My Running Log

St. George Marathon

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Location:

Lehi,UT,USA

Member Since:

Jan 01, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Personal bests since 2009:

  • 5K - 18:31 (Freedom Run, 2021)
  • 10K - 38:52 (Dana Point, 2009)
  • Half marathon - 1:25:54 (SLC, 2012)
  • Marathon - 3:02:40 (St. George, 2009)

Short-Term Running Goals:

  • Break 3:00 in a marathon
  • Run at least 5 days a week

Long-Term Running Goals:

  • Lifetime fitness
  • Run the Boston Marathon
  • Do an Ironman triathlon (someday)

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Air Pegasus 25 Lifetime Miles: 1220.37
Asics Equation 2 Lifetime Miles: 1198.81
Asics Blue And Silver Lifetime Miles: 930.43
Pearl Izumi Orange Streaks Lifetime Miles: 194.77
Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 2381.47
New Balance 690 Lifetime Miles: 313.68
New Balance 310 Lifetime Miles: 1120.96
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
48.3020.0026.200.0012.20106.70
Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 79.70Asics Equation 2 Miles: 20.00New Balance Miles: 7.00
Weight: 165.68
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Practiced the water stops again. I'm just going to have to stop when I drink. That will be best.

Ran 3 miles averaging 7:40 pace.

I felt pretty good during the day, but I've got some head congestion tonight. I don't think it will hinder me though because I feel fine overall. I've also had a sore right calf and sore ankle. It's weird. It's not like this came from training hard. So maybe I've had some lingering minor injury that's trying to repair itself now that I've been running less. But my legs feel good in training.

Here are my thoughts on the race.  I started the year weighing about 187 and not running at all. I didn't think I would want to do a marathon. But then I got into it and with some encouragement from people got excited about qualifying for Boston. In both of my previous marathons, I didn't really prepare well for them. In the first one I took two months off before and ran it cold turkey. The second one I was semi prepared but not really. This time I want to do much better. I also want to qualify for Boston. I feel confident in being able to do that. I'd love to go faster than 3:10 and will try to do that. But if not, I'll still be happy for having trained well all year and now weighing 166.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 166.60
Comments(4)
Race: St. George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:02:42, Place overall: 197, Place in age division: 34
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
0.000.0026.200.000.0026.20

Well, let's see. This was a fun race. My wife, daughter, and I went down on Friday and stayed with Dustin and his family. They are always great hosts and friends. In the afternoon we stopped by the expo and ran into some other friends. Later we went on a short hike and then had a great spaghetti dinner.

In the morning we got up at 4 am and made it on one of the buses in plenty of time. I got kind of scared by the Winchester Hill as we were driving, but it didn't turn out to be as bad as it looked. At the starting line, it was nice that I was able to go into the "elite" area. I'm not elite, but I guess my estimated time was low enough that they let me in. It's worth trying to become elite, though, because they have special potties and fires, etc. It was fun to meet some of the bloggers. The time went by quickly, and soon we were off.

I had decided to run with Clyde and Logan's 3:00 pace group just to see what I could do. I wasn't sure what I was capable of, but it was worth a shot. Things went well for the first 3-4 miles. I ran with Dave S. Around mile 4 or 5 we fell off the 3:00 group. I think the group went through the fourth mile in about 6:16. The pace felt OK to me at that time, but I just felt like it was pushing the pace too hard too fast for me, so I backed off, as did Dave S. We ran together down to Veio, and then Dave thought he might have to stop due to his lingering injuries. But fortunately he was able to keep going. We stayed together until about mile 10 (which was nice to be together on the hills).

I felt great on the hills until about miles 11 and 12. But it wasn't bad. I had warned myself that those hills would try to trick me into thinking the entire race would be that hard, and that's what happened. But fortunately the downhill came again soon. I went through the half marathon at exactly 1:30:00, which was awesome. That's a PR by five minutes!

I just kept telling myself that I would hold a steady pace and then if I was in reach of breaking three hours at the end then I would see what I could do. This was good. I just stayed relaxed and was running below 7:00 almost every mile. It was especially helpful to stay relaxed on the steep downhills. I'm pretty sure I would have regretted it if I pounded through those miles too hard. In fact, this was one of my keys to success...to run a strong, even pace but not to where I was straining.

I saw my wonderful wife and daughter at mile 23. That gave me a big boost. Huge boost. And then I struggled through the last 3 miles. I looked at my watch way too many times, and it didn't make the miles go any faster. But to my surprise, my mile splits were still decent. The worst one was mile 26 at 7:41. So I didn't really crash.

I brought some Clif Shot Blocks with me, and they were good. I ate half a pack at miles 5, 10, and 16. I probably should have eaten the last one around 21, but I couldn't stand the thought of eating any more. That may have caused me to lose steam at the end. The water stops were fine. I just grabbed cups and ran a few steps to stay out of people's way, stopped for a second and drank it down. 

I was happy with my time. It qualified me to run Boston and was a 17 minute PR. I tried to BQ 4 years ago, but I didn't prepare enough and failed. So it was nice to do the preparation and succeed this time. I wasn't really disappointed to miss 3 hours. If I stick with marathons, I believe I can exceed that goal in the future. One thing that really pleased me was to see that Dave S finished and set a 12 minute PR.

The last thing I want to say is that I'm really grateful to Dustin not only for letting us stay with him but for encouraging me to get back into running about a year ago and commenting on my blog (along with many others) throughout the year. It really was a motivation to know that someone was going to notice if you did a good workout. And thanks to the rest of you who have gone out of your way to post comments. And most of all, thanks to my wonderful wife and daughter for being so supportive of me pursuing this hobby.

Oh yeah, one more thing. It was a mental victory for me that even though I was slowing down at the end that I found another gear and passed some people in the last 0.2. 

What's next? We want to go to Boston 2010 if we can manage it. Besides that, I want to work on my speed and speed endurance. I hope to do a fast short race (5K or 10K) before the end of the year. 

Here are my splits from the marathon:

6:53

6:44

6:27

6:23

6:35

6:30

6:34

7:24 (uphill)

7:20 (more uphill)

7:01

7:12

7:00

6:51

6:59

6:49

6:42

6:55

7:00

7:23 (hill)

7:00

6:54

7:12

7:15

6:55

7:25

7:41

1:29 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 26.20
Weight: 0.00
Comments(10)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.000.000.000.000.001.00

Today I ran one mile just to keep in the habit. The legs are quite sore. Especially when going down stairs. But I'm excited to get back into training soon. So that's a good sign.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 1.00
Weight: 167.80
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.000.000.000.000.001.00

Another 1 mile loop around the neighborhood. I enjoyed it again. This week is going to be totally whatever mileage I feel like, even if very short. The legs are about 50% as sore as yesterday.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 1.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

3 miles on the treadmill in 24 minutes.

Legs felt fine today while walking around. Barely any soreness.

During the run I pushed the pace in the 2nd mile and ran it in 7:30. That was plenty hard for today. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 165.40
Comments(2)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.500.000.000.000.003.50

Ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill. Averaged about 7:30 per mile. Was only going to run 3 but felt great so I went a little farther. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.50
Weight: 165.20
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Ran the 3 mile loop down to 9800 south. I went watch-less, which was actually very cool. It felt like I was pushing the pace, but I'll never know how fast.

I found a good deal on a pair of Asics shoes. They are pretty standard. Nothing fancy. And are for neutral runners. After two discounts, they were like $31 at Kohls. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 166.40
Comments(2)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
2.003.000.000.000.005.00

5 miles on the treadmill. 34:30. Threw in some fast miles (as fast as 6:00 pace for 0.5 mile), and it felt great. I want to do this often in hopes of making it so 6:00 pace doesn't feel as hard.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.503.500.000.000.005.00

Another 5 mile treadmill run. 1st mile in 8:01. 3.5 tempo miles. Threw in 1.5 miles at 6:00 pace. Finished with a 0.5 mile cooldown. Overall time was 33:50. Faster than yesterday. My new goal is to get to where I can run 5 miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 165.20
Comments(2)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Three miles in just under 24:00 on the treadmill. Then I did some seated rows and bench presses to try to get my back strengthened and get rid of this back pain.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 165.20
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.500.000.000.003.505.00

5 miles on the treadmill. Did 3.5 miles of random hills at level 5 and 7:00 pace. Afterwards I feel rejuvenated rather than worn down. That's nice.

We don't really have the space or the money for a treadmill, but I was looking around at them today. You can get a pretty good one for $700 at CostCo. Someday... 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
0.000.000.000.000.000.00

I weighed under 165 for the first time this year. I think the drop was from not drinking enough water last night though. 

I feel like going for a run but instead will work on homework and save my energy for my time trial tomorrow. 

Weight: 164.60
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
4.003.000.000.000.007.00

Had planned to do a 5-K time trial today because I have been feeling good and wanted to see what I could do. But this morning I didn't feel that good, and I had a busy day, so I just ran on the treadmill and threw in some tempo running. Here are my splits approximately:

8:25 (warmup)

7:45 (still warming up)

7:00

6:40

6:40

6:20

8:20 (cooldown)

So I still got some decent running in there despite not feeling great. The middle 5 miles were in about 34:20.

That makes an entire week of treadmill only runs. But I'm fine with that for now. I guess I got in 25 miles this week, which was perfect.

Also did some seated rows and pull downs to strengthen the back. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 7.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
2.003.000.000.000.005.00

5 miles on the treadmill in 34:30. Felt pretty good. Had a mile in 6:00 in there.

It's kinda nice to get your workout done in 40 minutes total. 

Asics Equation 2 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 166.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

3 miles on the treadmill in 22:40.

Seated rows, lat pull downs, calf raises. 3x15 

New Balance Miles: 3.00
Weight: 165.20
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.000.000.000.000.001.00

Didn't want to spend time running, so I just ran my 1 mile loop. Felt really good.

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 1.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.900.000.000.004.106.00

Treadmill, random hills. 1 mile warmup in 8:00.

4.1 miles at Level 7, 7 minute pace.

0.9 miles cooldown. 

This was challenging but doable. Next week the goal will be Level 8. 

Asics Equation 2 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 166.20
Comments(1)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.503.500.000.000.005.00

5 miles on the treadmill in 34:30.

3 sets of 15 reps for weights

Only got 20 miles for the week, but I'm OK with that. Maybe next week will be more. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
2.004.000.000.000.006.00

6 miles on the treadmill in 40:20. 1.5 miles warmup. 4 miles tempo (2 miles @ 6:00 pace in there). 0.5 mile cooldown. Hit the 5 mile mark at 33:13, which is better than I've done so far.

Starting to ponder doing a 50 miler. I must be crazy. So I probably won't, but it's still fun to think about.

Asics Equation 2 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 165.40
Comments(3)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Lifted weights today: arm pulls, lat pulldowns, situps, calf raises. 3x15.

3 miles in 22:40. Felt great. 

New Balance Miles: 3.00
Weight: 165.80
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.400.000.000.004.606.00

Ran hill workout on the treadmill. Level 8. 7:00/mile pace. Was really not feeling good. Thought about backing off, but wanted to finish the workout. Even though it was Level 8, the random hills didn't turn out as hard as last week. So we'll see how it is with Level 9 next week.

Funny thing today. I got ready for my run in the dark. Turns out I had one Nike shoe and one Asics shoe. Didn't notice till I got home. So I guess I'll log half of my miles for Nike and half for the other. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 3.00Asics Equation 2 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 166.20
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
5.000.000.000.000.005.00

5 miles on the treadmill in 39 minutes. My shins, calves, and glutes have been really sore today. That must mean my weight training and hill workout did some good.

Today at least I wore two of the same shoe.

I signed up for a Turkey Trot in California. 4 weeks away. Should be a lot of fun. 

Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 164.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
1.000.000.000.000.001.00

Did my 1 mile loop today nice and slow. Have the stomach flu.

21 miles for the week.

New Balance Miles: 1.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesThreshold MilesMarathon Pace MilesTrack speed mileageHill mileageTotal
48.3020.0026.200.0012.20106.70
Air Pegasus 25 Miles: 79.70Asics Equation 2 Miles: 20.00New Balance Miles: 7.00
Weight: 165.68
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