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Top of Utah Half Marathon

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Member Since:

Oct 18, 2013

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

P.R.'s 

800 - 1:51.10 (Utah State Meet 2010)

Mile - 4:06.15  (4:01.80 altitude adjusted) (BYU Robison Invitational 2008)

1/2 Marathon aided - 1:07:38 (Deseret News Class 1/2 Marathon 2014), 1:07:50 (Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon 2014) 

1/2 Marathon unaided - 1:10.06 (St. George 1/2 2014)

Marathon aided - 2:25.30 (Top of Utah 2010)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run faster in 2015 than I did in 2014

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay competitive at the local races over the next 10 years

Personal:

I got married to my beautiful wife Alisha on 08/01/2008.  We have 3 beautiful children Mitchell (born 04/20/2010), Payson (03/05/2012), and Penny (12/03/2013).  

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Fila Finest Hour Memory Foam Lifetime Miles: 362.77
Fila Finest Hour Pair #2 Lifetime Miles: 420.92
Fila Prompt Lifetime Miles: 202.90
Fila Speedweave Lifetime Miles: 240.70
Saucony Racing Flats Lifetime Miles: 90.85
New Balance 490 Lifetime Miles: 463.86
New Balance RC 1600 Lifetime Miles: 187.58
Saucony Mirage 3 Lifetime Miles: 375.63
Barefoot Lifetime Miles: 19.50
Fila Strides Lifetime Miles: 377.53
Kinvara TR Lifetime Miles: 62.03
Kinvara 4 Lifetime Miles: 194.69
New Balance RC 1600 Pair #2 Lifetime Miles: 17.35
New Balance 480v4 Lifetime Miles: 193.75
Asics Gel Contend Lifetime Miles: 72.20
Race: Top of Utah Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:07:49, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 2
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.8513.3519.20

I didn't really know what to expect coming into this race after having run the Skyline Marathon just last Saturday.  I honestly would have been happy with 6th place.  My main goal today was to pick up some circuit points.  But, as the week went on I was surprised at how fast my legs were recovering and by yesterday I was convinced that I was recovered and could run a solid race.

I woke up at 3:40 so I could leave my house at 4:00.  So it was another early Saturday morning.  I've had a lot of those this summer.  I warmed up 3.75 miles and did 4 strides for a a total of 4 miles before the race.  I was very please with the weather as I had thought we were going to get dumped on.  I saw a lot of familiar faces at the start line and was amazed at the amount of elites that were there.  My target pace for the first 6 miles was 5:00-5:05.  Jason went out quick from the gun and I packed it up with Jake and Fritz for the first several miles Fritz and I caught up to Jason at about 5 I believe and I was feeling good so I just tried to keep it rolling.  I actually felt better from miles 5-9 than I did for miles 1-4 which I thought was odd.  I could tell by the sounds that I was slowly building a gap, but when we turned at the Maverick to go up the Millville hills I turned to look back and swore under my breath when I saw that Fritz and Jake weren't as far back as I had hoped.  I tried to work the hill hard but when we had to turn up again off of what I thought was the final straightaway, that killed me mentally.  Jake eventually caught me at the crest of the hill.  I stayed with him for maybe a whole 10 meters and then turned and said good race and then gave up on winning and tried to concentrate on holding off Fritz.  I barely managed to hold off Fritz in the end and held on for 2nd place.

Including the Ogden Marathon, I have run 7 races since the Ogden Marathon.  In 6 out the 7 I have taken 2nd place.  The one exception being a 1st place finish in the Ute Stamped Fun Run in Nephi so that one doesn't really count.  There seems to be some invisible barrier that I can't seem to bust through.  No not really all of the guys that have beaten me are very legitimate runners and I haven't felt bad about a single one of those 2nd place finishes.  

After leading for much of the race I really would have liked to win today, but I really feel blessed to have taken 2nd in such a deep field especially coming off of a very difficult marathon last week.  Although, I must say that I believe that the trail races are easier to recover from than the road marathons.  It has been a lot of fun to be running at a high level again.  I just hope I can continue for a while longer before having any serious injuries.

Miles splits: (Disclosure this was using the auto lap on my watch and my watch usually measures miles about .02 miles short)

5:08, 4:58, 5:03, 5:00, 4:52, 4:51, 4:49, 5:01, 5:02, 5:02, 5:04, 5:36, 5:08.  So while those show a little faster than what they really were, it is pretty clear by looking at them where I lost the race.  

Hats off to Jake he ran smart and solid like always.  

Cooled down 2.1 miles with Jake, Fritz, Jason, and Coyle.  

New Balance RC 1600 Miles: 17.10Kinvara 4 Miles: 2.10
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From RileyCook on Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 21:35:17 from 73.52.134.194

Great race Steve! That's very impressive coming off a marathon and especially against several great runners. You're first place finish is a "Big" race is coming! Just stay the course.

Mile 12 is killer and unless you really ramp yourself up for it mentally it can drain you. That mile is so much more mental that people think. Next year plan early in the race to attack it and you'll see that split come way down.

You've had a great season and I'm exciting to see how you wrap it up at STG.

From Jake K on Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 21:40:26 from 98.202.128.218

Good run today man. You were really strong. You're due for a big win and if you keep running like you have been, you'll get it.

From Steve on Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 09:34:38 from 66.87.126.168

This is crazy. The pace you ran that mountain marathon in Saturday should have taken 3-4 minutes off your half. Sweet run!

From JPark on Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 21:13:57 from 67.172.224.201

Wow! I second Steve. How you were able to run that well after the huge race last week is beyond me. Congratulations!

From Fritz on Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 21:30:50 from 98.202.9.237

Great job Steve. Very impressive, especially considering you ran the trail marathon a week go. I agree with the others that big race win is on the horizon. Enjoy the rest of your build up to STG.

From Matt Poulsen on Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 11:05:57 from 66.7.112.65

Excellent race, Steve! Very impressive! Even more impressive given your trail marathon last weekend. You are in great shape right now. Keep it up.

From Kendall on Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 16:57:30 from 208.187.252.62

Congrats Steve. Sorry to have missed a Jake, Steve, Fritz (1-2-3) finish. Nice job guys.

From Superfly on Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 09:14:52 from 64.255.89.100

Awesome job... after the full hard marathon a week prior... this is very very good. Your marathon shape is gonna be amazing for STG. Sub 2:20 for sure!

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