Keeping myself sane!!!

Canyonlands Half Marathon

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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!

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Race: Canyonlands Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:25:45, Place overall: 53, Place in age division: 12

It was a good overall day for a race and another opportunity to test my training and current level of fitness.  The course is definitely not conducive to a pr for me with all the rollers creating a challenge to maintain an even effort. I did hope to better my time for the course from a few years ago however, and managed to do so by around 4 minutes.

I started out towards the front, as I didn't want to get caught in traffic for the first few miles.  I wasn't sure if I really belonged there, as the race seems to bring out many elites, and I felt a little out of place. The answer came as we began, and it seemed that I was on que with those around me.  Within a couple miles, there was a pleasant spacial gap around myself and other runners.  This was basically the case for the remainder of the race, other than a little leapfrogging here and there.

My pacing felt quite labored throughout the race, yet maintainable, other than a bout of side stitches between miles 7 & 8.   I enjoyed the finish as another runner came upon me in a sprint about 100 yds from the line. I wasn't  going down without a fight, so we went head-to-head and finished in a tie on the clock.  He ultimately had me with 2 seconds of chip time.

My Garmin splits were:

1. 6:17

2. 6:31

3. 6:27

4. 6:25

5. 6:31

6. 6:34

7. 6:37

8. 6:45

9. 6:28

10. 6:39

11. 6:27

12. 6:35

13. 6:26

.19. 6:15


Comments(1)
Race: Buffalo Run 50 mile (50 Miles) 09:27:49, Place overall: 44, Place in age division: 19

As I looked out my window at 4 a.m., I saw snow covering the grass and my vehicle in the driveway.  The temps were in the low 20's, and had me thinking it would be nice to jump back to bed.  I wasn't to embark upon the day's trail event for something leisurely to do with a Saturday, and therefore, it would make the day just a little more interesting.  As it would turn out, the weather was quite pleasant and the trails were free and clear. (Other than a few muddy spots here and there.) 

I would have liked to have finished a bit faster, but it was still a decent overall experience.  I ran with a good friend for a few miles, and was able to see Melissa a couple times along the way as well.  I am still a newbie to the world of ultrarunning and have a lot to learn.  I think one of my downfalls is running too conservatively.  My threshold for going long is still vaguely charted territory, and I have a tendency to hold on to the reigns.  The flip side is that I still felt relatively fresh in the last few miles and after finishing.  I need to work on the delicate balance between pushing hard enough for a respectable finish, and all the while avoiding a first ever dnf.

 

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