Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 1:12:30 (5:32/mi.)
Place: 5
The Provo City Half Marathon is a relatively new race put on by the Run13 event company--I think it has only been around for a couple of years. This year there was also a marathon option, as well as a 5k and relay option for the half. I signed up for the race because I had a few weeks in a row with no race and so I decided it would be a good place to throw in a half to help prepare for the Top of Utah Marathon this fall. It worked out nicely because this same weekend I was in between apartments and was going to go home for a few days until I could move into my new place, so I was already going to be going through Provo. Additionally, my parents were in Salt Lake City this weekend for an autism conference and were able to share a hotel room in Provo with me and watch the race. While I was at the hotel, I ran into my old track coach from high school who was there with his team for the BYU Invitational. It was really good to catch up with him for a few minutes. Small world!
I had to get up at 4:30 AM to drive downtown and catch a bus to the start, which is up the South Fork of Provo Canyon at South Fork Canyon Park. The final bus was leaving at 5:30 for a 7:00 AM start, which was kind of confusing to me. But, I suppose better early than late. My bus arrived at around 5:45 so I had over an hour to wait. There were a couple of fires at the start to keep people warm but nowhere near enough for the several hundred participants. So it was a long, chilly wait for the race to start, but luckily it has been a warm spring so temperatures were not too bad as long as you kept your outer clothes on and moved around. I did get plenty of warming up in. At about 6:45 I took off my outer layer and put my drop bag on the bus, after which they promptly announced that the half would no longer be starting at 7:00 AM, but would start at 7:15 after the full marathon start. Would have been nice to know before I dropped my warm clothes. But, I think the race is only in its second or third year, so the race directors are probably still trying to figure out how to deal with the growth so I can't fault them too much.
At the start line, there were a few fast looking guys. Seth Wold was there, and I chatted with him for a minute about his Altra shoes, which I'm thinking of purchasing to try out. After the usual pre-race soapbox by the RD, we got started. The fast looking guys were indeed fast, and they all took off like there was a house on fire. I decided not to try and run 4:50s to start so I let them go. Two of those guys (Teren Jameson, Riley Cook) would go on to run 1:07 for the half, followed by Fritz Van de Camp in 1:08. Smart of me not to go out with them. Seth also went with them, but he was not planning on sticking with that pace the entire race so I thought maybe I would be able to catch him later. I decided to run my own pace and shoot for around 1:12. Unfortunately, I left my Garmin in my pack at the hotel, so I had no idea of my time, pace, or where I was on the course. I planned to just rely on the mile markers and run by feel without worrying about what my time was and see how it panned out. Unfortunately, there were no mile markers that I could see. I did not see a single one until the 9 mile mark on University Ave. After that they were visible, but I was confused that I hadn't seen any of the first 8 if there were any. The aid stations didn't seem to correspond to the mile markers either (e.g. one every two miles) so it was no help to guess by that either. But it turned out ok as I just ran by feel and enjoyed the race.
The first two miles(ish?) of the course were pretty downhill coming down South Fork, but not a total quad burner. I was by myself after the first 100 meters when Seth and Co. left me, and there was no one behind me for a ways that I could see. This was going to be a race against myself. The marathon runners were out on the course ahead, so it served as good motivation to be constantly passing people, even if they were only going at 4-5 hour pace. Many of them would cheer me on as well, which was enjoyable.
The Provo River Trail is a pretty gradual and even downhill all the way to the mouth of the canyon. Perfect for opening up the stride but not steep enough to burn up the quads or calves. You can hardly tell you're dropping most of the time. This section was pretty uneventful. I felt great and was enjoying watching the scenery fly by. It had been a long time since I felt this relaxed and fast in a race. Just before we exited the canyon, I saw Sasha Pachev (the mastermind of the Fast Running Blog) and some other guy out for a morning run. I'm not sure he recognized me, but he definitley recognized the SGRC singlet. I waved hi as I ran by going the other way.
Once out of the canyon, the course spit us out on University Avenue (or at least a road that turns into University). This part of the course was as level as the plains of Kansas. There was one hill to climb as the course turned south into the main part of Provo, but other than that it was perfectly smooth and flat. I finally began seeing mile markers, and it was also fun to race cars that were slowed down due to the race. Some of them had to be hating me because I was getting where I was going faster than they were. I still felt great, although I was starting to feel a little tired. There were a few people out on the course cheering me on, and there would be large groups at the aid stations. The few miles I had left just flew by and before I knew it I was counting blocks instead of miles. I finally saw the finish line ahead and could see Seth less than a minute ahead of me. He was the first half marathoner I'd seen since I lost sight of the lead guys at the start of the River Trail. I could make out 1:11 on the clock when he finished and I knew I could make my goal of 1:12. I surged ahead trying to beat 1:12:30, but just tied it.
This race was really good for me. It felt great to get out and run a good time and still feel good afterwards. I went and got a massage but wasn't really sore at all. I also ate some Magelby's french toast they had for us--great call by the RD. I haven't felt this good after a race since Sand Hollow last year, or maybe since high school. I went to watch the high school meet for a couple of hours I checked out of my hotel and was thinking "Man, I feel like I just ran a two mile and I could totally jump in and run the 800. Put me in, Coach!" Hopefully I can build on this race and have a great summer and finish strong in the fall at Top of Utah.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Race Report: Sand Hollow Marathon 2012
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 2:51:31
Place: 2
Before I begin with this belated race report, I would like to take care of two items of business.
First, I would like to once again thank Jason and the volunteers and staff of the Sand Hollow Marathon for putting on another great race this year! Once again it was a blast, and even with nearly three times the participation of last year's race, the volunteers, aid stations, post race food, course, and everything else was just superb. I would recommend this race to anyone and everyone.
Second, I should apologize for the lack of posting. I know everyone is SO interested in my blog. :) School has been very busy, and on top of that I got a new and better job and I am on the college robotics team, so needless to say between all of that stuff and trying to get back into racing shape, I've had little time for blogging. Especially since when I blog I usually take forever and get very long winded. But, summer is fast approaching so I expect to do more posting with the additional time I will have.
Anyway, on to the race report.
This year, I brought three of my friends who I will refer to in the running world as my "padawans" down to run the race. Their roommate came to watch as well, probably because she didn't want to be left kicking it at home alone all weekend. It's a good race for beginners, despite the challenging nature of the course, because it doesn't beat you up as badly as some of our other Utah courses which tend to be drastically downhill. Recovery is therefore a little easier. Two of the three had run at least one other marathon, and the other would be making her first attempt. We were all excited to take a trip down from the frozen northlands of Logan and spend the weekend in sunny Southern Utah...running. What could be better?
We left Logan in plenty of time Friday to avoid a repeat of my experience at St. George last fall, and made it to Hurricane that afternoon without incident. My parents had cooked up a big nice pasta dinner for us which we gorged ourselves on after going and picking up our packets at the golf course clubhouse near the turnaround of the course. As a side note, my parents always like it when I bring girls down home to visit. Probably because it gives them at least some hope that I'll someday find someone who will tolerate me and my obsession with running and get married. Anyway, they were very happy to have the girls spend the weekend. My youngest brother is going to be quite the ladies man, I think, because he got right in there and was curling their hair and being cute to beat the band.
Saturday morning, we woke up around 6:30, which is pretty late for a marathon race day, but since I live 5 minutes' drive from the start and the race wasn't until 7:30, we got to get some beauty rest. I ate some bread and a banana, and drank a bunch of electrolyte drink and water, since the forecast was calling for a very warm day. We were also a little worried about wind, but in my experience with Hurricane weather I correctly surmised that, since it was supposed to be a southwest wind, it would not start until the afternoon. After making sure all of our stuff was in order, we drove to the start. I milled around a bit with some of the other runners and warmed up. The temperatures were cool, but I could tell it was going to be a hot day.
After a brief run through the usual race business, we got started. I took off at the front, and was waiting to see if anyone would follow me, and if so, who. I was hoping for a little more competition in this year's race, even though I was certainly not nearly as well prepared as I was last year due to my injury last winter. I was quickly joined by Brian Summers of Sandy. We exchanged hellos and I found that he was in a similar position as I was. We were joined shortly by another runner from Boulder, CO named Aaron Hoover. He seemed to also be a pretty experienced runner and we all chatted a little bit throughout the first few miles. They were both wearing bright yellow singlets, so with me and my white SGRC singlet we looked pretty snazzy and hip in our lead pack trio, if I do say so myself.
After the first aid, Brian began to attack the pace more with some pretty big surges. I knew I didn't want to be caught up in a sprint-and-then-try-to-survive race, so I tried to hold everyone back a little without falling behind Brian. This worked pretty well, as Aaron might have realized that I knew the course very well and was probably doing it for a reason, so he seemed to stick with me and we kept things under control. This continued until about the 10k mark where Brian began to fall behind a little bit when he wasn't pushing the pace hard, so I finally said that there was a long race still ahead, and that it was better on this course to keep calm and just let things happen. This seemed to calm him a bit. I didn't want the pack to break up at this point, as we were all still thinking about a possible headwind, and we were working quite well together keeping each other going strong. We crested the big hill looking down into Sand Hollow and began the fast descent. I opened up the throttle and let things fly, wanting to use the downhill for all it was worth, with Brian and Aaron following a short distance behind.
At the bottom, Brian came flying past but then faded very quickly, leaving myself and Aaron to our own devices. We wouldn't see him again other than passing him going the other way on the turnaround. I was still moving well and feeling surprisingly good. We were on something between 2:35 and 2:40 pace at this point, so in very good shape time wise. As a small side note, here is an example of why I love this race and the staff: Coming through the aid at Mile 9, I missed all of the cups I tried to grab (my fault). I wasn't too panicked, but within less than a quarter mile there was suddenly a car next to us with Jason, the race director, and his wife (I assume) offering us some water or Gatorade since I missed it. I gladly accepted, knowing I that the hydration was going to be very important in this race. Aaron commented that he'd never seen anything like that in any race, and that this was clearly a "5 star" race. I heartily agreed.
The rest of the journey to the turnaround was pretty uneventful. Aaron and I chatted a little and just enjoyed the run while keeping a solid effort. On our way back, we both began feeling a little fatigue, but I was feeling better out of the two of us so around mile 15 I began to pull away a little bit. I knew that "Nemesis" hill was coming up, so I wanted to push a little here and build up a little bit of a gap, which I was successful at doing. The hill was very tough, but I made it up without walking and was relieved to finally get to the top and see some downhill. Last year, this is where I really was able to put the hammer down and drop my time down with the long rolling downhill into Hurricane. Unfortunately, I was not in nearly as good of shape this year, so after a brief period of attempting to replicate last year's strategy, I began to break down. Mile 20 seemed like crossing a threshold from feeling relatively good (surprisingly good, actually) into a suffer-fest. I knew I was not in prime racing shape, so I was almost expecting it, but it was still no fun. However, before the race I had determined that I would just give it my best shot no matter what happened and be happy that I was able to run a marathon this early in the year despite my injury and the slow recovery. I had built a huge gap on Aaron, but he managed to chip away at it little by little and he went past me around mile 23. I had nothing left in the tank so I just let him go and concentrated on finishing as respectably as possible. The heat was beginning to become a factor at this point, and I just wanted to be done with the race and somewhere cool with a cool drink of water. At around mile 24 I suddenly got very sick and had to stop for a couple of minutes to deposit my breakfast in the weeds on the side of the road. Again, the race crew was right there in a matter of probably less than a minute offering me water and making sure I was ok. Can't say enough about how well run this race is. I felt much better and was able to run the last mile feeling better and faster than I had for the past 5.
My finish time was 10 minutes slower than last year, at 2:51, but considering the unusual heat, and my lack of fitness I was satisfied with the results. Aaron finished around 2:45, so I still own the course record, and hopefully that will go down next year when I break 2:40 on that course. Brian must have had a very tough race because he finished about 10 minutes after I did...his only finish over three hours ever. I think he was kind of bummed about it, but hopefully he'll be back next year. It was actually nice to have a competitive race. All in all another great Sand Hollow experience, and I plan on making it a regular part of my race schedule.
Time: 2:51:31
Place: 2
Before I begin with this belated race report, I would like to take care of two items of business.
First, I would like to once again thank Jason and the volunteers and staff of the Sand Hollow Marathon for putting on another great race this year! Once again it was a blast, and even with nearly three times the participation of last year's race, the volunteers, aid stations, post race food, course, and everything else was just superb. I would recommend this race to anyone and everyone.
Second, I should apologize for the lack of posting. I know everyone is SO interested in my blog. :) School has been very busy, and on top of that I got a new and better job and I am on the college robotics team, so needless to say between all of that stuff and trying to get back into racing shape, I've had little time for blogging. Especially since when I blog I usually take forever and get very long winded. But, summer is fast approaching so I expect to do more posting with the additional time I will have.
Anyway, on to the race report.
This year, I brought three of my friends who I will refer to in the running world as my "padawans" down to run the race. Their roommate came to watch as well, probably because she didn't want to be left kicking it at home alone all weekend. It's a good race for beginners, despite the challenging nature of the course, because it doesn't beat you up as badly as some of our other Utah courses which tend to be drastically downhill. Recovery is therefore a little easier. Two of the three had run at least one other marathon, and the other would be making her first attempt. We were all excited to take a trip down from the frozen northlands of Logan and spend the weekend in sunny Southern Utah...running. What could be better?
We left Logan in plenty of time Friday to avoid a repeat of my experience at St. George last fall, and made it to Hurricane that afternoon without incident. My parents had cooked up a big nice pasta dinner for us which we gorged ourselves on after going and picking up our packets at the golf course clubhouse near the turnaround of the course. As a side note, my parents always like it when I bring girls down home to visit. Probably because it gives them at least some hope that I'll someday find someone who will tolerate me and my obsession with running and get married. Anyway, they were very happy to have the girls spend the weekend. My youngest brother is going to be quite the ladies man, I think, because he got right in there and was curling their hair and being cute to beat the band.
Saturday morning, we woke up around 6:30, which is pretty late for a marathon race day, but since I live 5 minutes' drive from the start and the race wasn't until 7:30, we got to get some beauty rest. I ate some bread and a banana, and drank a bunch of electrolyte drink and water, since the forecast was calling for a very warm day. We were also a little worried about wind, but in my experience with Hurricane weather I correctly surmised that, since it was supposed to be a southwest wind, it would not start until the afternoon. After making sure all of our stuff was in order, we drove to the start. I milled around a bit with some of the other runners and warmed up. The temperatures were cool, but I could tell it was going to be a hot day.
 | |
| Before. (me, my padawans, and their very supportive roommate) |
After the first aid, Brian began to attack the pace more with some pretty big surges. I knew I didn't want to be caught up in a sprint-and-then-try-to-survive race, so I tried to hold everyone back a little without falling behind Brian. This worked pretty well, as Aaron might have realized that I knew the course very well and was probably doing it for a reason, so he seemed to stick with me and we kept things under control. This continued until about the 10k mark where Brian began to fall behind a little bit when he wasn't pushing the pace hard, so I finally said that there was a long race still ahead, and that it was better on this course to keep calm and just let things happen. This seemed to calm him a bit. I didn't want the pack to break up at this point, as we were all still thinking about a possible headwind, and we were working quite well together keeping each other going strong. We crested the big hill looking down into Sand Hollow and began the fast descent. I opened up the throttle and let things fly, wanting to use the downhill for all it was worth, with Brian and Aaron following a short distance behind.
At the bottom, Brian came flying past but then faded very quickly, leaving myself and Aaron to our own devices. We wouldn't see him again other than passing him going the other way on the turnaround. I was still moving well and feeling surprisingly good. We were on something between 2:35 and 2:40 pace at this point, so in very good shape time wise. As a small side note, here is an example of why I love this race and the staff: Coming through the aid at Mile 9, I missed all of the cups I tried to grab (my fault). I wasn't too panicked, but within less than a quarter mile there was suddenly a car next to us with Jason, the race director, and his wife (I assume) offering us some water or Gatorade since I missed it. I gladly accepted, knowing I that the hydration was going to be very important in this race. Aaron commented that he'd never seen anything like that in any race, and that this was clearly a "5 star" race. I heartily agreed.
The rest of the journey to the turnaround was pretty uneventful. Aaron and I chatted a little and just enjoyed the run while keeping a solid effort. On our way back, we both began feeling a little fatigue, but I was feeling better out of the two of us so around mile 15 I began to pull away a little bit. I knew that "Nemesis" hill was coming up, so I wanted to push a little here and build up a little bit of a gap, which I was successful at doing. The hill was very tough, but I made it up without walking and was relieved to finally get to the top and see some downhill. Last year, this is where I really was able to put the hammer down and drop my time down with the long rolling downhill into Hurricane. Unfortunately, I was not in nearly as good of shape this year, so after a brief period of attempting to replicate last year's strategy, I began to break down. Mile 20 seemed like crossing a threshold from feeling relatively good (surprisingly good, actually) into a suffer-fest. I knew I was not in prime racing shape, so I was almost expecting it, but it was still no fun. However, before the race I had determined that I would just give it my best shot no matter what happened and be happy that I was able to run a marathon this early in the year despite my injury and the slow recovery. I had built a huge gap on Aaron, but he managed to chip away at it little by little and he went past me around mile 23. I had nothing left in the tank so I just let him go and concentrated on finishing as respectably as possible. The heat was beginning to become a factor at this point, and I just wanted to be done with the race and somewhere cool with a cool drink of water. At around mile 24 I suddenly got very sick and had to stop for a couple of minutes to deposit my breakfast in the weeds on the side of the road. Again, the race crew was right there in a matter of probably less than a minute offering me water and making sure I was ok. Can't say enough about how well run this race is. I felt much better and was able to run the last mile feeling better and faster than I had for the past 5.
My finish time was 10 minutes slower than last year, at 2:51, but considering the unusual heat, and my lack of fitness I was satisfied with the results. Aaron finished around 2:45, so I still own the course record, and hopefully that will go down next year when I break 2:40 on that course. Brian must have had a very tough race because he finished about 10 minutes after I did...his only finish over three hours ever. I think he was kind of bummed about it, but hopefully he'll be back next year. It was actually nice to have a competitive race. All in all another great Sand Hollow experience, and I plan on making it a regular part of my race schedule.
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