So I had been watching the weather forecast religiously the whole week leading up to TOU. I grew increasingly alarmed because most forecasts called for morning rain. I HATE running in the rain. I do best in dry and warm conditions (like the weather at St. George most years). So I kept praying that the weather would let up. I went to the Expo with my wife Jolynne on Saturday to pick up my bib and shirt. I am always amazed how organized and fast the pickup process is at TOU. This is a testament to the organization and the volunteers. Quite frankly I don’t know what to think of the shirt. I think I like the color but I don’t like the color of the print. It is loud to be sure but it is growing on me. We’ll see how much I wear it.
Once again the Expo wasn’t. I am amazed that they can’t get more vendors at the Expo. But oh well, the beauty of TOU is not in the extras but in its pure simplicity. This is a true marathoner’s race. You don’t come for the schwag, or the Expo, or the pasta feed, or music on the course, or shoulder to shoulder spectators. You come to TOU for flawless execution, responsive race organizers, great volunteers, top notch support on the course, great start line geared to your comfort and race readiness, a beautiful and challenging but fair course, wonderful finish line amenities, a beautiful meaty “moose” medal every year, coveted “moose” age group awards (I will win one of those one day dang it!), and fast and accurate results posting. No half marathoners to contend with; no crowds; no long lines for anything. Just a pure marathon experience. Also because of the Boston Marathon’s changes to its registration dates TOU has really become the Last Chance for Boston Marathon. TOU now occurs on the weekend prior to the start of the second week of registration for Boston, so Boston hopefuls should plan accordingly.
But I digress; back to Friday night. I really thought my prayers had been answered since it rained a bit during the day but the evening had no rain. We stayed at the University Inn which is now a tradition for Jolynne and me. I love this little hotel; it’s simple like the marathon and right on USU campus. Next morning I went to the lobby and to my surprise I saw the same man that I had talked with in the lobby two years previously when I last ran TOU. His name is David Sam and the encounter was a déjà vu moment. We then went outside and it was not cold at all. You could tell it had rained but there was no rain now so I thought “score!!!” David and I took the bus to Merlin Olsen Park and then up the canyon and saw no real rain problems. However, once up at the start line and literally minutes before the gun went off the floodgates opened and anybody who wasn’t in the heated tent (me) got soaked through and through. Luckily I remembered to bring a trash bag and was able to keep my core fairly dry. Also, like down in the valley, it wasn’t too terribly cold. Definitely not as cold it has been the two previous times I have run this race (2008 and 2009). Having your shoes totally waterlogged definitely sucked. Not the best way to start a race but I decided to keep it positive so I put on a smile and went through the start line after the start gun(s) went off. Shortly thereafter I had the crap scared out of me when a gun was fired late a bit after I passed by the start. Somebody yelled “false start, do over, everybody come back!” which I thought was hilarious.
So down the mountain we went. My goal up until start time had been to get anything below 3:20, which is a BQ for me. However, I felt good and I decided to shoot for sub 3:15. This was pretty bold on my part considering my previous experiences with TOU, which had been very difficult. Also, my training had been fairly average leading up to the race mostly because it had been focused on readiness for a sprint triathlon a few weeks before TOU. I love TOU but my perception of the course was that it is definitely tough. You hit mile 14 and that’s all she wrote baby! However I am older and wiser and this TOU was my 10th marathon so I decided to put everything I had learned about race day into practice.
I started by planning on very slightly positive splits. TOU, unlike Ogden and St. George does not lend itself too well to negative splits. So I kept my pace around 7:15 for the first 15 miles, planning on around 7:26 pace for the rest. I did not focus on distance traversed but on the current pace and effort, trying to keep the effort even throughout. This was difficult since sometimes you end up in competitive situations and I don’t like people to pass me. However, I was good and let whoever wanted to pass me to do so. I kept my pace fairly steady. I also decided to drink lightly at every aid station and to drink Gatorade every time I was not taking Hammer Gel. And when I did take Gel I made sure to take water. I also made it a point to significantly slow down at the aid stations. This gave my legs a rest and ensured that I got the amount of hydration I needed. I still kept on pace but the aid stations were times to give the legs a break.
I also think my fueling strategy was good. I started carbo-loading on Thursday. On Friday I had a huge Turkey Sandwich with wheat bread for lunch and a smaller fish sandwich for dinner. I also made sure to have plenty of bananas and liquids during the carbo-load period and Orowheat patties with jam for snacks. The morning of the race I had a wheat pancake and Gatorade for breakfast. Not tasty but it did the trick. Needless to say I was glycogen full at the start line but I did not feel too full or unsettled, which is just the way I felt at St. George last year when I achieved the BQ that took me to Boston.
The first 5 miles went great and the rain became a very light drizzle. I then noticed that my core was wetter than my arms because the trash bag was keeping the sweat in. I threw the bag away at mile six and felt much better. The weather essentially stayed the same for the next couple of miles but then around mile 9 or 10 it started to rain again. Hard. People started moaning and complaining that we did not order rain with our registration. I agreed and then it started to hail. All I could say was "Are you kidding me?" Luckily the thunder and lightning held off until I was out of the canyon at mile 14 but when it came it did so fairly impressively. I heard that the race organizers were actually considering stopping the race. Thankfully that didn't happen.
Holding back my pace for strength in the second half was difficult but it was totally worth it. I felt great at mile 14 and I even noticed the continuing downward grade all the way up to mile 18. Then the course got significantly more difficult. This is really where the race started. And right on cue this is where Jolynne was waiting to cheer me on. She’s awesome and her loud cheers always give me a boost. I was extremely lucky in that I started drafting a woman by the name of Pearson Smith, I later learned, that was going at the exact pace I needed to maintain. There were points where she would fall behind but then she would pass me and this would bring me back on schedule. Those miles through the neighborhoods are tough. Turns and uphills. There was one uphill at mile 23, I think, that I swear was not there in previous years. That was a tough one but somehow I was able to keep up with Pearson. Amazingly, Jolynne is now so familiar with this course that she was able to cheer me on at 5 different points throughout these miles. I can’t begin to express how much that helped to keep me focused on my goal.
After a while as we were approaching Main Street it became really competitive and I think Pearson lost a step and I went ahead and she didn’t overtake me again. This was not good since now I was on my own to make it under 3:15. I was amazed at how I was able to keep up the energy and the pace. I turned onto main street and I faced what I had been dreading the entire race: the Main Street hill. This is not a particularly big or long hill but it comes at the wrong time, right before mile 25. I psyched myself up and said “I’ll be damned if I let this hill defeat me”. I have missed time goals by seconds in the past and it is always due to lack of toughness in the “red zone” for the marathon. Today would not be that day! I checked my form, pumped my arms and flew up that freaking hill. This was tough and my pace slowed as I hit mile 25. However, I kept focusing on my pace and on how close I was to that 3:15. I dug deep, probably the deepest I have dug in any race. The crowd was wonderful and their support made a difference. I then took the downhill that parallels the Main Street Hill about a block away. This was great and gave me the momentum that I needed to make the last two turns and get to the final stretch. At this point I heard Jolynne screaming my name and I saw the clock. The clock said 3:14:52. I thought “I am not missing 3:15!!!” and I pumped up the pace to all I could sustain. I was at that point where you get tunnel vision and you can’t feel your legs. All I could see was the clock ticking, 3:15:07, 3:15:12, 3:15:17 and then I crossed the finish line. I was totally spent. So much so that a volunteer had to hold me up all the way to the medals and a bit afterwards until I caught my breath and got my bearings.
At that point I did not know what to think. Did I make it? If I did it was probably only by a second or so. I went into the runner’s area and got my picture with my beautiful medal (as always at TOU) and then went to refuel myself. A bit later I saw Jolynne come to the fence and I hugged her and started debriefing. All of the sudden she got a text message and she started cheering. She had received my chip time, 3:14:56! Talk about photo finish! I had done it with 4 seconds to spare. TOU did not defeat me. I got a 5+ minute BQ under 2012 standards and a BQ under 2013 standards. I did this on a challenging course, on a challenging day. What a great feeling. Talk about a runners high. This feeling is what the marathon is all about and why it is so addicting.
I finished the day by talking to friends, getting a free massage, checking out the official results and hanging out with Jolynne. And of course no TOU day is complete without finishing it off with the free Aggie Ice Cream we got from the University Inn. Great finish to a great day.
Final results: 3:14:56, 85th overall (top 5%), 76th of the men (top 8%), 12th in age group (top 8%)
P.S. – Actually the day did not end great. BYU got the crap beat out of them and the rains ruined my Garmin. Oh well, you can’t win them all.
Here are my splits:
1 – 7:18
2 – 7:14
3 – 7:09 (21:41 cum)
4 – 7:16
5 – 7:15
6 – 7:16 (43:28 cum)
7 – 7:12
8 – 7:10
9 – 7:10
10 – 7:22
11 – 7:12
12 – 7:18
13 – 7:11 (1st Half, 1:34, approx)
14 – 7:11
15 – 7:08
16 – 7:15
17 – 7:08
18 – 7:28
19 – 7:22
20 – 7:53 (2:25 cum)
21 – 7:21
22 – 7:33
23 – 7:47
24 – 7:49
25 – 7:42
26 – 7:48 (2nd Half 1:37, approx.)
.46 – 3:42
Final - 3:14:56 (7:22 pace) | 