The sun is up, the air is fresh, the stone is old

Top of Utah Marathon

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Location:

Logan,UT,USA

Member Since:

Dec 15, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

PRs after age 40:

 

5k     15:15  Running of the Leopards.

8k      22:21  Alta Death Dash

10k   33:02    Des News

Half Marathon      1:10  Timp Half

Marathon        2:32    Ogden

First solo R2R2R Bass Trails Grand Canyon 

First R2R2R Grand Canyon Toroweap Overlook

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Not be fat all year

Long-Term Running Goals:

Smell the dirt, feel the mountain, taste the wind.

Personal:

 

"Our legs are tight, our feet are flying, and we are gliding over the roll of the land. The sun is up, the air is fresh, the stone is old, and we are free and at peace. The clock has stopped because another time has taken over." C. Bowden

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Top of Utah Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:50:12, Place overall: 14, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

It's definetly time to take some time off from running after this run today.  We had great race prep the night before, we were waterskiing until 10pm!  It really did help to loosen up the legs. 

It was a great morning before the start.  I sat with my cousin for a while and talked to a bunch of friends, Keith A, Scott E, Ben V, Burns and my high school coach who got me into the race last minute.  It was a reminder why I love running so much, such a beautiful morning.  Scott E invited me to run with them because they where shooting for a 2:50 today, but I really had no idea if I how or what pace to attempt, just too many injuries this summer.  I set in with a few guys keeping an even 6:10 pace and it felt pretty smooth.  For some reason my feet blistered at mile 4 and I knew 22 more miles would rip them up, but I've dealt with that before. 

The first 7 miles just eased by.  We slowed down to around 6:20 pace for a bit and I was surprised when the halfway point came by at about 1:20.  It was the slowest halfway point for me in three years and I knew it wasn't going to get any faster today.  I could actually feel the muscle pain in my legs which was a first.  At 14 miles a master runner from Billings passed me and so I dropped to a 5:47 pace for the next 4 miles to see how it felt.  This is usually a pace that I am most comfortable at and I didn't tire out but I could just feel pain in my quads.  At mile 20 I think I could feel every muscle in my leg with each step.  I'm pretty sure it's just burnout this season and that Alta race sure impacted harder than I thought it would.  It just hurt to run. I decided to walk at each aid station, at least the next three and that made it possible to finish.  I lost about 5-6 minutes on those.  Allie blew by me at 25 and a half miles so I had to at least pick it up enough to pass her to the finish.

Slowest marathon in a few years but lots of fun!  My socks and shoes were bloody from torn blisters in the arches but at leats that got me a good recliner for a while in the first aid tent.  Keith A had a great race, right on my tail.  I didn't get to talk to Scott E at the finish, but I think he was pretty close to that 2:50.  Talked with a bit to quit a few bloggers which is always pretty fun.  I got harrassed by my old coach for running such a stupid schedule this summer and spent a few minutes talking to Paul P who looked like he had just strolled down the block after pacing someone to a sub 3 hour finish.  He also said it's been a lot of races this summer for me, so maybe everyone is just a lot smarter than me.  Obviously I am just getting slower this summer. :) I don't think Sammy beat Paul's time from last year so that's sweet.  The nicest thing today was that I had no pain at all from the torn achilles tendon, so I've done the right things there.  It was swollen up a bit.  My girls got in a fight and tears over who got the medal so I had to go beg for a second one!  They just love those moose medals.  I also had a chance to talk with Sasha P for a while although I was pretty dead by then.  He had a great race today and is pretty cool to talk too, lots of running knowledge.  We probably talked more about airplanes though. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments
From Walter on Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 20:54:34 from 24.10.169.110

Nice run Steve. Its great to help someone try to get a pr and rewarding to both persons.

From jtshad on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 10:16:15 from 69.20.183.178

Nice run considering all your injuries this summer and the blister issue...ouch! You are such a strong runner (5:47 is a pace I am comfortable with...man!) and had a very busy schedule to deal with. Great work, you deserve the rest.

From Mattrow on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 10:16:24 from 8.22.13.133

Just jumping into the marathon and running through the blisters that is tough.

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 10:48:22 from 65.100.218.2

good to see you and run with you a bit Steve, great time for fighting the injury and blisters. I think a great way to recover from a marathon is to go water skiing. I am here for you if you need an extra body. I even have my own ski and a dry suit so I am good to go into October. Well, just a shameless attempt to get myself an invite...

anyway, nice race, hopefully you will be ready to defend your title at first dam run. Scott

From Kelli on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 11:57:27 from 71.219.65.246

Blisters stink! Nice job, I can not even run after water skiing, so I am all the more impressed. Enjoy a nice REST!

From allie on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 18:24:00 from 174.19.51.35

ouch about the blisters! great race yesterday. you had quite the kick there at the end. glad you didn't have any trouble with your achilles.

From Dave S on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 18:34:25 from 4.254.228.5

Nice job even finishing with those blisters. They looked terrible after the race. don't know how you could run at all. Glad the achilles held up.

From Jon on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 18:52:28 from 98.84.70.166

You're had a great summer of racing, especially with some of the injuries. Sounds like this was a great finale. Now rest up and enjoy time with your family! Then get back to butt kicking once you're full strength again.

From Burt on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 19:08:29 from 68.225.214.248

Way to pass allie at the end. She's such a baby. It's true. I have photographic evidence.

From Steve on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 19:57:28 from 173.127.123.97

You guys crack me up. This race would have been depressing this year for me if it hadn't been so much fun to run and talk to everyone!

Allie, that was fun getting passed by you at the end and having to kick it in to finish ahead of you. I was worried that last block about blocking your tape moment! I have a good story about that kind of finish..

My senior year in high school I went to the San Diego marathon with my track coach. He ran a pretty good race and was really into the zone at the end. At the end he was just ahead of the first female finisher and a photographer pushed him aside 50 feet from the finish line to get a better picture of her. He tripped and fell but got up and finished! In those years he was a 2:23 marathoner. That was Bob Henke, the TOU race director.

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