Angkor Wat Marathon 2015

Traveled into Cambodia with other PCVs to Siem Reap to run the Angkor Wat Marathon. The overland journey getting there was rough. I don't recommend it. Easier to fly. Spent all day Saturday exploring the many temples through the Angkor Wat area with Pete. He gets credit for the photos below with me in them.

The marathon was on Sunday. Only part of it took place inside the park area, which would have been more scenic had I not seen everything the day before. Marathons are painful, so it's hard (for me at least) to appreciate what's around me. Also, I had to go #2 for half the race, and there weren't any port-a-johns on the course.

But, I made it to the end. Here I am with Alyssa completely exhausted. 

All of us in front of the Angkor Wat temple with our medals.

Salt Lake City Marathon Race Report

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 8:57
Mile 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.

St. George Marathon 2009

I finished my 7th (and possibly last) marathon this weekend. For those not on my journal list, here's the full write-up. I had a hard time finding quality photos of the marathon this year, but I still included some to help break up the length of this post.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St. George Marathon Course

Usual dreams about the race, getting ready, and forgetting stuff. Woke up off and on, but not too much. Glade woke me up at 3:30—I probably got about 6 good hours. Thrilled about that. Dressed and geared up. Met Jake who had been up since 1:45. Poor guy. I drove the 3 of us over to the bus loading area. We got a great spot being early and all. We were on one of the first busses to leave.

These will be keeping us warm the following morning

Long drive out of town to the starting line in Central. Feels like you are driving forever. All the while you know you have to run it back. Freezing cold when we got out. I had on a hoody and sweat pants with gloves, and I was still cold. Made our way to a fire pit to get warm. Stayed there for the next 2 hours, chatting with runners and trying to stay relaxed.

Starting Line

Stripped down to my shirts and sleeveless running shirt at the last minute, tossed my bag of stuff into the U-Haul, and lined up just after the wheel chair racers took off. Had my music and Garmin ready to go as the race started at 6:45. I as glued to the 3:30 pace group for several miles. The balloons the pacer carries are easy to spot, even in the dark. Warmed up quickly and was glad I didn’t keep any extra clothes on.

Mile 1 8:14
Mile 2 7:47
Mile 3 7:36

Veyo

To get a 3:30 marathon time, you need to average an 8:00 min pace through all 26 miles. Since we started slow with all the congestion, our next 2 miles were a bit faster to balance it out. However, once I settled into that pace, I didn’t feel like slowing back down to 8:00, so I slowly moved ahead of the group. My pre-race goal was to finish in 3:30 without injury, thus beating my previous record of 3:34.

Mile 4 7:42
Mile 5 7:37
Mile 6 7:19 (start of downhill into Veyo)
Mile 7 7:07 (More downhill into Veyo)

Base of Veyo

Feeling great and relaxed. My goal begins to change mid race. The new plan is to try and catch the 3:20 pace group. This isn’t easy, as they are maintaining a 7:37 min/mile pace. In order to catch them, I have to significantly speed up. I’m having to walk through a few aid stations in order to drink properly and grab a banana section here and there. I downed a couple GU’s already too.

Mile 8 8:04 (uphill out of Veyo—long and fairly steep)
Mile 9 7:48 (rest of uphill before crest)
Mile 10 7:42 (for a downhill race, there seem to be a lot of hills)

Aid station debris

It hits. Both my knees go at the same time. Painful throbbing in both of them. Calves are getting tight too. At the 11 mile aid station, I pull over to have Bengay rubbed onto my legs. I can barely feel the soothing burn over the knee pain. I’ve already accepted that this may be my last marathon if my knee problems continue, so it’s easier to ignore the pain and keep running. I have the rest of my life to recover.

Mile 11 7:55 (aid station)
Mile 12 8:11 (more hills I think)
Mile 13 7:23

I gave out quite a few of these myself along the way. The kids eat it up.

My ½ marathon time is 1:40:26, 9 minutes off my all time best. Not bad. If I ran the second half in the exact same time, I’d finish in exactly 3:20. The 3:20 pace group is within sight, and I keep in hot pursuit. Pain has subsided a bit and I’m feeling better.

Mile 14 7:27
Mile 15 7:04
Mile 16 6:37 (downhill section. I’ll pay dearly for this later)

I’ve caught the 3:20 pace group and begin to stupidly dream of qualifying for Boston. I’ve already made up 10 minutes, and I’d need to cut another 5 off my time in order to get the 3:15 qualifying time. Easier said than done. There’s 10 more miles at this point, and I’m starting to feel it. I’d either have to run the next 10 miles at about 7:00 min pace, or do 5 mile in the 6:30 range. I decide on the second option.

Mile 17 7:10 (I get a little ahead of the pace group)
Mile 18 7:31
Mile 19 7:58


The pacer takes a bathroom break and the guy he hands the balloons off to speeds past me at 7:00 min pace. What gives?!? I hang close by for awhile, but I can’t seem to catch them. Even on the downhill I can’t get below 7:15 pace anymore. Leg’s are really hurting now and I start having serious doubts.

Mile 20 7:36
Mile 21 7:14 (I’m really trying to hang in there)
Mile 22 7:57

I’m dying. I only have 4 miles to go and my goal is all but out of reach. We are nearing city limits where it will flatten out. I’m using everything I have to stay under 8:00 min pace now. It really really hurts.

Mile 23 7:50
Mile 24 7:23

I give it one last push before my legs completely die. At 2 miles to go I no longer can make them obey me. I’m in horrible pain and a part of me still thinks I can sprint these last 2 miles to qualify. Stupid Boston Marathon. I’m grunting with every stride. I want it to be over so bad. People are lining the streets, cheering, so I try to keep my groans quiet.

Mile 25 8:03

I give up hope. I simply can’t make myself go any faster. In fact, I’m half delusional at this point. I start running 5-10 second intervals with my eyes closed. I don’t even know why I’m forcing myself to run anymore. There’s a part of me that is just too stubborn, stupid, and competitive to start walking and make the pain stop.

Mile 26 7:37

At the time, I felt like I was barely moving. I have no idea how I ran that last mile in 7:37. I couldn’t even focus on faces in the crowd anymore. I only remember being in complete agony and wanting to die.

.2 Miles 8:07


People were passing me the last 200 yards, using whatever they had left. I almost always do the same thing, but not this time. It took everything I had to stumble across that finish line. As soon as I stopped, my calves seized up and I couldn’t stand. One of the volunteers helped me walk a bit and then they suddenly relaxed. Big relief. Got my medal and spotted Sammy.


Hobbled into the finisher area where I loaded up on food and drinks. Felt so good to sit, although getting up and down was very difficult. Oh, my final time was 3:19:59. There was no way I could make up those 5 minutes. I gave it EVERYTHING I had, so I don’t feel too bad. Jake arrived a little later. I think he was about 3:38—an amazing time for a 1st marathon.


It appears I came in 599th out of 5,631 finishers. I was 107th of 434 runners in the men's 35-39 age group. Beat my old PR by 15 minutes.

Arizona Rock n Roll Marathon

I didn't take any pictures at the Arizona Rock n Roll Marathon in January, but I managed to steal a few. I'll catch up to the present eventually.

Massive crowd at the beginning

Somewhere in the middle

Painful finish

Honolulu Marathon 2008

This is one of the many pending blog posts I've had tucked away in the wings, waiting for the Baja trip and others to get out of the way.

After an enjoyable week of sightseeing around Oahu, we arrived at the suffering portion of our trip. My dad and I ran the Honolulu Marathon on the morning of Dec 14th, 2008. I've gone ahead and copied my journal write-up to go along with the pictures, for those not on that list. I brought my camera along, so some of these are mine, others I stole.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up at 2:00 a.m. Surprisingly, not very tired. Slept pretty well for a race night. Got ready and drove to Waikiki in the dark, attempting to find the finish line. (They bus you to the starting line) Got lost, and by the time we located the buses, there was nowhere to park. Found a parking spot about a mile away and decided to walk to the starting line instead of trying for a bus.

Walked about a mile or so with a ton of other people to the starting line, where another 25,000 runners waited. 30 minutes later, we were off, walking to the starting line and then jogging out. It’s a massive crowd. Much energy is spent dodging slower runners and walkers.

It rained almost continually all morning, which helped keep things cool, but the humidity was in the mid 90’s, which wasn’t pleasant.

This was a tough race for both me and my dad. We hypothesized about the reasons why for much of the race: humidity, sporadic training, my old shoes, etc. By mile 10 we had slowed down quite a bit. My dad was suffering from some aches and pains that would plague him the remainder of the race. For me, it was all the hiking I did in my flip flops yesterday. My feet were killing me, and opting to go with old, comfortable shoes turned out to be a huge mistake.

The rain let up mid way and the sun came out. I hugged the side of the road as much as I could, trying to stay in any shade available.

Ignore the shirtless ghost next to my dad. I had a severe case of raw nipples, and was forced to go topless in order to prevent further chaffing. Eventually I secured a couple band-aids and put an end to the free show.

The last 10 miles were slow and painful. We walked a lot and suffered through them.

At last the finish line was in sight and we stumbled through in about 5 hours 45 minutes.

Picked up a snack and our finishers shirt, then it was a death march back to the car. That was one painful walk.

Park City Marathon Extra

If you haven't already checked out Aaron's account of his first marathon, go read it here. It's more entertaining than mine.

And some photos not taken by me:

We are the champions

Running and previewing my shots at the same time

And of course, the gayest marathon finish of all time