Today was a good day. I went into the race hoping to be able to run 2:32 and was able to exceed my goal by a couple minutes. It was an 11 minute PR. I will describe as many details as I remember about the race. I will list my splits first though.
1-5:48 2-5:48 3-5:37 4-5:33 5-5:39 6-5:29 7-5:29 8-6:16 9-6:06 10-6:01 (57:51)
11-6:17 12-6:02 13-5:40 Half-1:16:3? 14-5:36 15-5:25 16-5:18 17-5:29 18-5:30
19-5:48 20-5:39 (1:54:42) 21-5:29 22-5:50 23-5:49 24-5:46 25-6:05 26-5:51 .2-1:03
Second half 1:14:0?
As you can see, I started off pretty quickly. A little faster than I had planned. I felt fine though, so I just kept it relaxed down into Veyo. Then a couple of out of state guys screwed up their elite stop and I caught up to them. A guy from CA and one from OK. They talked a little and I led them up Veyo. They didn't like the hills. We pushed it pretty hard, but I felt good. As we were up in the Dammeron area, CA cut off to use the potty. He caught up later, but was constantly back and forth with the potty. OK also dropped back.
However, from the bottom of Veyo, I could see someone else starting to come back. I could see that it was Sasha. I think that the sight if him fueled me up the hills a little bit. Thanks for the motivation Sasha. Anyways, at the top of the hills, I was really closing in on Sasha now. I could also see that Dave was coming back to us. I tried to motion for him to run with me, but he said that he was going to get James. What a good brother! So I hit the half a little over a minute faster than planned. But I felt good, so I just kept rolling with it. I considered drafting off Sasha for a while, but then decided to just keep my momentum.
Going into Snow Canyon I was flying. I hit a 5:18 in here which was cool. I knew that I had to keep it strong going past the Winchester area. I was proud of myself for keeping mile 19 at a 5:48 with the little hill/overpass area. I was by myself from Sasha on. I had been told that I was in 11th place and 10th and eventually 9th by some spectators, so that fueled me. I honestly thought that top 15 would be a stretch today. But with some of the big guns not running, it bumped me up I guess.
When I hit miles 19 and 20, I knew I just had to keep pushing and keep it together. I was pretty dead by this point. My left hamstring also gave me a lot of pain throughout the race. At mile 20, I knew that I had a shot at 2:29. This excited me. So I kept the hammer down. I ran strong until 22. Then I dry heaved a bit and it required a lot of mental strength to keep it going. I knew that I had a huge PR and a top 10 finish waiting for me if I didnt "give in to the marathon."
So I kept it going into town. When I hit diagonal, I knew that I only had 2.4 left. I was really struggling by this point though. My 25th mile as you can see was rough. When I hit the 25 and 25.2 signs though, I was motivated knowing that I would be done in a mile. The spectators and bands were great. I finally saw the last turn with .5 or less left and kicked it into gear. My last 4 miles cost me a 2:29, but I was pumped when I saw the clock at 2:30. People kept asking me if I needed help at the line because I was staggering, but I told them I would be OK.
A guy interviewed me and told me a had won the Silver Shoe. I thought that was cool, especially since Dave and Clyde had both won it recently. Many other bloggers came in with great times and that was good to see. Then I talked to my family, friends, and runners that had come down to watch me. I then went back over to the medal area and waited for my dad and his friends to come in. It was a lot of fun.
I told myself that if I hit my goal, I was going to take some time off and probably not train as much for marathons anymore. I would like to get back to just running with my team and just a little on my own. So we will see what next year brings for running. My PR days in the marathon are likely over though. I told my wife that 100 mile weeks for a few years could maybe get me to 2:25-2:27 at SGM, but honestly that is not worth it for me. Don't get me wrong though, I am very happy. 9th at SGM and a 2:30 are awesome for me. |