Course and distance PR by 26 seconds but no BQ.
2012 St. George Marathon
What it was: Awesome! A course and distance PR! (by 26
seconds, but still)
What it wasn’t: a BQ
It was an awesome run. Probably one of the most enjoyable I’ve
had. It was also, towards the end, one of the hardest—physically and mentally.
I’ve lost 15 pounds since June and had been participating in
a heart-health program up through the middle of September. Those two things allowed me to pull a 1:33
half marathon out of the hat on Sept. 08. I was probably the person most
shocked by that result. But it gave me confidence (and a lot of other people as
well) that I could run a Boston Qualifier.
And in spite of the fact that this St. George wasn’t the BQ
I hoped it might be, I do know that Ogden 2013 could be. Or even St. George
2013 could be. And that is my goal. And I’d appreciate everyone encouraging me
and keeping me honest with my eating and workouts.
The race: It started out pretty much like every other
Marathon except I lined up with the 3:15 runners. I thought that, shooting for a 3:20 finish,
the extra speed the 3:15 group would have might give me some cushion. Somehow though, within the first half mile I
lost sight of the balloon man. It wasn’t until the approach to Veyo that I saw
him again—only it was the 3:25 balloon man. And I was thinking two things: 1)
Crap! Have I been going that slow? And 2) Where’s the 3:20 folks? Did they blow
right past me?
And that’s when I caught sight of Don. He said he was on
pace for a 3:20 race and that I needn’t fear. So I ran with him for a bit. He
pulled ahead of me at the top of Veyo, but I had him in my sights for the next
5 miles and I continued to have hope.
Up through mile 16 my average pace was 7:48, but it was at
the mile 16 marker that I had to use the temple of doom. Mile 16 was 7:31. Mile
17 was 10:21. I felt down, but not out. Mile 18 came back down to 7:49. But
from there to the finish I was a roller coaster averaging an 8:31 pace from 17
through to the finish. Overall, the pace
was 8:11. I’ll take it, but the faster
splits—and where I got them—have shown me that with a little more discipline,
effort, and training, I’ll knock that 3:20 out for sure.
Finish: 3:35:06 And yes, my BQ time is 3:25:00.
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