A Balance, Redefined

TOU 1/2

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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
Race: TOU 1/2 (13.1 Miles) 01:13:48, Place overall: 11, Place in age division: 4
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.0013.000.000.000.000.000.0020.00

I was pretty nervous about this race. It was Aug 20th, 2008 when I was going to break in my flats for St. George and just broke myself. Since then I’ve obviously been hesitant in my training. The slower mileage build and much easier pace has been good for me. Des 10K was a huge surprise for me but I came into this race very unsure of myself and my ability. The few longer hard runs I’ve done were pretty tough. I figured I could surprise myself like at Des 10K and run a 1:12 or run a 1:18. I however wanted anything under 1:15…

I drove up to Logan after helping put the girls down for the night. Jon was nice enough to pick up my race packet and Cody let me stay at his place. Thanks to both of them. Friday night Cody showed me his race report from the previous year and we went over Paul’s map, both came in very helpful. I ended up reading Born to Run for about an hour and then got to sleep. I woke up a couple times, probably nervous about the race. Cody drove to the start after picking up Paul. At the start we saw a number of people I hadn’t seen in a while or ever met before. This race was going to be very stacked and I would just have to wait to see how it played out.

After a little extra wait due to the huge increase in participation we were headed down the canyon. I stayed back a little the first few miles to get a good feel for things. I watched Cody, Jon, Albert and a number of other people slowly gain on me. In addition to the Terran, Alex, Paul, and Seth who were screaming up ahead.

The first mile was 5:27.55 (183). The pace was good and I wasn’t feeling too bad so I decided I would stick with it.

The second mile was 5:28.94 (176). Still feeling good and starting to gain a little on Cody. Also, three guys pulled up alongside me and started discussing pace. The mentioned they were a 5:45 group obviously going too fast.

The third mile was 5:30.10 (184). Very happy with how the effort felt. I think I caught Cody this mile. Now on to “yellow shirt”.

The fourth mile was 5:32.07 (184). The “5:45 group” was still with me and one guy was following TOO close and clipped me a few times. I decided to very gradually pick it up and see what happened. Fortunately, he(they) opted to go with me.

The fifth mile was 5:24.68 (183). Not too fast but it did the trick they backed off. I did take a Gu during this mile as well.

The sixth mile was nearing the end of the canyon 5:21.31 (184). I was starting to gain on Walter and “yellow shirt”.

The seventh mile was 5:24.42 (184). It was nice to get in to the pretty decent group of fans as we exited the canyon. I passed Walter and was almost immediately passed by Justin (guy from Sandy). However, yellow shirt was pretty close in reach. I was hovering in 10th place and really wanted to make top ten.

The eighth mile was 5:34.73 (185). I was in 9th place and feeling pretty good. I really wanted to get a 55 min 10 mile split at this time.

Mile nine was 5:40.90 (183). Oops… I took a second Gu during this mile. I guess the lack of canyon descent and tailwind was playing its toll. Also at this point I heard two guys coming on fast. Turns out it was Joe Wilson and a training buddy. They passed me like I was standing still and continued on to Justin. Justin fended them off for awhile. So much for 10th place…

Mile ten was 5:50.25 (182). Still falling off pace a little more than I would have liked and missed my 55. I think I saw 55:30 (I could add up the splits I guess)…

I knew the second half of mile 11 and all of mile 12 were going to be painful thanks to the conversation with Cody the night before so I just clamped down into survival mode. From the cheers of the crowd I knew someone was not too far behind and I did not want to get passed by anyone else.

Mile eleven was 5:54.12 (182). At least I was still under 6 but I knew the hardest mile was yet to come. The only thing that kept me moving was the fear of the cheers for the person behind me. I never looked back.

Mile twelve was 6:09.98 (183). So much for staying under 6 but not as bad as it could have been. Now to use the downhill.

Mile thirteen is all down to the finish. That you can see clearly the whole way. I could still see Justin, Joe and friend. Well beyond my reach but that helped pull me along. Time 5:39.11 (185). Not too shabby and a 0:50.65 (187) for the finish. Garmin had 0.16 (That’s what we get for not being allowed to run tangents.).

 

Final Garmin time 1:13:48.81 (Avg. 5:36-HR 183) final chip time 1:13:47.9. Second fastest half of all time so overall very happy with it. Since I didn’t know what to expect I had to be happy with whatever I got and I was. I did end up 11th overall. Surprisingly, 6 of the 10 in front of me were in my age group. Including 1 (Tarren), 2 (Alex), and 3 (Paul). So 11th overall those three get removed and still fourth in age group so out of the medals L… But happy with the day, being able to run  my second fastest time, chat with a number of bloggers and local running studs, congratulations to Carol on her marriage, visits to Narnia (see Paul’s or Cody’s reports), etc. etc.

 

Minor warm-up and a double cool-down (about 7 total).  

Adidas Adistar (flats) #2 Miles: 20.00
Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Superfly on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 22:41:16 from 208.117.127.110

Adam great job man. I'm pumped you ran so good. Hope your happy with the race since you race so little... it could be a long time til your next one:)

From Holt on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 22:42:38 from 75.169.94.111

Great job Adam. Glad it turned out well for you!

From Jon on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 22:48:15 from 75.169.142.116

Excellent race, Adam- 2nd fastest 1/2 ever. I am most impressed by how high your heart rate was the whole race and by how steady it was (minimal rise at the end). Sorry I didn't get the chance to talk with you more, we'll have to catch up in a few weeks.

From Adam RW on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 22:54:52 from 98.202.223.65

Clyde, Thanks! Sorry I won't be headed down this fall to join you guys in anything. Only one more race to go. Really only three "official" ones this year.

Dave, I was happy with it. Way to keep your mileage up this week with classes starting again and everything. I'm really looking forward to reading about your St. George...

Jon, I report it as it is but I should probably put an asterik by the heart rates. I know I noticed the monitor slipping around a lot more than normal.

We'll see what the next time using it brings. I will say that at the start it was reading below 100 though...

From MichelleL on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 00:40:21 from 71.219.40.89

Wow, Adam, it must feel good to be racing so well, with how hard the last year has been on you. Congratulations on your race.

From redrooster on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 01:29:08 from 71.219.137.198

Adam, great race, sorry I missed seeing you somehow. My wife was waiting for me at the finish, and I told her to take a picture of anyone ahead of me in a blog singlet, and it turns out she got a great picture of you. I will email it to you. Scott

From sam Dean-Howard on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 08:25:09 from 90.195.99.111

Great race well done on such a fast and even paced race just awesome well done.

and great report tooo :-)

From Burt on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 13:10:17 from 98.167.151.26

Nice job Adam. Very competitive race.

From Kelli on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 14:48:19 from 71.219.64.200

Very solid and TOTALLY great race!!! You did not break, that is a great sign. Good things are to come, I am sure.

I am so glad you guys have spilled the beans on Narnia, it will no longer be so quiet back there.

From paul on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 15:49:49 from 75.162.205.122

Great job Adam. It's really nice seeing good things come to you. You've been patient and smart, and serve as an example to anyone coming back from injury. See you in a few.

From Ashbaker on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 16:21:33 from 76.27.0.45

Excellent race Adam, I'm so glad you have been able to bounce back and get some good performances in spite of the tough setbacks. Way to go!

I was thinking of calling you for a long run but did not think you would be up to it? Let me know when you are ready again.

From Dave S on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 19:27:50 from 4.254.228.85

Adam, great race. 11th in that stacked race would be pretty darn good even at full fitness. Getting your second fastest time now says you've got PRs coming when you get back fully

From JD on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 19:48:51 from 209.183.51.66

Congratulations on a really great half.

Those 10 minute miles you do in training really paid off! :-)

From Cody on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 23:33:20 from 67.161.250.22

It was great to have you stay with us. You will do well at the full. I see your sub 2:40 there as a real deal. If anyone want to know how to recover from injury and get back to real racing, I will point them to your blog and show them how to do it right.

From Kory on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 16:10:33 from 134.50.223.250

Way to go!!! your an awesome runner with so much talent. You were patient and trained well. This is well deserved for you and I'm happy you did well.

Your going to smash you Marathon PR in the future. Nice work Adam. Sorry so late on response, I worked most of the weekend.

From jtshad on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 16:18:16 from 204.134.132.225

Adam, great race! Your patience in your recovery has paid off. Keep running strong.

From Adam RW on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 23:02:56 from 98.202.223.65

MichelleL, I’m glad that the patience paid off. I only hope that the same will happen for you. You have shown both patience and a willingness to give whatever it takes of yourself with the cross-training, etc.

Scott, No worries about the missed chance to chat. Races are usually hectic and when one doubles in size there are a lot of distractions. Congrats on a great race to you too.

Sam, Thanks for the comments. It was nice to keep the even pace. Too bad I didn’t keep it going on the flat and up parts. Next time!

Burt, Thank you. I hope all is going well down south.

Kelli, I’m sorry you were struggling with an injury today. However, it was a strong race to stick it out anyway. Congrats on a great effort.

Paul, Your words are kind and you continue to be an inspiration to me if not all on the blog.

Steve, Thank you. The 20-miler the other week definitely gave me a little more confidence going into this race. You are right I wasn’t up for a long run. This week is going to be lower and then taper. If you want I could meet for a part of your run.

JD, I was happy with it. So the tortoise strikes again. Slow and steady, or as Paul and I discussed nice and consistent mileage pays off in the end.

Cody, The pleasure was all mine. Thank you and your kind wife for the hospitality.

Kory, It is nice to be racing again. I’m looking forward to what you are going to do this weekend!

Jeff, Now if I could just find a way to follow in your footsteps and get sponsored to do this stuff 

Thanks All!!!

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