St. George Marathon 2015 Race Report -- Pre-Race

St. George Marathon 2015 Memories

Thanks to the St. George Marathon website here is a good picture of the start area.  On the left hand side of the picture all of the people are trying to get their drop bag to the U-haul truck at the last second.  At the start line they have a corral for the hand cycles and wheel chairs, and then a corral for the elite runners and then it is a free for all after that.

Pre-race

I was able to stay the weekend with Paul, my buddy whom I have been friends with since 1990.  It was great to stay with him and not have to pay an expensive hotel bill.  On Friday morning I went to the St. George temple only to find out that it was closed for cleaning.  I walked around the grounds, sat on a bench and meditated and prayed for a while.  It was peaceful and fulfilling.  I went to the marathon expo in my suit and tie, although I left my suit coat in the car.  I saw Golden Harper there.  He is the founder of Altra running shoes and a fellow Orem High Tiger Graduate.  I bought a pair of Altra Paradigm running shoes that he personally outfitted me with.  They were last years model and hence a year old so I was able to purchase them for a discounted price of $58.  They look a little goofy because the toe box is extra large to allow the toes to expand upon impact.  You get used to their look and they are comfortable.  I also bought three pair of “feetures” (or something like that) ankle socks, and a pair of Asics running shorts.  I bought the shorts specifically because they have pockets to put stuff in during the marathon.   

Race morning, Paul dropped me off at the bus loading area.  It was great not to worry about having to find parking etc.  There was a mega long line to get on the buses since I didn’t get there for the early bird buses.  Eventually this other gal, whom I had started talking to, and I, melded into the line.  Then as we were going forward in the line two guys got in line right behind us and it turns out that they were the line leaders for an impromptu line as well.  So, it was just a free for all.  Some people being model citizens and waiting patiently at the end of lines and other cutting in line at will.  Upon arriving at the start I headed straight to the port-a-pottys.  After finishing there I had enough time to go and give my drop bag to the guys at the U-haul truck which is always a fun experience at the St. George Marathon.  There are over 7,000 participants at the start line and probably 3,000 of them try to get their drop bag in the truck in the last fifteen minutes before the start gun.  There is a mob of people with only about four volunteers taking bags so people just end up launching their drop bags in the general vicinity of the truck from way far out.  The volunteers start out trying to catch the bags, then they try to dodge the bags, then they just step out of the way entirely and everyone throws their bags in.  Then I went back to the bathrooms for a second visit just to make sure that everything was taken care of.   

Upon getting out of the bathrooms, I heard the national anthem so I new we were ready to get going.  I thought I could muscle my way up to where the 3:15 pacer but quickly realized, this was like a rock concert and it was shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip standing room early.  So I went up the side on the outside of the chute.  There was a line of runners there about one deep waiting to sneak in on the side instead of waiting at the back.  I spoke out loud to no one in specific that I want to be up there, and maybe I could hop the fence or something. A guy next to me said “or we can just open the fence” and then proceeded to open up a panel on the chute gate.  I complemented him on his actions and said a quick thank you.  I think there were probably a few more participants that went through that opening in the gate behind me as well.  I joined the lemmings heading off the cliff for the next 26.2 miles.

Trump for President?

Since this is my blog I can post things that interest me right?  So here I go entering the realm of politics.  Here is an opinion article for the Deseret News by Ralph Hancock.

I was only a lukewarm supporter of Mitt Romney as a 2012 presidential candidate, but I was very proud of his no-holds-barred denunciation of Donald Trump on Thursday. He must have been aware that his detractors would immediately reduce his motive to his own presidential ambitions and ridicule him, Trumplike, as a weak “loser.” But, regardless of the immediate consequences for him or for the nomination contest, Romney did the right thing in plainly depicting the character of the Republican front-runner.
It’s amazing and depressing that so many seem to need Romney to call attention to Trump’s rank dishonesty, or to remind us that “this is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporter’s questions to her menstrual cycle, who mocked a brilliant rival who happened to be a woman due to her appearance, who bragged about his marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity.” And I’m glad Mitt didn’t fail to censure Trump’s frat-boy sexual attitude and behavior: “There is a dark irony in his boasts of his sexual exploits during the Vietnam War. While at the same time, John McCain, whom he has mocked, was imprisoned and tortured.”
What is most depressing is that none of this background information should be necessary to anyone of sound judgment who observes Trump for two minutes: “the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics.” And Romney hit just the right note, one that again should be obvious but that we are usually too sophisticated to acknowledge, when he connected the political and the personal: “All (presidential nominees) … bear the responsibility of being an example for our children and our grandchildren. … Now, imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does.”
Of course, private virtue and statesmanship are not the same thing, but neither can they be entirely separated. A man who cannot govern himself cannot govern a people, much less a free people. Those who know Plato’s account of the Tyrant in the ninth book of "The Republic: must experience a shudder of recognition when Romney states an imperative that would be obvious for a healthy self-governing people: “His imagination must not be married to real power.”
The only thing — though impossible, no doubt — that would have improved Romney’s speech would have been some recognition of the responsibility that the Republican establishment bears for the creation of this monster. To Plato again: in the eight book of "The Republic" we learn that the vices of an extreme democracy (think: “populism”) are produced by the narrow self-interest of the wealthy class: the oligarchs see the world through the lens of their economic interests, profit from the immiseration of the lower classes, and fail to instill solid virtues of character in the next generation.
This account resembles our Republican elites in too many ways: concern for our families and for society’s moral fabric has too often been window-dressing, the middle class’s very real anxieties over economic stagnation have been inadequately addressed, and the outrages of political correctness have passed largely uncontradicted, all because of the corporate elite’s narrow and short-term interest in business as usual. Now the GOP is paying the price in the blind and incoherent outrage channeled by the repugnant Trumpster.
A friend nicely summarizes the “very bitter choice among three bad options” left to us who have seen the Republican party, despite its defects, as still America’s best hope:
“1. Aim for a messy convention in which delegates rally around a non-Trump candidate after the first ballot. This might work but it would be horrible, because Trump voters would feel twice as betrayed by the party as they do now. This is The Romney Option.
"2. Let Trump take the nomination but disavow him. That means you probably hand the presidency to the other party, and Trump supporters hate you for your betrayal. The Ben Sasse Option.
"3. Get behind Trump and ride the wave. This might actually lead to victory, but at the cost of losing any moral or intellectual coherence to the party. Self-respecting leaders would defect, leaving only Trumpites whose loyalty to the party is itself suspect. The Huckabee Option.”
The choice is not easy, my friend observes, because “parties matter, winning matters, principle matters. You can't always have all three.” All very true, but one choice is easy for me: NOT 3 — not Trump.
However Romney’s denunciation of Trump might be assessed strategically, in the long run, the utter sacrifice of decency and honor cannot be a good thing. If everything blows up, then the example of standing for some principles can make a difference, someday, somehow — a positive difference for our souls, and, we must pray, for our republic.

Ralph Hancock is a professor of political science at Brigham Young University and president of the John Adams Center for the Study of Faith, Philosophy and Public Affairs. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of BYU.

Two Marathons Same Result

I ran the St. George Marathon in Utah in October of 2015 in around 3 hours and 31 minutes.  I ran the Phoenix Marathon in Arizona in February of 2016 in around 3 hours and 27 minutes.  My goal in both was 3 hours and 10 minutes in both which is a 7.15 pace.  In both races I was between 7.20 and 7.30 pace through mile 18 and then that is when the wheels fell off.  I need to figure out those last 8.2 miles. 

I am still here....

After a long absence I wanted all two of you, whomever you are, who look at this blog to know that I am still alive and kicking.  Merry Christmas and happy new year!  I have plans to post my St. George Marathon report and my current and future training. 

Running Report 9/14/15 to 10/2/15

9/14/15 MONDAY
Did 7 quarter mile repeats with a quarter mile jog in between each.  All on the treadmill.

1. 3% incline -- 6.52 pace
2. 3.5% incline -- 6.52 pace
3.  4% incline -- 6.47 pace
4. 4.5% incline -- 6.42 pace
5. 5% incline -- 6.37 pace
6. 5.5% incline -- 6.31 pace
7. 6% incline -- 6.27 pace

About three miles total running.
In the afternoon I ran four miles nice and easy, not timed.

Day 7 miles
Week 7 miles
Month 126 miles
Year 871 miles

9/15/15 TUESDAY
Ran 5 miles on the track.

1. 3.46
2. 3.50
3. 3.47
4. 3.53
5. 3.52
6. 3.51
7. 3.49
8. 3.53
9. 3.58
10. 4.12

Total time 38.55 average of 7.47 minutes per mile.

Week 12 miles
Month 131 miles
Year 876 miles

9/16/15 WEDNESDAY
Ran for thirty minuets this morning, approximately 4 miles.  Started out slow an decreased the speed every 5 minutes until 20 minutes.  Then decreased speed at 20 minutes and again at 25 minutes. 

Week 16 miles
Month 135 miles
Year 880 miles

9/17/15 THURSDAY
Ran 5 miles this morning.

1. 4.09
2. 3.48
3. 3.38
4. 3.54
5. 3.42
6. 3.52
7. 3.46
8. 3.43
9. 3.59
10. 3.56

Total time 38.30 average of 7.42  per mile.

Week 21 miles
Month 140 miles
Year 885 miles

9/18/15 FRIDAY
Ran four miles on the treadmill in the morning.  Half mile splits are as follows:

1. 3.27
2. 3.22
3. 3.20
4. 3.16
5. 3.16
6. 3.13
7. 3.13
8. 2.52

Total time of 26.01 average of about 6.30 per miles

Week 25 miles
Month 144 miles
Year 889 miles

9/19/15 SATURDAY
Ran total of 12 miles in the morning.  Ran six miles, then slow jog for five minutes then rest for seven minutes and thirty four seconds (total rest of 12.34) and then run another six miles.  Here are the half mile splits:

1. 3.33
2. 3.33
3. 3.25
4. 3.36
5. 3.29
6. 3.29
7. 3.32
8. 3.28
9. 3.31
10. 3.29
11. 3.31
12. 3.25

12.34 jog and rest

1. 3.36
2. 3.27
3. 3.28
4. 3.33
5. 3.30
6. 3.31
7. 3.30
8. 3.23
9. 3.27
10. 3.25
11. 3.33
12. 3.24

For the first six miles I averaged 7.01 per mile and for the second six miles I averaged 6.59 per mile.

Week 37 miles
Month 156 miles
Year 901 miles

9/21/15 MONDAY
Ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  Started at 7.30 pace.  Increased the pace by one notch every quarter of a mile until 2.25 miles.  At 2.5 miles I took the incline at 1.5% and the pace to 6.15.  At 2.75 miles I went to 2% incline and 6.00 pace.  At three miles I decreased the pace and the incline until I reached 4 miles. 

Week 4 miles
Month 160 miles
Year 905 miles

9/22/15 TUESADY
Ran four miles on the treadmill.  Overall pace was an average of 7.30 minutes per mile.

Week 8 miles
Month 164 miles
Year 809 miles

9/23/15 WEDNESDAY
Ran four miles on the treadmill.  Finished in 25.55 which is a pace of 6.29 per mile.  At three miles I went to 6.15 pace.  At 3.5 miles I went up to 6.00 pace.  At 3.75 miles I went to 5.54 pace and 1% incline.  At mile 3.9 I wen to 5.49 pace and 1.5% incline, and mile 3.95 -- 2% incline and 5.44 pace.  This was my last continuous hard run before the marathon. 

Week 12 miles
Month 168 miles
Year 813 miles

9/24/15 THURSDAY
Ran 4 miles in the morning.

1. 4.01
2. 3.42
3. 3.46
4. 3.48
5. 3.50
6. 3.44
7. 3.52
8. 4.01

Total time of 30.48 and average of 7.42 per mile.

Week 16 miles
Month 172 miles
Year 817 miles

9/25/15 FRIDAY
Ran four miles.

1. 3.56
2. 3.44
3. 3.54
4. 3.52
5. 3.49
6. 3.47
7. 3.49
8. 4.06

Total time of 31.01 average of 7.45 per mile.

Week 20 miles
Month 176 miles
Year 821 miles

9/26/15 SATURDAY
Ran 8 miles in the morning.

1. 3.37
2. 3.33
3. 3.29
4. 3.33
5. 3.30
6. 3.33
7. 3.33
8. 3.36
9. 3.28
10. 3.26
11. 3.33
12. 3.25
13. 3.26
14. 3.24
15. 3.31
16. 3.28

Total time of 56.12 average of 7.02 per mile.

Week 28 miles
Month 184 miles
Year 829 miles

Right calf muscle did not feel good.  I had to stop several times to discipline my dog and once at the halfway mark to stretch my calf muscle.

9/28/15 MONDAY
Did a slow jog for about 1 mile since my right calf started tightening up so I stopped the run

Week 1 mile
Month 185 miles
Year 830 miles

9/29/15 TUESDAY
Did a 4x400 workout on the treadmill.  400 meters at 6.00 pace and jog 200 meters at 12.00 pace and then repeat four times.

Week 2 miles
Month 186 miles
Year 831 miles

9/30/15 WEDNESDAY AND 10/1/15 THURSDAY
No run either of these days.

10/2/15 FRIDAY
Nice easy two mile jog in the morning.

Week 4 miles
Month 188 miles
Year 833 miles

Running Report 9/8/15 to 9/12/15

9/8/15 TUESDAY
Ran 8 miles on the treadmill.  Finished at an average of 8 minutes per mile.

Week 16 miles
Month 62 miles
Year 814 miles

9/9/15 WEDNESDAY
Ran six miles in the morning.  Started at 8.00 min pace.  Every quarter of a mile I would increase the pace by one notch.  I continued this all the way through 3.5 miles.  At 2.75  miles I also increased the incline .5% every quarter of a mile until 3.50 mile mark.  At that time it was at 2% incline.  At 3.50 miles the pace was at 6.44 or something like that.  After that I brought the incline and the pace down one notch each every quarter mile.  I never let the incline go below .5%.  Finished the six mile in 44.09 which is around a 7.21 pace.  In the afternoon I ran six miles out on the road.  I used the mile markers as a distance measure.  At least one of the markers was off by about 40 seconds.

1. 7.34
2. 7.22
3. 7.46
4. 8.40
5. 8.01
6. 8.03

Total time of 47.29 average of 7.55 per mile.  Total of 12 miles for the day.   The six miles out on the road was pretty hard because it was hot and the miles already are starting to pile up for the week.

Week 28 miles
Month 74 miles
Year 826 miles

9/10/15 THURSDAY
Ran 8 miles in the morning on the treadmill at 7.45 pace.  Ran 6 miles in the afternoon on the treadmill at 8 min. pace.  Total of 14 miles for day.

Week 42 miles
Month 88 miles
Year 840 miles

9/11/15 FRIDAY
Ran ten miles on the road this morning.

1. 3.39
2. 3.27
3. 3.31
4. 3.37
5. 3.34
6. 3.37
7. 3.35
8. 3.39
9. 3.37
10. 3.41
11. 3.35
12. 3.42
13. 3.38
14. 3.34
15. 3.38
16. 3.38
17. 3.37
18. 3.41
19. 3.38
20. 3.25

Overall time 1 hour 12 minutes and 15 seconds.  Average of 7.13 per mile.  I totally hit the wall at mile 5.  I just repeated to myself over and over, "fight through it" and "don't slow down until the next half mile marker.  Then at the next marker I would think "ok, I can push it to the next half mile."  I really didn't know if I could make it.  In fact I doubted that I could but I didn't want to slow down until the next marker.  With two miles left the mental trick became, "I have not come this far and suffered this much to lose it all now.  Then with a mile and a half to go, "make it through these next two half miles and then just a half mile left and then it will be over."  With one mile to go I had an infusion of energy because I realized I was about four seconds ahead of pace.

Week 52 miles
Month 98 miles
Year 850 miles

9/12/15 SATURDAY
I ran 21 miles on the treadmill at night.  Excuse the crassness but I call this the diarrhea run.  I normally don't do this but this is what it was.  I went to the bathroom I think 4 times.  At 4.5 miles I stopped to go the the bathroom and change the channel on the TV to the BYU vs. Boise St. game.  Then again at 1.5 miles, again at 2 miles, then again at another 6.5 miles or something along those lines.  That was super lame because every time I would go to the bathroom the treadmill would stop, thus I have no idea of my overall time at all.  It was demoralizing because I had no desire to push the pace.  This is my last 20 miler as well so it was frustrating.  I should have just done my run at 2:30 a.m. this morning when I woke up anyway. 

Week 73 miles
Month 119 miles
Year 871 miles

Running report 8/31/15 to 9/7/15

8/31/15 MONDAY
Ran 6 miles this morning on the treadmill.  Starting at 8 min/mile and increasing on click every quarter mile until about 4 miles.  The last four quarter miles I increased the incline by one notch.  At 4 miles I started decreasing the pace and the incline every quarter of a mile.  Finished 6 miles in 43.30 about 7.15 pace.

Week 6 miles
Month 125 miles
Year 752 miles

9/1/15 TUESDAY
Ran 5 miles this morning. 

1. 4.13
2. 3.54
3. 3.41
4. 3.40
5. 3.46
6. 3.52
7. 3.40
8. 3.47
9. 3.55
10. 3.57

Total time 38.29 about a 7.41 average.
Ran 5 miles in the afternoon.

1. 3.59
2. 3.56
3. 3.56
4. 3.57
5. 3.52
6. 4.10
7. 3.56
8. 3.54
9. 4.08
10. 4.05

Total time of 39.58 average of 8 minutes per mile.

Day 10 miles
Week 16 miles
Month 10 miles
Year 762 miles

9/2/15 WEDNESDAY
Ran 5 miles in the morning on the treadmill.  These were the approximate minutes per mile pace ran at:  0-1 miles 6.58, 1-1.5 miles 6.54, 1.5-2.0 miles 6.50, 2.0-2.5 miles 6.44, 2.5-3.0 miles 6.40, 3.0-3.5 miles 6.36, 3.5-4.0 miles 6.30, 4.0-4.35 miles 6.15, 4.35-4.5 miles 6.30, 4.5-5.0 miles 6.00.  Total time 33.30 average of about 6.42 per mile.  That last half mile at 6.00 pace was a killer!  The last quarter mile was all anaerobic, will power, mind over matter, race pain, the dark room, etc.  As always the incline on the treadmill was set at .5%.

At night I ran five miles.

1. 4.29
2. 4.25
3. 4.19
4. 4.37
5. 4.32
6. 4.39
7. 4.31
8. 4.27
9. 4.40
10. 4.33 

Total time of 45.18 average of 9.04 per mile.

Day 10 miles
Week 26 miles
Month 20 miles
Year 772 miles

9/3/15 THURSDAY
Ran 5 miles in the morning.

1. 4.02
2. 3.49
3. 3.49
4. 3.47
5. 3.46
6. 3.52
7. 3.42
8. 3.50
9. 3.49
10. 3.59

Total time of 38.29 average of 7.42 per mile.
Ran three miles at night.

1. 4.42
2. 4.48
3. 4.46
4. 4.56
5. 4.54
6. 5.17

Total time of 29.25 average of 9.48 per mile.  Super slow.

Day 8 miles
Week 34 miles
Month 28 miles
Year 780 miles

9/4/15 FRIDAY
Ran 6 miles on the treadmill, finished at about 7.30 pace.

Week 40 miles
Month 34  miles
Year 786 miles

9/5/18 SATURDAY
Ran 12 miles.

1. 4.21
2. 4.02
3. 4.00
4. 4.02
5. 4.02
6. 4.10
7. 4.26
8. 4.24
9. 4.04
10. 4.00
11. 3.57
12. 3.57
13. 3.48
14. 3.57
15. 3.49
16. 3.51
17. 3.48
18. 3.44
19. 3.33
20. 3.36
21. 3.29
22. 3.38
23. 3.35
24. 3.30

Overall time 1 hour 33 minutes and 55 seconds.  Average of 7.50 minutes per mile.  Definite negative split.  Miles 7-9 I tried to to run at 7.45 pace and miles 10-12 I tried to run at 7.15 pace.  this was at the end of a high mileage week.  Next week hopefully will be even more mileage.

Week 52 miles
Month 46 miles
Year 798 miles

9/7/15 MONDAY
Yasso 800's today.  Run 800 meters at a certain time then run 400 meters at the same time and repeat.  I did a total of 10.  The first 800 was slow at 3.20.  Repeats 2-9 were at 3.10 or 2 seconds under that and then the last repeat I did in 2.58.  45 seconds after finishing my heart rate was at 120 beats per minute.  I was surprised it was so slow.  While each repeat was challenging, I did not have to open the door to the "dark room" all the way except on the last one.  So maybe 10 repeats at 3.05 is within reach but I don't think 10 at 3.00 is a possibility right at this moment.  That being said, I think before I took my 2 week break , I did 6 repeats at 3.00 so maybe it is possible. 

Week 8 miles
Month 54 miles
Year 806 miles