Top of Utah Marathon (Read 409 times)

It was a dark and stormy night.... Or so the story starts. My wife and I arrived in Logan (Utah) Thursday, and the weather was not good--wet and overcast. An early winter storm had hit the area. I had heard it was going to improve, and I believed. When I woke up Friday morning and looked out the hotel window, it was snowing. But, I still believed. Not as much, but I believed. Friday night, went to the expo and got my number. I immediately called a friend that would be running and told her (she was staying in Ogden, as the hotels in Logan were full) they had run out of chips. Yes, they had more people sign up than planned, and part of the extra chip shipment was lost. She didn't know what she was going to do at that point. Except, I think, never ever believe a thing I say any more. Which is unfortunate, because, really, when the chips are down, I'm there for you. I was expecting some pretty cold conditions Saturday morning, and planned accordingly. Arrived so I could take an early bus, and ended up taking the first bus up, so I'd be sure and have a spot by the heater in the tent they set up for the runners to stay warm. That worked great. Took layers of clothes, and that, too, worked great. But, in fact, it wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be. Yes, about 28 at the start, but with no wind, no problem. With an absolutely clear night, and up in the Blacksmith Fork Canyon, the stars in the sky were fantastic. Don't see anything like that in Las Vegas, for sure. When the race started, I didn't have a particular time goal--maybe around 3:35-3:40. So, I ran comfortably the first half at about an 8:05-8:10 pace. I loved the canyon. When the sun was coming up, it was simply gorgeous. It would have been a perfect course if the canyon lasted for 26.2 miles. But, the canyon only lasts about 14 miles. Then, its on to suburbia. About mile 17-18 I started to make a point of picking up the pace just a little. I would try and pick out different people on the course, and pass them. The hardest part of the course, for me, was the stretch from about mile 19-21. It was, I believe, the longest straight shot on the course. So, I lowered my hat's visor so all I could see was the road right in front of me, and didn't worry about how far the turn was. I knew if I kept looking down the road it would play on my mind. When I finally turned on to Main, I knew I was heading for home. I really liked that final part of the course. Picked up the pace a little more, and finished in 3:29:25. As this was my 6th marathon this year, and with St. George Marathon in two weeks, I would have been satisfied with anything under 3:40, happy under 3:35, so I was really happy under 3:30. That put me 9th out of 69 in the M5054 group, 175th out of 2005 overall. What I was really impressed with is the fact that the fellow that won my age group ran a 2:57. In seven months I'm in a new age group--which, btw, I would have won. With my luck, the eight ahead of me probably are as well. I did see some friends of mine at the end. And--someone was passing out real ice cream in the park. So, let's see--it was a beautiful day, I had a good run, my family was waiting at the finish, and there was real ice cream at the end. All in all, a great day.