I figured I would run by feel today rather than getting
caught up in looking at splits. At the
same time, I wanted my approach to be a little more aggressive than previous
tries at this event, and to see how my conditioning stacked up. My training has been consistent, but
different than prior years. I was doing
too much speed work and not enough sheer running for the sake of just
running. It would leave me sore and worn
down on race day. The overall change has
led to a fresher feeling at the start line and throughout races this year. I do have some work ahead of me in figuring
out how to improve my leg turn over. I
feel like this is a limiting factor, as I have now run 5 marathons this year,
all in the range of 3:03-3:08. I enjoy
being consistent, but my legs seem to be red lining and are preventing my time
from dropping further.
I arrived at the start and chatted with a runner from
Henderson Nevada who felt confident in running somewhere in the 2:50’s
today. His marathon pr was around 3:06,
but he insisted that his training has been indicative of easily running a sub
3hr finish. I saw him on the course
until around mile 6, but then nowhere after that. He ultimately finished with a 4:09! I am left with some curiosity of what kind of
major blowup he had with his race today!
Marathons can deal a dose of reality to those overzealous in their perceived
capabilities.
This was my seventh installment of Des News, and I really look
forward to it each year. The course is
not all downhill as many other Utah marathons are, and for that matter, it
seems to give my leg muscles a good all around workout. I enjoy East and Emigration Canyons, and the
ease of logistics in getting to and from the event from where I live.
I felt decent today, but probably slowed down a little more
than I would have preferred in the last 10K.
Fortunately, the course is mostly downhill from that point on, with the
exception of 900 S. I had a runner pass
me in the last 5k, which between that, and the small section of parade route,
gave me something to cling to in keeping my legs moving. There was a slight chance of finishing below
3:05, and when I crossed the finish line; my official time was 3:04:56. I had
cut it close! This is a course pr of
5:04, so hopefully I can come back next year and improve upon that.
My Garmin splits were:
1st. half: 1:30:52, 2nd half: 1:34:04
1. 6:14 2. 6:18 3. 6:28 4. 6:49 5. 6:45 6. 7:13
7. 7:46 8. 7:22 9. 7:05 10. 6:50 11. 6:50 12. 6:52
13. 6:48 14. 6:53 15. 6:49 16. 7:08 17. 6:52 18. 7:14
19. 7:05 20. 7:12 21. 7:42 22. 7:06 23. 7:14 24. 7:21
25. 6:56 26. 7:09 27. (.20, read .46, 6:46/mi.) | 