Halloween Half Marathon 2011

Joined the masses in the University Mall parking lot in the dark. Thankfully they had some people there with the bibs that weren’t picked up yesterday. Officially running the Halloween Half Marathon today. Waited over an hour freezing our buns off for a bus to take us to Aspen Grove up Sundance Canyon. No lines at the port-a-potties so I made a quick stop there before we entered the heated tent. Packed to the gills with costumed bodies.

We squeezed our way in and found a small patch of grass to chill for the next hour and a bit. Chatted with runners around us. Most people had gotten past yesterday’s confusion and were ready to race. Stripped layers, sticking with shorts, long sleeve tech T and beanie. Made another pee stop in the woods, as the lines for the toilets now were outrageously long.

Race started on time in two waves. Chris and I were in the 9:00 am wave. We got close to the front to avoid the slower runners in the narrow start chute.

The Aspen Loop road is incredibly steep. I did my best to mitigate the impact on my knees while taking advantage of the downhill pace. I still got passed by the 1:30 pacer before reaching Provo Canyon though. Chris stuck with them and passed me too.

Mile 1 6:26
Mile 2 6:47
Mile 3 6:49
Mile 4 6:43
Mile 5 7:06

Being chased by a pirate

Almost immediately after the race started I realized I should have taken a second trip to the port-a-john. I fought the urge to stop until about mile 6. Lost about 3 minutes there. Curses! Never saw the 1:30 pace flag again. Felt much better after that though.

Ran hard the rest of the race, finishing at a park just outside the mouth of the canyon. Didn’t spot Chris, so I hopped in the massage line. Not the greatest massage, but any massage is better than no massage in my book.

Mile 6 10:03 (pit stop)
Mile 7 7:17
Mile 8 7:24
Mile 9 7:23
Mile 10 7:17
Mile 11 7:23
Mile 12 7:18
Mile 13 7:11
.12 Miles 6:30

I finished in 1:35:52, 172nd overall, 16th in my age group. 7:20 pace. Not great, but not terrible. Burned 1444 calories. Ate a mini Lara bar and a gel during the run. Looks like there were about 3300 finishers.

Medal

The Pink Half

I had the opportunity last weekend to pace in The Pink Half, an all female half marathon with an emphasis on breast cancer awareness. Needless to say it was a chance to run in a race I would normally be locked out of. I was the 2:30 pacer, which meant I got to take it easy and enjoy the company and views.

Chilly day in Park City with a bit of early morning rain. The gals were bundled up.

Great views

We received charms in place of medals

Timpanogas Half Marathon 2011 Race Report

Timpanogas Half Marathon Race Report:


I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. Drifted off sometime after 1:00 am. Alarm woke me up at 3:50 am. I’m not a happy camper without enough sleep. Ate an energy bar as I got ready. Drove in the dark to AF High School using my GPS. I left myself zero margin for error and didn’t want to get lost. Cars were backed up trying to park. Boarded a bus about 4:50 with Blaine who was pacing the 1:55 group today. Long, dark ride up to Tibble Fork Reservoir.

Course Map

Satelite view & Elevation chart

Killed time at the top chatting with other runners, prepping my watch and iPod, peeing in the bushes, and waiting for the people on the late busses. We were supposed to start at 5:40 am, but it ended up being 6:00 am. The usual for races that require bussing runners to the start line. Annie and Raylene were also racing today, but I didn’t see them. I didn’t have any big expectations for this race other than to run my best and hope my time was good enough to place.

The Tibble Creek Fork is only 2 ½ miles long and we were out in no time. The trick is finding a pace that you can maintain throughout. I want to go fast, but I don’t want to burn out at the end either. My first mile was quick, 6:25, to get away from the crowd. I slowed down to a 7:10 for mile 2 and a 7:02 for the third. My 5K time was about 20:30—my usual 5K race finish time.

I was hungry before the race even started. I should have eaten more for breakfast. For that reason, I downed a cup of energy drink at the first aid station to try and get some calories in me. That made me have to pee for the rest of the race. I refused to stop though because I didn’t want to lose time. I was feeling good so I sped up a little.

Mile 4 6:53
Mile 5 6:16

The second aid station had GU’s, and I slammed a chocolate one. That really helped and took the edge off my hunger pains. I drank more even though my bladder was already full. Ran a 6:23 for mile 6 despite the aid station, followed by a 6:39 mile 7. Skipped the next aid station to keep my pace up. At this point I’m feeling good and passing a lot of people. Then we exited American Fork Canyon and things leveled out. Much harder to keep a sub 7:00 minute mile pace.

We followed the trail through the golf course and along a stream. It’s a nice trail section through Cedar Hills before kicking us out onto surface streets for the remainder. Mile 8 was 6:48. We hit some rolling hills and I slowed to a 7:17 for mile 9. I squeezed down another GU at 9 mile aid station keeping my hunger at bay. Drank some too. I really had to pee. Mile 10 was 7:39 because I walked through the aid station, and mile 11 was 7:25 because I was getting tired. I had to mentally focus on my legs and feet to make them turn over at the rate I wanted them to. As soon as my mind drifted, I found myself slowing to an 8:00 min pace. Frustrating.

Mile 12, in 7:47, was the toughest of the race. My body wanted to slow down but I was making myself keep pushing. I got a shooting pain in my right calve and it started to lock up, but I took pressure off that foot until it subsided. I gave it everything I had left the last mile, leaving me without a kick at the end. Mile 13 = 7:28. The last .1 was at a 5:56 pace—not exactly a kick, but all I could muster.

My chip time was 1:31:40, a 7:01 pace. I burned 1443 calories—way more than I had at my disposal. According to the official results I came in 50th overall, 35th out of 461 men, and 7th in the 35-39 age group. There were 1182 runners total.

My calves and knees were killing me so a trip to the massage line was a no brainer. The guy I got was really good. He did a lot of pressure points and helped loosen up my leg muscles. Caught up with Blaine and Raylene and got some more info about our relay coming up in 2 weeks. I’m with them in van 2. Really nice medals and shirts. They did a fantastic job for a first time race. Happy with how I did despite not placing.

Timp Trail Half Marathon

While everyone else was preparing to be rapturized on Saturday, I was up Provo Canyon with some hardcore athletes running the Timp Trail 1/2 Marathon. Here is my race report along with some stolen photos.


Drove to Timpanogas Park in Provo Canyon for the Timp Trail Half Marathon. Really fortunate to have a break in our week long stretch of rain for the race. The marathon started at 6:00 am. 26 miles on these trails requires a good deal of training. I wasn’t there yet.

The half started at 8:00. This is at least the 3rd race I’ve begun at this park. I was just here for the Operation Smile 5K. There’s a tough climb right off the bat. We started at 4,900’ and slowly make our way up to the mid ridgeline road at 5200’. My strategy for this race was to treat it like a training run for the first 7-8 miles, then do whatever it took to get up Dry Creek Canyon before giving it everything I had left into the finish line.

Course Map

Mile 1 10:00

101 runners out for the half marathon. 61 guys, 40 girls. 90% of them are wearing hydrations packs around their waist, strapped to their back, or in their hand. I brought my hydration pack, but wasn’t sure whether I wanted to wear it. I found out there were only 2 aid stations—somewhere around mile 7 and another close to 10. It was a warm, sunny day. I drank like crazy on my training run here last Saturday. However it’s so much nicer to run without the extra weight and misbalance caused by the pack.

Course Elevation

In the end I decided to risk it and not bring any liquid with me. I slipped two GU’s in my pockets though. We followed the fire road north up Provo Canyon with views of the narrow valley below. It was 2 miles of rolling terrain. I’d guess I was about 30 back from the front. Past Nunns Park below, 2 ½ miles in, we turned onto a single track trail climbing higher up the ridge. We went from 5200’ up to 5800’ in less than a half mile. Legs burning. Got onto another rolling fire road that hovered around 5700’ running south back the way we came.

Mile 2 9:12
Mile 3 11:54

There must have been snow up here recently, because it was extremely muddy. I passed several people on this 3 mile stretch because of my strategy of running through the weeds on the edge of the road. There was a drop off on my left, but most of the time I had a couple feet to work with. I stayed relatively un-muddy with only minimal buildup on the bottoms of my shoes.

Mile 4 9:02
Mile 5 9:08

After exiting Provo Canyon the road dropped down to 5100’ over the course of about a mile. I’ve run this section on several training runs. We hooked onto the Shoreline Trail that runs above Provo, Orem, and then Lindon. I made the right decision not to bring my hydration pack, because I was fine as I arrived at the first aid station. I drank some Heed and continued on my way.

Mile 6 7:39
Mile 7 10:21

It was warm out and I was sweating like a mad man. I had guzzled a lot of Gatorade before the race to make up for not bringing anything with me, but the heat still sucks my energy. Reached Dry Creek trailhead in good shape with the 3 mile climb to the top of the mountain ahead of me. I slammed a 2X Caffeine tangerine gel. (nasty) A lot of power hiking during this stretch. It’s straight up.

Mile 8 13:47
Mile 9 20:38

Plenty of day hikers and campers out. I got passed a lot on the way up. I’m not a strong climber. Maybe 10 people went by me. ¾ of the way up I reached the second aid station run by some youths. They were energetic and seemed to be having a fun time. Perhaps because of the gels and Red Bowl they had been sampling from the table. I drank some water and then downed 2 cups of Red Bull myself. It really helps during a race like this.

There was a cameraman stationed midway up. These are from him.

Mile 10 8:55

Trudged my way up the mountain until finally reaching the high point of 6500’, 10 ½ miles in. It was all downhill from there. 1600 feet straight down a muddy, rocky, root filled, twisting single track trail. As terrible as I am at climbing up mountainsides, I am exceptional at coming down them. It’s always been my strength in trail races. I let myself fly down and trust my eyes to communicate what my feet need to do to stay upright. I hate to jinx myself, but I’ve yet to fall while doing a descent.

Mile 11 7:03

I blew by every single person who passed me on the climb up, plus a few more. I spent a lot of time in the grass and weeds along the side of the trail to avoid slick mud. You can have thousands of perfect steps, but it only takes one wrong one to send you headlong into a 6 month recovery from a broken bone. My eyes almost never leave the trail. I know where every single rock and root is located in front of me for a split second before it’s replaced with another split second of trail obstacles further ahead.

Mile 12 7:46

Anyway, I love running downhill on difficult trails. The last 100 yards into the finish line are really steep. I had just passed another runner and was in a dead sprint—faster than I should have been going on that slope. I felt two mini pulls in my left calve and had to take most of my weight off of that foot as I finished the last 50 yards. It was a close call, but ended up being fine. Gave me a little scare.

Mile 13 7:32

.41 Miles 5:37 (reminder: this is my pace, not how long it took to go .41 miles)

Drank a bunch of water and cooled down in the shade. Stretched out my calves. I ended up doing better than I anticipated. I finished in 2:15:01. 17th overall, 12th male, and 5th in my 30-39 age group. My Garmin measured the distance at 13.41 miles, a bit longer than a half marathon. Average pace was 10:05. My fastest pace held at some point during the race, according to my Garmin, was 3:43. (it was in that last .41 miles—which is what led to the calve pain.) Calories burned = 1,414. I never felt at want for more than the 2 drinks I had and the 1 gel.

They had to massive pots of chili cooking for the runners. 20 minutes after I finished the hunger hit me. I had two big bowls, some chips and a roll. So good. A 10 minute ice bath after I got home helped my aching legs to recover. Great race. I'd love to try the marathon next year.

This photo is from the start of the Hope For Sarah 5K on April 30th. That's me in the middle.

Riverton Half Marathon

Up at 7:30. Slept ok, although I did wake up several times in the night. Had a granola bar and Gatorade for breakfast. 33 degrees outside, but it was clear, so I went with shorts and a t-shirt. Drove up to Riverton for their Half Marathon. Picked up my bib and goodie bag. They had a nice technical race shirt. It’s a trend that I appreciate. Those old cotton t-shirts were terrible.

Did a short warm-up, but my knees were hurting, so I figured what’s the point. Stripped off my jacket and pants in the car while I waited for the race to start. Ran into Blaine at the starting line. Managed to get my watch and iPod going at the start siren. I had no race plans… just run at a comfortable pace and hope my knees didn’t hurt very much.

I started off quick, as usual, and pretty much stayed in about 30th place most of the way. I kept a fairly consistent pace. Thankfully, my knees didn’t give me trouble until after the race. Then they throbbed like crazy. I was glad I didn’t wear extra clothes, because the sun was out and it warmed up quickly. There were quite a few hills too, including some really steep ones.

Mile 1 6:59
Mile 2 7:14
Mile 3 7:00
Mile 4 7:23
Mile 5 7:17
Mile 6 7:15
Mile 7 7:26
Mile 8 7:21
Mile 9 7:46 (Not tired, but my legs are fatiguing)
Mile 10 7:42
Mile 11 7:49
Mile 12 7:25
Mile 13 7:05
.05 Miles 6:00

This was the only picture I could find of myself online. I'm walking through the chute on the far left.

I finished in 1:36 flat. My average pace was 7:21. I would have been 10 minutes faster if this were a downhill course like Hobble Creek. I burned 1454 calories, but didn’t eat anything during the run. I had a few gulps of Gatorade though. Competition was tough. I came in 30th overall, 27th in Men, and 8th in my 35-39 age group. 398 finishers total. No trophies for me today. All runners received a finishers medal though. I’ve never medaled in any distance over a 10K.

They had free massages after, so I went directly there. The lady worked on my legs for a long time, which I appreciated. There wasn’t much she could do for my knees, but it felt good. Ate a smoothie and bagel with cream cheese before heading home. They put on a nice race.

Suncrest Mountain Half Marathon 2009

***copied from my journal, but with pictures***

Up at 6:30. Groggy. My back is sore. (still feeling good after yesterday's first place finish on our company 5K) Repeated yesterday’s routine, minus the shower. Not quite as nervous, since I’m not competitive in half marathons. Out by 7:00. Drove to 146th and up into Suncrest above Draper. Competing in the Suncrest Mountain Half Marathon today. It’s a brutal road and trail course with constant elevation change.
The course begins at 6100’, goes up and down for 6 miles, drops to 5300’ feet by mile 7, it’s lowest point, and then climbs to 6350’ for the next 5 miles. The last mile is downhill. There are zero flat sections on this course. You are either going up or coming down. Since the declines are so steep, it seems like you spend most of the time climbing. It’s a knee busting race, but mine held together pretty well.

Elevation chart

Race began at 8:00 after the sun was already up and things were warming up. The heat proved to be the most difficult part of the race, after the constant uphill. There were 4 aid stations, and I dumped water on myself at each one of them, trying to cool myself down. I opted not to carry water.

Around mile 1.5 on single track

The trail was a bit clogged at the beginning, as they had the 5K runners start with us. They broke off after 2 miles. I was surprised at the level of difficulty some of the single track had. Many sections were overgrown, covered in roots and rocks, and held sudden sharp turns. I loved these parts, but hated the surface streets through neighborhoods. Great views of both Utah Valley and Salt Lake Valley at different points.

Rounding the corner to the finish line

Here are my split times:

Mile1 7:32 (Can’t help starting out fast)
Mile 2 9:08
Mile 3 8:38
Mile 4 7:53
Mile 5 8:45
Mile 6 8:24
Mile 7 6:28 (Incredibly steep downhill in parts)
Mile 8 11:13 (The 5 mile climb begins)
Mile 9 10:57
Mile 10 15:04 (having to walk sections of really steep uphill)
Mile 11 10:03
Mile 12 10:17
Mile 13 7:13

In case, like me, you've always wondered what I look like from behind.

There were 92 finishers in the half marathon. My final time was 2:00:54, a 9:13 min/mile pace. I came in 15th overall, 14th male. My age group was really competitive. I was 9th in the 30-39 year olds, despite being the 14th male. No medals today. We did have coupons for a free slice of Pier 49 pizza and a Tropical Sno cone immediately following the race though. Ate while watching the live band Mama’s Boys play classic rock tunes.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon 2009

This was my third go at the Hobble Creek 1/2 Marathon. It's a great race that's capped to keep it from getting too big. I found this starting line picture online that someone took. It's a fantastic shot for several reasons. (Make sure and click on the photo to enlarge it)

1. There's nothing like a mass group start, where it looks like dozens of people will be trampled, but no one usually is. Whoever took this was at the right height to really show the scale of the crowd.

2. I love how many of the people in back are just chillin', oblivious to the starting gun. There's that one girl on the left, shivering in her sweat shirt. Meanwhile, everyone on the front line is sporting short shorts and a race T with one a finger on their Garmin watch. It's all business up there. The red headed kid, Mike Vick, wearing race bib #1, was last year's winner. He won again this year in 1:08:45. That's a 5:15 mile pace.

3. And then there's me, far left, posing as an elite runner. I hate getting trapped in the crowd, so I start out fast and then settle into a consistent pace.

4. See that anorexic looking chick with her hair in a bun to the right? She's 30 years old and blazed through this course in 1:12:13.

5. But the real question is, how did my brother-in-law Jake sneak into this race without me knowing? (middle, 2nd row back in the white hat)

Proof(s) I was there

And the T-shirt too

I finished in 1:31:51, my best time. I came in 97th overall, the 65th male, and 11th in my age group. My average mile time was 7:01.