Great race-10th marathon. I learned more from this race than any other.
Friday we drove down to St. George and went straight to the expo. I origionally signed up for the race in the Clydesdale division (over 200 lbs), but over the past several months I'd lost a little more weight, getting down to about 190 four weeks before the race. I planned to be bumped out of the Clydesdale division to my age group by not making the 200 lbs when weighing in while picking up my packet. Because of the injuries I've had and not being able to train as hard, I've gained the weight back. Before picking up my packet, I gulped a few water bottles thinking I may make 200 lbs. When picking up my packet I weighed in at 207. They didn't make us take off our shoes this year. (Wow).
After going to the condo, we "carbed-up" on spaghetti, and I continued to drink water--probably too much, and woke up through the night because of it :-). Saturday morning, I weighted in on a scale at the condo without shoes and was 199.9. Afterwards, drank a bunch and ate a small breakfast and left for the busses. Enjoyed the usual stuff talking to some friends before the race. It was nice being in the "Elite" area before the race (never done that before).
When the race started, I went out pretty fast. I felt good. My calf was tight, but not painful so I continued on. I'm a lot faster down hill than up hill (hills slow me down more than most runners) and hit 7.25 miles (before the Veyo hill) averaging 6:30. Felt good. Slowed down a bunch up the Veyo hill, and then though the hills up to mile 12. At mile 12 I started to feel a little more tightness and a little pain in my calf so I slowed down a little more. I may have taken the hills a little fast for my calf. At mile 13 Dave S. passed me and I visited with him for a little bit which was good. I ran behind him for a little while and hit the 13.1 mile mark at about 1:30, at a 6:52/mile pace. He ran a great race, finishing at 2:58. I decided to not push it too hard down the hill after mile 14 to save my calf for later, but still kept up a pretty good pace. Somewhere around mile 17.5 to mile 18, Ralee Eck passed me at a great pace. She ran a good race, breaking three hours at 2:59. About at mile 17.5 my calf started cramping up. I noticed my stride had changed quite a bit, was running a little flat footed, and felt a little soreness in my knee and hip because of it. Decision time! I could either push it, and try to break the three hour mark, maybe re-injuring my calf, knee or hip, or just slow down and ease through the last 8+ miles at a nice slow pace. I decided to take it easy. A few other things also convinced me--I hadn't put in the miles I normally do because I kept taking a days off to let my calf heal. I had skipped several short runs, a few 20 mile runs, and took the entire week off three weeks before the race--and I was feeling it a little. It was also a little hot and had a bit of a head wind which added to me making the decision. I went in at a very slow pace the last 8 miles and came in at 3:13:48. In retrospect, I'm really glad I did! My left calf, knee, and hip were sore after the race, but I could still walk.
After the race I had a good time talking to the Eck's, Dave, and others. Iced the calf, and relaxed. I was surprised to learn I placed 3rd in the Clydesdale. I didn't think I'd placed at all. This will be my last Clydesdale race (of course I've said that before).
Now time for a good 2-4 weeks off to finally let the calf heal. | 