A clydesdale no more!

Provo 1/2 Marathon

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Location:

Woods Cross,UT,USA

Member Since:

May 01, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

Current Running Life:
5k: 17:50 (2010 NSL)
10k: 38:20 (2007 Des News)
1/2 Marathon: 1:23:30 (2009 Provo Half)
Marathon: 2:53:46 (2007 St George)

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

 

Personal:

Daddy to 3 great kids - 16 year old son and 11 year old twin daughters

I do not know what tomorrow will bring but I do know it will start with a run.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Grid A2 Lifetime Miles: 125.40
GoRun2 Lifetime Miles: 53.70
Adrenaline 2014 Blue (1) Lifetime Miles: 442.70
Adrenaline 2014 Red (1) Lifetime Miles: 429.20
Race: Provo 1/2 Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:23:30, Place overall: 17, Place in age division: 3
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.2013.1014.30

After only racing a couple of 5k’s this year, I really had no idea what kind of shape I was in for a longer race.  Going into this race, I thought that 1:25 was a reasonable goal but I had my doubts.  While I was on the bus on the way up the canyon I realized that I don’t even know what pace I would need to run to get a 1:25.  I’m always overly worried about being late to races so I ended up being on the first bus which meant a lot of waiting around.  I warmed up with a little over a mile of slow running then spent the rest of the time in the POP line.  I was shivering at the starting line which is always a good sign.  Freezing at the start means perfect racing weather.  The gun went off and after making it through the initial race congestion I settled into a comfortable pace.  The first 4 miles are major downhill and I didn’t think about the pace while I was running.  I just ran at a pace that felt right.  The splits for these miles were: 6:10, 6:13, 6:16, 6:06.  The course then flattens out for the next 2 miles.  Miles 5 and 6 were 6:29, 6:25 which is what I believe my true half marathon pace is.  Miles 7 and 8 include a good little climb and I ran these in 6:39 and 6:40.  Coming down the hill I realized that the guy I was running with was JeffL from the blog and we stayed together for most of the race.  Mile 9 came in at 6:14 and I thought I was done at that point.  My legs started to hurt and I started having a lot of self doubt.  Having Jeff there really helped keep the pace honest.  At the 10 mile mark, I expected to see something close to 7:00 and was surprised to see 6:25.  I figured that if I was this tired and still able to run at a decent pace then I just need to focus on my leg turnover and not think about anything else.  Miles 11, 12 and 13 were 6:21, 6:25, 6:20 with the final 0.1 at 5:28/mile.  I was super tired and had to keep reminding myself to relax the form but was able to maintain a good pace.  Final time was 1:23:30 which is a PR by 29 seconds.  My first PR at any distance in almost 2 years.  I finished in 17th place overall and 3rd in my age group.  I am really happy with the effort.  Even though I felt good at the finish I remember thinking during the race that I could not move my legs faster than they were going.  I hung around for awhile and watched a lot of the finishers come in because I had a “friend” that was running and I wanted to see her finish.

Almost forgot to mention that  I thought the organization was a lot better this year.  I know Curt has a bad reputation for how he runs his races but other than the usual communication issues and messy start he did a great job this year.  The atmosphere at the finish was great.

Saucony Grid A2 Miles: 13.10Adrenaline 2009 3 Miles: 1.20
Comments
From MarkP on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 13:35:40 from 98.202.199.48

Great race...you are in better shape than you think!

From Jeff L on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 13:48:47 from 97.117.27.141

I probably drove you nuts running with you, but you certainly made me push myself. It made a huge difference to run with someone. Wish I could have stuck with you through the later miles. Nice job though and congrats on the PR.

From Teena on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 14:00:43 from 67.177.20.13

1:23:30!!!!!!!!! Are you serious????

WOW oh WOW!!! That is so incredible! Very cool PR indeed! Glad things came together for you. You gotta love that.

So ... how did your "friend" do?

Seriously Andy. I am so happy for you! You deserve every second of that PR. So sweet!

A HUGE congrats!!!

From Burt on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 14:10:02 from 98.167.151.26

Great job Andy. You're coming back strong.

From josse on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 15:48:40 from 70.192.73.56

I know that feeling of getting a pr after years with none. Great job!!

From Brent on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 16:20:26 from 66.7.127.219

Andy, 500 commando points for the excellent PR. Your right, great course, often less than great organization. Did Kurt give awards this year?

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

From JD on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 16:26:31 from 166.216.128.76

Great race! Congrats on the PR.

From Bec on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 16:33:16 from 67.177.35.60

Great job on the PR. Fantastic effort overall.

From timp on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 16:48:56 from 68.166.26.108

really nice race, man. Good job

From Rhett on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 19:49:48 from 74.32.223.209

Very nice race Andy and I loved the report. I'll have to remember to just concentrate on turnover when I think I'm going to die in my next race. Congrats on the AG place. Did you get any hardware?

From Andy on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 21:51:59 from 198.60.114.178

Rhett - No hardware but I got a little poster for finishing top 25. I forgot to mention that I tried the pop tart thing this morning and it worked like a charm. See what you started.

From Cody on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 21:56:56 from 67.161.250.22

Nice Job Andy! A PR to boot!

From RivertonPaul on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 23:23:47 from 75.169.7.229

Way to go on the PR.

From Teena on Sun, Aug 09, 2009 at 00:08:13 from 67.177.20.13

PopTarts??? Okay ... what is it with PopTarts??

From Smooth on Sun, Aug 09, 2009 at 00:29:25 from 71.36.65.206

CONGRATS on such an outstanding performance today! AWESOME RACE! WAY to PR and exceed your expectation! Glad to hear Curt did a better job this year. It was perfect racing weather!

How did your friend do?

From Twinkies on Sun, Aug 09, 2009 at 10:09:52 from 67.166.71.60

Congrats on getting a PR and running an excellent race. Keep up the good work.

From Kathie on Sun, Aug 09, 2009 at 11:43:57 from 207.155.176.10

Nice race Andy Way to PR! I think your rest from racing has been good for you.

Enough about the race I want the hear more about the "friend"... come on spill the beans!

From Shimelle on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 10:08:15 from 75.162.253.78

Nice jog Andy! That is so awesome!

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 15:18:38 from 192.168.1.1

Congratulations on a PR!

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