St. George Marathon October 4, 2014
This is a race report I've been wishing to write for quite some time. It feels good to be able to write: "Ran a BQ today in 3:28:39."
I've been chasing this goal for a few years now. I remember when I first decided to pursue a BQ. I knew that achieving a BQ would be very difficult for me and might very well be unattainable. Little did I know at the time the BAA had formulated plans to make it 5 minutes and 59 seconds more difficult.
Now that it's done I've had a chance to reflect on what it was that made the difference between enduring another frustrating race, or running down the finish chute feeling the euphoria of accomplishment. Prior to this year the closest I ever came to a BQ was at St. George back in 2011. I came close in June of this year at the Utah Valley Marathon where I ran a 3:32 in very unfavorable conditions. There was a strong headwind blowing from the dam all the way through the canyon. Along the way I had some epic failures. Yakima 2013 was certainly the lowest of the lows.
So what made it happen for me? Well, it was many things, but two really stand out:
First and foremost was a supportive family. It all begins and ends right there. Thanks Joy, Always.
Second: The Cedar River Runners. In the summer of 2012 my job took me to Seattle. Since I hadn't had the level of success I'd wanted training on my own I decided to look for a running group. I struck gold when I showed up on a Tuesday night for a track work out with the CRRs at Kentwood High School and met Dean, Mary, and a few others.
It became clear that if I wanted to run a faster time I needed to train at a faster pace with faster runners. It was also quickly clear that the CRR had an abundance of fast runners. They almost killed me the first Saturday I showed up for the weekly Cedar River Trail run. Dean told me it was a 14 mile out and back, but he neglected to tell me that because of a high school cross country meet, the directions he gave me were to an alternate starting spot which added 3 miles.
For 2 years I’ve enjoyed every mile I ran with the CRRs. Thursday evening runs around Lake Youngs (with headlamps in the winter), Saturdays on the Cedar River Trail and occasionally Soos Creek. I enjoyed the conversation, the advice, and the stories (even the hard to believe ones). They made the miles fly by.
Every CRR helped me. Thomas pushed the pace on every hill. Bob told his stories again…and again…and again…and…. I’m pretty sure he somehow trained those chickens to jump out at him just so he’d have a new story to tell. Todd, Ron, Sean, Clint, Mary, Cliff, Allison, too many to name, I shouldn’t have started trying to. Anyone and everyone who slogged a mile with me through the beautiful liquid sunshine helped me.
Every Saturday & Thursday I would try to hang for a mile or two longer with the fast group. Every mile I got to measure myself with a whole pack of runners who owned BQ times. Every week you made me stronger, faster, and more durable.
Back in 2011 I ran St. George for the first and only other time, so for comparison sake, I listed my splits next to this year’s race. It really drives home the point how a guy 3 years older training with great people can be so much more successful than going it alone.
The actual race:
The race started 15-20 minutes late. I really hated this. I remember in 2011 (warmest starting temperature ever for the SGM) how warm it was climbing up Veyo. I needed all the edge I could get and waiting 15+ minutes meant it was only going to get warmer. The heat destroyed me earlier in the year at the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon in July. The good news was that the wind seemed to be blowing in the right direction.
I almost always start these early morning marathons with a beanie, gloves, and an extra layer on top. I tossed the beanie almost immediately, the top layer before mile one, and the gloves soon thereafter. That was very unusual for me. I hate to be cold but there I was down to shorts and a singlet by mile one feeling comfortable. This made me a little nervous that perhaps I’d become too acclimated to the cool Pacific Northwest climate which certainly wasn’t going to be the case as soon as the sun crested the hill. I started behind the 3:25 pacer but felt comfortable slowly moving past that group and just tried to see how long I could keep them behind me.
Splits
2014 7:51 / 7:34 / 7:21 / 7:22 / 7:20 / 7:17 / 7:11
2011 8:00 / 8:07 / 7:47 / 7:48 / 7:49 / 7:31 / 7:31
At the time I felt like I was taking it too easy climbing up Veyo and Dameron but the 3:25 pace group was still behind me and the pacer had said he was going to bank 45-50 seconds over the first 7 miles to bleed on the climbs. So in retrospect I feel pretty good about the climbing sections. Just before the half the pace group slowly moved past me which caused me a certain amount of anxiety. Didn’t know whether or not to try and stay with them longer or run my own race. I decided to slowly let them go. When I saw the clock at the halfway point I felt better about letting them go because they were more than a minute maybe even two ahead of pace.
2014 8:45 / 8:12 / 8:17 / 8:27 / 8:10 / 7:37 Half in 1:42:33
2011 8:54 / 8:28 / 8:40 / 8:44 / 8:38 / 8:13 Half in 1:47:XX
I drove the course the day before the race. I told myself that as soon as I saw the volcano and made that right turn looking out onto Snow Canyon that it was time to go to work. It was time to log as many miles in the 7s for as long as I could. If there’s one thing to be disappointed in, it’s that mile 19 was only 4 seconds faster than in 2011. I think I was a little too aware of the small time cushion I had and allowed myself to coast on the uphill section to the overpass.
2014 7:59 / 7:39 / 7:39 / 7:49 / 8:06 / 8:44 / 8:15
2011 8:38 / 8:00 / 7:44 / 7:48 / 8:26 / 8:48 / 8:33
This was where the demons started messing with my mind. Prior to the race I knew that I needed a sub 3:30 to BQ. I also knew that the registration window for 2015 had closed so I was running for a shot at 2016. If I understand the qualifying rules correctly, the qualifying time applies to your age on the day the Boston Marathon is run. This means I will be in a new age division in April of 2016 and that means I would only need a sub 3:40.
These last six miles were all about fighting to run and work for the time that I wanted (sub 3:30) rather than settling for what I needed (sub 3:40).
So proud of myself for being mentally strong at the end of the race. At every mile clock I did the math to make sure I was still on pace and compared it to the virtual runner on my Garmin. Tried each mile to keep it in the low 8s to maintain the small time cushion I had. I started to crash somewhere after mile 24. I picked up another runner moving past me with a mile and a half to go and just increased my pace to match their pace. I didn't slow down or stop to take anything at the last aid station because I was afraid of bleeding too much time. Just grabbed a cup of water and dumped it over my head. I ran alongside them until the final corner. I remember in 2011 how long the finish chute seemed. This time it was just as long but so much sweeter.
It was a very good day.
2014 7:50 / 8:18 / 8:15 / 8:10 / 8:19 / 8:13 / 1:57 3:28:39
2011 8:24 / 9:11 / 9:04 / 8:27 / 8:55 / 8:44 / X:XX 3:38:40
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