Rosswog Running Blog

I hopped out of bed this morning and immediately went for an early morning; that is, no more noontime workouts after yesterday’s run.   Enjoying the sunrise, I ran the 5.8 miles up to the Mount Olympus trailhead, which is basically the top of 4500 South.  I kept an easy pace going up (i.e., completed the ascent in a time of 58:58), but tried to kick it into gear going back down by covering the first 3.41 miles of the descent in a time of 20:15 (i.e., a 5:57 minute per mile pace).  It absolutely takes practice to run downhill quickly without beating up your legs.  After I got back home, I decided to tack on a few more miles by taking the long way over to Smith’s in order to pick up some groceries (i.e., going north then west to 700 East before heading to 4500 South and back tracking to the store).  Plus, running back from the store with a gallon of milk is always a good workout for the arms.  The total distance of my running for today was 14.4 miles.

It was another short workout in regards to my non-running exercises in that I only completed 200 sit-ups and 28 push-ups.

Beginning my four days of tapering before the big race, I took it easy after work by just running 1.7 miles on the treadmill (i.e., 0.7 of a mile at an easy pace, while a mile at marathon pace).  After I got home, I went out for another run.  For this evening workout, I ran at an easy pace over to Saint Mark's Hospital and back home by way of Big Cottonwood Park for a total distance of 2.8 miles.

My daily non-running workout consisted of completing 200 sit-ups, 28 push-ups, and 50 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

It was day two of tapering for the Deseret News Marathon. After work, I ran 2.2 miles on the treadmill (1.2 miles at an easy pace; whereas, a single mile at marathon pace) before heading home to go out on evening run. For this second run, I jogged over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed two-and-a-half laps around the softball complex before heading back home for a total distance of 2.0 miles

In regards to my non-running workout, I accomplished 200 sit-ups, 28 push-ups, and 90 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

For me, it was day three of tapering for the marathon.  After wrapping up the end of my workweek (i.e., I’m taking Thursday and Friday off to prepare for the race), I hit the treadmill for a 3.3-mile run.  After a mile warm-up, I completed the next 2.2 miles at marathon-pace before running a tenth-of-a-mile to cool down.  On my way home, I stopped by the EnergySolutions Arena to pick up my D-News marathon pack before completing an easy 0.9 run through downtown to catch the bus home. 

For my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, and 50 (16 lbs) curls, and 10 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Today marked the last day of tapering for the D-News Marathon.  Needless to say, I cannot wait to put in some miles.  Since I had the day off of work, I went for a mid-morning run up to the Brickyard Shopping Plaza and back (it felt like it was around 90 degrees).  The total distance of this run was 4.1 miles at an easy.

Lastly, I kept my non-running workout short in that only I completed 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.

Happy Pioneer Day!  Following a few hours of sleep, my day started at 2:00 am.  You have to love the Deseret News Marathon’s early start time!  After changing into my racing gear; doing some light exercises (i.e., stretches, sit-ups, and push-ups), and confirming that I had everything I needed, I headed up to the University of Utah to catch the bus up to the starting line at Big Mountain.  Once at the starting line, my stomach was feeling a little upset; therefore, I got off my feet and took a nice hour-long nap under the starry sky.  A half-hour before the race, I began to make my final preparations.  Overlooking the lights of the city, I went through some pre-race stretches before dropping off my gear bag and heading to the starting line.

At exactly 5:30 am the race started to the traditional bagpipe music.  Strangely, I look forward to hearing the early morning bagpipe tunes every 24th of July; that is, it singles a time to withdraw all the training miles I deposited in the bank and have some fun!

For nearly the first four miles, I stayed with the lead pack (my miles splits were 5:21, 5:29, 5:29, and 5:50).  These opening miles are straight downhill; therefore, I think we were all relaxing and saving ourselves for the later/tougher parts of the course.  Knowing that I’m no way an elite runner, I knew it was just a matter of time until I was going to slowdown to my goal pace of 6:29 minutes per mile.

Once we hit the two-mile climb up the Little Mountain section of the course (around mile 5.5), the elite runners were pulling away (it’s amazing to watch these guys run; that is, they really make running a marathon look so easy).  Having run the D-News Marathon three times and the Salt Lake 10 Miler once, Little Mountain and I are old friends that unfortunately have not always gotten along.  For this two-mile ascent, I averaged 7:13 minutes per mile.  I was daydreaming about running sub-sevens over this part of the course.  However, running dreams that do not materialize offer great training motivation.

The remaining descent of Emigration Canyon went smoothly to Hogle Zoo.  This is where the course veers off on to Crestview Drive, then to Wasatch Drive, and over to Foothill Boulevard.  This is the segment of the course that has been most difficult for me in years past; therefore, the part of the course that I have trained on the most.  In short, this section is still very challenging to say the least.  Wow, I was not so much trying to run, but more like trying to gut out mile 21, which encompassed a steady climb up Foothill to Sunnyside Avenue.  I’m really just thankful for the 7:09 on this mile. 

Knowing that a sub-2:50 marathon was within my grasp, for the last part of the race I just focused on the fundamentals--breathing, remaining relaxed, picking-up my long legs, and drinking plenty of water.  In addition, there was a runner from Heber that was keeping a good fifth-of-a-mile in front of me for a good portion of the race, which really helped me keep up my pace; that is, without him I would just be racing my Garmin.  The runner in fourth place had some distance between us two; therefore, I sort of felt bad for this runner from Heber in that he had no one to push him along.  I absolutely wanted to catch up to him so that we could push each other, but he was just too fast.  

It felt absolutely awesome to finish in Liberty Park and the cheering crowd was beyond supportive!  I crossed the line with a time of 2:47:35 (i.e., a 6:23 minutes-per-mile pace), which happens to be a personal record.  For anyone that is wondering, the two Yasso 800 workouts that I did leading up to the race projected finish times of 2:48 and 2:45; therefore, this workout is pretty accurate in predicting marathon finishing times. 

My post-race recovery simply consisted of water, a few popsicles, bags of ice, a shady tree to lie under, and the excitement involved with watching the other runners come in along with the Days of 47 Parade festivities.  You have to love the 24th!  Participating in our state’s holiday always makes me proud to be a Utahan and I look forward to doing it again next year.

The day after the D-News Marathon, I’m always sore and this was no exception.  After I got up and limped around a little bit, I went straight out for a morning run that went from Big Cottonwood Park to the Cottonwood Country Club and back by way of Smith’s to pickup some groceries for breakfast.  The total distance of this run was 7.1 miles at an easy pace and I was able to workout some of my soreness in my legs.

In regards to my non-running workout, I accomplished 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.