Race Report
Salt lake City, UT
Wed, Jul 24/13
Salt Lake City, UT
Deseret News Classic Marathon
Marathon #363
4:51:33 - 5 AG
As I continue to train for my next (international) marathon
in Asia I figured I needed to run at least one long training run. However that
has become very difficult in the brutal heat & humidity of a FL summer. So
I tried to find another ‘cool weather’ marathon I could run as a training
marathon. That goal was not easy with the heat wave across the US and the
ridiculous cost of air fares these days. I finally settled on a marathon in Salt
Lake City, UT. I ran this race 20 years ago and I remembered it being very cold
at the start of the race on top of a mountain. This choice had an added
advantage. Since the race was run on a Wed as part of ‘Pioneer Day’
celebrations (also a Mormon holiday) I would be able to run a 2nd
marathon in Morgan, UT on Sat.
I arrived in SLC on Tue afternoon in time to pick up my
race packet and meet a friend, Galen Garrison, for pasta dinner. Galen moved to
SLC from Tampa less than a year ago and I was curious to see how he liked UT?
We enjoyed a nice pasta dinner and conversation about UT and running.
The weather has been unusually hot in UT this summer with
highs above 100F and lows only in the low 70s. The race started at 5:30am at
the top of Big Mountain (7500 ft) in the Wasatch Mtns about 20 miles east of
SLC. Runners had to catch a bus at 3am
to take them to the start line. Twenty years ago I remembered several camp
fires at the start line to keep runners warm in temps that were close to
freezing. This year the temps were in the low 60s on top of the mountain and
runners stood around in shorts and singlets. My goal was to finish under 5
hours when I figured the temps down in SLC would be in the high 80s. The course
was advertised as a ‘fast, downhill course’ that started at 7500 ft and dropped
3200ft to finish in Liberty Park near downtown SLC. However I knew that they
conveniently forgot to mention many BAHs (Bad Ass Hills) that had to be climbed
along the way.
The race started on time and the course dropped about
1000 ft over the first 6 miles. Even with the altitude it was easy to run a
10-minute pace. I noted several thermal layers as we dropped through the first
1000 ft. For a few minutes it would be warm and then we would pass through a
cold layer where we would be much colder. I passed mile 5 in 48:56 and a split
of 9:50. Then we reached the 1st BAH near mile 6 that climbed about
500 ft over the next 2 miles. I managed to run part of the BAH and then wisely
decided that since I would certainly have to walk some of the BAHs I might as
well start right now. I reached Mile 8 in 1:26:01 and a split of 13:22. Daylight
broke as we approached mile 10 in 1:47:14 and a split of 11:08. I could finally
read my watch. I passed the Half in 2:18:48 and knew w/o any doubt that the 2nd
half would not be that fast. I hoped that I could run the 2nd half
in 2:30? I passed mile 16 in 2:50:26 and a split of 11:00 and that was a
downhill section so I was not surprised when my legs started to tire on another
BAH at Mile 18. I ran/walked that mile in a split of 12:21. I could feel or
sense a ‘wall’ approaching but I hoped to delay a crash as long as possible.
And we were lucky because the skies were overcast which kept the temps from
climbing as rapidly as they would have if the sun had not been blocked. The
temps stayed in the low 80s. I passed mile 20 in 3:36:55 and a split of 11:59
but on the final BAH at mile 21 my legs had nothing left and I had to start
walking. A painful/frustrating split of 13:06 and I was broken. At that point
my legs felt like they had been beaten with a 2X4. The next 2 miles were a
gentle downhill and I struggled to run 1 mile and walk 1 minute. When I reached
mile 23 in downtown SLC in 4:12:21 and a split of 11:47 my legs were totally
trashed and I had to go into survival mode. I knew that I could finish under 5
hours even if I walked the final 5K so I continued the strategy of run 1 mile
and walk 1 minute. The final mile shared a route with the ‘Pioneer Days’ parade
and the cheers of thousands of spectators helped to keep the old legs shuffling
to cross the finish line in 4:51:33.
I have many negative comments about the race but the most
positive comment I have to offer was the free 15-minute massages that were
available at the finish line. Both hips were tight and very sore from the
constant pounding of the hills and I appreciated a massage that helped to
alleviate some of the pain.
The negatives:
1) The
first 10 miles of the course in the mountains (which we ran in the dark) were
closed to traffic. But then the roads were opened to traffic with no cones and
no control and I felt nervous having to watch for traffic on the narrow
mountain roads. When we reached the city the roads were once again controlled
and there were police at all the major intersections.
2) The
water sucked. Water was provided from hoses and it tasted terrible. Even at the
finish line there was no bottled water or energy drinks – just water from a
hose!
3) Although
timing was provided by chip the results posted at the finish line still weren’t
updated by the time I enjoyed a massage and returned to the hotel. I had to
wait 2 days for results to be posted online.
Sadly the hills had really trashed my legs. I was
concerned about how sore they would be the next day and if they could recover
in time for the 2nd race on Sat? I got my answer the next morning
when I tried to get out of bed – and couldn’t move. Both legs – from the hips
to the toes were tight and sore and I couldn’t walk w/o pain! I called the spa
that had provided the massage after the race and luckily they had a location
close to the hotel and an opening at 10 am. I hobbled or as I like to describe
it – I ‘waddled’ like a penguin to the spa and had the masseuse work for one
full hour on both hips and quads. Then I returned to the hotel and spent 30 min
in the hot tub. The legs felt better but unfortunately as soon as the muscles
cooled down they became stiff and sore again. Now I started to doubt if I would
be able to run on Sat. I ‘waddled’ around SLC for the afternoon as I visited
Temple Square and the Mormon Temple and Tabernacle before heading north to
Ogden.
As soon as I checked into the hotel I enjoyed another
hour in the hot tub before going to dinner. At least now I could waddle w/o
pain but I still couldn’t walk. It wasn’t looking good. I forced myself to walk/waddle along the historic
main street in Ogden and enjoy a nice dinner. On Fri morning the legs were not
much better. I could walk with minor pain but could not run. I figured even in
that condition Maddog could walk/run the race on Sat but it would be very ugly,
painful and slow. But I had two major concerns:
1) Forcing
tight and sore muscles through 26 miles would carry a huge risk of injury and I
could not afford an injury with my next international race in only one month
2) I
had booked a 2pm flight out of SLC after the race which meant I had to finish
the race under 5 hours to catch that flight. I knew that wasn’t going to happen
on those legs!
So I wisely made a decision to skip the race and enjoy a
nice dinner with a beer and allow myself lots of time to waddle through the
airport on Sat so I could return home ‘to lick my wounds’ and recover.
It was a tough decision – and the right one. On Mon I was
finally able to run an easy 4 miles w/o pain but it wasn’t until Wed (1 week later)
that my legs felt good on an easy 12-mile run.
Thus it appears that my days of running back-to-back
marathons on consecutive days are over – maybe I can still do consecutive
weekends? But at least I survived and will get to run my next race in Vietnam
in Sept.
Stay tuned!
