Jose's Flat Foot Blues

The Expo was good as always.  I really enjoyed meeting Bart Yasso and listening to his presentation.  I also really liked the race shirt this year.  This race was neat because my daughter Nikki was running the relay and my other two kids were running the Kids K.  So it was a family event.  I had a perfect experience with the busses and the transportation to the top.  The weather was cold but not too terrible.  The porta-pottie lines before the start were horrendous though.  I laughed my head off when the owner of one of the properties at the start line came out with his dog and started yelling at runners who were peeing on his fence line.  Seriously some runners are just plain old rude.  I can understand why a homeowner would get pissed (pun intended) at that.  Especially when there is a huge empty  field on the other side where they can pretty much take a piss anywhere they want.  Crazy…  Anyhow, we started pretty much on time at 7am and off we went.  Here is the story:

Miles 1-8 -  7:20 Nice downhill grade.  This was a bit too fast but it felt absolutely perfect.  The weather was great and I felt very good and strong.

Miles 9-13.1 - 7:31 Course flattens out and has a few small rolling hills.  This stretch was right on pace and felt very good.  I actually enjoyed the flat parts of the course.

Miles 14-17 - 7:39  This is where you come to the hill around Pineview reservoir right before you hit the major downhill.  Here is also where I lost some of it.  The hill at 15 wasn’t that much of a factor but I ran into a period of fatigue in the middle of 16 and through 17.

Miles 18-23 - 7:36  All steep downhill.  This was very rough.  My fatigue at miles 16 and 17 did not allow me to significantly take advantage of the downhill.  Although I caught a second wind close to the end of this stretch as I approached the trail.

Miles 24-Finish – 8:18  Here the course becomes rolling hills on the trail and then flat for the last ¾ mile.  Once again, the fatigue and the weaving in and out through runners on the trail were too much and I hit a wall big time.  I also hate the running under overpasses in the trail.  This just sucked the life out of me.  I saw Walter running back to get somebody and I thought he had just finished the Full.  I was totally disgusted at how fresh he looked.   Come to find out later he won the Half.  Good job Walter!  That last stretch to the finish was very painful and I even walked for about 10 seconds. The only saving grace was seeing some of the women from the blog who had run the half and were now cheering me on  (I think Rachel and Josee were there but I was too tired to tell).  Thanks girls!!  I don’t think I acknowledged them because I was so tired but I really appreciated it.  I also received some well-appreciated cheers from my son Alex and my youngest girl Sofia.  I ended up with a 3:20:19, missing my BQ attempt by 5 minutes.  Pain, agony, and disappointment…  I guess I should just focus on the fact that it is a PR of 16 minutes.  Oh well, time to get back on the saddle and try again in St. George. 

 As always the finish line is great and the runner’s area is very well stocked.  Nikki did great on her relay.  Her team ended up 19 out of 100 mixed teams and she averaged 8:30pace over her 5 mile leg, which is a PR for them.  Alex and Sofia were also very excited about their times for the Kids K.  6:20 for Alex and 8:00 for Sofia, not bad.  I am proud of my kid’s efforts. 

 The place where they posted the results was totally stupid as it was the highest traffic area and it created a huge bottleneck.  I placed the best I have in any race (top 6% of the field) so that was some comfort.  At least I am making progress.  This is a tough course but I absolutely love Ogden and I will come back often.  Now the only question is:  do I try again at Utah Valley, Des News, or take break until St. George?  Hmmm…  We’ll see.

I don't usually blog anything other than race reports and comments on other blogs but today was a very memorable run.  I decided that I would do a 10 miler, which typically is totally routine but today it was a bad idea.  I have been staying in Puerto Rico since last Wednesday attending to issues related to my grandmother's passing a few weeks ago and I have decided to keep up with my training while I am down here.  Well, since before I got here I had been dealing with a stomach bug that was making me dehydrated but was not really affecting my running, or so I thought.  I had a particular bad night the night before last and the morning was not good either.  I lost a lot of water but by last night I was feeling better and I was able to drink lots of water and even carb up quite a bit.  So, I decided to keep my plans to do my scheduled 10 miler.  Mistake.

 The weather was in the mid-80's with humidity in the high 80's.  The run actually started out very nicely, with a nice rolling downhill.  However, by mile 4 I was really struggling.  The route was turning horribly hilly and I was losing water through sweat like crazy.  By mile 6.5 it started to rain, which I thought would help but it just made me feel more miserable.  The route then turned totally uphill for the last 3 miles and I started taking walking breaks.  I was dead, no energy left.  I was also stressed because I had people from the local ward coming to help move furniture out of the house and I was starting to cut it close to when they were supposed to show up.

By mile eight the rain turned into a torrential downpour and I was walking more.  Miles 8.5 to 9.5 actually felt OK but that last .5 really killed me.  I was dehydrated to the max and then discouraged when I got to the house and saw that the guys from Church were already there moving stuff.  I went in, took a quick glass of water and changed clothes, which didn't help because I kept sweating like a pig which got me all wet again.  I helped to move one piece of furniture and I started to see spots and feel very weak.  I drank another glass of water and laid in the bed for one minute.  I then got up and went to help move a table.  I remember grabbing the table and having my vision covered in spots and my breathing become labored.  I called out to Jolynne so she could get me some juice and next thing I know I am looking up at the ceiling and at two of the guys that came to help with the move who were now taking my pulse and asking if I could hear them.  I said yes and asked what happened.  They said I passed out!

I had never passed out from exhaustion before.  It was a wierd feeling.  The guys helped me to my feet and Jolynne told me what happenned.  She said that after I called out her name I stared out into the distance and became nonresponsive.  I was holding on to the table but was slowly falling to the ground.  Two guys held me and everybody started trying to get me to respond but all I did was look out into nothing.  My face went pale green.  Then after about three minutes or so I finally woke up. 

Well, they took me to bed and I had a few juice drinks and sat in front of the fan until the color came back to my face and I felt better, which took about 10 minutes.  I was totally embarassed and so after I felt better I went back to helping out which I was now able to do without a problem. 

Wow, I guess I need to appreciate my limits.  What if I had passed out on the road somehwere.  I really should have cut my run short or skipped it all together but I was praying to the god of the training schedule and it almost kills me!  This was one of my worst 10 milers ever but definitely one of the most memorable ones.

I typically include a race report of all my Half Marathons and Marathons; however I never included one for Utah Valley (UVM).  This is mostly due to the fact that I was so disappointed with my performance.  I achieved a 3:20 PR at Ogden on May 15 and then I bombed it with a 3:25 at UVM on June 12.  I realize that the main reason this happened is due to the fact that I tried for a PR effort less than one month after a PR effort and my body would not respond.  I am trying desperately for a BQ and UVM was just very disappointing.  So, I am sorry I never included a race report but UVM is one where I will keep the lessons learned and forget about all the other details.

However, the UVM disappointment helped me to focus on my remaining key races for 2010: Pikes Peak Ascent and the St. George Marathon.  In a word the Pikes Peak Ascent was awesome.  It is definitely the best race experience I have ever had and I recommend the race to everyone.  I embarked on this adventure with my wife Jolynne, Scott, and Kelli: Scott as a willing and eager participant and Jolynne and Kelli as tolerant accomplices.  We turned it into a vacation since we had to drive 9 hours to get to Colorado Springs.  Pikes Peak is located close to Colorado Springs and next to the town of Manitou Springs where the Ascent starts.  The Ascent is part of the Pikes Peak Marathon weekend which usually takes place on the third weekend of every August.  The Ascent takes place Saturday morning and the Marathon on Sunday morning.  The race starts in Manitou Springs at 6,300 feet and climbs up the Barr Trail to the Summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet; that’s a 7,815 feet gain!  The course covers 13.3 miles with about 1.8 of those miles on the roads of Manitou and the rest on the Barr Trail.  The average grade of the course is 11% and you reach the tree line with about 3.5 miles to go.  This means that the last 5K or so of the race is done on a section where the oxygen is so thin that trees don’t grow.  Notice I said “done” instead of “run”; this is because the last thing most people are doing at that point is running.  Those last three miles are usually a death march to the summit and represent the most challenging part of the course.

As Scott and I were researching details of the race we noticed that the recommended method to predict our finish time for the Ascent was to take a recent marathon time and add 30 minutes to it.  This would mean a 3:45 time for Scott and a 3:50 time for me.  That’s over 3 hours for 13.3 miles!!!  That had to be wrong.  Well, it started to sound right when we took our first look at Pikes Peak as we were driving into Manitou to pick up our packets.  The Peak looks massive and I must admit my heart sank a little when I saw it.  I could only laugh at our boldness in taking on this adventure.

The Expo for the race was small but it was very organized and the vendors there had great deals.  The Pikes Peak paraphernalia was reasonably priced and the other vendors had a lot of selection at reasonable prices.  The volunteers were also very friendly and helpful.

On the morning of the race Jolynne and Kelli dropped us off at Manitou Avenue where the race would start.  The race starts in two waves, one at 7 am and one at 7:30 am.  Scott and I qualified for Wave 1 so we got there around 6:15.  We lined up for the porta potties where they actually had a volunteer directing traffic.  I don’t know how she did it but whatever she did was efficient since the line moved quickly.  We then dropped off our clothes bag and proceeded to the start line.  It was nice to have Jolynne and Kelli at the start line.  They had parked the car and walked over.  I am used to start lines in the middle of nowhere up in a mountain with no spectators.  In this race the spectators are there to cheer you on at the start and at the finish.  However, you’re on your own for everything in between with the exception of the aid stations where volunteers provided plenty of cheers.

As the gun went off the weather was perfect and the summit was clear of clouds.  The pace started out slow when compared to a flat land half marathon but probably a bit faster than what we wanted to go.  The road went up gradually but once we reached Ruxton street, which goes up to the Cog Railway depot, it went significantly uphill and remained so for most of the rest of the race.  We joined the Barr trail at mile 1.8 or so and quickly moved to a section called the W’s because of all the switchbacks that one has to run through.  The race became very congested at this point and it was very difficult to pass or be passed.  This section drove Scott nuts because it was a pain to pass and people kept trying to go past us, which was very annoying.  Our strategy was that Scott would lead for two miles and then I would lead and we would continue that sequence until one of us faded.  Well I took the lead at mile two and proceeded to pass a whole bunch of people because the congestion of people behind us was driving me crazy as well.  However, soon enough Scott was nowhere to be seen.  At mile 3 I slowed down and waited for Scott to catch up since I thought maybe something was wrong with him.  He said he was fine so I continued through the W’s.  Soon enough again I noticed he was nowhere to be seen so I assumed that he decided to hang back or was struggling or something.  So I kept going and assumed he had faded.

At about mile 3 or so the road opened up significantly and it became easier to pass and be passed.  The race was very competitive.  You were jockeying for position the whole way through and the quality of the field was high.  I never did see many slouches on this trail.  Even the graybeards looked and ran fit as a fiddle.  Many of them passed me decisively.  It was very cool to experience the level of fitness of this field regardless of age.

At about mile 5 my legs started to feel heavy.  I wasn’t terribly fatigued but my legs definitely were holding me back.  There was great diversity in the terrain.  One minute you are on fine dirt, the next on gravel, the next jumping over rocks or dodging trees.  You really have to pay attention to your footing or you biff it as I almost did on at least three occasions.  By this point I had already hit a couple of aid stations (Incline and No-name Creek).  These were fairly small and staffed with about 5 people each.  They had Gatorade and water that they must have hiked in themselves early that morning or the night before.  It definitely takes dedication to be a Pikes Peak volunteer. 

At about mile 7.8 I came upon Barr Camp, which is a major aid station and landmark on the trail.  This is the place that the builder of the original trail, Fred Barr, built for overnight stops on trips to the summit.  It made me smile to get here because my schedule had me arriving at 1:56 hours and I got there in 1:49 hours, so I was well ahead of schedule for a 3:50 finish.  However, shortly after this I started really feeling the effects of the altitude.  Barr Camp is located at 10,200 feet of elevation and the trail remained pretty steep from here on.  By the time I reached mile 9 I started to mix in walking with my running.

Then the totally unexpected happened.  I felt a nudge at my back and I heard someone say “You should have paced better.  You went out too fast.”  It was Scott!!  I thought he was done for and here he was running up that freaking mountain.  I could not believe it.  He looked as fresh as can be.  Soon he disappeared up the trail.  I was shocked and totally angry at myself since I could now feel he was right.  I made a rookie mistake and went out way too fast and now I was paying for it.  However, I had been planning this race for a year and a half and I was not going to let the Peak defeat me.  I buckled down and prepared for pain. 

I reached the A-frame aid station (11,950 feet, mile 10.1) at 2:29 hours, however I only know this in hindsight since I wasn’t paying attention to anything but staying on the road and maintaining my effort.  This put me at 15 minutes ahead of schedule, which would have been great to know since I felt pretty crappy and dejected.  A-frame is also the treeline.  This is the point where there is so little oxygen that trees can’t grow.  At this point the mountain opens up and you can see clearly to the summit.  The view before me was of a huge line of people marching their way up endless switchbacks towards the summit.  I could see a speck up at the top that was probably the finish line banner.  I could also hear the announcer clearly.  It must be that sound travels faster at altitude but I could hear the announcer for the rest of the race.  This was pure torture since the hardest part of the race was about to begin.

By this point, truth be told, I was mostly power walking.  My breathing was much labored and I developed a stitch on my side that hurt horribly.  At this point many people were passing me and I was passing few.  I started getting really worried about my goal.  Mile 11 took me 24 minutes!  Mile 12 was a bit faster at 23 minutes!  Mile 12 was the last aid station called Cirque.  When I arrived there an overenthusiastic volunteer said “Welcome to Cirque!”  I was so tired and in pain that I could have punched her and her giddiness.  Luckily I just said thanks and moved on.

The last mile was the hardest.  There were casualties everywhere.  People were hugging the wall or sitting on rocks or plain old just standing in the trail.  I finally got tired of the people that were right behind me so I stopped and let them pass.  I then mustered the last strength I had and made the final push to the top. I was dizzy from the altitude and the terrain was getting increasingly technical.  I felt a couple of times like I would pass out and go over the side of the trail.  It was a bit scary.  I finally arrived at a section called the Ladders, which is the last section before the finish line. I literally had to use both my hands and feet to get up this section of rocky switchbacks.  All of the sudden I heard the finish line announcer call my name.  I didn’t realize I was so close.  This made me feel better and after rounding the last switchback I called on what little strength I had left and ran to the finish line.

I made it!  The clock read 3:46:35.  I beat my predicted time by about 3.5 minutes!  I was extremely happy but my first thought was:  I could have easily done it in 3:45, DANG IT!  Oh well, that’s how we runners are.  I received my medal and proceeded to walk up to the Gatorade table.  I was happy to see Jolynne and Kelli at the Summit but concerned when I saw Scott.  He was waddling, looking frail, and his face was completely covered in salt.  However, he finished in 3:36:00.  He beat me by over 10 minutes!  He beat his predicted time by 9 minutes; the guy is an animal.  Probably the toughest runner I know.  We hugged, celebrated our accomplishment with Gatorade and then took a picture in front of the sign at the summit that shows the elevation of the Peak. 

I picked up my gear bag at what has to be the best sweat check operation of any race I have participated in.  By the time I approached them they had my bag ready.  I put on my sweats and a windbreaker and we proceeded to the observation deck.

All I can say about the view from the summit is: WOW.  You can see the curvature of the earth from up there!  Then I started to completely run out of juice.  I had to hold on to Jolynne and I started shivering uncontrollably from the cold and the wind.  Scott wasn’t faring much better.  So we decided to get out of dodge and catch the bus down to the parking lot.  All we needed was oxygen because once we got back to town we felt pretty great.  When we got back to the race tent at Manitou Springs we presented our finisher medals and received our finisher shirts.  They also had free food and drinks for us. 

And there it is; the day and the race could not have been better.  However to top it all off I was able to speak with Bart Yasso (great guy) from Runner’s World magazine and I met Arline Piper, who is the first woman in the US to officially complete a marathon.  And yes, she did it before Katherine Switzer.  And yes, it was Pikes Peak:  America’s Ultimate Challenge.  Arline is now 80 and a first rate lady.  It was the perfect way to cap a near-perfect race day.

It was a good day for me.  I finally qualified for Boston!!!  I am extremely excited.  This was hard work for me.  I don't have an extensive running background.  I only started running (and lightly at that) in 2007.  My first race in 10 years was Wasatch Back in 2008.  In 1998 I ran the Crazylegs 8K in Madison, WI where I was attending graduate school.  That had been my one and only foot race since elementary school.  So, like I said, not a huge running background.  After running the TOU Marathon in 2008 I was hooked and knew that someday I wanted to qualify for Boston, which was a ridiculous idea at the time.  Well, I finally did it qualifying with a time of 3:11:36.  I desperately wanted to qualify with a better than 3:15:59 time before I gained 5 minutes by virtue of getting old (I turn 40 next year).

St. George is definitely a fast course but I can see how it can chew you up if you don't run it smartly.  I used the Scott Zimmerman race-time planner and this served me well.  It was hard to hold back during the first half of the race since I felt so good, but it was worth it.  A slow first half allowed me to kick things into high gear for the second half and to tackle that hill at mile 18 with confidence.  I was able to get my first ever negative split for the marathon and achieve a big-time PR.  However, I saw a lot of people stopping and in distress in the last 10K , which I think was complicated by the fact that it was so hot.

I am happy to get that BQ monkey off my back and to have achieved an important goal for me.  Now on to Boston!  Hopefully I don't have any trouble registering here in a couple of weeks. 

It was fun to see Smooth and Walter and other people from the Blog.  Of course I hung out with Scott and Kelli, who deserve a lot of the credit for my running achievements.  I am also very lucky to have a wonderful wife and supportive kids that are the best cheerleaders a person could have.  However, I am firstly grateful to Heavenly Father to allow me the opportunity to be able to run.  It's a blessing I don't take for granted.

Probably one of the best things that I did the day of the Expo was to take my wife’s aunt Marsha out for a drive of the course.  Marsha has been a volunteer at the St. George Marathon for the past 20 years.  She knows the course intimately and has even viewed it from the helicopter that keeps buzzing around as the race unfolds.  The best thing about this preview was that it got me mentally ready for the hill at the Ledges Parkway (mile 18), which I was not expecting to be so severe.  Thanks Marsha!

Here are my splits:

 1 – (7:36) Loved the “Elite” area at the start line.  I’m glad Scott found me and told me I could get in there since the porta-pottie lines were much smaller and the area was not crowded.  The temperature at the start was nice and cool and for the first time I didn’t go out too fast.  I started running with Scott and Kelli.

2 – (7:23) Lost track of Scott and Kelli and would not see them until the end.

3 – (7:09) Feeling like I’m jogging.  Very hard to stick to my plan since I am feeling so good.

4 – (6:59)

5 – (7:14) The jogging continues.

6 – (7:13)

7 – (7:14) As I am approaching Veyo I can hear the crowds and the cows.  Man, those cows were freaking out, they were loud!  Veyo looks imposing as you are approaching it but I was feeling so good that I did not stress out at all.

8 – (7:57) I ran up Veyo a bit faster than planned but it was all I could do to hold back.  I’ve concluded that the hill at Ogden is a much greater challenge than Veyo, mostly because of where you hit it (mile 15).  I did take the opportunity to look back on the course when I was halfway up the hill and the view was imposing.  I have never been in a marathon this big and I could see people as far the eye could see.  I wish I would have had a camera.

9 – (7:35) The start of the Dammeron Valley hills.  The incline was not bad at all and I found it fairly simple to keep pace.  However my right hamstring started bugging me a bit here.  Why is it always at mile 9?

10 – (7:45) I think the 3:10 pace group passed me here (it could have been at mile 9, I can’t remember).  I would keep them within eye’s view for the rest of the race.

11 – (7:49) Still feeling good although worried about my hammie getting any worse. 

12 – (7:25) Finally getting to the end of the hills but I am a bit concerned about being ahead of schedule by over a minute.  I start wondering if I will be able to negative-split.  I am also getting worried since I know my wife will be cheering me on at Snow Canyon and when she sees I’m ahead of schedule she will be livid.  We wrote down my plan with permanent marker on my arms before the race and she also wrote on my right arm “STICK TO THE PLAN”.  Now here I was over a minute ahead of plan.  Oh boy...

13 – (7:13) (1:36:32) (1:37:20 for the half) Got to halfway 1 minute ahead of schedule.  Still feeling good and happy to have the downhill.  The hammie is just nagging now.

14 – (7:05)

15 – (6:54) This part was steep and my schedule called for stepping up the pace.  My legs are starting to feel a bit tense and I do all I can to relax and keep pace.  I am really enjoying the scenery in the canyon.  I love running in southern Utah.

16 – (7:04) As I am coming around the bend I see the mass of spectators and I locate my family.  They have no clue I’m headed for them and so I start pointing at them and yelling.  Finally just as I am almost to them Jolynne recognizes me and starts cheering loudly.  Then the kids started cheering and it gave me great boost.  Later I found out that the reason they almost miss me is because they were not expecting me so soon.  At this point I was back again about 1.5 minutes too fast.  Jolynne had also just got done cheering for Kelli and then Scott.  They expected me to be quite a ways behind Scott but I came up right behind him and it caught them by surprise.  They also did not expect that I would be so close to the 3:10 pace group.  As I suspected Jolynne was furious.  It’s a good thing I BQ’ed because I would have had an earful at the finish.  There was a kid here that had a poster that said “Punch Here for Power”.  I thought this was clever and punched it for whatever it was worth.

17 – (7:06) Felt good but it was scary to see the upcoming hill at the Ledges Parkway.  I told myself to focus on the moment and on my pace for each mile.  I was also encouraged by the fact that I knew the top of that hill was the last difficult part of the course.  I passed Scott at this point but I don’t know where since I didn’t see him (it was probably at the aid station).

18 – (7:08) I hit the hill feeling good and easing a bit on the pace since I had banked some time.  I felt good but was a bit surprised to see so many people walking.  Then the heat started becoming a factor.  Heat usually doesn’t affect me that much but I started to feel it at the top of this hill.

19 – (7:25) I felt great at this point.  I had crested the hill and knew that I had enough in me to make a good showing for what is really the easiest section of the course.  Downhill all the way to the finish line.  What’s more, I was still ahead of schedule.

20 – (7:07) This was a bit tough since I was running next to some woman who was totally pushing her friend to go faster and she was annoying the crap out of me. You could have sworn that girl was a drill sergeant.  She was definitely not motivating her friend to perform better.  She was just annoying her and me and the rest of everyone within earshot.  Luckily I passed her while she backtracked to keep harassing her poor friend.

21 – (6:59) I feel better but I can tell that glycogen depletion is settling in since I find it difficult to keep a clear head.  For some reason I thought I was running mile 22.  That was a mental challenge but I shook it off and eventually the Gel I took at mile 20.5 kicked in and I felt better.  I think this is also where I passed the first water misters and they felt awesome.

22 – (7:11) The heat is getting to me now and my legs are feeling really heavy.  I tell myself that I need to keep it together until mile 23 then I can start breaking down if necessary.  I have about three minutes in the bank so I don’t panic.

23 – (7:16) I hit this mark and it was a psychological boost for me.  All I had to do now was hold on.  By this point I was dog tired and the casualties were all around me.  People were stopping all over the place.  All I kept thinking was “I’ve been there brother...not fun.”  I decided that I would find people running off my pace and draft off them.  I found two guys who were looking strong and their help was invaluable at this mile but unfortunately they fell behind before we hit mile 24.

24 – (7:18) Once again I went under the misters and felt much better as I headed into Diagonal Street.  With 2.2 to go every step was a struggle.  However, somehow I was keeping a 7:22-7:30 pace.  I guess those hard-finish long runs really paid off here.  A boy held out his hand to give me a high five.  I gave him the high five and it almost spun me around.  That was the last high-five of the race for me since I realized that all I had energy for at this point was putting one foot in front of the other.

25 – (7:25) This was pure torture.  I was having a very hard time and my pace started to break down.  I knew by now I had the BQ but I wanted to see how far I could take it.  A woman passed me at this point and I decided to hang with her.  She took me through most of this mile but then faded with about half a mile left to the finish.  At this point I could see the balloons at the finish and I mustered all the strength I could to focus on only that.  I entered the finishing chute and I saw a guy who had gone down with only meters to go.  I started stopping but saw that the National Guard guys were coming to help so I kept going.  At this point I experienced tunnel vision and could not hear anything.  I seriously thought I was about to pass out and so I held back a bit.  All I could see were those stupid balloons and the clock. 

26.2 – (7:37) (6:50 pace for the last.2) (3:10:00 at 26) By the time I crossed the finish line the clock read 3:12 something.  I raised my hands in the air and did my best to smile for the camera as I crossed the mat.  The feeling was amazing.  I BQ’ed!  By a lot!  Holy Cow, it was unbelievable.  My chip time was 3:11:36.  I did a negative split by about 3 minutes!  I was about to drop but felt awesome at the same time.  I congratulated my fellow finishers and spent a bit more time than necessary under the misters (they felt so good!).  I then got my medal and moved to the Runner’s area and on to get some liquid in me and find my family.

I found them and they were totally excited.  Their enthusiasm was contagious and made me feel great.  I think my wife had serious doubts I would make it after she saw how fast I had done the first half.  The relief on her face was clear. 

I asked them about Scott and Kelli and they said Kelli had come in a few minutes before me, which did not surprise since I knew she was in shape to be significantly under 3:10 (she came in 3:07:59, amazing).  However, when they said Scott was not in yet I was floored.  I have never, ever beat Scott in a race.  He is probably one of the strongest runners I know.  Kelli is lightning fast but Scott is definitely an incredibly mentally tough athlete.  He came in a bit later and he said that it was just an off day for him.  He hit a rough spot around mile 16 and never got the groove back.  I am glad I didn’t notice I passed him then since this probably would have messed with my head for the rest of the race. 

I hung out and visited with other people I knew.  I talked to Walter for a while and was glad to hear he had a good race (he came in 10^th overall).  I also talked with Daryl Guymon who I have seen at a lot of races for the past two years and have stood in awe of his speed.  I was excited to hear that I was only a minute behind him.  All in all it was a good day for me and I thank Heavenly Father for allowing me to have it and allowing me the opportunity to reach my BQ goal.  I also can’t stress how indebted I am to my wife and family who have cheered me through quite a few disappointments.  I was able to finally achieve my goal and show that their support was not in vain.  And again, without Scott and Kelli’s friendship and encouragement I would still be running 2 mile laps around my house at 9 minute pace.

After I left the runner’s area I stopped in for a free massage and my mother-in-law got my medal engraved with my name and my finishing time.  This was very nice of her.  My kids treated me like a super star and I appreciated every bit of it.  This is by far the best race I have ever run and I hope to be back someday.  But for now I will focus all my energies on fantasizing about April, 2011.  Boston, here I come!!!

P.S. I forgot to pick up my Runner Series T-Shirt.  Were they giving these out somewhere?  I don’t remember seeing a Runner Series booth.