RustyTF2

This will be a long report so I can remember and learn from it in the future. Please don't feel obligated to read :)

Shorter recap found here: http://sojournersracingteam.blogspot.com/2015/10/saint-george-marathon-taylor-farnsworth.html

Woke up at 4:10 race morning after not being able to fall asleep till someime after 1. Before then I just could not get comfortable. I felt like I had so much energy from the taper and from averaging 8 hours of sleep all week leading up to it (I have usually just been getting 7). I didn't feel nervous, just unable to sleep. I also was up 5-6 times to pee between 10 and 1. I think next year I will experiment with some sleeping pills or something on the long runs leading up to the race. If they don't make me too groggy, I will use them the night before. I figure 2.5 hrs is enough time after waking up to get over the grogginess if there is any. And I will for sure not drink so much water between dinner and bed. I need to drink more water earlier in the day instead. 

My father-in-law drove me from the hotel to the busses at 4:35. I got in a long line, and I was on a bus leaving the park by 5:00. I got to the top at about 5:40. I felt I had plenty of time to use the bathroom and relax at the top. I was plenty warm and comfortable waiting.

6:25-6:30 Took my Powergel with a little water and did a .4m warmup easy jog with 1 little stride. 

6:40 on the starting line right after the wheelchairs went off.

6:45 Start: First few miles I was kinda like a slinky behind Aaron, Fritz, Kotter, and a Japanese guy. The Japanese guy dropped out shortly after 5k and grabbed his leg. At mile 3, no one was there to hand us our bottles and it was too dark to see from far away whose bottle was whose. Kotter grabbed a bottle and realized a few seconds later that it wasn't his. He felt bad and turned around to return it and find his own... This probably put him 10 seconds behind me and I was 3 seconds behind the leaders. I probably was already running too fast the first 5k (5:22, 5:27, 5:13) but then the steeper downhills came and I naturally went a little faster through 7 (5:08, 5:20, 5:07, 5:18). Kotter wanted to just roll with the easy early quick pace and I didn't want to run alone... so my average was 5:17 through 7... probably 5 seconds/mile faster than it should've been. We also had to stop in our tracks at 7 to get our bottles... we were both really wanting to take our gels so it was worth the stop, but frustrating that we now had big problems at 2 stations in a row. 

We then ran well up Veyo in 5:57. Unfortunately, we fell off the pace a little bit on 9-14... especially the uphill 9-12. (5:49, 5:38, 6:01, 5:40, 5:23, 5:23). We went through the half in 1:11:55 and it was a little tougher than I thought it should've been up those hills. I think Kotter was upset about his lost 13 seconds so he was content to let me lead a lot of that uphill or run on the outside of the turn a little more than desired. It would have been better to be just relaxed in a pack at this point. There was also a strong headwind from about 9-12. I also had a stomach cramp for a couple miles. I don't think it affected me too much. Some deep breaths helped to relieve it and it was gone in about 10 minutes. I don't mean to make excuses for myself. But next time I need to be more aware of what is going on, and not just try to stick to the planned pace no matter what, especially since I went too quick the first 7. I took a half gel at 11 cuz I didn't know if I would be able to get it at 15. Around 14 miles, Kotter fell behind me a ways. I could tell my legs weren't as fresh as I wanted them to be at this point in the race, but I also knew I was behind my desired pace. 

At mile 15 we got some steeper downhill and I tried to just relax and go with it. I also think I got a little excited coming up on the aid station. I waived them over so I didn't have to run wide to get my bottle and gel. I noticed that I typically ran a little faster through the aid stations, or at least felt like it. It was unintentional, but in the future I think it'd be good to even slow down a touch while taking my bottle. 15 was 5:03, much faster than intended. I believe that's where I passed Fritz. Then I was just a step or two ahead of him through 16 in 4:57. I think I was just excited to be up there with Fritz and my mind told me that "now we just have a 10 mile tempo down the canyon... NBD". WRONG. It is a big deal to run a 4:57 when you aren't feeling great. It was also not my intention to go that fast for that mile. Iain even warned me to be careful on 15-16. I was not careful enough. 

Shortly after mile 16 I realized I had really blown it. My breathing got difficult for a minute and I thought "Do I have asthma? What is this feeling?" Another minute and my legs felt the lack of oxygen. I decided I needed to slow it down for a couple miles and hopefully I could recuperate and still finish well. 17 and 18 were 5:31 and 5:36, but I was still only feeling worse. At this point Fritz had opened up a big gap on me. I contemplated quitting, thinking there was no way I could make it to the finish. Knowing, however, that I had lots of family and friends there watching and cheering for me, that I had put lots of time and effort into training, and that Iain had spent a great amount of time coaching me, I knew I couldn't give up until I was literally forced to. 

Mile 19 to the bridge and then up the hill was a challenge. My body took half of a walking step under the bridge before my mind took over and said "no, not yet". I ran  (slowly) all the way up the hill. 6:06. I took another half or full gel and water here. The next mile was back down and I managed a 5:37. 21 had a lot of drop but I still could only manage a 5:27. Mile 22 had some good uphill in it and I could only barely manage a 6:06. 23 was a continuation of the struggle, even though there was so much downhill. The aid station was a little before the mile marker. At this point I knew my best bet was to walk and get as much water and gel as I could. I walked for probably 150 meters or more. I hit my split while walking- 6:33. The next mile, which also included walking at the beginning, was 5:52. I walked again at mile 24, 25, and 25.5... these are rough estimates. I figure I walked about 400 meters of the race. 25-26 were 6:50 and 6:53. In the last 3 miles I was passed by 4 guys. They all gave me encouragement and helped me reach the finish line. Thanks you, Scott, Mike, Nate, and Ben. You guys are awesome! Ben helped me remember that it was worth fighting for the top 10. The desire to finish and not be caught by anyone else, and the extra strength from the last walk, was enough to help me bring home the last .2 at 5:20 pace for a finishing time of 2:28:32 (5:40 pace) and a 6th place finish (really 7th including Scott). 

This was a humbling and difficult experience for me. I trained so hard and dilligently over the past few months. I pushed myself to new distances in my training. Things were looking so good. I really wanted to finish in the top 3 and even more so I wanted to run at least under 2:21. 2:21 may have been a little over-ambitious for my first marathon, especially considering the headwind and the heat the last few miles. I do think with decent sleep the night before and smarter pacing I could have been under 2:23 today. Coulda Shoulda Woulda doesn't mean anything though. Now I get to stay hungry and find the satisfaction in getting a big PR next time I race the marathon! Thanks to the FRB community and all the friends I've made in training. You guys have been great examples and extremely encouraging and helpful. I know pretty much all of us ran slower than we thought we would this time. I think that just goes to show the conditions weren't ideal. We'll all be ready for some nice PR's the next time around!