Striders 30 K in Ogden, 3rd place. Actual finish time was 1:50:38, but I took the wrong turn on the last mile and ended up adding an extra 0.24 that also added a downhill followed by a steeper uphill than the original course to make up. Fortunately, my Course Tool helped estimate the difference. It said at 5:50 flat pace equivalent, the wrong way would have taken 1:38 longer. The race directors apparently overheard me talking about the wrong turn and adjusted my time. At least, I had 1:50:38 on watch, and my official finish time was 1:48:37. This is actually a very good guess at what I would have run without the wrong turn. The detour alone cost me 1:38 physically. Half way through it I realized I was off the course, and I was not sure how much I was adding. I saw a big hill to make things worse. I lost the focus because the goals I've set for myself earlier now had to be readjusted. The natural tendency in that situation is to ease off to a comfortable pace at least for a while. Had I been on the normal course, I would have seen my split at 18 miles and would have shifted gears to get a solid sub-1:49:00. Nevertheless, the mishap did not change the placing - Paul and Steve were too far ahead, and Ken Richardson was too far behind.
Coming into the race, I was just planning on a long tempo on tired legs. Stomach flu on Wednesday while doing high mileage did not help with glycogen stores. Or maybe it did, after all. I did not back off on the miles on Friday, but I was panic-carboloading Thursday night and all day Friday. Ted brought me some Hornet Juice, which makes you burn more fat during the run. I think that definitely helped. Paul and Bob took off, Steve and I followed them, and quickly caught them about 0.5 into the race. Then we ran like friend on a long run for a while, very conversational, telling stories, etc. I was not much of a conversation partner, but I did chip in when I could. I was amazed at how conversational the other three were at sub-5:50 pace on rolling hills at 5000 feet. I felt sluggish in the first three miles, then started feeling better, and after 5 I started feeling really good, although not as good as Bob, Paul, and Steve. Mile splits were (going by the markers) 5:50 - 5:54 - 5:46 - 5:42 - 5:43. We were rolling a bit down, but still we were rolling. 28:55 at 5 miles. At 6 miles I missed the Gatorade from the hand of the volunteer, and stopped to get it being very concerned about bonking later on. Then I was able to close the gap. During the early miles, HR was around 154. When closing the gap, HR hit 163, and it felt sustainable for a while, although not the whole race.
Then we started a gradual ascent at about 1% grade. There was a 5:50 mile at HR of 158, and then on the mile from 8 to 9 the effort picked up. Were still on the climb, and the split was 5:41. My HR hit 161, and I started to hurt. I started feeling more confident in my glycogen stores and decided to skip the next water stop, just to try to hang on at fast pace longer, then maybe they will end the surge, and I might have company for another couple of miles. But they were running very strong not letting up at all. I got dropped at 9.25, and eased off to a nice marathon pace effort. HR was at 155. 57:52 at 10 miles. Now we are on the Ogden Marathon course and going in right direction. Next mile in 5:40, downhill, but into a bit of a headwind. Another mile in 5:43. This is good, I am almost going the same pace I did in the half-marathon, and I am further along into the race than I was back then. And it hurts a lot less in spite of the mileage.
The downhill quickly ended, now the nasty rolling hills, and this time we are rolling up. Still doing slightly sub-6:00 miles, that is very good this late on those hills. 13 mile split was 1:15:14, that makes 1:15:53 half. I was very happy about that half. Three weeks earlier I raced a half that dropped quite a bit of elevation (I think about 600 ft) in 1:14:29. This one maybe dropped 50-100 feet net, but the rolling and climbing was much more serious than in the half earlier. And this is en-route in a 30 K! 1:27:08 at 15 miles. Very encouraging, still going sub-6:00. Next mile in 5:55, followed by 6:07 on a more steady uphill. Nothing to complain about. And then somehow I ended up following the Ogden Marathon course instead of going straight to the Red Moose Lodge. Then I see a downhill. I do not remember that downhill being at the end of the half. Bad sign. Then I see the road ahead of me that I know leads to Ogden. Downtown Ogden is 12.5 miles a way. I was planning on a 30 K tempo today, not a 30 mile tempo! Fortunately, I saw a turn-off to the Red Moose Lodge, and now I new where I was. So I ran to the finish the best way I knew. Backed off just in case. At the finish, I found out that Bob's calf decided to give me $50. He cramped up and was forced to stop at 16 miles. So I ended up 3rd, and that also gave me 3rd in the whole series. Paul and Steve ran amazingly well, especially Steve coming back from running a marathon a week earlier. 1:45:18 for Paul, and 1:45:33 for Steve. Just think about it - 3x10 K back to back each in a bit over 35:00 on average at 5000 feet on rolling hills and no elevation drop a week after a marathon! Ran with the kids in the evening. Another high mileage week.
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