Up at 5:00. I got a good 4-4 ½ hours of sleep. Showered to warm up my muscles. Ate a bagel with peanut butter and honey for breakfast.
I had my gear set out the night before
Out by 5:30 and caught TRAX at the Murray station by 6:00. The University train we switched to was packed with runners.
We were all cutting it a little close. Had about 10 minutes to get ready.
Everyone hoping to be reunited with their drop bags after the race.
The Port-a-John lines were huge, so I found the corner of a building to pee against and then made my way to the starting line. The Salt Lake City Marathon started from Olympic Bridge on the U of U campus at 7:00 am. They had half and full marathoners starting together.
It was a little chaotic at the beginning trying to dodge all the slow pokes who feel they need to “race” from the front of the pack. Not surprising though, since 90% of the drivers in our state think the far left lane on the freeway is for enforcing the speed limit on everyone else. Don’t even get me started.
I did a terrible job of pacing myself the first half, as usual. I think I’m barely moving, and then I look at my watch and see I’m running a 7:30 pace. That wouldn’t last though. There were some ok downhill sections early on, but those gave way to long, gradual uphill portions towards the end—when the sun was baking us.
Mile 1 7:34
Mile 2 7:52
Mile 3 7:42
Mile 4 7:43
Mile 5 8:04
Mile 6 7:51
This elevation chart is deceiving. It makes it look like there's much more elevation drop than there really is. We're talking like 600 feet over 26 miles. That's nothing. And I could swear at least 8 of those last 10 miles were uphill.
These early miles were easy. I was pain free and feeling good. I walked through most of the aid stations which kept my pace from getting too fast. It was already warm and sunny by 8:00. Direct sunlight hurts my running more than anything else. I was drinking every chance I got.
Mile 7 8:20
Mile 8 7:59
Mile 9 8:20
Mile 10 7:46
Mile 11 8:06
Mile 12 8:33
I started feeling sore about halfway through—probably from running faster than I should. But also because I haven’t done a long run since that terrible 20 miler in the blizzard. That was 5 weeks ago.
Mile 13 8:36
Mile 14 8:14
Mile 15 8:13
Mile 16 8:28
Mile 17 8:31
The second half of the marathon was pretty boring scenery wise. One long, hot road heading north. I was spent after 17 miles, and it moved from being just sore to being painful. There were quite a few spectator aid stations, which I really appreciated. Every chance I got I would dump cold water on the back of my neck to try and cool myself down. One guy had an entire spread of snacks. That cup of Fritos I had were pure heaven. And I don’t even like Fritos.
Mile 18 8:57Mile 19 8:42
Mile 20 9:08
Mile 21 9:56
Mile 22 9:01
Mile 23 9:41
Mile 24 9:58
I’m pretty much dying at this point. It feels like I’m not even moving forward. It’s hard to get moving again after each aid stop. The last 2 miles were really painful. All I can think about is being finished and knowing that this is my last marathon. (sadly, not Ultramarathon) This makes #8 after Deseret News, St. George, Ogden, Park City, Honolulu, Phoenix, and St. George.
Mile 25 10:50
Mile 26 9:23
.2 Miles 8:33
I could barely walk or stand when it was over. Fortune looked kindly on me when I entered the runners area and saw Blaine in line for his drop bag. He let me cut with him, saving me lots of painful standing in the sun. Headed straight to the massage line after, which wasn’t too bad. Only about a 20 minute wait. Totally worth it. She spent about 15 minutes on my legs, rubbing all the lactic acid out of my sore muscles. Felt so much better after.
I went to some herbal remedy booth next where a gal rubbed my legs down with a natural Ben-Gay type ointment. It felt great. Picked up some free food and swag before taking TRAX to my car. My official time was 3:45:05, an 8:35 pace. I came in 186th out of 1041 finishers, 148th out of 632 men, and 28th out of 91 in my 35-39 age group. Calories burned = 2909, the number of calories a 5’ 10” 174 lb man needs per day. I’m 5’ 8” 140 lbs.
The silver lining on the day was my knees. They didn’t bother me at all the entire race, or after. It was all glutes, quads, and calves. Those don’t worry me at all—they will recover fine. This means I should be able to keep training the way I need to for the Squaw Peak 50 in June. 7 weeks to go.
10 comments:
Way to go Shane! SO glad your knees weren't acting up. I've never had the desire to do that marathon. You know me...I'm all about scenery :) So awesome that you found Blaine at the end to cut in line and get your stuff. My bro did the half, and he was looking for over an hour for his stuff...still sad for me to hear you say that it's your last marathon....I'm sure I can get you to train with me at least IF you're still in town :)
Good run Shane. Glad to see your cross training may be paying off. Looking at the times, do you feel you went out too fast at the beginning?
I think it was a lack of longer training runs over going out to fast. The pain I felt was from fatigue in my legs, not endurance. Plus, I think I would have slowed down at the end whether I had a slower pace at the start or not.
Congrats Shane on the race. That was A LOT of runners at the starting line. Glad your knees held out.
Nice race. I felt the same way you did. I haven't spent enough time on the road to be fully prepped for that race. You got a 15 minute massage?! I got maybe 10 and then the guy let me up handed me his flyer for his newly started business and told me I could make an appointment. Did you get any tacos? They were worth it.
The key is to specify exactly what hurts before the massage, and then compliment them on their technique.
They weren't giving out full tacos when I was there, but I got some burritos samples. I've been a big Rubio's fan for over a decade.
Nice job.
I would have run the marathon with you, but I had already made plans to sleep in.
I'm not sure I believe you on it being your last marathon. I bet you can't even go 5 years without trying another one. I thought the elevation chart was interesting. I had no idea how dramatic the elevation was from the U to the rest of the valley. I mean, I remember huffin and puffin my way from class to class. That was some serious running and you did it fast!
You looked great in your final pictures at the end. I'm really proud of you for this. I can honestly say I know how you feel. Love Dad
Great race report! And I'm so glad your knees held out. See ya soon.
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