Ogden Marathon, 20 May 2023

 

Sometimes you can have perfect preparation and still not accomplish the time that is floating around as a goal.   I had been hoping for a PR.   My training had gone well, but I had some massage and muscle tempering the week before the race and it was too much.  Plus I had been under a lot of stress and I really think that took an edge off as well.  

The weather for the race was picture perfect.  Cool at the start where it felt nice to stand around some raging bonfires at the start corral.   Warm by the finish but not horrible.  Gentle breeze and lots of sunshine.   

So much snow this winter that the Ogden River was in flood stage, threatening to take out the road we were supposed to run down.  It was actually over part of the road within the first couple of miles and we all edged to the right side of the road...the raging water would not have treated anyone kindly.

I knew within the first hour that I wouldn't be able to hold my desired pace.  The course was gently downhill, dropping about 1000 feet over the distance, with a small uphill just past halfway.  I came through halfway at about 1:45, but slowed down quickly after that.    I even got some muscle cramps...hadn't been taking enough magnesium.  Shame on me.   The last 7 miles of nice downhill through Ogden canyon came too late for me...my legs really wanted to walk and my mind had trouble convincing them otherwise!  

The waterfall in the canyon was absolutely raging.  I don't remember ever seeing it before while driving but as my snails pace it was a nice sight as the day was heating up.   I managed to hang on for 3:59:54 at the finish.   Still my second fastest marathon, but I'm hoping for better some day.  Perhaps at the St. George Marathon in October :)

Bonneville Backyard Ultra, 29 April 2023

A very different race format this weekend! I showed up at the dam on Deer Creek Reservoir above Provo, Utah, to run 4 miles every hour until I cried uncle.    This format is known as Last Man Standing, and if you can't finish the course within an hour, you can't start the next one and you are disqualified.  

The course was a gravel trail along the lake with about 400-500 feet of elevation change.  After 2.1 miles we punched our bib to prove we got there, turned around, and ran back to the start.  There were about 60 runners crowded into the starting box at 8 am, when the temperature still hovered just above freezing.  We were above the snowline, too, but this winter's record snowfall didn't make that hard to accomplish in late April!  

You know it's a nice day when there are hot air balloons up and the sky is a deep blue.   Temps would get up to the 70s which is hot for running.   Since I had about 20 minutes an hour to rest, I had time to sit down, use the percussion machine on my calves, drink and eat a little every lap, find the bathroom, and close my eyes.  The people finishing later didn't always have that luxury, often they would finish with just a couple of minutes left to spare and have to turn around and head back out again!

Lap 1: 38:44  - Found myself in the lead.  Of course it's not a race, but....the quicker I get back the more time I have to rest.  Beat the field by 1-2 minutes on every lap but #3.  

Lap 2: 38:39 - Drank some Ketones and a new product called Update (caffeine alternative that works!)

Lap 3: 38:17  -Drank some Kava and found an extra gear!

Lap 4: 38:19 - Changed shoes and my feet were happy.  

Lap 5: 39:43 - Getting hot.  Drank some Coke, and put a baggie of ice in my bra, some in my hat, some in my hands as I ran, and ice chips in my mouth to cool off.  

Lap 6: 42:45 - Total 26 miles, my marathon equivalent of about 4 hours, not bad with elevation changes and on gravel.  Really hot now, speed starting to slow.

Lap 7: 43:04 - Total distance 30 miles!  

After 7 hours I was hot and had reached my goal distance anyway, so I packed it up and headed home.  The women's winner went 54 miles and the men's winner went 66!

Here's the results:  https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=95538

Jim ran his own race elsewhere in the valley, a half marathon (13.1) along the Jordan River Trail.  He finished in exactly 2:00:00....how often does that happen?   He's getting scary...he won his age group.  Again!

The real crazy people of the day were the ones wakeboarding on the lake...I wonder how thick their wetsuits were? That water is more related to its cousins snow and ice than a hot tub, this early in the season!

The race went on late into the night, with the final runner at 16 hours!