A Balance, Redefined

Utah Valley Marathon

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Location:

Vestavia,AL,USA

Member Since:

May 31, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon Top 10 Finishes: 7 Bridges ('15), Utah Valley ('13), Salt Lake City ('08), Top of Utah ('07), and St. Louis ('04). Ran around the equator (24901.55) in 4,388 days.

Personal Records
Marathon 2:39 (SLC '08)
1/2 Marathon 1:12.30 (Provo River, aided '08)
10K 34:16 (Track, sea level '00)
10K 33:15 (Des 10K, aided '08)
8K 25:32 (Crack of Dawn, aided '13)
5K 16:44 (Track, sea level '00)
5K 16:07 (Running of the Leopards, aided '12)
 

Short-Term Running Goals:

NYC Marathon November 3, 2019 done 

London Marathon October 3, 2021 done

Tokyo Marathon March 3, 2024!!!

And my largest challenge to date, raise $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my cancer survivorship and in memory of those lost to blood cancer...
DONE! $26,403.70

https://pages.lls.org/tnt/al/london2021/awende

Long-Term Running Goals:

Enjoy being a Masters Runner.

Get under 3 hours one more time...

Personal:

Grew up outside Chicago and joined the blog while I lived in Salt Lake City. Now living outside Birmingham. I am married with two daughters. Wife thinks I'm crazy for doing marathons. And yes I am crazy I'm a scientist for a living...

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 331.25
RM 090416 Lifetime Miles: 136.06
Saucony Type A Lifetime Miles: 200.18
Nike Vaporfly Pink Lifetime Miles: 122.22
Saucony Ride #37 - Black Lifetime Miles: 56.50
Saucony Ride #38 - Neon Lifetime Miles: 53.50
Saucony Ride #39 - Grey Lifetime Miles: 59.50
Brooks Launch #38 - Grey Lifetime Miles: 65.25
Brooks Launch #39 - White Lifetime Miles: 57.50
Brooks Launch #40 - Blue Lifetime Miles: 54.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.0026.200.000.000.000.000.0046.20
RM 090416 Miles: 0.32Saucony Rides #11 Miles: 10.00Saucony Rides #10 Miles: 7.50Brooks Launch #4 Miles: 2.50Saucony Fastwitch Miles: 27.00
Night Sleep Time: 43.00Nap Time: 2.00Total Sleep Time: 45.00Weight: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.000.000.000.005.00

No that is not a mistake. I did sleep a total of 10 hours... Things finally caught up with me and I needed the rest. So I slept in and then after church we had a picnic with some friends and then I took a two hour nap. After the girls went down did a Sugar House loop. Still am in a bit of disbelief about the race yesterday. Legs are feeling good. Sorry I didn't make it in the morning to run with Steve and Adam C. though.

Avg. 9:06 HR 133

RM 090416 Miles: 0.32Saucony Rides #11 Miles: 5.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 2.00Total Sleep Time: 10.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.000.000.000.005.00

AM: The problem with getting sleep is then it is harder for me to get sleep the next night. That being said I still feel rested. Back to the grind and just staying healthy this week. No major deadlines, first week in about 6 weeks I can say that. But now comes cleaning up all the loose ends. Commute in.

Mi 2.5 Avg. 10:39 HR 126

PM: A relatively relaxing Monday. It was a long down but a low key one. Did the commute run home. Then back to lab for a little set-up.

Mi 2.5 Avg. 7:33 HR 142

Saucony Rides #10 Miles: 5.00
Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.000.000.000.005.00

AM: Such a beautiful morning. It is tough to taper on a day like today. Thomas did catch me this morning on the commute run in. Right at the end but still got to catch up a little. 

Mi 2.5 Avg. 9:49 HR 135

PM: Commute run home. Just doing all I can to keep my head above water.

Mi 2.5 Avg. 7:55 HR 126

Saucony Rides #11 Miles: 5.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00

Today was a surprise for my wife. It took working till the wee hours of the morning to get my work out of the way but that is what is needed sometimes. In the seven years we have lived here we have not gone on a hike without the kids in tow. This has limited our distances and therefore she has never made a summit. So I arranged with her friend to have a playdate for the girls and took her up Mill Creek. We did the Grandeur Peak summit. One of the things I will miss most about Utah is that we were able to do this entire hike and I was still in lab before 11am. Then however I did have a full day and had to come back at night but it was worth it.

Night Sleep Time: 3.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 3.00Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.500.000.000.000.000.000.002.50

Commute run in. Nothing special. Trying to get some sleep caught up from the other night although the stress levels at work are increasing.

Brooks Launch #4 Miles: 2.50
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.500.000.000.000.000.000.002.50

Final run before the marathon. Got some nice sleep and then a very full day of work until hitting the road to drive down to Provo. Just the commute run in.

Saucony Rides #10 Miles: 2.50
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 0.00
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Race: Utah Valley Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:44:22, Place overall: 7, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.000.000.000.0026.20

Chapter 12

 

Saying goodbye

 

Year recap (brief)

Fortunately it has not been three years between marathons like last time. In fact it has only been about 9 months. Those months have been packed though. The year ended with some additional job hunting but in the end the decision stayed the same and we are heading to Birmingham, Alabama later this month. As part of a closer on our life chapter of living in Utah we have been trying to do as much as possible. We have been Moab, to the Grand Canyon, up most of the local canyons, and overall just trying to see as many of our friends as we can. We also made a trip to our new hometown found a home and schools for the girls, all and all a very productive year. My capstone to the running scene is the race this chapter is devoted to. As a prelude I also did an 8K last weekend in which I not only broke my 2000, 8K record I also broke my 5K record. According to the TrailRunner analysis of my Garmin file the first 5K was 16:00 even… This was a huge confidence boost for today’s race but definitely jacked up my calves a little. So here is the story of my ’13 marathon, number twelve on my list. As is my usual tradition, marathon race reports are a time of reflection for me on my year in running and life in general. As noted above this year’s life side of things has been crazy. I have been able to maintain some sort of a balance between family, work, and running but it was definitely harder this year than any other. Even with that being said I managed 1073 miles before my final taper week. This puts the race at the 5th highest pre-race mileage. I did also however do the least workouts, structured or otherwise. In fact the 8K above was really my only hard workout. So I was iffy about the expectations.

 

Pre-race

            The weekend started off great. My family was able to join me as Logan was kind enough to find a place that we could all stay at. So after work on Friday we headed down. We picked up Fazoli’s on the way. This was a Knox College CC tradition so it was nice to relive that. Steve H. and his family also joined us for dinner that was a nice treat. One of the fun parts about this race is we put together a four person team. Works that they totaled all of our times and lowest total time wins. Walter rounded out the 4th spot but did not make the dinner. Steve was great and had jerseys made up for us. Our team name was the Flying Squirrels. For those of you who know me, you know I have an obsession with squirrels. Part of this is related to a number of additional Knox related squirrel incidents. Including one cross-country work out that a squirrel ran up and down one of my teammates like he was a tree. After dinner we went to the expo to get our numbers, ran into Sasha for a moment, and then back to the house for a little R&R. Logan and I played a number of rounds of pool over a very nice conversation and then off to bed. The 3 AM rise to catch the bus was not something I was looking forward to. However, between the tiring week and everything else going on I was out like a log. The 5 or so hours of sleep have become normal for me so when my alarm went off it was not too bad to get up. Steve picked us up and took us to the bus stop and we were on our way.

Saw a number of people at the start including James and finally Walter. Then it was quickly time to get going. Again I didn’t know what I could do. With my training I could have respected a 2:50. I thought a 2:45 was most reasonable and that if the stars aligned 2:40 could be in reach.

 

The Race

            The weather was ok for a marathon, it was cool but could have been colder. One of the few canyon races I was not shivering at the start and that was nice but a concern for things to come. The start felt smooth and just went out on my own for about the first six or seven miles. There were two guys with headphones on shooting for a 2:50 that I chatted to very briefly. They passed me and then I passed them back. My right calf was feeling tight, likely from the craziness of the weekend before. My left heal has also been bugging me for about a month now but it was holding together. Around this time Steve came up and passed me. Then we hit the hills and we stuck together. It was a lifesaver to have him to run with during this stretch. It is much harder than the elevation map leads you to believe. I know others have warned about it but sometimes you need to experience something. Steve shared some of his drink with me around the halfway mark. Then when he asked what we were at the half and I told him 1:20 a new fire was lit in him and I just couldn’t muster it. I stuck with him maybe until mile 14/15 but then gradually lost touch. Running on my own was fine and Steve was still in reach and though he was putting ground on me it was at a pace that was motivating not demoralizing and I used him to pull me as much as I could muster. By mile 20 I was really feeling it but knew I could make it through to the end. I also knew I was sitting in 7 or 8 and really wanted a top ten spot so there was no way I was letting up. Somehow I completely missed Bridal Falls, a shame because I like to look at it but then I was at the mouth of the canyon and starting to pass the half marathoners. This was really good this time. For the most part they were all to the left and the water stops were big enough that the halfers did not get in the way and having them cheer for me really helped. With about 5K to go I could see that Steve was almost out of site and passing Walter. I also started playing mind games with myself that the halfers were in the full and about to pass me to keep me moving. With about 2 miles to go I could see that I would likely catch Walter and used him to pull me along. At the mile 25 water stop Walter got some water and that is when I passed him to move into 7 place. Now the finish line was in sight and I knew my family was there waiting so I just gave it all I had and crossed the line.

 

Post-race

            I met up with the rest of the team. It was awesome we had Logan in 4th, Steve in 6th, me in 7th, and Walter in 8th. Still a bit off of the Jeff, Paul, etc. team of years past but still a very solid victory. Plus it was just great to have them out there to work off of and with. A whirlpool company was kind enough to have two tubs set-up with ice-cold water. So I did two 10-minute sessions in there and then waited for the awards. Logan and Walter both took home nice checks and we all took home plaques. Afterwards we headed back to the house, after a brief adventure I caused we said our goodbyes and drove back to Salt Lake. Overall, it was a great weekend. The camaraderie and race both exceeded my expectations. My 2:44 beat my goal time and though a PR is always nice considering everything that has gone on the last nine months I’m really happy to have done this. I just edged out my ’12 TOU time so this race now sits as my 3rd fastest marathon. Consistency is my key… I could not have asked for a better farewell to Utah. Thank you.

 

NUMBERS

First half 1:21:00

Second half 1:23:22

2 minutes and 22 seconds difference is not too shabby.

Garmin

2:44:26 at 26.35 miles

Chip

2:44:22

Gun

2:44:25

Overall 7th place and 2nd in division.

Going off of the course tool, 12 splits were slower than 2:45 pace and 14 were faster.

My fastest mile was mile 1 at 5:55 and my slowest mile was mile 9 at 6:39.

I am super happy with the consistency of my splits with only a 44 second spread!

 

Saucony Fastwitch Miles: 27.00
Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(12)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.0026.200.000.000.000.000.0046.20
RM 090416 Miles: 0.32Saucony Rides #11 Miles: 10.00Saucony Rides #10 Miles: 7.50Brooks Launch #4 Miles: 2.50Saucony Fastwitch Miles: 27.00
Night Sleep Time: 43.00Nap Time: 2.00Total Sleep Time: 45.00Weight: 0.00
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