.001.00

Recovery walk/jog with Lisa.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 1.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

Revovery jog.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

An easy four miles. Beautiful sunrise and then a nice downpour for the last two miles. Enjoyed the run though. Legs still sore.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 4.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

First time on the treadmill with all the rain. Yuck. Treadmills are boring! It will take a while to get numb to it. Outside is so much better.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

Easy treadmill run.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 4.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

Spin class for one hour and then 3 miles on the treadmill.

2011 Spin Miles Miles: 16.00Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 3.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.700.002.500.006.20

2.5 miles of 800 meter repeats with Nathaniel at the Davis High Cross Country team practice. Lots of fun. Coaches are awesome.

1.5 mile cooldown with Nathaniel.

2.2 miles with Gidget after we got home.

In the afternoon, Lisa and I took the tandem out for a nice ride from Mountain Green to the East Canyon Dam. 42.5 miles. Little rain, little wind, little sunshine. Some pretty fall colors. Average 20.3mph.

Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 6.202011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 42.50Tandem 2011 Miles: 42.50
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.300.000.000.003.30

3.3 miles on TM. 

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 3.30
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

Lunch run from work up the Ogden Parkway to the mouth of the Canyon and back.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 10.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

2 miles warming up my son Nathan and chasing him around at the Davis School District Regional Meet. He did great with a PR on 3 miles of 21:12. I'm excited to continue to work with him to build his base.

 Came home and went out for an easy 6 miles at 8:27 average.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Lisa and I played hookey from our work today and drove down to the base of American Fork Canyon. Then we rode our tandem over the Alpine Loop to Sundance Ski Resort where we had lunch. The climb up this side is 3,000 feet. Then we went back up to the summit (a 2,000 foot climb) and down American Fork Canyon again with a little side trip up to Tibble Fork Lake. Beautiful ride with the leaves changing and the snow on Mt. Timpanogos. The we drove to our old neighborhood and checked in on a friend who has just beaten breast cancer. Tough battle. Awesome spirit! Then we dropped by to see each of our parents before driving home. What a terrific day!

2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 40.00Tandem 2011 Miles: 40.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

Five easy miles around work at lunchtime.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

Went on a tandem ride from the Zoo up Immigration Canyon and over to the top of Big Mountain. About 3,000 feet of climbing in all.

Returned home and Lisa and I took the boys out for a hike up Baer Canyon. 4 miles roundtrip and about 1,500 feet of climbing.

Fall is spectacular this year!

2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 30.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 4.00Tandem 2011 Miles: 30.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

A nice easy morning run in the dark with the streets damp from an overnight rain and LOTS OF CRAZY TEENAGERS DRIVING TO SCHOOL. It was very peaceful.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

First long early morning miles on the treadmill.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 10.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.252.250.000.007.50

Progressive run on the treadmill starting at 6mph for the first quarter mile and then increasing the speed (at 1% incline) by .1 each quarter mile. I ended up running the last .17 at 6:40 pace before the hour was up and the treadmill went into limp mode and I walked out the last .08. Average pace was 8:06, but I felt stronger in the last few miles than I expected given that I've been so tired lately. Anyway, glad to start adding a little speed back in again.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 7.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Eight easy miles on the treadmill.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

Enjoyed a fun hike with the kids up Lambs Canyon in the beautiful fall colors. It was wonderful. The kids ran down the canyon most of the way. Great colors. Climbed 2200 feet.

Afternoon ride with Lisa. 1st time in a long time on my single bike. Enjoyed the ride with my wife and my neighbor Chad.

2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 16.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Rode up to the temple and back. Great climb. Took 14 minutes on the climb. Then off to the football game with the family.

2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 31.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Ran the shoreline trail by Ogden Canyon. Beautiful run, but my head was blurry. Just not very focused. I ended up tripping and getting scraped up a little. Not bad really, but that's the first time I've fallen while running. Clutz.

2011 Trail Miles Miles: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.002.000.000.007.00

Seven miles on the TM today.

Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 9.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.001.000.000.005.00

Swam 1.3 miles this morning. Completed 1 mile in 44 minutes (not very fast!). Then swam until the hour was up. 46 laps in a 25 yard pool.

Glorious trail run (with no falling on my face) during lunch. Funnest run I've had since St. George.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 5.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 5.002011 Swimming Miles: 1.30
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

Feeling really tired today. Talked myself into going for a walk in the afternoon. Ended up running two miles.

Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 2.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.001.000.000.006.00

Swam one mile in 39 minutes. Learned that a swimming mile is actually 1,650 yards instead of 1,750 (1500 meters). Improved my hour swim to 50 laps or 1.5 miles. I know it's only my second time since an initial swim 2 months ago, but I feel like I'm learning quickly. Watched some videos on Youtube about triatholon swimming that were helpful.

Went on a great lunchtime run on the south side of Ogden Canyon on the shoreline trail. Beautiful! The south side is much prettier than the north in terms of foliage. So fun to pump it uphill and then fly downhill. It feels like your winding up the rubber band on your boy scout rocket and then letting it go on the way down.

2011 Trail Miles Miles: 6.002011 Swimming Miles: 1.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Chilly ride (32 degrees!) on the tandem out to the ranch and back. Averaged 20.3mph for first 43 miles. Wind on the causeway slowed us down a little, plus, we brought no food, so we ran out of gas but we ended up at 19.8mph for the 62 miles. Good ride.

2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 62.00Tandem 2011 Miles: 62.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.002.000.000.006.00

Went for a good, but tough run up the Indian Trail at the mouth of Ogden Canyon. The trail climbed 1,500 feet in 3 miles. Then I turned around and ran back. Great trail. I can't believe how quickly you can go from being at your desk in the city to what feels like the middle of nowhere and then back again. Cool sort of surreal experience.

2011 Trail Miles Miles: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
117.2534.452.500.00154.20
Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 33.20Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Miles: 73.80Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Miles: 12.002011 Spin Miles Miles: 16.00Saucony Jazz 13 Miles: 6.202011 Bike Miles (on Road) Miles: 221.50Tandem 2011 Miles: 174.502011 Trail Miles Miles: 34.002011 Swimming Miles: 2.80
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