Summer Race Report: A Lot of Ups and Downs

After the initial disappointment of the Ogden Marathon had washed over I was angry.  Angry at myself for not running a smarter race but mostly angry I just couldn't hold the pace I had been running through the 26.2 miles.  I was anxious to go out and redeem myself at another race but I kept reminding myself that my goal was a good race next February at the Olympic Trials and I knew the best way to achieve that was to rest up and recover.  So I backed off on my intensity and miles and enjoyed the trip with my family to Jackson. It was a good break mentally and physically.  By July I had a couple good weeks of workouts behind me and I wanted to get back out and race.  I had picked the rest of my races for the year off the USA Track and Field Utah road racing circuit.  In these races you score points based on how you place against other USAT&F members.  Murray Days 5k was on the 4th of July.  Even though there were several races closer to home we took the whole family to Murray for a traditional start to Independence Day by running a 5k.  The three oldest kids participated in the 5k and Jason pushed Skyler in the stroller and paced Kaitlyn since he was still returning from an injury.  It was a hot morning and there were several fast runners there.  I started off the race with Emily Jameson.  It felt fast and uncomfortable.  The first mile was uphill and I thought I could recover on the downhill.  My son Andrew was also running just ahead of me.  He'd never beaten me in a 5k and I knew he was getting close.  I was just trying to stay with Emily and Andrew.  But the downhill the second mile wasn't helping.  I was struggling to just maintain the pace I'd run the first mile even with the downhill.  By mile three I was done and fading fast.  Emily and Andrew had disappeared ahead of me and soon Christina Perry came flying past me and I had to settle for third.  I was disappointed.  My time was slow, but it was hot and a hard course.  I would focus on the Deseret News 10k instead.  With a few more weeks to train I would be ready to race then.

The morning of the Deseret News 10k was perfect.  It was a nice cool morning for the end of July.  At the starting line I was surprised to find that most of the faster runners has opted to run the half marathon this year.  There were a few fast women there but I was confident I could run with them.  I was extremely nervous.  I had a chance to win and this would be a fun race to win.  This might even make up for the disappointment at Ogden.  I started out the first mile in the lead with Melody Jensen.  I knew she was fast but I'd been told by several people that I could beat her.  We came through the first mile at 5:30.  It was exactly where I wanted to be and I felt great.  This would finally be a good race for me.  I started to notice that Melody was beating me on the steep downhill.  I wasn't trained well for the pounding and I was struggling to keep up.  I was afraid to let her go though.  I noticed on the flatter sections I had the advantage.  So my game plan was this: stay with her on the downhill then push the flat on the third mile and try to beat her there.  The second mile was fast.  We came through the split at 5:18.  I was hoping to keep it closer to 5:30.  The third mile flattens out with a bit of uphill.  I started pushing the pace and was able to start putting a bit of a gap between us.  My plan seemed to be working perfectly.  But just before the half way point we turned down South Temple for another downhill stretch.  Melody quickly closed the small gap I'd gained and flew past me.  My legs were dead.  I'd pushed it too hard the last two miles.  I was only half way done with the race and I felt finished.  I struggled through the rest of the race and by the last mile was really starting to fade and some of the men were passing me.  One of my friends Janae Richardson came flying past me and for the third race in a row I watched myself lose second place trying to win first place.  I finished in 3rd at 35:58.  It wasn't a bad time but I was frustrated with myself.  How could I keep making the same mistake? Why couldn't I just finish a race?  How come I couldn't handle the pressure when I felt like I had a chance to win?  Why was I falling apart right now six months away from the Olympic Marathon Trials?

A few weeks later I was headed to Logan for the Top of Utah Half Marathon.  It has always been a favorite race of mine.  I had a horrendously busy week trying to get my house packed up for some remodeling we are having done and getting the kids started in school.  I hadn't had a lot of time to think about the race.  But I had come up with a whole new game plan.  As much as I wanted to defend my title, I was not going to let anyone control my pace.  I wanted to come as close as I could to running the same mile splits I did last year and if that meant letting someone go ahead at the beginning that's what I was going to do.  I wanted to finish this race well.  I enjoyed a pasta dinner with some friends and felt very relaxed the night before and the morning of the race.  Jason was finally back to racing with me now that all of his injuries have healed.  At the starting line I didn't have any butterflies in my stomach.  That is really rare and I wasn't sure it was a good thing.  Was I really in the mindset to race?  At least I wasn't feeling the pressure I had been feeling at the last few races.  The race started and I was running with Tom Kuehls (a teammate from last year) and Emily Jameson.  It was almost the same group we had last year.  Emily seemed to be in control of the pace but it was the pace I wanted to run so I stayed with her.  Before long she seemed to be breathing hard and I realized she probably wasn't feeling her best.  By the third mile mark Tom and I were pulling away.  I hadn't expected to take the lead so early but I was feeling great.  We were hitting the mile splits exactly as I wanted to in the 5:50s and soon started hitting some 5:40s on the steeper downhill sections.  We got out of the canyon about halfway and I realized I had a good lead.  Chances were that no one was going to catch me.  I was starting to work a little harder to maintain my pace now that we were into the second half and the course leveled out.  I could have chosen to back off a bit but Thom was pushing the pace and I tried to stay with him and focus on a good time.  I might have a chance of breaking 1:18 again if I didn't let up.  We were still able to keep sub 6 minute miles on the flat part of the course.  Even though I was starting to tire by 9-10 miles and I knew we still had a mile and a half of uphill ahead, it felt so good to be in the lead and be running strong again.  We got to the hills and Thom started to pull away a bit.  In retrospect I wonder if I could have pushed just a little harder up the hill but I was tired, I knew I'd won and I was on pace to run a great time.  My slowest mile up the hill was a 6:24.  With the last mile, a gradual downhill to the finish I tried to catch Tom.  I caught a couple other men but Thom was maintaining the distance he had gained on me on the hill.  I looked at my watch and realized it would be close to break 1:18.  I needed a sub six minute mile.  I ran the last mile in 5:51 and broke the tape in 1:17:52!  It was just 8 seconds off my PR from last year at this race and only the second time under 1:18.  It was great to finally have a race again where it all came together.  It was a huge confidence boost for me to realize that I can still run the way I was running last summer. Click here for a link to the newspaper article.  Jason was happy to finish 5th in his age group in 1:19.  He's still trying to build up his fitness level after all the time he had to take off running in the spring and summer.  It was a good solid run for his first race back.

 

The countdown is on with just over five months until the Olympic Trials in February.  I'm getting more and more excited every day as I start to receive more information from  USAT&F and make my travel arrangements.  I have one more short race next week to finish up the road racing circuit I'm competing in and I'm planning a tune up at the Snow Canyon Half Marathon the beginning of November.  The main focus will be on continuing to improve my fitness and stay healthy between now and February.  Even now as the days are starting to get shorter I'm finding it a little harder to get out of bed in the morning early to get the training in.  I've got the darkest and hardest months to train ahead of me for my peak training season.  Yet, I am thrilled with this opportunity and can't wait to test myself against the best marathoners in the country!  162 days to go but who's counting?

Skyler's 3rd Birthday

Skyler celebrated his 3rd birthday in June.  He was finally old enough to understand that a birthday meant presents and other fun things and he was so excited.  We left for Jackson a couple days before his birthday and he saw me packing up the wrapped presents.  He couldn't wait to open them.  He kept trying to sneak into the presents once we got to the condo so I had to find a high shelf in a closet to store them.  His birthday was Sunday.  We had been up late the night before in Yellowstone so we slept in a bit then as soon as we were up left for church.  As we were leaving the church building the ward there was having an ice cream social.  Of course the kids were eyeing the ice cream but we felt a little odd joining their party so I told the kids we would go back to the condo and have a birthday party with cake and ice cream there.  The kids thought that sounded fair and rushed to the car.  I didn't really mean the second we walked in the door.  I still had to make a birthday cake.  Skyler had clearly understood me though and rushed to the closet where the presents were "hidden".  He had waited long enough and he was ready for a party.  I really couldn't tell that cute little face no so we let him open one present, a Thomas the Train bubble blower, and take it outside to play while I made a cake and dinner.

 

Here's a look at Skyler at three: He's energetic, happy and always the center of attention at our house.  Things he likes: to play with toy trains, puzzles, legos (big ones and to the dismay of his older siblings occasionally getting into their little ones, especially Andrew's Hogwarts Express) watch trains when we are driving, do things by himself, count, reading books, riding his bike with training wheels, playing on Mom's phone, stalling when it is time for bed, picking vegetable out of the garden, helping me water the flowers and copying anything anyone says.
Things he doesn't like: getting left behind, going to bed, the vacuum, the lawnmower, and any other loud noise.
Things I love about Skyler:  He literally lights up the room when he walks in.  He has a fun loving personality.  He adores his siblings. I love having my little guy in tow when I go places.  I will be lost next week when he starts preschool and I have a few hours to myself.