A Balance, Redefined

Top of Utah Half 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
Race: Top of Utah Half Marathon (13.12 Miles) 01:15:30, Place overall: 9, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.000.000.000.0020.00

EXTENDED EDITION: I have had a moment to get back into the routine and wanted to add a few more notes to the race report.

Today was the day to get back to the racing scene. I had built this race up a lot in my head since Des 10K. The 3X5K and 3X1mi workouts the last couple weeks had my hopes up. I went into this race thinking I could run anywhere from a 1:20 to a 1:12 and hoping for a 1:14:38 which is the target for a 2:40 marathon by Sasha's course tools. 

On Friday Jake picked me up after work and was kind enough to let me join him, Andrea, and his parents for the drive up to Logan. We then stayed with Scott E who was kind enough to let us stay at his house. His and his family’s kindness, generosity, and trust were very kind. Allie even joined us for a late night discussion after dinner to wind things down before the race. The dinner Karen provided was the perfect carbo-loading. Thank you to all of you.

Got to sleep relatively early. And up a little after 4am, two Saturdays in a row with the early rise. Scott drove Jake and I down to the start and then the bus ride up the canyon during which time I had good chat with Scott. It was a bit cold for my liking after getting out of the bus but great for racing. Had a great time talking with a number of people I haven't seen in awhile including Albert and Clyde whom I did my warmup with. During the warmup I even briefly saw Demetrio and Carol, two people I used to do a lot of my workouts with when I first moved to SLC.

We then all got to the line and I saw even more people I hadn’t spoken with in awhile, Ben, Walter, and Steve and met a few new faces from the blog including Riley and a slew of others I’m sorry I am not naming. The gun went off after a misfire and everyone was off down the canyon. A group of about 5 guys took off, led by Jake. Then there were about four of us including Walter and Clyde. We had a good chat and by about mile 2 I moved a little ahead and them. I could see Albert and Steve but did not want to go out too fast. This was another guy in blue top and did go after them but more or less I was on my own from mile 2 on.

I heard footsteps coming up behind me and was expecting to see Walter. Instead it was Will, someone I had not met before. We exchanged pleasantries and I tired to stay with him. At about this time I heard my name and was happy to see Cody cheering us on. Will continued to move and I tried to put a move on him but he responded and left me but not broken. Cody’s cheering helped keep me moving. My pace quickened while running with him and even though I couldn’t hold on he helped me gain momentum to pass the blue top guy. This was a good pass because unknown to me blue top guy ended up finishing third in my age group. From there on out I was on my own and more or less just struggling with my own head and the knowledge of the mile 12 hill. I went with him and together we passed blue top guy Mitch, who ended up third in my age group. The rest of the run I was in the same place.

It was great to see Andrea at the finish cheering us into the chute and enjoy all the discussion after the race. There is a lot to be said about the atmosphere and camaraderie around racing events, especially with the FRB team! A number of people had great races and I linked to a few of them at mention of their names.

Had a great cooldown where I met even more people and had a good discussion with Clyde about St. George and Ben about this marathon plans and potentially pacing together for the full marathon.

Overall, this was a good run. It was my 10th half marathon and 4th fastest. So overall a great experience. I did hold back a little in the early miles and I think that allowed me to finish stronger and not be too beat up. In retrospect I think my initial goal time was a little ambitious and considering my training the last three years this is a much better showing than I first gave it credit for. Just not close to my 2009 showing. The prediction for the full is a 2:41:51 and I am still struggling about taking Ben’s offer and shooting for the just under 2:40 pace or going in with a 2:45 in mind. I will wait and see how I recover and how the next two weeks go. I am not opposed to having both in mind and playing it by ear until the gun goes off…

For “even pace” I compared my splits to the course tool and found the following.
Mi 1 +2s; Mi 2 -10s; Mi 3 -7s; Mi 4 -9s; Mi 5 -23s; Mi 6 -17s; Mi 7 -7s; Mi 8 +4s; Mi 9 +10s; Mi 10 +20s; Mi 11 +11s; Mi 12 +14s; Mi 13 +10s; and +8s
So obviously even for a 1:15:30, my extra pace with the downhill in the canyon did not equal my loss on the streets of Logan. Probably due to my much lower base going into this race. Which does raise some red flags for the marathon as far as pace selection.


RM 090416 Miles: 0.01Saucony Fastwitch Miles: 20.00Saucony Compression Socks 1&2 Miles: 20.00
Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From ACorn on Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 23:48:19 from 24.2.76.146

Great race, impressive pace! You held on well at the end during the last couple of (tougher) miles.

Big congrats, you're not far off of your 2:40 goal.

Keep up the great running!

From Jon on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 06:04:09 from 98.71.134.80

Nice job, Adam. Should have a good TOU marathon in you.

From Jake K on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 08:12:47 from 67.177.11.154

Really good race Adam. I think you're ready to take a stab at sub 2:40 for sure! A top 10 finish is no easy task at this race anymore.

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 10:39:30 from 67.40.116.44

nice job Adam, great top 10 finish in a really loaded field. you are going to rock the full in three weeks- look forward to seeing you again. thanks for staying with us- come back and stay anytime, I really enjoyed getting a chance to talk some science and hear about your grant and job prospects. as for the "trust" thing- I just noticed the silverware, TV, couch, and my truck are missing. you didn't have anything to do with that did you???

From JD on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 12:55:36 from 75.169.94.41

great race - looking forward to your marathon!

From allie on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 14:40:09 from 174.23.155.117

congrats, adam. great race and on track for a great marathon.

From scottkeate on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 17:54:15 from 71.199.4.146

Great run Adam! Nicely done!

From Adam RW on Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 21:01:32 from 67.182.250.241

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I have updated the entry with some new thoughts on the race and am really looking forward to the marathon.

Scott, I gave your boys $20 ea to keep quiet about that stuff. Just make sure not to check Craig's list for the next couple days... I'm going to have to have a discussion with them at the marathon :)

From Superfly on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 09:51:42 from 74.211.21.81

I think you ran a dang good race Adam. Smart at the beginning and strong in the finishing miles. Go get that PR in the full. Don't second guess it. Just relax, run hard and you'll do it! Good job!

From bgrun on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 09:56:29 from 68.251.37.230

Congratulations on your amazing race and the Crazy running man trophy!

AND making Timpanogos summit Sunday!!

After your serious discussion about pace and whether to go for the 2:40 or not, I have to say to both you and Scott, thanks for the laughs from your comments!

Hope you're feeling fine today and even better in 3 weeks.

From jtshad on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 09:56:57 from 204.134.132.225

Great race! A strong run, welcome back! Hope to see you do well at the marathon.

From MarkP on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:01:10 from 70.58.42.217

Awesome race! Congrats.

From Scott Ensign on Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 08:35:33 from 129.123.3.84

I was wondering where they got that extra cash....

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