Training in Montana

Deseret News Classic marathon

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Location:

Billings,MT,

Member Since:

Jan 10, 2011

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

~~Longest Ultra: Bighorn Trail Run: 12:19:00, 52 miles, Bighorn Mountains, WY, June 20, 2015

50K: Bighorn Trail Run: 5:52:13, 32 miles, Bighorn Mountains, WY, June 15, 2013

Marathon: 3:25:01, Deseret News Marathon, SLC, UT, July 24, 2013

Half-Marathon: 1:37:00 (downhill), Deseret News Marathon Split, SLC, UT, July 24, 2013

10K: 44:07, Big Sky State Games, Billings, MT, July 2012

5K: 20:25, Big Sky State Games, Billings, MT, July 2013

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get back into running shape.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Not get super fat, and qualify for Boston before I'm 50 (April 2023).

Personal:

Started running seriously in March 2010. Married 22 years to a hot momma and we have 3 boys, 1 sweet girl, 2 dogs, 3 2 0 1 cat, and 6     4 5 6 3 5 3 1 2 0 chickens (until Spring 2019 when we'll start over). As of September 2018 I'm looking for work... yay. I'm on the local School Board.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Adrenaline 18 Lifetime Miles: 424.24
Cascadia 12 Lifetime Miles: 396.50
Adrenaline 18 #2 Lifetime Miles: 64.00
Altra Lifetime Miles: 50.50
Brooks 20 Lifetime Miles: 50.00
Cascadia Green/orange Lifetime Miles: 223.00
Race: Deseret News Classic marathon (26.219 Miles) 03:25:01, Place overall: 43, Place in age division: 7
Total Distance
26.22

Prepped the day before by drinking lots of water (no caffeinated Diet Pepsi, which was really tough for me, especially being on vacation all week) and resting as much as possible. I also used a sharpie on my forearms for all my mile splits from allie & James' DesNews split calculator. I got a really good night sleep the night before the night before, so I knew that any sleep I got the night before the race would suffice. We were staying in Heber at a rental house so my family that was running the 10K and 5K drove down to my sister's house in South Jordan. This included my wife, so I didn't have to worry about waking her in the morning which was nice. I got to bed just after 10 and woke up on my own at 2:30 am and I felt very rested. Showered, got ready, and woke up my Dad. He drove me to the start of the race, so I got at least an extra 30 minutes sleep. I dressed for cold weather on the mountain top and while it wasn't super cold, I still was very glad for my sweat pants, down sweater, warm hat and gloves. It made the hour and a half before the start very comfortable. I had a chance to visit with allie a couple times before and I also tracked down Sasha and visited with him. Really nice people. I downed 32 oz of Gatorade and a bagel before the race. My stomach rebelled slightly so not sure if it was the raisins in the bagel or what, but I might rethink that strategy. I had the chance to use the POPs a couple times and I was successful, but maybe could've used a bit more time in there before.

In the POP lines I noticed a person wearing a pacer shirt and holding a 3:15:00 sign. I was stoked! Talked with him and sure enough, he and another guy were pacing. When they said they were going to "bank time" on the hills I should have veered away from them realizing they didn't have an actual plan, but I didn't. Big mistake. The race started right at 5:30 and I stuck on the tail of the 3:15 pacers. The first mile came through in 6:41 (should've been 6:59 or so) but I felt good, so stuck with it. Mile 2 was 6:52, then 6:46, then 7:11 with some uphill. The pacers were 10 yards ahead of me but still in striking distance. I had stop to pee at mile 5 and I lost the pacers for the rest of the way, but they had already done their damage. Mile 5 was 7:26, then the uphill began. 7:43 for mile 6, 8:38 for mile 7. The up was tougher than I expected, which I realize now meant that my legs were trashed from the fast first five miles (alliteration always awesome). Mile 8 was 8:08, more than half of it uphill if I remember right. I knew I was in trouble when mile 9 was 7:27 and I was going downhill. I read my forearm wrong and thought 7:25 was okay, but that was for mile 10. I knew mentally I should be around 7 on the down but I had a hard time convincing my body that was a good pace. I'd been following a group of disparate guys for a couple miles and now they started to pull away a bit. Mile 10 had the uphill out and back, 7:41, then I started feeling a bit better with mile 11 7:11. I took a gel every 45 minutes so I had one in there (all with 1X caffeine) and that must've kicked in. I knew that mile 11-15 were my last strong downhill, so I focused on hitting my paces. Mile 12 7:09, then 7:18, then 7:39 (don't remember why so slow), and I met Kam at mile 15 with a 7:22 mile. Along the way I hit the 13.1 marker at exactly 1:37:00 and the math told me news was not good. I had "banked" 1 minute in the first half, and I needed more time than that to conquer the second half. My legs felt way too rough for 15 miles. At the 16 mile aid station I think I dumped my first glass of water on my head and hit a 7:38 mile with the uphill to the golf course. I was struggling from this point on. 7:44 for the next mile with Kam cajoling me onward to hit that speed, which was now 20 seconds off my pace. Mile 18 was an 8:05, next 8:10, back to 8:05, then mile 21 a 9:14, my first stop to walk. I walked through most aid stations as I knew getting proper fluids was more important than gaining a few seconds, but I also stopped twice along the course to rest my legs. Mile 21 was tough. That uphill portion went on and on, and I was just waiting for the Boy Scout office to go downhill. Apparently that woke me up as mile 22 was 7:41, but then I reverted to an 8:12, then a 9:09 for mile 24. Mile 25 I improved to an 8:25 and the last 1.2 was an 11:20, which is a 9:26 pace. My brother and his wife rode their bikes next to Kam and me for the last couple miles and that was great. My kids met me at the last turn and I ran in with my 9 year old and 12 year old boys. That was a lot of fun. I was so happy to finish.

When I turned the corner I could see 3:24:33 and I thought that I could easily break 3:25, but I didn't realize how slowly I was moving. Even with my "kick" at the end I was probably still in the 8s, my legs were that thrashed. My watch said 3:25:03 but my chip time came in at 3:25:01. I'll take it. 43rd overall out of 420 finishers, 7th in my age group. 10 minutes and 1 second off my A++ goal of a BQ, but I'm really happy with my finish. I so appreciate Kam pulling me in. He definitely gave me the PR as I think I would've been well over 3:30 without his help.

Afterwards I ate creamies, had some french toast, congratulated allie and met James as well, I got a massage, and even ran into my wife's old roommate who was watching the parade, so I was able to connect those two. A truly great day. Congrats to allie for the win and PR and Sasha for 2nd place! A great FRB day. 

I'm writing this over a week after the race, and nearly all soreness is gone. The first day after I could barely walk and the second day after when DOMS fully kicked in I was a major hobbler. On Sunday, 4 days after, when I could walk forward down stairs I rejoiced. DesNews is a great race, it is a heritage race for anyone with Mormon pioneer ancestors like I have, but I think I will give the marathon a fond farewell and stick to the 10K or Half from here on out. It is a brutal beast and I'm a better person for having finished it twice.

Paces: 1) 6:41, 2) 6:52, 3) 6:46, 4) 7:11, 5) 7:26 (pee stop), 6) 7:43, 7) 8:38, 8) 8:06, 9) 7:27, 10) 7:41, 11) 7:11, 12) 7:09, 13) 7:18, 14) 7:39, 15) 7:22, 16) 7:38, 17) 7:44, 18) 8:05, 19) 8:10, 20) 8:05, 21) 9:14, 22) 7:41, 23) 8:12, 24) 9:09, 25) 8:25, 26) 11:20 (last 1.2 a 9:26 pace). 

Brooks Adrenaline 13 Miles: 26.20
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From allie on Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 20:26:25 from 97.117.88.144

nice job today, russ. it was great to meet you.

congrats on the PR -- nearly 7:00, that's huge! enjoy the wonderful des news quads -- they will be around for a bit. :)

From peg on Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 23:53:56 from 75.169.142.82

Good job little bro! It's great to watch you run! Always such an inspiration!

From I Just Run on Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 09:16:21 from 67.79.11.242

WOW...What a great race! I look at the variation in the mile paces, the course must be really hilly! a 6:55 PR is incredible, congradulations!!!

From Claudio on Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 17:05:19 from 96.234.240.149

Congratulations on your best marathon, Russ! patience and perseverance, the BQ will come.

From Russ on Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 17:31:36 from 75.169.142.82

Thanks all! Yes, very very hilly course (3000 foot elevation drop). If I can improve by 5 minutes a marathon my BQ will eventually come. Slowly slowly catch a monkey.

From I Just Run on Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 09:36:45 from 67.79.11.242

I just noticed how you bounced back after that 9:00/24th mile...great job!

From Kam on Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 09:53:30 from 68.66.163.179

Now that I see your mile splits, I am very irritated with the 3:15 pacers. That is NOT how you bring people across on time.

From Christie on Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 14:59:01 from 66.111.126.9

7 min PR! Nice job Russ. Another step in the right direction... you will get your BQ! Recover your legs :)

From Russ on Thu, Aug 01, 2013 at 13:51:53 from 74.114.3.253

Thanks again all my FRB friends and family (peg). I've finally come up for air after a vacation and lots of busy nights and updated my race report.

From Kam on Thu, Aug 01, 2013 at 14:07:20 from 68.66.163.179

Russ, I enjoyed the blow by blow. I don't know what to think about desnews. I was glad to spend the last 11 with you, as it gave me an out from trying to race the 10k.

Your a grate runner. It was good to see you.

From allie on Thu, Aug 01, 2013 at 14:26:43 from 97.117.88.88

brutal breast/alliteration always awesome...indeed!

it was fun to read your report -- des news is a unique race, with so much history in the race itself, as well as in what it all symbolizes and celebrates. i think it's pretty cool, and it's one of the reasons i like to participate in this race.

it sounds like the hogle zoo monster got you at mile 16 -- very common in this race. some years i have (narrowly) escaped it, others it has eaten me alive, and i don't have an answer as to why it does or doesn't happen. that hill forces you to abruptly shift gears, and that is followed by some tough, rolling miles -- a deadly combo that just sucks it all out of you. i think you held on really well, and it's especially impressive that you picked it up so much in mile 25.

congrats again on the PR and a really solid race.

how did you like those few days of crippling des news quads? :) glad you are recovering well.

From Jake K on Thu, Aug 01, 2013 at 15:35:51 from 67.177.11.154

Congrats on the PR Russ!

That is a brutal course... the only way to describe it!

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