I peaked at the right time today and just had an awesome experience overall and won in 2:36:18 and second place was 2:38:47. I was pushed at the top and was more aggressive than I planned. I actually trusted my abilities and now know I don't have to be conservative. I will post more later, but unfortunately I need to get out and mow the lawn.
Continued.......
Got sometime to do the full race report. I
got to bed last night at 8:30pm and really didn't sleep the greatest,
because my wife was sick. She kept getting up with a high fever, and
had to vomit once. Then my son woke us up around 12am, because he
needed a glass of water. Finally, I just got up at 3:45 but I
really wasn't tired because of all the rest I got for the whole week.
I was really energized and ready to roll, and was very anxious. I ate a
bowl of oatmeal as soon as I got up to give it time to digest. Then I
got everything ready and headed up to the Red Lion Hotel at 5:25am to
get on the 5:45am bus. The race starts at 6:30am so I warmed up a
bit. I don't know what it was but my legs were just on fire wanting to
run. I felt so much energy in my legs for the start of the race
(I think the good taper really was the key). All try to give you some detail about this course layout. This course is
like the first half of TOU (Top Of Utah Marathon), but it's not all
downhill for the first 13 miles like the elevation shows, and the first
half is ougher than TOU . You have a uphill for a half mile at the
6 1/2 mile mark, and a little uphill at miles 9 and 11. The second
half is by far tougher than TOU, because of the four rolling hills that
are more so uphill than downhill. I knew I had my work cut out for me
to achieve a 2:40 and under. The last 5 miles of the course is completely flat.
Chuck Engle last night flew in to run this
race, and he had set the course record at (2:41) two years ago. I had
no idea that he was running. He called the race director and got into
the race the night before the race. I knew he would be pushing the
pace so I really had to focus, and hopefully be able to stay with him.
My plan was to stick at a 6 minute pace and some at 5:55 for the first
13 miles. Well that changed when mister marathon junkie showed up.
One thing to mention is he's an awesome guy, and gives Glory to God in all his races. He's a great friend that I've corresponded with over the years, and I really look up to his awesome running.
Start of Race:: First
mile Chuck went out and I stayed right behind him staying at a 5:10 pace for the first half mile, and at that point we past a rabbit that went
out way to fast (you have to have one in every marathon). First mile
we finished at 5:27 and I was right behind Chuck in second place. The
second mile and third mile I hit a 5:43 pace, and Chuck extended the
lead a little. He was probably running a 5:40 pace, and the lead was 3
seconds or so. Then on the four mile it kind of flattens out from the
three down hill miles, and I got a little aggressive and past Chuck at
a 5:51 pace. From that point I increased my lead with mile splits at 5
and 6 at 5:47, 5:51., and my legs were wanting to go faster but I knew
that might be a mistake so early in the race. Now, mile 7 is interesting this
year, they changed the course where you turn left and go uphill for
half a mile than you loop around and go downhill and follow the
original course. At this point it was nice that I could see how big of
a lead I had which was probably 1 minute by then, because of the nice loop back. Miles 7, 8, 9 (5:57,
5:59, 6:01) I was cruising along and increased my lead. What's really
nice about this marathon is they don't close the road so my wife drove
down to mile 9 and handed me my own water and gel which I took at that
point. Side Note...
My wife is a hero today, because she had a 102 fever while doing
this, and she went to the doctor after the marathon awards (when the
temperature was in the 90's) and we found out she had strep throat and
an ear infection. Now I told her don't you come out to the race and
drive the course with me if your sick before I left for the race, but
she did it anyways. She told me that she wouldn't miss the race for
the world. She took my grandparents with her and I was so excited to
see my grandpa and grandma watch me run for the first time. They
pretty much followed me on the course from mile 9 to mile 23 giving me
water, gels and sports beans. My wife is the true marathon hero and
runner today being so sick. I love you Honey! Onward to the race again....
The next mile is flat with some downhill and I don't know why I
hit this split so good, (maybe seeing my wife) but I ran 5:40 and it
felt really easy. I hit the 10th mile at 58 minutes and that was very inspiring, because I felt that I had lost any steam in my legs and I felt so good. Mile 11 is flat with a uphill of only .2 in the
mile and I ran that in a 5:48. Mile 12 is a downhill and I hit that
split at 5:43, and was increasing my lead by over a minute and 30
seconds. Being in the lead was so weird because I just felt I had to keep focusing on me and not what was behind, and at the same time be aggressive. The breathing , the fresh energized legs, and being aggressive
was giving me confidence. After this mile you turn in the housing
section of Inkom on (guess what) Inkom Rd. This mile as a small .1
meter uphill that isn't very hard but for some reason every time I run
this I slow down to almost like a crawl it feels (maybe it's do to the
turning). But after going over it I always can continue at my original
pace. What's funny is the little mole hill is the easiest on the
course. I finished the 13th mile at 6:04 still being aggressive just
feeling I need to push the pace. I felt really good and the pace felt
great and the effort felt easy and I hit the half way point at 1:16:38
Start of the second half: With a fast first half where I
was originally planning on a 1:19 or 1:20 I was hoping I could keep up
a decent pace the second half to achieve my goal of 2:40. I was hoping
that I didn't burn myself out and regret it later at (you know) the
wonderful last 6 mile stage. Mile 14 (5:57) the aid station was
screaming out my name, because all of the locals were cheering for me
so much that I had great crowd support. Here's where the race begans.
The nice 4 rolling hills with the last one being the hardest at the
21st mile up the gap to Century High School. At mile 15 my wife handed me my second 8oz water bottle and
gel (yes I carried a water bottle pretty much from mile 9 to mile
25). This gel upset my stomach and I really needed to take a dump.
The mile 15 split was 6:07, but it should have been faster, but my
stomach slowed me down. At mile 16 my stomach felt worst, and my split
was 6:27 (ugh), so I knew I had to do something, because Chuck Engle
was gaining on me a bit according to my wife.. Finally at mile 17 I had
to take a dump so out in the open I bared all and let it fly (I pulled
a Sasha). It probably took me 20 seconds. Chuck Engle saw this and he
told me later (that you probably felt lighter), and he said that he
felt he could caught me between miles 14 thru 20. I finished mile 17
at 6:27. After that I felt like a new man and started to pick it up again and finished mile 18 at 5:59.
Then mile 19 split 5:53 pace which is mostly flat with a little down
hill to start the mile. Mile 20, my wife said I had increased my lead
again. Here's where the biggest hill of the course is and I nailed it
perfect I didn't push too hard, but enough to be aggressive and
finished the mile at 6:01. Mile 21 and the rest is
completely flat. My original goal was to hit these miles between a
5:50 and 6:00 pace, but I also wasn't planning on starting out so
aggressive. I was very interested to see how my fitness level and
abilities would handle this knowing that this is where you make it or
break it. I finished mile 21 at 5:52 even more increasing my lead.
Now at this point my wife missed the hand-off to give me my sports
beans (I like these the last 6 miles, because for some reason
they just energize me) and this is the only mile that I kind of felt
weak and dropped my pace to a 6:16 on mile 22. At the mile 22 marker
my wife stopped and handed me the sport beans and water. I
dropped the whole bag in my mouth and just slowly sucked on them for
two miles while drinking water. Mile 23 split was 6:04 (still trying
to be aggressive). By Mile 24 the water station said I had blown away
everyone and they couldn't see the next person in site on the straight
away. I looked at my watch and knew I was going to win, but now I
wanted to still be aggressive and figured if I can average around a 6 minute pace the next two miles I would be around a 2:36. Mile 25 split 5:59 and Mile 26 split 6:09, and that made that happen. After
the race Chuck Engle told me I was too strong and he couldn't keep the
pace with me between 14 to 20 and by mile 20 knew that I was looking to
good and he said he had no chance. But who knows if we ran next week
he could have won. I guess it just involves who peaks at the right
time and if your aggressive pace works or not. The aggressive pace
certainly worked today.
Mile Splits
Mile 1: 5:27 Mile 2 : 5:43 Mile 3 5:43 Mile 4: 5:51 Mile 5 5:47 Mile 6 5:51 Mile 7 5:57 Mile 8 5:59 Mile 9 6:01 Mile 10 5:40 Mile 11 5:48 Mile 12 5:43 Mile 13 6:04 Mile 14 5:57 Mile 15 6:06 Mile 16 6:12 Mile 17 6:27 Mile 18 5:59 Mile 19 5:53 Mile 20 6:01 Mile 21 5:52 Mile 22 6:16 Mile 23 6:04 Mile 24 5:56 Mile 25 5:59 Mile 26 6:09 Jeff Shadley did a nice job on the half today and would have finished first around a 1:15 if it wasn't for Idaho State Universities best XC runner doing the half marathon. Jeff accomplished an awesome hard tempo and could have pushed harder, but he didn't need to in his training with the TCM approaching. Nice Job Jeff! Sorry didn't hook up and talk as much. My kids all ran and I had to keep up with them. My 12 year old daughter finished first in the 18 year and younger 1.5 mile with a 7:55 average and finished at 11:53 minutes. My 9 year old daughter finished at 15:05 minutes in the same race and she looked so good coming in. She averaged a 10:03 pace. Then I ran the Kids 1k with my 3 year old son and he did awesome. I made a lot of contacts to join our blog and think I've got a couple to join. (Ohana Asics Racers #2 - 81 miles).
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