Keeping myself sane!!!

Park City Marathon

Previous MonthRecent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesMikal Epperson's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewYear View
Graph View
Next Month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
200920102011201220132014201520162017
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

SLC,Ut,USA

Member Since:

Jul 31, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

It was an evening in November 2005 that I'll never forget...I was nearing the end of a long term relationship when I needed to unleash some pent-up anger.  I was driving past a baseball park near my house, when something told me to park my car, and just RUN!!  It wasn't long before I moved on with my life and continued running for new reasons.  I now run because I am truly obsessed!  It is a way of life, and I feel incomplete without my weekly runs.  I have completed 28 half marathons, 78 marathons, 7 ultramarathons, and a few other distance runs.

Pr's:

5k:  18:37 Willow Canyon Fun Run  2010

10k:   39:26 Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 2012

10 Miles:  1:02:15 Emigration 10 Miler 2014

Half Marathon:  1:22:01 Provo Canyon Half  2011

Marathon:  2:56:52  2017 Utah Valley Marathon

50 Miles:  9:22:03 Antelope Island Buffalo Run 2011

100 Miles: 30:40:28 Wasatch 100 2013

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for Boston

Run 100 mile ultramarathon

Sub 3 hour marathon

Beat my old pr's

Long-Term Running Goals:

A marathon in each state, a few ultramarathons....

Personal:

I have a wonderful wife, Melissa, who does not understand why I would want to punish my body with running marathons, but she is very supportive.  She patiently awaits my arrival at the finish line of most of them.  I slipped on a shirt at the last mile of the Ogden Marathon in 2008, that asked: "Melissa, will you Marry Me?"  It was a wonderful moment!

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Park City Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:08:19, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 2

This was my inaugural marathon in 2006, so it holds a special place for me and I have run it every year since.  It’s one of the more challenging Utah courses to run as it has a general elevation increase from the start until mile 16.  My legs are well worked over by the time the course starts its descent, and so even though a negative split would seem feasible; it has never been the case for me.  I lack the energy to force an increased pace and typically drag along the last 10 miles.

Melissa and I drove up to Newpark in her 1967 Ford Mustang that my father and I finished restoring last summer.  A car show is held within close walking distance of the start and finish line of the race, so it’s a perfect opportunity to participate in two events on the same day.  I bid her farewell after parking the car and headed over to the start area. It was time for her to prepare for the show, and for me to pick up my bib & schwag and to get ready to race.

I was able to converse with a few friends and met a runner from the UK, named Chris.  He had the look of an elite and I wished him well in dominating the field.  (He ended up finishing 2nd place.)  This was to be his first marathon in the U.S. and he just looked at it as a casual part of his ‘holiday’ here.  In the last moments before the race began, it was clear to see that most of the runners, I would dare say, 90 percent, appeared to have never run the race before.  An announcer on a bullhorn had to direct the crowd in the proper position to the starting arch.  I could see that there were fewer participants than prior years, and a friend claimed to have heard the field was less than 300.  I hope this marathon doesn’t quietly die off in years to come from lack of attendees.

The race began a few minutes late, as a vendor truck had parked directly in our path.  It actually worked in my favor though as it gave me time to reset the display options on my Garmin.  I last used it on a hike up Timpanogos and had changed the settings.  I swapped elevation for pace, and time of day for elapsed time. 

I headed into the race opting to go by feel rather than a notion of pace or splits to adhere to.   Based on how my energy exertion felt, I’d make adjustments along the way.  My main unit of measurement is respiration.  I know it goes hand-in-hand with heart rate.  It tells me how deeply I am dipping into my glycogen stores.  The goal is to pace conservatively enough to have a strong kick in the final miles, but not too much left in the bank upon finishing.

My pacing felt good and maintainable for the most part of the first half, with a moment here and there with a momentary slog.  It was mostly along the trail section of the old railroad bed that seemed to go on and on, but I let my mind kind of wander and take in the sights around me as well.  I observed a small stream, the distant traffic of I-40, and a couple of hot air balloons beginning to take flight.  There was also a runner with a blue shirt averaging a similar pace to mine that I tried to reel in.  I saw this same shirt for most of the race and while the gap would vary slightly, I never did overtake him.  He ended up finishing 27 seconds ahead of me.

From the half, until the turn around at mile 16 at Deer Valley, the course has its greatest increase in elevation.  I really look forward to having these miles over with.  I saw Fritz, who would be the winner, around mile 15 in a section where runners get to see who’s ahead and behind them.  I continued on to 16, and began charging downhill while glancing across a parking area to see the roadway I had just ascended.  My curiosity was to see how far the nearest runner was behind me.  To my surprise, there was no one in sight.  The gap had to be at least a quarter mile, so I was kind of running an empty stretch on my own. 

I plodded down to the intersection where runners heading up, and down cross paths.  It was a steady stream of runners passing by, and shouts of encouragement flew during that stretch.  I was happy to have finished their challenging climb. The course passes by some store fronts and across a pedestrian bridge over the Park City Main Street.  Shortly thereafter, there is a short stretch of very steep uphill.   I had caught up to a runner in a bright yellow and white shirt at this point.   I am inclined to climb, not run here.  The runner ahead of me pushed with some precious energy upward.  I had a pretty good idea that my slow and steady push was more efficient, and I’d pass him just beyond the top.  That ended up being the case.

I continued onward and downhill and it was nice to give the climbing muscles a break.  At an aid station around mile 18ish, I caught sight of the first place female pulling out of a p.o.p.  That break had allowed me to catch up to her, and she ran slightly ahead of me as we meandered through a neighborhood alongside a golf course.  At the next aid station, around mile 20, she pulled into another p.o.p. and I passed by.  I felt some sympathy as she must have been having some issues holding her back.    My energy levels were holding steady, and I was pleasantly surprised how good I felt going into the last 10k.

I took nothing for granted and really enjoyed having some fuel still left in the tank.  It was a nice contrast to other years on the course’s final miles and just wanting the struggle over with.  I passed many half marathoners in the remaining couple of miles, and that is a mental boost to see people walking while I felt great running.  It’s not often I want to keep running beyond the finish line!

Melissa was at the finish to greet me, as well as my parents, who had walked over from the car show.  I enjoyed their support as I crossed the line.  As I said earlier, I ran on feel and other than glancing at my Garmin to see my half split (it was around 1:33). I was blind to the overall lapsed time until seeing the clock at the finish line.   It was a pleasant surprise as I had pr’d for the course by almost 13 minutes.  With the chip time, I had shaved off 12:43 from my best time on the course from 2010.

 My Garmin splits were:

1.  7:02  2.  7:07  3.  7:14  4.  6:48  5.  6:52

6.  7:15  7.  7:16  8.  7:10  9.  7:00  10. 7:01

11.  7:17  12.  7:09  13.  7:11  14.  7:42 15.  7:59

16.  7:50  17.  7:00  18.  7:57  19.  7:07  20.  7:12

21.  6:57  22.  7:22  23.  7:14  24.  7:07  25.  7:30

26.  6:58  Last .20, not measured as GPS read short. 

Comments(7)
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: