BQ!!!!!!And a PR by 23 minutes and 26 seconds 26.2 3:00:38.1 174 - I finally did it! It was much easier than all my other attempts - probably something related to training and being well, but who knows? The Whole Story (or most of it) for my reference. I really do read these before races to glean anything from them that my help in the future. That's why I didn't eat anything after breakfast this time, including Gu 15 minutes before the race started (since the last two marathons pre-race nutrition plans left some questions in my mind). I began my final 12 weeks of training with the goal of finishing TOU in 2:57:30. Seems kind of arbitrary, but if I could break 3:00:00, I would definitely qualify for Boston. That meant my marathon pace would be 6:46 and my tempo pace would be 6:10. However, it quickly became apparent when I couldn't hit my tempo targets that speed would be my issue. So I focused on mileage and aerobic capacity (doing basically what Sasha has suggested to all BQ hopefuls), ramping up my mileage (from 40 mile weeks in the spring), most of it at conversational pace (HR of 151 or less). The mileage of my last 12 weeks were 48.9 58.46, 60.7, 59.36 64.4 73.08, 70.1, 78.4, 82.72, 74.68, 55.7 and 29.95 not including the marathon. My MP runs went well and as my mileage climbed, my knees held out for the most part, but speed didn't come. I had five runs ever 20 miles (two were 26.2 in 3:23 and 3:19). TOU half was a good test and according to the race time predictor, my 1:23:57 should be good enough for a 2:59:59. I started eating a little differently, focusing on consuming food right after runs, eating larger breakfast (650 calories instead of 300) and eating healthy snacks whenever I felt hungry. (That's not to say I never had cookies - I did, just not when I was hungry!) But, after all the training you do, the only thing in the last week (besides tapering) that you can do is think about your race plan. I had been tempted to go out with Paul Peterson, David Nelson, Allie Scott and Scott Ensign. They all seemed to be shooting for 2:55 - which seemed like a bit of a push for me, but after a little encouragement I though it might be worth a try. Then Sasha came up Friday night (it was fun to meet him and listen while he imparted of his wisdom - tell him two things about your training and he has worthy advice and an amazing intuition about your ability. My brother's training has suffered this summer due to his work schedule - or lack of schedule, and his knee has some strange injury. Sasha asks him his half time, which was 1:27:31, and says "Go strong through 15 miles then just hang on and finish. You're probably looking at 4 hours." He finished at 3:59:18.1.) I told him about my half time and average mileage. He says BQ should be easy, 3:05 and possibly 3:00. Later, as we discussed Friday's newspaper article about who might win, it comes up that Paul is running, but he isn't mentioned in the article. I said it's probably because he plans on pacing David to a 2:55. Sasha looks at me and says, "You might want to trying hanging on with them." Well, that seals the deal, any questions I had before about the wisdom of going out a little too fast are removed, which leads to a terrible night of sleep (2 hours between 11:00 and 1:00) but I was able to almost finish 'MockingJay' :) At 9:30, I had a serving of frosted mini-wheats. Then, for entertainment, I had my wife write 5 mile splits for a 2:55 on my arm (from Paul's TOU Pace Chart). Then it was time to pretend to sleep. At 1:30, my stomach was calling for food, so I had another serving of frosted mini-wheats then climbed back in bed. At 2:23, I gave up the battle since I hadn't slept a wink and read 'til breakfast time. At 4:15, I made some oatmeal, and fried an egg. I ate, took some daily vitamins, and drank two glasses of water (which seemed like too much by the time the bus got to Hardware Ranch), and weighed in - 134 lbs. We waited around for my brother to pick us up and were in line for the buses at 5:15 or s o. The ride up was good, and though I'm sure Sasha is used to it, there were some people questioning his choice of footwear. I told them to look for him to finish in the top 5. They all let out a breath as they mentioned that they just wanted to finish. Sasha showed us the mythical Land of Oz - but at this point, all I needed was a tree. We got separated from Sasha. Ran into Heidi (who I ran with in Bear Lake - she took first in the Philly Class!), Mark Wallace from work (who beat his goal time by two minutes), my aunt JoAnn and her daughter Kyla who were running this as their last long run before SGM. I met and talked with Tracy Fifield who overheard me talking about some bloggers goal times. He wondered who his competition was and who that was wearing gold Crocs. He ended up taking 1st in Masters. Then it was time to dump the clothes where my brother found his friend Jon Stuart - who missed a BQ by less than 2 minutes in Ogden. Naturally, his goal was to make it under 3:10:59 this time. Unfortunately, he missed it again, this time by 2:55. At the start line, I met found some bloggers and lined up near allie, lily, and Scott. I wore a shirt at the start (which I've never done) and had socks on my hands. But apparently, someone forgot to send me the memo about cutting them open. Everyone else's sock were arm warmers and they wore gloves. I just had close toed sock covering my hands and lower arms. It wasn't too bad though, I ditched them soon enough. The Race Mile LapTime AveHr 1 6:25.1 171 (not really) - After the gun, we started out at a brisk pace that actually felt quite relaxed. I have no idea what my HR was, since my HR strap kept falling down. I hadn't adjusted it at all, and figured that removing my iPod would make it even easier for it to stay in position. I guess the cold shrunk me more than the strap. After fighting with it the first mile, I ditched the socks, tightened the strap - that's when I saw my HR was 171 - a little higher than planned. 2 6:31.3 174 - Still moving at a good pace, but this is right on target, except for my HR. I knew it would be a little bit of a stretch to stay with this 'pace group'. I met Paul and David - who is pacing Jon this week in the Bear 100. There were probably 12 or more runners together at this point. Usually I run alone - even in races. Going down the canyon, missing tangents because of all the people is weird for me, so I moved to the back for the pack. 3 6:26.9 177 - A little fast -10 seconds - and I can tell by my HR that I won't be staying with the group through 18 miles like I had hoped. It took Gu just before the aid station and water to wash it down. Just like last year, I didn't see my uncle Bruce who was volunteering at this aid station. 4 6:28.1 177 - Same story but only 6 seconds fast. 5 6:34.5 177 Split 32:26, target 32:46 - I ditched the shirt here, since I had started sweating. Took some Gatorade. I see allie has opened up a bit of a lead on the group and slowly bridges the gap to Scott and Maika - Go allie! 6 6:31.5 177 - Still just running, knowing I should drop off the group. The past 2 miles, I would drop back a bit, only to see my Hr drop momentarily, then rise back up. So I would catch up and watch it settle to 177. I know that's too high, but I think running alone is worth adding another beat. 7 6:35.2 177 - Gatorade, red - too strong, but I had already dumped the cup of water over my head... I got a slight stomach cramp after mile 9 from this, but it didn't last more than long enough for me to notice it. 8 6:24.9 175 - I decided that I had to drop off the pack. I knew I would pay in the end for going out a little too fast. I know I definitely could have finished stronger if I had started out slower, but even if I had been shooting for 3:00:38.1 with an even effort, I'm not entirely sure I could have pulled off 7:13, 6:57, 7:05, and 7:00 to finish this one off. 9 6:34.9 174 - PowerGel and water and water over my head. Keith Anderson slows for a Pop stop, though he didn't ever stop for it. I chat with him for a second about being Scotts nemesis. He says he enjoys the back-and-forth, but thinks Scott has his number today. Apparently he was wrong. 10 6:38.5 174 Split 1:05:11, target 1:05:56 - a little fast, but my HR is still going down. 11 6:47.1 174 - the tail wind is feeling really nice. Took some endurolites and water and water over my head. 12 6:31.8 173 - tail wind still feels good. I contemplated slowing a bit for a restroom break before people starting showing up all over the course, but didn't feel a real need. I made it through the whole race without a worry! 13 6:39.4 172 - still enjoying the tailwind! 13.1 40.0 171 Split 1:25:49, target 1:26:27 - 12 seconds from my 2nd fastest half ever! 14 5:42.1 174 (6:22.1 for the mile) I saw my mom! 15 6:42.6 173 Spilt 1:38:14, target 1:38:42 - I saw my dad! The turn off to Hollow Road is inspiring. But here, something starts that bothers me psychologically the rest of the race, twice per mile for 30 seconds each time... I passed two guys in here, both at the aid station. Really, I just continued trading placing with one, but somewhere in the next few miles, I finally shook him. Now my times are starting to drop below goal pace. I took another PowerGel and water and water over my head. 16 6:46.2 173 - there goes 8 seconds 17 6:52.8 173 - popping onto main street is nice (with the crowds and all). I don't mind the traffic really, but it seems like less of these spectators care to cheer everyone on than any other segment of the race. It didn't bother me 'cause I knew I'd be seeing my family at the nacho party (Maverick) shortly. I think this was a water/water spot. 18 6:48.3 174 - it was great to see my family and my dad again! I blew kisses to my daughters. 19 7:20.3 175 - got passed by a man that just cruised on by, like he had started the race late or something and had to make up some time. Took some more endurolite pills and water/water, cause I sensed that I needed electrolytes more than carbs. 20 7:29.6 172 Split 2:13:31, target 2:12:38 - there were two people ahead of me that pulled over to the right side of the road at this mile marker (non-tangential) plus a bunch of people, so I thought this is where the aid stations started to be at every mile. I opened another PowerGel and started sucking it down before I realized that it was a timing station, not an aid station, so I savored that flavor for another mile... 21 7:06.9 172 - I thought I was making good time down this gentle hill, but there was quite a bit of traffic (hah - like that's why I started running slower!) But, after the last mile with PowerGel in my mouth, the water tasted delicious! I tried to surge, but felt as though my legs would cramp up if I pushed any harder. 22 7:28.3 173 - I've run the course multiple times recently, each time noticing that there was no new 22 mile mark. After the BYU girl passed me, almost catching Miaka, I thought, as I made my way over to the north side of the road, "They're going the wrong way - why aren't those spectators saying anything?" Then I noticed a red (as close to black as I've ever seen red be) arrow pointing almost straight, the direction they're going. So I turned towards them... Gatorade and water. 23 7:41.6 172 - BYU girl is cruising, gaps Miaka quite a bit and a couple more fresh-faced guys pass me. I tried to mention to each that their pace was great and be encouraging. Some people seemed irritated by encouragement from someone so inferior, and others seemed truly grateful to not be the only ones who thought they were doing well this late in the race. I took more electrolytes, water and water. 24 7:28.0 171 - My family was waiting at the end of this one - if I hadn't been so easily ahead of making the BQ mark, my emotions might of gotten the best of me, but not even close this time! Water and water. 25 7:43.7 171 Split 2:51:00, target 2:46:38 - I think a few more passersby. I realize the 3:00:00 is getting too close. I try to surge a little and feel the same as before - any pushing will result in cramps. I try to maintain pace and not slow down - blasted hill. 26 7:56.7 170 - Woohoo! No 8 minute miles!!! Another female (Annie) - I have no issues being beaten by someone faster than me. This was too slow, but as I tried to go faster I didn't... 26.2 1:41.5 172 - I try to kick, I hear my wife cheering and see her in tears, knowing she knows I'll just miss 3:00:00. I didn't have anything left - I left it all on the course - and I am happy! The finish area was great - there were two women from my ward, who both ran the half, there cheering. I talked with them after and they were thinking, "Why aren't we running? Maybe next year." Post Race After 4 chuggs, I head back to mile 24 with my family. We cheer for many, I see Heidi again, a few others, and eventually Travis (brother) - his pace is suffering, he's cramping up, has walked a lot and stretched a lot, but he'll have to push to beat 4 hrs. I started to run with him, but after 2 block, those chocolate milk chuggs threatened to come back, so I let my dad run him in. About 20 minutes later, they rounded the corner. We cheered loudly, grateful the hour mark hadn't changed yet! I drank another chugg, a glass of water, hit the POP and had massage. We hung out at the park for another hour chatting. When I got home, I weighed myself - 132 lbs. After drinking 3 lbs. of liquid after the race, urinating a bit, drinking everything during the race, I was still down 2 lbs. My parents came over, Travis and his wife too, and I made everyone BBQ chicken quesadillas! My wife made smashed cake. Then I relaxed the rest of the day! Except for the time we put up 25 quarts of peaches...
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