High Speeds

Ran 10 miles today. Tried a 5K time trial, but DNF-ed just before 7 laps. As a punishment, my Dad had me run another 3200 in 10:18. I learned that I actually don't run better without competition.

Ran 10 in the morining and then 3 at night. From now on, I'm adding 3 miles a day as a second run three times a week.

Did 2 times a mile and a half down the canyon. Splits were 7:03 (68, 70, 70, 70, 73, 72) and 7:01.37 (68, 71, 70, 72, 71, 70).

Ten miles in the morning, then three at night.

Tried to do a 3200 on the track. Started late, so it was hot and I wasn't hitting my target pace at all through the first mile. Stopped there and will try again tomorrow.
 

Today my Dad had a lovely workout prepared for me: 3 miles uphill, then 2 down hard, and finally one mile all out. I paced him for 3 up in 18:05. It was tiring, but didn't wipe me out. I started the 2 miles in 4:58, and thought I would not be able to go faster, but then something magical happened. I tried upping my turnover, and I didn't get any more tired! I was able to run the next mile in 4:50 for 9:48 total. 

On the mile I did the leg turnover thing from the start, and got 4:37 (69, 69, 69 and 70). I was surprised at and pleased with the result. This workout went well.

Started conservatively. Ran between 5:18 and 5:07 for the first 9 miles, then endured to the end with a 17:15 last 5K, passing Jason Holt around 10.25 and throwing up just before the finish. Total time of 1:09:21, (officially). Not a PR, but I'm happy with it, and my Dad thinks it is a better effort than the Haunted Half. 

Ran this race primarily to get circuit points, but also to get in a good workout before the Top of Utah Marathon next Saturday. The win was a nice bonus, and is my first road race win, and certainly my first win with prize money. My time was 33:25, a 49-second improvement over last year.

Last year I almost got lost on the course, and was afraid of getting lost again. Fortunately, I led from the gun, and so was following a biker rabbit. The first mile was in 5:14, pretty flat. Shortly after that, we turned and started going uphill. Ken was doing a workout, and he surged to pass me on the hill. I started trying to catch him, but he let me know that he was doing a workout and would be slowing back down, so I backed off a bit. I caught him again at mile 2 (11:03, so 5:49). Despite Ken's promise to slow down, I ran the rest of the race scared that he would catch up to me again and pass me with impunity, as getting passed so quickly on the hill had a psychological effect on me.

Mile 3 was 16:53, then 27:03 at 5 miles (missed 4), so 5:50 and then 10:10. I really hammered the downhill from 3 to 5. After the course leveled out, I felt like I was out of gas, and that I was moving slowly. Mile 6 was 5:14, and the last little bit was 1:08 to finish in 33:25.

Cooled down with my Dad and Brad Barton.

My first marathon. I started out with my Dad. The plan was to run to 15 with him and then see if I felt good enough to go. The hope was that a conservative start would prevent some of the horrors of the last 6 miles of the marathon. 

We placed strategic bottles with electrolytes and glucose at miles 7, 13, 17 and 21. I'm pretty sure these bottles ended up making a big difference for me, as I ended up not hitting a glycogen wall. Many thanks to the TOU race staff for placing these bottles at the aid stations.

The first 12 miles were pretty comfortable, around 5:50 pace. I was a little cold for the first miles, but then warmed up. The canyon was pretty, and I tried not to think about how many miles I had left. I was grateful to be able to run with my Dad. Midway through mile 12 I realized I needed a VPB stop. I completed the stop in about 15 seconds, and then surged to catch up a little before mile 13.

After the VPB, and with the bottle from mile 13, I was feeling light and quite positive. The course leveled out, and I started feeling my calves. They weren't liking the ground impact. At 15, I took off and ran about 5:43, 5:49, 5:51, 6:00 (mile 19), and then around 5:45 for miles 20 and 21. I'm pretty sure I was 1:57:25 at 20.

I caught Kyle Petersen in mile 19 on the uphill. He had been in sight for basically the entire race, and so doesn't really count as a Ram in the Thicket. Also, passing Kyle moved me up (in my perception) into 6-th place from 7-th, and therefore didn't move me into the money, a defining characteristic of a Ram in the Thicket. Unbeknownst to me, Jake Krong dropped out of the race at some point (probably in the last 6). Thus, passing Kyle actually did put me into the money.

As I crested the final hill of mile 20, I saw a runner in the distance. My Dad had predicted that one of the lead pack would fall back, but I hadn't truly believed him untill that moment. I knew that the runner ahead of me was coming back to me. I also believed that I was in 6-th place. This was a Ram in the Thicket if there ever was one. 

At mile 21, I was close on the runner's tail. I also grabbed the last bottle of goodness at the aid station. Armed with fresh fuel. I caught the Ram in Thicket within a minute or two, and passed him without a fight. Little did I know that this was not to be our last encounter. 

I took it easy on mile 22, the awful uphill mile, which I think I ran in around 6:10. Throughout the race, my calves bothered me more and more. Also, I started feeling a lot of pressure and pain in my SI and hip joints. I said multiple prayers for those joints, and although they hurt a lot after the race, I was able to run through the pain.

In mile 23, I started feeling weird. It became difficult to focus. My legs felt heavy, and each step felt as though my legs were slamming into the ground. However, a combination of swigs from my bottle, renewed focus on the hymn I had running though my head: <a href="https://www.lds.org/music/text/hymns/i-believe-in-christ?lang=eng">I Believe in Christ</a>, and the fear of losing money helped me to focus and push. 

Mile 24 was where my adventures began. I passed the marker for mile 23, and went straight down the street, missing a left turn with my tunnel vision. I ran a whole block before a police officer informed me that I'd missed a turn. At this point I wanted to cry. I was very exhausted, and upon turning around I beheld to my utter horror that the supposedly sacrificed Ram in the Thicket had returned with vengeance, and was making the very turn that I had missed. This wasn't fair! I had passed him once. And I now might lose money over a missed turn.

So I gritted my teeth and began trying to run him down. Fortunately, he was pretty blown up, and I was able to catch him before the end of mile 24, thus sacrificing the Ram in the Thicket for good. Then I was able to really move in the last two miles, averaging a little over 6 minutes per mile. My body felt awful, but I felt a sort of disconnect from the paint that enabled me to push. My final time was 2:35:45, 4-th place overall. I did not throw up at the finish, but had trouble walking for the rest of the day.

Ended up taking home $400 and a bona fide moose trophy that looks just like the trophies my Dad's massive collection of moose trophies. Based on our esitmates of circuit standings after the race, It looks like I'll end up in second place, which is $750. So I'm very, very happy with this marathon.

At home, my Dad measured the detour on Google Maps and I apparently added 0.24, or around a minute and 30 seconds. So my real time for the marathon was a low 2:34. Oh well.

It was pretty cold, but there was no wind. I ran for the first 3.5 miles with Scott, but then was dropped in the kick. He lead for most of the way. I tried surging around 1 and 3, but wasn't able to break Scott.

I cooled down by pacing my younger siblings in their races (although Joseph's 5:34 wasn't exactly a cool-down.) Then ran 2 more miles at home. This was a high-turkey-count year for us. We ended up with a total of 10. Everyone won a turkey except Mary, my Mom, and of course the baby. We also got a turkey for having the largest immediate family (most runners).