Keeping myself sane!!!

A fun race on a toasty day!  I secretly had the goal of going sub-3:00 and didn't really know if my training would suffice, so I basically kept quiet about it.  I did however, consider joining the recent prerace discussion on the blog of those looking to do the same, but chose to keep it to myself.  Not that it would have been a bad thing in having the morale support of others with the same goal in mind, I was just a little intimidated.  Heck, I even felt out of place in putting myself in the "elite" coral even with my orange bib.

As I did with TOU, I printed out a pace band of my goal splits based on the course's terrain.  I figured that it seemed to do me well before, therefore it was definitely worth trying again.  A big thanks to Paul Peterson with his "Marathon GIS" for putting the splits together!  Aside from the uncertainty of my training, I also know that I do not fare well in hot weather.  I would take getting soaked in rain, than in my own sweat any day!  I packed up a windbreaker jacket, some jogging pants, a beanie and some gloves in my drop bag for the prerace wait.  I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but I also know that it can be a little cold at the start.  Needless to say; my warm clothing never left my drop bag and headed straight to the finish.  I found myself wishing the race to feel even a few degrees cooler than the pre dawn at central.

I enjoyed the race and held to the suggested splits (Aside from a 20 second p.o.p stop in Veyo, which I quickly made up) until the hill at St. Ledge's Parkway, around mile 18.  This cost me about one minute, which I never regained.  Fortunately, my deficit remained the same until I crossed the Snow Canyon Parkway around mile 23.  From there to the finish, I managed to lose about one more minute.  I guess it wasn't a major blow-up from 18 onward.  It was just the culmination of my left calf muscle cramping up, the heat, and some minor headwinds along the way. 

I'm glad that I finally achieved a new marathon pr, which had held since St. George 2009.  I feel like I've learned a lot about my personal fitness in the last 3 or so months and intend on continuing to implement those findings.  A couple examples: Long runs done too often seem to only make me slower, and give me limited improvements on my endurance.  I feel like it was making me a 'long, slow runner!' Speed work has been most beneficial, and has reset my 'cruising' pace. I can definitely perceive a difference in effort exerted at varying pacing ranges. 

Now for the worst part of this report...THE RACE IS OVER!  After spending all year getting all pumped up and excited, I have to wait another year!  Oh well; it was a great experience and I'll be looking forward to next year!

This was a last ditch to get in a marathon as the race season is winding down.  I was on the fence in doing this race, so luckily with it being a low key event; I was able to register just a couple of weeks ago.

The runners were bused from West Riverfront Park, which is along the Jordan River Parkway, at 11000 S. & 900 W. to the start of the race in the quaint town of Copperton at the foot of the Oquir Mountains.  The bus I rode in became lost a couple of times heading out, and even scraped against some low lying trees as made a few tight turns through Copperton.  We found some humor in this and were just grateful to have ample time in making it to the start.

This is not a pr course by any means. The first half has some inclines of 4%+.  With a pre-race glance of the elevation profile, I knew the hills were coming; but once at the race, they seemed to go on and on!  I tried to maintain an even effort as to avoid the buildup of my great nemesis, lactic acid.

I latched on to a comfortable pace throughout the race, and didn't really have a goal time in mind.  I just wanted to make the best of the day, given the course, weather conditions (There was a consistent southern headwind that made things interesting!) and my overall state of being.  I have been battling a sinus and chest infection (cold) for the last week and a half, and was determined to not let it stand in my way.  I did realize that it could affect my lung capacity though, as I've had some congestion.  Fortunately enough, my cold seemed to drop off as I ran the race and I didn't perceive any trouble.  As I write this however, it has come back to me full force!

All around it was a good day.  It was nice to see my wife at the finish, even though she hadn't been feeling well the night before and didn't think she would be there.  I enjoyed seeing a few other familiar faces, and drummed up some good conversations.  I saw fellow blogger Teri Bean at the finish, and saw that he had a good day, with a second place overall finish in the half marathon.

It looks like I will be running this race next year as much to my amazement; I pulled off a first place in my age division.  I received a nice medal for this and will be given a free entry into next year's race.  For a second year event, the organizers did an outstanding job and it really showed.

I had hoped for a slightly faster time, but I was pulled into the trap of running the first five miles a bit too fast.  This caused me to fade in the remaining couple of miles.  I hadn't felt out of my aerobic threshold, but by the time I realized my pacing error, I began to slow down.  I knew my time was going to suffer when my goal pace felt more labored than it should have.  On a positive note, my time did improve from last year by..........a whopping 13 seconds! 

I enjoyed this event for the most part, but there are definitely some growing pains it's experiencing.  The inaugural race was in 2009 and had just over 700 runners.  Now only two years later, there were over 3,300.  I really think a cap needs to be established as it seemed a bit overkill for the capabilities of those in charge.  I can only imagine how overwhelming it was for the volunteers.  I actually became a volunteer as I searched for my drop bag. I went over to the Penske truck, and saw a few bags on the grass beside it, but found it to no avail.  There were people pulling bags out and making an effort to methodically arrange them.  I quickly saw the need for assistance, and became a link in a chain of 'bag throwers' in the process.   I think I spent around an hour tossing bags until mine finally surfaced.  By this point, the truck was nearly empty.  I didn't mind helping out, but could definitely vouch for this being a problem amid some other chaotic moments in the event.

Rarely do I express criticism in those who put forth the effort to host a running event.  I realize that there is a ton of behind the scenes blood, sweat, and tears that goes on.  There is always room for improvement, and not all participants will leave satisfied.  The biggest challenge for this race is that it has become a little too large, too fast, for what can be handled.  This is not to say however that events cannot grow quickly and efficiently.  I believe the Utah Valley Marathon is a premier example of a first-class event that is still in its infancy.

This race has a lot of positive things going for it.  It has a fun theme, a scenic and fast course, and is at the tail end of the running events season.  It was nice to relax in a relatively warm tent while doing some people watching.  The costumes were really creative and some were none I'd attempt to run a mile, let alone a half marathon in!  I enjoy the Provo River Trail, and it is nice to see the change in seasons with the leaves off the trees on covering the pathway.  It's quite a contrast to running it in June & August.